Etsy SEO: 5 Optimum Tips to Get Your Etsy Listings on Top

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Have you ever wondered, What is Etsy SEO? Who decides your Etsy Rank? How the algorithm behind the ranking of your Etsy listing works? Which are the factors that influence your Etsy listings, and How to get to the top of Etsy search? These are among some of the top queries that don’t let Etsy sellers sleep peacefully. 

The recent statistics from Statista show an increasing fondness for the most creative and fresh marketplace ‘Etsy.’ Among the bunches of other markets offering a lot more options, Etsy ranks at the top place, making it the first choice of all budding sellers.

What makes Etsy Marketplace different?

With a whooping 92 million buyer community (as per Statista), Etsy is the go-to marketplace for purchasing the crafts, vintage, and handmade category products.

Add to that, Its presence all across the globe makes Etsy a perfect opportunity for craftsmen and artisans to reach and connect with craft-loving audiences. Therefore, it has made Etsy a vital asset that creative online sellers can’t ignore.

To support this, let’s take the example of George.

Goerge, the proud owner of Ana Silver Co. set up back in 2006 in California, manufactures and sells handcrafted jewelry. He started gaining many customers, which made him confident to go further. He was moved by the attractive tagline of Etsy. There were some major hurdles in his way while setting up and selling on Etsy, including Inventory and Order Management and Synchronization, but with the help of Etsy Integration App, he overcame all. 

Like George, you can also give this Integration a shot:

 

Coming back to our original topic of discussion…

However, with the increasing unique seller count every day, it is the primary concern of sellers as to how to get to the top of Etsy Search.

As per Etsy Seller Handbook, Etsy SEO is the biggest factor when it comes to improving in the Etsy Listing Ranking. 

Keeping in view the growing urge of sellers about how to get to the top of Etsy search, Etsy has come up with useful SEO tips, Etsy listing tips and various websites like e-rank Etsy and mermalead testing for the best keywords and Etsy search engine optimization. 

The correct and accurate implementation of Etsy SEO is the key to unlock the top position on the Etsy search result in the buyer’s query. You can ensure a good Etsy ranking for your product if you pay close attention to your search engine optimization techniques.

This read will take you through the following:

• What is Etsy SEO?
• How Etsy SEO works?
  • Query Matching
  • Ranking
• Ways to get you listings on the First Page
  • Playing with tails of Keywords.
  • Mastering Content Quality and Optimization.
  • Enhancing Customer-Market Score.
  • Competing Shipping Policies
  • Networking and Community Building.

What is ETSY SEO?

In simple terms, Etsy SEO is a process that helps sellers in improving the visibility of their store and listings on search engines as well as on the Etsy marketplace search results.

Why is there so much buzz about Etsy SEO?

Well, Etsy is among the most popular website for purchasing creative and handmade merchandise; millions of buyers from all across the globe congregate here to buy their desired items. As a result, too many sellers have set up their shops. Hence, competition is inevitable.

If your product doesn’t appear among the top search results, you won’t be able to generate desirable revenue from the marketplace; even worse, you are getting odd views, but they’re not helping a lot.

On the brighter side, there are specific Etsy listing tips. These guidelines help merchants make their products achieve top Etsy ranking for Etsy search terms.

No matter if you are new to selling on Etsy or an old one. You are onboarding new or are an amateur Etsy seller. It is more than important to get to the top of Etsy ranking so that your listing catches the maximum engagement.

This is where Etsy SEO comes into the picture. 

In this read, you will certainly get an idea to improve your Etsy ranking. So hang on! You are going to find some really helpful Etsy SEO tips.

How Etsy SEO Works? A Brief Review

When it comes to Etsy, it has its algorithm of doing things. Through Etsy Seller Handbook, Etsy has cleared up the air of its ranking procedure.

The instant when the buyer searches for an item, Etsy search result optimization starts working on it in 2 phases – Query Matching & Ranking

Query Matching

As soon as the buyer enters something on the search bar, it works initially upon matching the related items to their relevance.

The significant elements Etsy considers are:

• Title, rich in Keyword.
• The Tag. used in close relevance with the listing, utilizing all the 13 options available.
• Category, correctly and adequately selected.
• Attributes, added with all specs and variants.

Ranking

After finding all those listings initially matching the search query of the buyer, Etsy goes on considering the other factors responsible for ranking the available selected listings based on seven significant elements:

• Relevance: Etsy matches the most appropriate options.
• Listing Quality Score: Seller with good product view and maximum listing sold are preferred.
• Recency: Etsy ranks the recent listing and also temporarily boosts the renewed listing, which shows up.
• Customer & market Score: Etsy sellers with well-defined shop policies, reviews, and about sections are preferred.
• Postage Price: Sellers selling on Etsy usually offer free and fast delivery on listings are generally shown up.
• Translation in 7 Languages: Native language selection with proper translation (optional) may rank on the first page.
• Shopper’s Habits: Etsy considers Context-Specific Ranking; also, it customizes the search result according to the shopper’s behavior.

