4 Tips on How to Do Etsy SEO in 2024

Do you have a great craft product with high-quality photos on your Etsy store, but make few to no sales at all?

Then you’ve come to the right place.

With over 7.5 million active sellers, it is becoming harder to stand out from the crowd on Etsy. That’s why vendors turn to Etsy SEO tools. 

Search Engine Optimization is how you improve your site’s position on search engine results pages. While many people look towards doing SEO for search engines like Google, the same concept can be applied to your etsy store.

Etsy SEO helps your shop show up when users are searching for products to buy, and it’s really quite simple.

I’m excited to show you how to do Etsy SEO and 5 tips to improve your Etsy shop visibility!

What is a good Etsy SEO Strategy?

A good Etsy SEO strategy involves using relevant keywords in your product titles, tags, attributes, and categories. Relevant keywords are those that match your target audience’s queries the most. 

You can also have links pointing to your shop (inbound links/backlinks). Here are some backlink-building tools to get you started.

Etsy’s search algorithm is always changing, creating the need to stay abreast of the latest search developments.

Implementing Etsy SEO strategies will lead to:

• More sales
• Increased Brand Visibility
• Increased Customer Satisfaction
• Increased Shop Quality Score
• Building a loyal community of buyers

The Etsy Search Engine

The key to doing etsy SEO actually starts with having an understanding of how the search engine works.

To put it really simple, the etsy search engine or search algorithm is categorized into two phases: Query Matching and Ranking.

Query Matching

Whatever user types into the search bar is known as “user query.”

Query matching is the process of matching the user query with the relevant product listings stored in the Etsy database.

In the process, Etsy matches the user query with thousands of relevant products.

But what qualifies the product to be displayed on the first page or the last one?

That is where ranking comes in.

Ranking

Ranking is how Etsy determines which products would appear at the top of the search results. According to the How Etsy Search Works guide, six distinct factors determine ranking:

a. Relevance

A user’s search query must align with your product’s title, tag, or attribute.

b. Listing Quality Score

It measures how well your product tends to do in searches. It is assigned based on user activities like clicks, purchases, and favorites.

c. Recency and Market Experience Score

Recently created listings get a slight boost in the search results to help the Etsy search engine judge how users interact with it.

Renewing existing Etsy listings will get you similar but smaller boosts. But updating your product tags and attributes to earn these boosts is not an effective Etsy SEO strategy.

d. Shipping Price

Free shipping to US customers and Digital downloads will give your product a higher ranking. That’s because Etsy’s research found that buyers are 50% less likely to buy a product with a high shipping cost.

e. Translation and Languages

Your product will rank for search queries in your shop’s language. So you should write your tags, titles, and attributes in the same language.

Though Etsy can translate your language to match the shopper’s, you can also add translations.

f. Context-specific Ranking (CSR)

Etsy’s CSR technology customizes the search results for each buyer based on their past habits.

Having seen how the search engine stores, organizes and retrieves information, let’s explore Etsy SEO tips you can use in 2022 and beyond.

Tips on how to do Etsy SEO

Here’s exactly what you need to do to rank higher on Etsy’s search results:

1. Optimize your Keywords for Ranking

A keyword is an exact term a user types in the search bar when searching for items to buy. It is also known as a search query. So you’ll need to do some Etsy keyword research for your listing page.

Here are the Do’s of using Keywords on Etsy shops:

• Exact match phrases will rank higher than single-word match queries. For example, when a user searches “Geometric Prints,” the listing containing both the words in the title will rank higher than the one containing only “geometric” or “prints.”
• Keywords appearing in both the Title and Tags signify relevancy – one of the Etsy ranking factors.
• Keywords used at the beginning of the title have more weight than when used in the middle or end.
• Use keywords in your listing’s description.

The following are the Don’ts of optimizing Keywords:

• Keyword Cannibalization – using the same keywords for different products. Keyword cannibalization, like normal SEO, will also hurt your etsy SEO strategies. Etsy does not display more than two listings from a seller on the same search results page.

  It’s best to diversify the keywords you use for your product titles. For example, Floating Beech Wood Nightstand, Floating Bedside Nightstand, Black LED Nightstand, etc.

