Seller Handbook

The following is a transcript of a podcast episode released in August 2021. The transcript has been edited slightly for this format. You can listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Or stream it via the Spotify player above.

Isabella: Hi everyone, I’m Isabella and I work on Etsy’s Community Education team. I work with different teams across Etsy to communicate updates, education, and resources to our sellers in our community spaces—so think the Etsy Forums and Etsy Teams. When I’m not working at Etsy, I’m either working on my own Etsy shop or probably shopping on Etsy.

Amy: And hi, I’m Amy. I work on Etsy Support as a shop optimization specialist and I’m also a seller. I’ve had a shop since 2010 and I make hand-printed napkins.

Isabella: I want to welcome everyone to part one of what’s going to be our two-part series on Etsy search engine optimization, or Etsy SEO. At a really high level, Etsy search works in two phases. There’s query matching and then there’s ranking. And what determines how things play out in both of these spaces can be boiled down to two important factors: keywords and conversion rate. For today’s episode, we’re going to focus primarily on keywords. At the end of the episode, we’ll answer questions that we sourced from Etsy sellers in our lightning round.

Amy: From talking with sellers, I know Etsy search can be a little mysterious so I’m glad that we got to help demystify it a bit today because it plays such a major role in getting discovered and building brand awareness. I think the foundation of understanding how to get discovered through Etsy search is knowing how to choose the right keywords for your listings. Essentially, your keywords create opportunities for your items to be shown to buyers in search results. We call this query matching.

Isabella: Yeah, let’s define what that is in a little more detail. Let’s say a buyer types a phrase into the Etsy search bar and your listings include keywords that match that query. That would mean that your items have the potential to appear in the search results that the buyer will see. Etsy search gathers all the listings that are relevant or very similar to a shopper’s query and then we rank those listings so that shoppers see the items most relevant to their query. We’ll talk about ranking more in the next episode.

Basically it comes down to associating the right words with your listings. You want to think about your target customer—or the people who are most likely to purchase from you—and what they would be typing into the search bar when shopping for an item like yours. Go with those words and phrases.

Amy: Let’s define some of the terms that sellers should know and why they’re important. First, of course, there’s keywords. Your keywords are the words and phrases that you choose to represent your products. They’re found in areas like your tags, titles, categories, and attributes.

The title is the first bit of copy that a shopper will see before clicking on your listing. It should be pretty concise, easy to understand, and lead with the most relevant details that make shoppers really want to click on your listing to find out more about it.

Finally, you have your tags. Tags are your opportunity to choose 13 unique phrases that describe your product. They’re manually entered by you when you create or edit a listing.

Isabella: Yes, tags are manual whereas categories and attributes are picked out from a structured list. This is the existing text that’s available to you during the listing process.

Let’s talk about categories and attributes more specifically. Categories allow buyers to narrow down their search results based on what they’re looking for. So when you create the listing, you want to select the most relevant categories from that menu of options. They also act as tags, meaning that they offer even more opportunities to get discovered through query matching. When you’re in the form where you create your listing, you’ll be able to pick categories and then, from there, subcategories.

Those words, again, act similarly to tags. So when you’re adding your tags, and even some of your title words, you don’t necessarily need to repeat words from your categories and subcategories in your titles and tags. This is because when you repeat, you’re preventing yourself from adding different keywords to your listing that could help you appear in additional searches.

Attributes are extra details like color or material that you can add to your listing after selecting the best categories and subcategories for your item to be nested under. They also act as additional tag words on your listing to help you match with even more buyer searches. For example, there’s no need to add “blue” as a tag if you already selected "blue" as an attribute. Plus, "blue" is kind of a weak tag. You’d want something a little more compound than that. If you’re trying to get even more specific in your tags, consider “indigo” or “navy blue.” These are more specific and probably not available in the attributes.