How to get to the Top of Etsy search?

It’s time to peep through the Etsy SEO, Here are five excellent Etsy listing tips to get your Etsy Listings on the First page of Search Result. However, it doesn’t guarantee the place, but it surely is an effective Etsy ranking measure.

1. Playing with Tails of keywords
2. Mastering Content Quality and Optimization
3. Enhancing Customer Market Score
4. Competing Shipping Policies
5. Networking and Community Building

Lets learn about each one in detail.

Playing with tails of Keywords.

Various factors affect a listing’s ranking, one factor which is totally in your control and can be improved almost immediately is working on Keywords.

When choosing Keywords, Sellers should think like a buyer. You should consider every possibility of the search query that a buyer can enter to shop. There are various tools available to get the best keyword match and you can also analyze which keywords to consider as the best keyword for the listing.

Some of the tools for best keyword selection are SemRush, e-rank Etsy, and mermalead. On the other hand, if you want to go for organic selection, you can go for the Etsy search bar and Etsy search analytics.

These keywords should be incorporated in each aspect of listing that includes Listing Title, Tags, Item Description, and the Product Attributes.

Etsy search algorithm takes the search term entered by the visitors and matches them with the text in Title, Item Description, and Tags, and suggests results accordingly.

a) Create Search Friendly Title

Let’s discuss the title first. Some of the general observations:

a) Exact phrase Results are shown first, i.e., the Title, which contains exact phrase terms entered by the users is given higher priority.

b) Listing with relevant keywords both in title and tags are given priority over those listings that contain keywords either in title or tags.

c) The Titles with relevant keywords at the beginning are given higher weight over listings that have the keywords at last.

Consider, for example: 

All of the listings that complies with the parameters above appear in search results. The results are shown in the following image.

Do’s for Creating Item Title:

The title is the first content buyers see when they have an encounter with your item. However, this thing comes with a bit of challenge as you can use only 140 characters. This requires you to be efficient with your choice of words. Therefore, include critical terms that Etsy uses to display the results.

• Must be precise, keyword-rich, and relevant to buyer interest
• 140 characters for Title
• Use %, &  and Avoid, $ ^
• No more than three words in capital letters
• Should be Google Shopping compatible, if synchronized with Google Shopping

Bonus Tip:

Etsy permits 140 characters in Title, Google displays the first 66 characters, and other search engines, Bing & Yahoo, show similar results. Therefore, the most important terms [and keywords] should be put at the beginning of the Title. A standard title may include the type of product; its feature; its brand name; and its usage.

The above images contain the item name along with one most common features. The features are Color [Blue Cotton Candy]; its odor [Blueberry Scented Butter], and the occasion [Strawberry Birthday Cake].

Let’s take one more example of another set of images, obtained from the category home page:

The above set of images includes symbolism* & type [Rose Hoodie Embroidered], and item category name [Trees t-shirt | Men’s T Shirt] and a cause Girl Power T-Shirt, Feminism].

*Symbolism: The usage of the word implies that the primary purchase driving force revolves around a cause, idea, and object-related. However, the constant keyword in all of the listings defines its construct.

Struggling with setting up your Etsy store? Let us help you! 

Schedule a discussion with Etsy experts and know the right way to do it! 

b) Dynamics of Tags

Etsy SEO tags are an essential piece of information that the Etsy search engine considers along with the title and attributes to display results. They’re essential search terms that are short and holds commercial and sales-oriented intentional relevance. Mostly they are the keywords. However, if you come up with any Etsy tag idea, make sure it follows the guidelines mentioned below.

• It can have 20 characters!
• Can add up to 13 tags
• Avoid punctuation and exclamation mark, can use ™ signs
• Can use [À Á   Ã Ä Å Æ Ç È É Ê Ë Ì Í Î Ï Ñ Ò Ó Ô Õ Ö Ø Œ Ù Ú Û Ü Ý Þ ß à á â ã ä å æ ç è é ê ë ì í î ï ñ ò ó ô õ ö ø œ ù ú û ü ý þ ÿ ] for tags in French and German tags.
• Item’s shape and size
• It’s usage
• How it’s made
• Color, style, and other distinctive traits

c) Search Relevancy of Category & Attributes

Among tons of items available on Etsy, the Category of the product helps the shoppers to buy and select the aptest product for themselves. You should choose a particular category for your listings, as Categories act as a filter for the buyers. Attributes are distinct and organized characteristics of an item. It defines the product, and customers often use them as an adjective to zero in on results.

