Selling things on Etsy can be exhilarating!
Setting up your store and seeing others appreciate your hard work are some of the best feelings there are as well.
On the flip side, it can also feel equally crushing when you notice that nobody is visiting your page— much less buying anything.
Luckily, this is often not because there’s anything inherently wrong with you or your products; you may just need to tweak certain aspects of your page!
In this article, we’ll be looking at how you can increase the number of visitors to your Etsy page through a variety of effective methods. Let’s get into it!
How To Get More Etsy Traffic: Your Ultimate Guide
1. Use The Correct Keywords
How will people find your Etsy page?
The vast majority of potential customers make their way to you using the search bar, whether that’s on Google or on Etsy itself.
By ensuring that you’re using relevant wording on your store page, you’ll more likely appear when browsers search for products similar to the ones you’re selling.
And when you’re more visible, you’ll also get more people visiting your page!
How Keywords Are Used By Shoppers
The short answer to this is surprisingly simple.
After all, you’ve probably looked up something on an online store before; you won’t usually think, “Let me add these keywords to my search to help me find a product”.
Instead, you’d most likely just search for a common phrase, such as “handmade wooden train”. However, have you noticed that “handmade wooden train” is a series of keywords?
In essence, common search terms that shoppers might use to find your products are the relevant keywords that apply to your products as well!
How Keywords Impact Search Engines
Search engines try to rank pages so that the most relevant ones to a user’s search phrase end up at the top of the list.
As a result, choosing great keywords will put your page closer to the top! And if you’re closer to the top, more people are likely to click on your page.
Just think: When was the last time you went to page 10 of the Google results, rather than the first page?
Make sure to pick keywords based on what your target market might search for.
If you have a hard time coming up with keywords— don’t worry. You’ll learn more about choosing keywords a little later on.
2. Etsy Tags
Tags are very similar to keywords, but they have one crucial difference.
While keywords exist for your customers to interact with (displayed as text on the page), tags exist exclusively for Etsy’s search engine!
However, tags overlap quite a lot with keywords. You will need to use similar words within your tags to get Etsy’s attention.
The Etsy search engine prioritizes pages that have tags that exactly match a customer’s search phrase. However, it doesn’t mean that your tag has to be exactly the same as a customer’s search term all the time.
For example, suppose you sell stickers like the original poster in this thread. As this commenter explains, Etsy looks for parts of a customer’s search term that exactly match your tags.
If it finds a match, then your page is classified as an exact match and you’re more likely to appear much higher in the search results.
If it doesn’t find an exact match, then it will also check for a broad match.
A broad match is where you have multiple tags with different words in them (for example, “waterproof decal” and “holographic sticker”). Etsy then mixes these tags until one matches a search phrase.
So, if a customer has searched for the exact phrase “waterproof decal” or “holographic sticker”, you’d get an exact match and appear a lot higher in the results.
However, if they searched for “waterproof sticker”, “holographic decal”, or “waterproof holographic decal”, your store would get broad matches.
While you won’t appear as high up on the search results when using broad matches, strategically labeling your tags and studying your competition can still earn you a decently high rank!
3. Carry Out Competitor Analysis
Understanding what your competition on Etsy is doing is a great way to make sure that you are one step ahead and have the best possible chance of attracting customers to your page.
Carrying out competitor analysis involves a few steps.
First, you’ll want to identify your competitors. These are the people who sell similar products and target a similar market. Make sure you pick people who are actually close to your store and not just tangentially related.
Once you have a handle on who your competitors are, select a sample that you will analyze in-depth. It’s best to mix new stores with some well-established ones.
During your analysis, look at every detail possible. Check for keyword use, tag use, product quality, photos, writing style, and so on.
Identify which stores are getting the most traffic and whether there’s anything that they’re skimping on.
Once you’ve done this, think about how you can exploit any gaps you’ve found. You should also figure out how to make your store page more competitive, especially in areas where your competitors are strong.
4. SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the best ways to make sure you’re appearing as high up as possible in people’s search results.
Etsy SEO
Making sure you appear in people’s Etsy search results is one of the best ways to increase your page’s traffic.
Etsy has an in-depth guide on how their search engine works. In brief, you want to do the following things:
- Use all 13 tags strategically to increase your visibility and rank higher
- Be specific with the categories you list your store in
- Add an “About” section to your store
- Stay in one language for content and keywords/tags
- Use search analytics to pick up new characteristics of your target market, as well as what search phrases are picking up your store.
Google SEO
Google SEO targets customers who search generally for products like yours. Again, Etsy has an article on the subject. The big things are:
- Making sure that your shop title accurately depicts what you sell
- Adding relevant backlinks to your listing pages
- Using good images in your listings
- Using keywords properly in your store content.
Both forms of SEO have a strong emphasis on finding keywords, and there are many tools out there that can help you to do this. Googling “SEO tools” will bring up a large selection of free and paid options.
5. Utilize Social Media — Especially Pinterest
Social media is an incredibly powerful tool for publicity. As this comment states, even a struggling store can pull in a reasonable number of customers from social media alone!
Having a well-presented social media page helps attract customers to your store.
