SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization.” 

It’s critically important to the success of your Etsy shop because SEO is how Etsy matches shoppers with the right products (your products!). Without strong SEO for your shop, it can easily get lost among the many listings in your niche.

The last thing you want is to create amazing products and then have them get lost, as this is incredibly discouraging. Fortunately, with some basic Etsy SEO skills, you can help your products stand out and improve your sales immediately. 

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Optimizing your Etsy shop’s SEO involves some of the following practices: 

● Include key terms you want to rank for in your product description, titles, tags, and more

● Research what keywords you can reasonably rank for (the sweet spot is keywords with a good amount of search volume but low competition for that term) 

● Optimize your shop and listings with Etsy’s seven ranking factors 

Let’s look at a quick example of finding keywords with good search volume but lower competition. 

If I search candles on Etsy, 1,300,560 results come up. This is overwhelming for shoppers, leading them to often search for something more specific..

The second image shows an example of what happens when a shopper searches with the more specific phrase “book lovers candle.” The search narrows from 1,300,606 results to a much smaller 4,241 results.

The first products showing up are also distinct and probably a better gift choice for a book-loving friend than the general candle options that previously came up, so this may increase the chances of sales too. 

We want our products to rank for these specific, frequently searched terms. Keep reading for my top tips on optimizing your store’s SEO and ranking your products higher in search. 

Optimizing Your Etsy Shop’s SEO 

So, what steps should you take to optimize your shop’s SEO to increase your sales? 

Take the following steps to set your shop up for optimal querying - when a customer completes a search on Etsy to find products. 

Tags 

First, you should always maximize your tags up to the 13 allowed. Each tag gives you another opportunity to help Etsy match your products to interested shoppers, so definitely take advantage of this. 

I recommend using a keyword research tool like Everbee to find keywords that real shoppers are looking for on Etsy to get the most out of each listing’s 13 tags. 

Categories 

Always fill out as many applicable categories as you can for your products. Etsy has a huge comprehensive list of product categories broken down into categories as specific as “Costume Ears” and “Shirt Studs.” 

In most cases, you should be able to find at least one specific category your product fits into, and by labeling it in this category, you’ll help Etsy find your product when a customer is looking for items in this category.

Product Descriptions 

You should always include the top keyword phrases you want to rank for in your title and the first sentence of your description. The rest of your description should have as many keywords as possible without sounding stiff. 

You still want your description to be understandable and flow well for customers, so don’t fall prey to keyword stuffing. Keyword stuffing can make your description incredibly robotic and awkward, which is not best for the customer. However, you should be able to incorporate many keywords into your description while making it sound natural as you are writing about a product that aligns with these keywords. 

I also recommend adding a list of related product links to other products that a shopper may enjoy. 

For example, if you sell math worksheets for kindergarteners, include links to your other worksheets for kindergarteners and worksheets for other school-aged children. A shopper on your listing may have other children or decide they want a slightly different worksheet, so by having links to your other related products, you’re giving yourself another chance to make a sale. 

7 Ways to Rank Well in Etsy Search 

After you’ve optimized your shop’s SEO, you need to consider how to rank your listings higher in search. 

The reason is if you’re selling a candle, it may show up in the search results for a candle, but we don’t want it to show up on page 20 of the candle search results. Ideally, we want your product to appear on page one for multiple keywords or phrases. 

Optimizing your SEO will help your products appear higher in search results, which means more people will see them, giving you more opportunities to make a sale. 

Seven factors contribute to ranking well in Etsy search results. 

1. Etsy SEO Relevancy 

Relevancy considers how relevant Etsy believes your product is to a customer’s search. For example, does one of your tags or titles perfectly match your customer’s search for “t-shirt for best friend?” 

Etsy will consider your product listing as more relevant if your tags or title is an exact match for a customer’s search.

2. Customer & Market Experience Score 

Does your shop receive good reviews? Are customers pleased with interactions with you and your shop? 