One other thing to call out here is that folks can actually shop by category. So rather than typing into the Etsy search bar, they can just go to the site and shop from the top navigation menu. So it’s important to have all the relevant categories and subcategories on your items so you don’t miss out on any visibility opportunities there.

Going back to Etsy search, attributes actually map back to search filters that are available to buyers when they’re shopping. A buyer might type in what they’re looking for in the search bar, and then maybe they want to filter down the results by a color or an occasion. If you have the relevant attributes applied to your listings, you have the opportunity to appear in filtered search results as well. So it’s a good idea to cover all of your bases and make sure you have all the right categories and attributes on your listings.

Amy: So to recap: Categories and attributes are selected, whereas titles and tags are created by each seller. And this is all available to sellers during the listing process.

Isabella: As a seller, your titles and tags are where you can get really creative. And with categories and attributes, it’s a little easier because it’s more about applying the things that make sense for your item. Going back to titles and tags though, I’ve heard from sellers that it can be really difficult coming up with keywords so I thought maybe we could talk a little bit about what your process is like, Amy.

Amy: When I’m feeling stuck, I love to have a little brainstorming session to get some ideas going. Sometimes I think a fresh take can help me see my products in a different light and get more creative with the way I’m using my keywords to get discovered by buyers. Often I’ll reach out to friends or a family member when I get stuck and ask them what they would search for if they were shopping for my napkins.

For example, I showed a strawberry print napkin to a friend with young children and she mentioned that they would be perfect for her kids’ lunchboxes. This wasn’t something I had considered before but it made sense. Something that makes my napkins a bit unique is their smaller size, so really thinking about who might need a smaller napkin and why they might need a smaller napkin helped me think of a slew of new keywords. I added some phrases like “lunch napkins” and “lunchbox size” to my tags and it seems to be attracting buyers.

Isabella: So like we said earlier, you really want to get creative when it comes to selecting keywords for your titles and tags. And, again, it’s always better to include a variety of relevant keywords to increase your chances of being discovered in a wider array of searches.

Amy: Definitely. And I mostly sell one type of product, so it can sometimes be challenging to come up with a wide variety of keywords to describe what are ultimately pretty similar items. So another thing I’ll do to brainstorm a bit is use the Etsy search bar for inspiration. This way, I can see what people are searching for when they’re shopping for cloth napkins on Etsy.

Isabella: That’s a good pro tip. For those who don’t know, when you start typing in the Etsy search bar, you’ll actually see predictive text populate in a dropdown menu below. These are just popular searches that are happening on Etsy at that moment. So if you see any keywords that are relevant to your items, you could consider incorporating them into your titles and tags to catch folks who are looking at things that are trending right now in the marketplace.

Amy: Right. When I’m brainstorming for napkins, I’ll try to think of other similar searches that a person might try like “kitchen decor.” When I search for “kitchen decor,” the predictive text shows me that shoppers are also searching for things like “farmhouse kitchen decor.” Since I think my napkins might appeal to people who like that aesthetic, I would incorporate words like “farmhouse” or “rustic” into the descriptive phrases in my tags, titles, and even my descriptions. And since trends are always changing, I like to check in on what people are searching for pretty regularly.

I also like to keep the time of year in mind. If there’s a holiday or an occasion coming up, I’ll add a few phrases to my tags to help people who might be looking for gifts or seasonal decorations to make it easier for them to find my items. My napkins felt like a good fit for Mother’s Day so I added a couple of phrases like “gift for mom” to my tags in early February.

That might seem a bit early to some people, but since I sell my products internationally, I really wanted to make sure I was targeting shoppers in the UK who celebrate Mother’s Day in March. But this also helped me get discovered by buyers in the US who were getting a head start on their Mother’s Day shopping.

Isabella: Brilliant. It’s great to imagine yourself as a shopper who’s looking for the perfect gift and think about the kinds of phrases that they would typically type in to search that would be relevant to your products.

