If you are a seller on Etsy – the popular e-commerce platform focused on vintage and handmade items as well as crafts and craft supplies – then knowing about Etsy SEO and search rankings are of utmost importance as getting them right can help tremendously in increasing sales.
Etsy stands out from other ecommerce sites like Amazon and eBay by focusing on unique items such as handmade crafts and vintage goods. The company has expanded over the years and made over $2.5 billion in revenue in 2023. In the second quarter of 2023, it reported revenues of $628.9 million, which is a 7.5% increase from the same quarter last year. Its gross merchandise sales (GMS) in Q2 2023 were about $3 billion.
Etsy prides itself on building a platform that thrives on creativity and is “powered by people.” Its mission is to “keep human connection at the heart of commerce” at a time when automation is rising steadily.
The platform has around 100 million active users and around 7.3 million active sellers. Meanwhile, when it comes to selling on Etsy, you need to be well versed with the best Etsy SEO practices which would help your business grow on the platform.
What Is Etsy SEO?
To begin with, let’s familiarize ourselves with SEO or “search engine optimization.” According to Semrush, SEO is “a set of processes aimed at improving your website’s visibility in search engines (such as Google). All with the goal of getting more organic traffic.”
In simple words, when we search on the internet for any search term, search engines like Google throw up millions of pages. For example, a search for the term “SEO” showed a whopping 3.1 billion results.
Today, most people hardly look beyond the first few results since their questions are usually answered there. A survey by Backlinko found that only 0.63% of users click on the second page of Google search results. This is why it’s crucial to stand out from the crowd by using SEO best practices.
There are two types of SEO on Etsy and while Google SEO relates to the searches on Google, Etsy SEO helps improve the visibility of the product in Etsy’s search function.
For any online seller including on Etsy, it is important to be well-versed in best SEO practices. Also, it is important for you to know whether your listing on Etsy needs SEO finetuning. There are multiple tips and strategies that you can use to optimize your Etsy SEO and improve your product’s search rankings and by extension your sales.
Importance of Etsy SEO for Sellers
Etsy SEO is extremely important for sellers as it would help with the following
- Enhancing the visibility of your product: With better search rankings, the visibility of your products will increase which would lead to higher eyeballs and more traffic on your product listings.
- Higher sales: Higher traffic should eventually lead to higher sales if you also have a compelling product whose description matches what the user was looking for with his search term.
- SEO also helps in brand recognition and awareness as more people organically come to your listings.
How to Know if Your Etsy Listings Need SEO Optimization
If you are an Etsy seller with active listings on the platforms you need to analyze whether your Etsy SEO is in a good place and whether it needs optimization. The following would help you determine if your current Etsy SEO is good enough or if you need to do more to improve your search listings.
Dive deeper into your Etsy Stats: Etsy provides data to sellers on how they are performing, including where their traffic is coming from as well as engagement with the users. It would help you get data related to visits, orders, as well as conversion rates. This data can be your starting point to determine whether you need to optimize your Etsy SEO as it would tell how many sales and visits are happening through visitors on the Etsy app and website and how much through other search engines.
Look for keywords that are used to find your listings: In your Etsy Shop Stats look for search keywords that are used to find your product listings. If these are similar to what you used while optimizing your SEO then the listing might be fine. However, if you find these very different then it would mean that your Etsy SEO practices may need fine-tuning.
Compare all your listings: You can compare all of your listings on Etsy and then compare the best-performing ones with the worst-performing ones. Ideally, the keywords used in the best-ranked and most-visited listings should be part of most of your relevant listings.
Furthermore, you should be keeping an eye on competitors on Etsy to see how they are optimizing their listings.
Tips and Strategies You Need to Know to Optimize Etsy SEO
Once you have figured out that you need to optimize SEO to improve your sales on Etsy, there are several tips and strategies that you can use to optimize your Etsy SEO. You can try the following strategies and then compare the results, ideally after a gap of 30-45 days.
Choosing the Right Keywords
Choosing the right keywords is of utmost importance in Etsy SEO. It would be a good idea to put yourself in the customer’s shoes and understand what they will likely search to find your (or a similar) product.
According to Etsy, “The keywords you use in your tags, titles, listing descriptions, categories, and attributes work together to match your listings with shoppers’ searches. When there’s a match to a search query, your items have the potential to appear in the search results.”
Among others, the seller should have crisp but informative titles and it should ideally start with the keyword that best describes the product.
You can also use one of the multiple third-party Etsy keyword tools to determine the queries that have the most searches. Diving into your Etsy Stats would also be a good starting point to select the right keywords.
Selecting the Correct and Specific Categories
Etsy advises sellers to choose the right categories and attributes and be as specific as possible. It quotes an example that if a seller chooses “Nail Stencils” as a category, the listing would also appear in listings above Nail Stencils including Craft Supplies, and Makeup and Cosmetics.
On the contrary, if you choose the category “Makeup and Cosmetics” the product would not appear in “Nail Stencils.”