• Keyword Stuffing – using keywords in a way that seems forced and unnatural. Once caught engaging in the act, your shop will get flagged by search engines like Google and Bing.

My best methods of using keywords are as follows:

• Inserting your Brand Name as keywords. It helps previous buyers recognize you, increasing the chances of repeat purchases.
• Getting inspiration from your Industry. For example, if you’re selling World War 2 vintages, the keywords to use might be Authentic Reich Reichspfennig Coins, Military Compass Nautical Pocket, Pitt Bomber Khaki Cotton Jackets, and so on. You’re an expert in your niche; think big!
• Using Erank’s Keyword Generator. It’s an Etsy SEO tool that shows you search queries made by actual Etsy buyers.
• Getting Keywords from Etsy autocomplete Search Bar. Similar to Google Search, you’ll notice that Etsy tries to autocomplete a query as you type. The suggested terms usually have significant search volume.

• Getting keyword ideas from other Etsy shop owners.
• Google Trends is another place to find whether the item you choose is declining or increasing in demand.

For example, if your Etsy shop sells Metaverse-themed images, the declining trend might make you reconsider your niche choice.

Here are some other google ranking softwares that can help you with getting your Etsy store seen. 

2. Optimize your product Attributes and Tags

Attributes are the additional information sellers use to describe their products, while tags are the phrases you can use to describe your unique products.

Attributes

There are different types of attributes you can add to your product listings:

• Color
• Occasion
• Holidays
• Size
• Material

Attributes help when a buyer uses the attributes to filter the search results. When creating an Etsy listing, the attributes appear after you choose the category.

The following are the best practices for using attributes on Etsy:

• The attributes you use should be accurate and correct.
• Choose the measurements available in your language, and Etsy will translate for buyers from other regions/languages.
• Use attributes to describe what a product is.

Tags

You add tags when creating your listing.

The best ways for using tags to rank higher in the Etsy search engine are:

• Use ALL of the 13 tags.
• Multi-word tags are better than single-word tags.
• Use synonyms and regional phrases in your tags. For example, sweater and cardigan.
• Another strategy is to use long-tail keywords in your tags. Buyers who use long-tail keywords know exactly what they want, so they’re more likely to buy.

While you have total control over what to add as tags, you should avoid the following:

• Repeating tags.
• Adding attributes as tags.
• Deliberate misspelling of tags is not a recommended Etsy SEO practice.
• You should not add translations for tags.

3. Increase Your Listing’s Quality Score

Listing quality determines the position your product appears on Etsy’s result pages.

New shops and listings start with a neutral listing score. New listings get a small temporary boost to gauge how buyers interact with them.

And as mentioned previously, clicks, favorites, and purchases determine the listing score.

More clicks mean a high-quality score.

How to get more clicks as a seller:

• Quality photo – use the best available photos of your products.

• Title: Use the main keywords first because Etsy truncates longer titles.

• Price: users will not click on your product if they think it is overpriced.
• Reviews: positive reviews will help you increase your product listing. And to get positive reviews from buyers, you have to provide high-quality products.

4. Improve the Customer Experience

Etsy revealed that they consider customer experience in their search algorithm. So they award the Star Seller badge to sellers who offer an excellent customer experience.

You can better your customers’ experience by:

• Responding quickly to buyers if they have issues with their orders.
• Representing your items accurately in images. Don’t use stock photos.
• Shipping orders on time.
• Using personalized gestures, like hand-written thank-you notes.
• Encouraging positive reviews from past customers.
• Solving any open cases like copyright infringement reports against your shop.

Final Thoughts

I’ve looked at some Etsy SEO tips to increase your product’s rankings in 2022, including:

• Optimizing your Keywords
• Optimizing your product Attributes and Tags
• Increasing Your Listing Score
• Improving the Customer Experience

So a good etsy SEO strategy involves identifying and using the keywords your buyers use and giving the best customer experience.

What part are you willing to work on in your future Etsy shop search engine optimization?

Let me know in the comment section!

Good luck!

Jessica