How to get Etsy Attributes ideas?

First, choose its category type: [Handmade, Craft Supply, Vintage]. The category and subcategory further define the kinds of attributes to be used, and the general attributes are:

• Primary Color
• Additional Color
• Occasion
• Celebration
• Trending Etsy tags

Bonus Tip:

Consider Periwinkle Hand Stitched Marvels Sweater. Since periwinkle is a type of blue color, but – it might not be – present in Etsy’s color variants. Therefore, choose blue as a color option, and include [Periwinkle blue lavender] as a tag.

It is to be noticed that lavender is also included in the search term; the reason is “we also need to be efficient with our tags.” Therefore we recommend you use combinations of keywords with strong impressions as tags.

d) Recency and Freshness

Another factor that is related to the item description is recency. Relisting power can work to your advantage. Etsy takes into account the latest listings and re-listings, so relisting average performing items with fresh content can lead to your products appearing in search positions. 

You can use the same listing with necessary keyword optimization, in this way the listings have a chance to get a good Etsy rank for a temporary period yet an opportunity to make sales.

e) Native and Tag Language Mismatch

Using different languages for tags and keywords will not fetch you desired results, i.e., if you use German as the Store language and are using English tags to target the larger audience. This mismatch can land your listings in trouble.

To do away with this, Use the native language to target the right audience ad also provide a translation option for distant buyers. A good setup of Language preference with the right keywords used adds to a positive Etsy SEO factor hence getting to the top of Etsy search results.

Bonus Tip:

Shop Title: 55 characters. The shop title appears in the search results. Therefore it’s a great idea to utilize 55 characters and come with short, quirky content that explains your brand and/or includes your products. A high majority of uses taglines in the shop titles.

Mastering Content Quality and Optimization

Content is the kingpin of anything that is reflected on the internet. Quality content usually attracts maximum limelights in terms of views, likes, hits, and conversions.

Content on Etsy is not just limited to the textual elements, but it considers three significant aspects, namely: Product Photographs, Product Descriptions, and Product Reviews. 

Here Etsy rewards those listings that are high performing which means they are getting more clicks, are being added to favorite lists, and are purchased regularly. This is termed as a listing quality by Etsy.

The items which attract higher views, are added to the favorite list more times, and have high conversion rates will be given preference. The descriptions hold special significance in driving user engagement, thus boosting sales along with the positive/negative reviews of the product by customers.

Product Photography:

When it comes to Etsy, the marketplace is rich in homemade creative crafty sellers. The winning shot for getting to the top of the Etsy search result is product photography. As per content is concerned, the visuals speak a lot more than the words.

You must master your Product Photography. If you cannot do it yourself, get it done by professionals. To match the search query and to give an Etsy rank to a specific product, Etsy goes on to analyze Product photography on a set of parameters.

However, not completely known some of the significant criteria it reflects upon are: 

• Photographs were taken in natural light.
• Photographs with the white backdrop
• Apply the rule of the third to ensure excellence in Photographs.
• If possible, Photographs are edited by an excellent photo editing tool.

While these features will not necessarily rank your listing to the top but will help you get better and improve your Etsy product ranking. The etsy seller handbook offers a range of tips and solutions regarding the basics of product photography to get a good Etsy rank.

Bonus Tip:

For desktop, try some free web-based editors like Aviary, Pixlr, and Pic Monkey. Some useful mobile apps include Photo Editor by Aviary and Afterlight. For even more robust features, you can also try editing tools like Photoshop, Snapseed, and more.

Product Descriptions:

This is your chance to put all the information which can compel a buyer to take action in your favor. An ideal description must contain all the aspects of a product such as its full description- all the information about its construct; occasions when it is/may be used and the most common usage and other related information.

Usually, the first paragraph of the description should contain the focus keywords to get the maximum relevance to any search query. Also, you can use the description section to mention the size of an item (if attributes other than those provided by Etsy are available).

Descriptions are vital as they can attract audiences out of Etsy. Although Etsy uses Title and Tags to display results, external search engines – Google, Yahoo, and Bing – crawls product description content and uses it to show results in their respective SERPs.

Etsy advises sellers (selling on Etsy) to prepare a questionnaire consisting of 20 queries about the item and ensure the description answers all these questions. Possible questions can range from-

• What the product is;
• About its dimensions;
• Its color;
• It’s material;
• The ideal person to buy for or gift to;
• It’s USP;
• What it is used for;
• How to return it

if the item still needs processing, For example, in the case of paintings, will it be required to be framed or comes with the frame?

It includes information such as its odor and has a shorter shelf life etc.

Bonus Tip:

New sellers have a hustle here, as the new shop doesn’t affect the rankings. However, creating search-friendly and multilateral listing content is the first step.