These customer-related experiences are critical for providing your customers with positive experiences so they want to shop with you again and for showing Etsy that prioritizing your shop in search is a good decision. 

Etsy wants all of the customers on the platform to have an outstanding customer experience so they return to your shop and other shops. If your shop has a lot of negative reviews, this will hurt you in search because Etsy won’t want to prioritize your shop over shops with better customer reputations. 

Here are a few ways to boost this score: 

● Thoroughly fill out your product’s about section so the customer knows what to expect. This tip is vital for digital downloads. You need to clarify that the customer won’t receive anything in the mail to avoid disappointment over misunderstandings. 

● Fill out all of your shop policies. 

● Incentivize your customers to leave reviews by making your products stand out, easy to use, and the customer service as impressive as possible. 

3. Etsy SEO Quality Search 

Etsy scores every listing based on how well it converts. In other words, how long does it take a customer to make a sale once they’ve clicked on your listing? 

The less time it takes for your listing to convert customers into sales, the better your SEO quality score will be. Remember, Etsy is all about making money, so if your products make more sales quicker than a similar product, Etsy’s search will prioritize your product first. 

As a side note, any new listings you post will have a neutral score at first, so always be sure to optimize the other items on this list to start racking up those sales so you can land a good score. 

4. Recency 

Etsy has shared that they give new listings a slight boost in search so that Etsy can assess how successful your product is at converting customers. 

However, this boost is minimal and usually only lasts a few hours to days, depending on how popular and competitive your niche is in the marketplace.

Don’t prioritize launching as many products as possible to exploit this factor. Just continue to release new, high-quality launches as often as possible to expand your shop and keep returning customers interested in your shop. 

5. Shipping 

Etsy favors shops in search that have free shipping options. Why, you may ask? 

Customers are much more likely to purchase a product when free shipping is available, even if your item costs a bit more. 

If possible, offer free shipping across your shop to increase your sales and conversion rate and receive this favoritism in search from Etsy. 

6. Shopper Habits 

Etsy’s complicated and intelligent algorithm customizes search results based on each customer’s shopping history and search results. In essence, every shopper’s search rankings are different from someone else, even if they are searching the same term, because of their unique shopping habits. 

As a result, if you search for a keyword that you’re trying to rank for on Etsy, your products will likely come up. 

Why is this? Etsy prioritizes showing you your products because you’ve likely searched similar keywords before and visited your listing pages often. As a result, searching for keywords you want to rank for is not a good way to gauge whether or not your product is ranking well. 

Instead, look at your Etsy analytics and check which listings convert the most, how people find your listing, and what tags are the most effective. 

You can also open an incognito browser and search for different keywords to see if your product comes up. The incognito browser prevents Etsy from using your previous searches to influence the search results. However, your analytics will still be the most precise way of looking at your shop and product’s overall ranking in the marketplace.

A perfect example of Etsy customizing my search results for “candles” after I had previously looked up “book lover candles.” Now, a bookstore candle appears in my search for “candles” because Etsy knows I’m interested in book-themed candles based on my previous shopper habits. 

7. Language & Translation 

One of the most convenient aspects of selling products on a large marketplace like Etsy is they handle a lot of the details for you. In this case, Etsy handles translating your products into different languages so shoppers can more easily find what they want. 

To score high in this category, you must ensure all of your titles, tags, and descriptions match the language you set your shop. Etsy will handle the rest regarding translation, so don’t try to add tags from multiple languages. This won’t result in a better search ranking and may even harm your products’ ranking. 

Interested in learning more about building a widely successful Etsy shop? Digitally Purposed, shares how I grew a six-figure digital products business in a few months with no existing audience or experience.

Our community, Digitally Purposed, is different from anything out there. Not only does it lay out a step-by-step guide to launching and marketing your digital products business and helping you overcome common misconceptions, it also has one of the best private support communities dedicated to helping you every step of the way.

Plus, we have weekly training on the most requested topics like marketing, design tutorials, niche research, along with live Q&A calls and new PLR products!

Just need some feedback? Personalized shop audits are also included!

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