To sell your items on Etsy, customers need to be able to find them. That’s where SEO comes in. By focusing on optimize Etsy SEO, you can increase the visibility of your products in Etsy and Google search queries. The more customers who find and see your products, the more likely you are to make sales.
So, how do you optimize your Etsy SEO? Here are some tips to help you get started:
How Etsy Search Works
Etsy’s search engine is designed to help buyers find the products they’re looking for. The search results are determined by two factors: Query Matching and Ranking.
Query Matching
When a buyer searches on Etsy, the search engine first performs a process called Query Matching to find products that are relevant to the search. Etsy does this by checking the following factors:
- Title
- Tags
- Categories
- Attributes
- Ranking
After Query Matching, Etsy ranks all of the products based on the following factors:
- Relevance: Etsy considers the title, tags, category, and attributes of the product. It tries to find how well they match what the buyer is searching for. The closer they match, the higher your ranking will be.
- Product quality: Etsy considers the conversion rate of the product to determine its “product quality score.” The higher the conversion rate, the higher the product quality score and ranking will be.
- Product age: New products often have a slight boost in ranking over other products. This boost can last for a few hours or days, depending on the product’s search volume. This allows Etsy to understand how buyers are interacting with each product, which can then affect its product quality score.
- Customer experience: Etsy wants to provide buyers with a seamless shopping experience. To do this, factors like purchase history, shop policies, ratings, and reviews are considered. Your shop will then be scored based on the experience you provide.
- Shipping cost: Shipping costs are very important to buyers. According to a study, if a customer sees a shipping cost that is higher than what they typically pay, their likelihood of making a purchase will be less than 50%. For this reason, shipping cost is one of Etsy’s ranking factors. Stores that offer free shipping or have good shipping rates will rank higher in search results.
- Shop location: If your shop is located in the EU, Australia, or Canada, local stores will have a slight advantage in search results. For other countries, shop location will not affect ranking.
- Language: If you sell to international buyers, adding translations is essential. Although Etsy automatically translates products to match the query and language of each buyer, a manually translated content will be better than an automated translation. This is because manually translated content sounds more natural and is more relevant to how buyers typically search.
- Context-Specific Ranking: Buyers’ behavior, including viewing history and purchase history, is taken into account in Etsy SEO rankings. Etsy uses a technology called “Context-Specific Ranking” to provide search results that are personalized to each individual and their previous behavior.
Optimize Etsy SEO Tips
Now that you know how Etsy’s search engine works, let’s take a look at some tips for optimizing your Etsy SEO.
Identify your target keywords
Keywords are the foundation of your Etsy SEO strategy. The first thing Etsy does when processing a buyer’s search query is to compare its product catalog and find the products that best match the customer’s search term.
That’s why it’s important to find the best keywords for your products when you start selling on Etsy.
Think like a buyer
To find a good keyword, the first thing you need to do is “put yourself in the shoes of the buyer.” When you understand your customers and know why they’re searching for your products, you can easily identify the right words and phrases for your products.
This will also be helpful when you move on to the technical aspects of keyword research and planning your Etsy SEO. Keyword planning tools can generate a long list of keywords with endless possibilities.
It takes a lot of time to filter and sort them out. Understanding your customers and their search intent will make your keyword research process easier.
Use SEO tools to plan your keywords
Google Keyword Planner
Based on Google Keyword Planner, you can check the average search volume of keywords. Within one month, on a global or specific country scale, as well as check the difficulty and competition level of that keyword.
With the information provided by Google Keyword Planner, you can determine the appropriate cost required for each advertising campaign. Or select a good set of keywords for your product.
Ahrefs
Ahrefs is one of the best SEO analysis tools, including Optimize Etsy SEO. It is a Big Data (a large data warehouse) like Google used to analyze competitor websites. Keyword research, marketing, finding opportunities to increase website traffic, building backlinks, etc.
Currently, in the data of Ahrefs, they have collected:
- 12 billion links on the internet
- Updated over 200 million domains around the world
- 3 billion URLs
- With Ahrefs’s huge data warehouse, it will definitely help you in keyword research and planning.
Marmalead
Marmalead is an SEO tool specifically designed for the Etsy marketplace. Through it, you will know the following metrics in your store:
- Average weekly and monthly views
- Current store ranking
- Stores and items that are directly competing with you
This is a tool that allows you to evaluate your product listings fairly thoroughly. In addition, it can also conduct some research to optimize your current product listings.
If you are not sure which product in your listing to promote. Marmalead will help you research keywords thoroughly. From there, you can know what to improve to increase sales for your store.
eRank
- eRank, formerly known as Etsy Rank, has a set of tools to meet your needs, such as:
- Find long-tail keywords that buyers are searching for on the marketplace
- Track other sellers to see how they’re doing.
- Analyze your own product listings and how changes affect your ranking.
- Help you understand Optimize Etsy SEO and make the appropriate improvements.
Using Etsy’s search bar
Using Etsy’s search bar can be a helpful way to start your research. The search suggestions are generated based on recent customer searches, but they don’t necessarily reflect the popularity of a keyword. For more general Etsy selling trends, you can use Etsy Trends. This feature displays the most searched keywords on Etsy, as well as seasonal trends based on last year’s data.
Optimize the main components of your product
Identify what keywords to use when starting to sell on Etsy, incorporate them into your product. In addition to keywords, when matching queries, Etsy also considers product components such as title, tags, product attributes, etc. to see if they are relevant to the buyer’s search.