Product Reviews:

Product Reviews are some things that indirectly affect Etsy Search Engine Optimization. Sellers with positive reviews and has a large no. of feedbacks often get to the top of the search result page.

Etsy overlooks which sellers are capable of getting higher conversions. While it also considers what and how much feedback they are receiving in terms of ratings and reviews.

You must also consider collecting more engagements over your listings. Optimize your listings in such a way that it finds most relevance, and it appears to be unique and exciting to go through.

These product reviews also help in getting good scores, so you must not ignore this important factor while preparing your listings to get on the first page of search results.

Bonus Tip:

Try engaging with your buyer regularly, comments and reply to the queries, answer the question and try to implement as much transparency in your content as possible to make the buyer stay with you before long after they made the purchase.

Enhancing Customer-Market Score

Etsy takes into the uber customer experience as a search factor in its rankings as well. To define the right customers, experiencing it takes into consideration the following elements:

A complete “About Us” page: The page can include the product it sells, and the inspiration behind it. It also includes clear and properly worded Shop Policies. The shop policies may consist of:

• Shipping
• Payment Options
• Returns and Exchanges
• Privacy Policy

Create dedicated shipping profiles for products that include all the shipping-related information of a particular product. The information may consist of Shipping costs, Shipping origin, Processing time, Fixed shipping costs, and the item weight and size-related information to a product.

Also, Etsy wants you to be efficient with your shop policies as it advises you to avoid:

Intellectual Property and Copyrights: As these virtues are related to individual items and not with the shop, Etsy suggests you include them in your FAQs.

Sales Tax-related Information: Similarly, you may choose to avoid sales tax-related information as Etsy has inbuilt tools to calculate applicable sales taxes and display them to its customers. It is the content repetition that should be avoided for the sake of higher efficiency.

Buyers’ Disputes and Cases: You should also have a keen eye for Buyer disputes and Cases as it also affects the Customer to a Market score of your Etsy shop. Try to come up with collective bargaining with buyers when it heats up to certain problematic events.

Furthermore, you should clear all your old backlogs regarding customer grievances and queries at definite time intervals.

Our next Etsy SEO tip is – 

Competing Shipping Policies

Often overlooked, but shipping policies of a seller also affect the ranking of listings. Since Etsy is based on mainly homemade unique products and craft supplies, the shopping values are not that hefty to the buyer’s pockets.

Etsy sellers offering the free shipping policy over different locations of delivery are mostly preferred while the Etsy SEO comes into work. The shipping policy usually considered by Etsy are:

• Free shipping policy.
• Shipping charges added to the listing price.
• Digital low-cost content is available without any shipping charges.

You must ensure that you make your product available at a competing price among the other related sellers to get an edge over sellers offering the same product.

Since Etsy receives its most of the traffic from the US and Canada, preference will be given to the shops originating from this area. The rationale behind it is free or faster delivery time.

Bonus Tip:

A recent update released by Etsy informed that 83% of the sales come from the listings of the first page of search results and sellers offering free shipping policies are going to dominate the other listings. Etsy has also released a statement claiming that the first page of the search result will carry 48 results and all with the free shipping.

Networking and Community Building

The general rules of SEO also come into play here. A page that attracts higher links towards it, from personal blogs; from different item listings, contributes to more top search engine relevance.

This happens by building active networking and community of Etsy sellers and among Etsy sellers. If you still don’t know how to get to the top of Etsy search results, A significant step toward it is building the community of similar sellers and buyers. 

Being interactive enough with the buyers and offering the things that most of the people out there are demanding gives a considerable push to your listings.

A great idea is what links back your home shop page with individual listings and policy pages. A shop page contains the following information:

• Your Shop name.
• Shop Description
• No of Sales Made
• Start Date

All of the information boosts your brand credibility and with proper implementation, your shop can appear in search engine rankings and will attract traffic from other places as well.

Check out the video on how you can improve your Etsy listings, to maximize your chances of ranking high on Etsy search results.

Note: If you are a Shopify-based seller and are looking to list your products on Etsy with proper Etsy SEO standards, feel free to check out the Etsy Integration App.

Executive Summary:

Therefore, getting to appear in top searches & mastering Etsy SEO is not an overnight process but a phenomenon expanding over time intervals.

It involves the focused execution of a well-crafted strategy, which includes offering vast experience and customer-friendly policies, not to forget the optimum utilization of Etsy search engine optimization throughout your listings. 

With over 7.3 million active sellers as of 2022 end, Etsy is the ever-growing market hub for creative home-based sellers. Set up your store, or integrate one with the available top-notch e-commerce solutions to earn a higher Etsy rank as well as revenue.

Disclaimer– Etsy is a trademark of Etsy, Inc. This content is not created or endorsed by Etsy, Inc.