Writing the Product Attributes Properly
For best Etsy SEO practices, it is available to add as many attributes about the product as possible. These would help buyers make an informed decision and also help in increasing sales on Etsy.
Also, as is the case with the title, use the most important keywords initially. Adding URLs that lead to other products within the Etsy marketplace might also help with SEO.
Use All 13 Tags That Etsy Allows
Etsy gives sellers an option to use up to 13 tags which are essentially words or phrases that describe the product. It advises sellers to use all 13 tags and also consider adding synonyms and regional phrases.
At times products are known by different phrases in different parts of the word. Since Etsy connects buyers and sellers globally it might be prudent to add some regional names of your product in the tags as it would help in Etsy SEO.
Etsy also advises targeting “long tail” keywords” instead of just the more popular ones as the latter are quite competitive and it might be difficult to improve the search visibility – at least initially.
Use High-Quality Images and videos for Your Etsy Listing
The use of high-quality and relevant images can help with Etsy SEO and is extremely important for driving conversions. The platform provides an option of having up to 10 images and sellers should strive to use them to the fullest. Also, the images should showcase the product from all angles which would help the buyer take an informed decision.
Adding product videos would also be helpful. One of the biggest advantages of buying products online is that the buyer can get all the information including relevant images and videos.
Companies like Snap are trying out augmented reality (AR) features and letting users try out the product from the comfort of their homes. While Etsy isn’t quite there yet, videos and images can still help the buyer analyze how the product would look like, potentially leading to higher conversions.
Updating Your Etsy Listing Regularly
Updating your Etsy listing also helps with SEO. You can tweak the keywords based on what’s trending to make the listing SEO optimized. Also, update the product description if you make any changes to the product.
Customer Service Also Helps with SEO Rankings
While good customer service helps with customer retention and eventually increases sales, Etsy also looks at customer service as a criterion. It says, “our search algorithm looks at a shop’s customer service history and whether it’s in good standing according to Etsy’s policies when determining search placement.”
To get good Etsy reviews, the company advises you to do the following
- Responding to customer queries in a timely manner
- Refrain from misrepresenting the product
- Sticking to the delivery timelines
- Go the extra mile to exceed customer’s expectations
Be Careful About Intellectual Property Rights
Etsy has a strict policy about intellectual property infringement and if it has to remove a product listing over the issue it might negatively impact search rankings and by its extension Etsy SEO.
List the Store Policies and FAQs Transparently
Listing transparent store policies and having a FAQ section would also help with Etsy SEO. According to Etsy, “Having complete shop policies has a positive effect on your search placement and using Etsy’s shop policies template can give you an additional boost.”
Have an Informative About Section
Etsy also advises sellers to have an informative “About” section on the Etsy store. This can include your story and motto. The section would help buyers know your brand better and eventually lead to better Etsy SEO.
Having an “About” section can positively impact a seller’s “customer and market experience score” and help increase the Etsy search rankings.
How to Start Optimizing Your Etsy SEO Today
Now that we know how to optimize Etsy SEO, here are a few steps that you can take immediately to improve your search rankings.
Use Third Party Sites for Keywords
Use third-party sites like Marmalead.com, Alura, and erank.com to find the best keywords. If you know the region where your target audience is based you can also search the search terms related to your products in that region using tools like Google search.
Have a Store Name that Goes Well with Your Products and Target Audience
Your store names should ideally get well with your product and the target audience. While it might not be the same as your product it should offer some insights into the kind of products that your store has.
Promoting the Etsy Store on Alternate Platforms
Promoting your Etsy store on alternate platforms – including social media platforms would also help optimize the Etsy SEO. You can choose the platform that goes well with your product. For instance, if your product might appeal to professionals, you might try advertising on LinkedIn and also create a LinkedIn page.
Try to Get More Reviews on Etsy
Try to get more reviews on Etsy. You can try adding a handwritten thank you note with your product asking the buyer to rate you on Etsy. This would not only help increase customer loyalty and retention but help you get quality genuine reviews.
Avoid Keyword Stuffing and Repetition
While choosing the right keyword is important, avoid stuffing the product description with too many keywords. It should flow naturally into the content as buyers, as well as algorithms, might identify keyword stuffing.
Also, while using your best-performing keywords in multiple products is important, you should ensure that all your products on Etsy Store don’t end up having the same keyword as it could be detrimental.
Is Etsy SEO Optimization Really Worth It?
There are around 7.5 million sellers on Etsy and SEO optimization can help you stand out from the other sellers.
Etsy SEO optimization is definitely worth a seller’s time and effort. Etsy SEO optimization would help you improve the product’s searchability which would pay off in terms of higher visits and sales.
This would help you increase the revenues through higher sales. Also, Etsy SEO optimization strategies especially working on reviews and customer satisfaction would lead to better brand building which would pay off in the long term.
Finally, Etsy SEO optimization is quite easy to put into action so the ROI you’ll make on the efforts might be worth it.