Using platforms such as Instagram and Facebook is intuitive. These platforms host a large user base with the ability to communicate using images, making them great places to advertise your products.
Have you also considered using Pinterest?
It’s definitely an approach that makes sense, if you think about it. After all, Pinterest is all about images and crafting aesthetics— a perfect way for most Etsy stores to showcase their products.
Etsy itself has written an article on using Pinterest as a platform to advertise your Etsy store.
In brief, the idea is to create boards that showcase what your shop means to you. This is also a good opportunity to reach out to and interact with a potential customer’s wider environment.
Try pinning not only your own products but also those of other people, especially if they relate to your shop. By doing this, you create a personality for your store that can attract customers more easily than just using stock photos!
6. Start A Blog
Just like using social media, starting a blog is a great way to attract customers to your store.
It might feel weird at first. Since blogs are text-heavy and people are buying your products based on pictures, how will you advertise your store effectively?
The short answer is that there’s nothing stopping you from putting images on your blog as well! In fact, combining the two will help create an effective store personality.
Potential customers are more likely to interact with your store if they can see the person behind it, and that’s what the writing side of your blog is for.
Write about what you’re up to, how you’re making products, and so on. People will notice the dedication and effort you put into the craft and will be more likely to buy from you.
7. Optimize Your Storefront
First impressions last. The same is true for your storefront.
Optimizing how your store looks and feels can affect your potential customer’s perception of you, especially since the storefront is the very first page they’ll see.
If they like the experience, they are more likely to stay. Similarly, if they think it’s off-putting, you’re already walking on thin ice.
Making sure that your images are correctly sized, your store has clear branding and is easily navigable, and your content is well-written will all help entice people to interact further.
8. Update Your Listings
It’s easy to get caught up in the other aspects of your store, but making sure your listings are up to date is an important task.
Outdated listings can frustrate customers if a particular product is no longer available. You’ll also miss out on people’s interest if you’ve forgotten to list a new product.
It’s also a good idea to update your listings if you’ve refined your page style and aesthetic. Good listings cause Etsy to rank you higher in search results, so ensuring that yours are well-presented will make it easier for customers to find your store.
9. Etsy Ads
Etsy provides advertising services! If you opt for this option, Etsy will advertise your products in its search results and around other listings on the site.
This is a great way to improve the clickthrough rate on your products, especially because people who are on similar pages will likely spot your product and click on it for another option.
You won’t need to worry about obsessively specifying where you want the ads to show, as Etsy automatically displays them in the places where they’ll perform best.
10. Email Marketing
Having a mailing list can do wonders to boost engagement with your Etsy store, particularly if you already have some customers.
If people sign up for your mailing list, it’s easier for you to tell them about new products and sales without needing them to actually visit your store page.
Since most people check their emails every day or two, your messages will have a higher chance of being noticed.
To make email marketing more effective, try personalizing your emails, using newsletters, and targeting specific people.
Email marketing works especially well for encouraging repeat customers, as they can sign up for your mailing list on their first visit. Then, you can email them and entice them to return!
11. Start A Youtube Channel
Just like the social media and blog options we talked about above, starting a YouTube channel is also a great way to boost engagement with your store.
Again, it’s all about giving your store page a personality. Show people what goes on behind the scenes, and don’t be afraid to let your personality shine.
In fact, your YouTube channel doesn’t necessarily have to be directly related to your Etsy store. You could start a vlog channel, a lifestyle channel, or anything else—as long as it’s somewhat related to what you sell.
You can then effectively “sponsor” your own videos by dropping references to your Etsy store all throughout!
12. Establish A Community
Having a community around your Etsy store and products is a great way to attract new customers and keep them coming back. When you have a good relationship with your community, you’re incentivizing them to support your store.
Establishing a forum page or organizing events around your Etsy page are great ways to build a community.
If you’re selling sewn products, for example, you could organize a virtual sewing sit-in or have a place where people can ask you questions about how you do particular techniques.
This way, you not only help people understand the skill and time that goes into your products, but you also have a place that people will recommend to others!
When more people in your target market arrive, you can then use this opportunity to show them your products.
13. Have Competitive Rates
For many customers, the bottom line of whether or not they click on a listing or store page is if they can afford it.
Making sure that your pricing is competitive is an excellent way to attract more customers. Prices that are too expensive will turn people away before they even enter your store’s page.
Remember that competition doesn’t mean making a loss!
If you’re struggling to match your competitors’ rates, you can try looking at your manufacturing process. You can also consider marketing toward people who are more likely to be able to afford your products.
The Verdict On How To Get More Etsy Traffic
Getting more Etsy traffic can be achieved in many different ways. Ensure that you have:
- Good SEO
- Well-chosen keywords and tags
- An understanding of how your competitors are working and how you can innovate around them
- A well-crafted social media presence
- A likable store personality
- Competitive rates
- An attractive and well-optimized storefront and listing selection.
Don’t forget—this isn’t a one-and-done process!
Keep experimenting and improving your store page to attract more people as your store evolves. Some methods might work better than others, depending on a variety of different potential factors,
As soon as you get the hang of it, you’re well on your way to improving your Etsy traffic flow!