Going back to the holiday or occasion themes you mentioned, don’t forget to choose the right attributes. If you make an item that’s relevant to a certain holiday or occasion, you can add that attribute. One thing to keep in mind is that attributes should only be used to describe listings that are designed for that specific occasion or holiday. They shouldn’t be used for items that could be given as a gift for that occasion or holiday.

For example, while your napkins might be the perfect Christmas gift for someone, if they’re just a fruit-themed napkin, you probably wouldn’t select the Christmas holiday attribute. This is because it’s not directly relevant to your item, so you would just skip that attribute. But if you had napkins that had evergreens on them or Christmas trees specifically, that could be a situation where you would apply the Christmas attribute because they’re directly related.

Amy: I also really like to look for trends in my reviews to help me think of keywords. If I notice a certain detail seems to appeal to my customers enough that they’re mentioning it in their reviews, I make sure to capture it as a keyword to target other people. Especially if it seems to be solving a problem or fulfilling a specific need.

Isabella: That’s a really good idea. You can learn what they value, what specific needs they have, or even problems that your product is solving. Do you have an example that you can share?

Amy: Yeah, I noticed that a lot of my customers were mentioning that they liked that my napkins are really easy to care for. This made me think that there are probably other people out there searching for cloth napkins that can be thrown in the washing machine. So I included some phrases like “washable napkins” to my tags, and then I added some care instructions to my descriptions as well.

Something else I like to think about when I’m brainstorming keywords is that buyers often have a certain aesthetic in mind when they’re searching on Etsy, so I always try to include info related to the illustration or the pattern or the colorway.

Isabella: So do you use the copy feature and just copy your listings, and then go back in to change the keywords to more specific titles and tags related to your products?

Amy: Yeah, I do. I’ll copy a listing and then I’ll go through the title and the tags to make sure everything is relevant to that specific product. I wouldn’t want to have “strawberry print'' as a tag on my striped napkins.

Isabella: I love those strawberry ones by the way. Fruit is having such a moment right now, which reminds me of another great resource for sellers when thinking about keywords: our Marketplace Insights reports. Since these cover what types of inventory shoppers are searching for at the moment, you can use them to mine for keywords that could be relevant to your listings. Do you ever do that?

Amy: Absolutely, I’ve definitely used the Marketplace Insights reports as a guide. Recently I was reading about the popularity of housewarming gifts in 2021, so this encouraged me to add some keywords that might appeal to shoppers looking for gifts for new homeowners in their lives.

I also learned that sustainability and affordability are top priorities for shoppers. I think my products fit into both of these categories so I added some keywords like “eco-friendly gift” and “sustainable decor'' to my tags.

Isabella: OK, we talked a lot about keywords for titles and tags so I want to break it down just a little bit more to help folks understand what goes into titles versus tags, as well as some keyword dos and don’ts. We’ll start with some examples of things that we see sellers doing really well.

First, we always encourage sellers to keep titles short and easy to understand. Keywords in your title can help you match with a shopper's search query, but they’re just one of the factors that Etsy search looks at so it’s not necessary to include every single relevant keyword here. The main thing is to get two to three really relevant phrases and then anything else can actually go in your tags. Be sure to use commas to separate those phrases in your title because, like Amy said earlier, you want to keep it legible and easy to read. You want buyers to quickly digest what it is that you’re selling.

And then for tags, the first thing is that you want to use all 13 tags available to you. The more words and phrases you apply to your listing, the wider the array of searches that you’ll appear in. Always opt for phrases over single words when it comes to your individual tags. Buyers tend to search in phrases rather than typing in a single word. So when we think about query matching, you’re more likely to match with and rank with a more compound phrase versus just a single word. So instead of “towel” as a tag, you might want to do “kitchen towel” or “linen towel,” just to get more specific and closer to what a buyer is likely searching for.

Something else to be mindful of is how your phrases are worded. I get a lot of questions asking if the order of the words in the phrase matters. The answer is yes and no. Let me explain. So “shirt dress” and “dress shirt” are going to surface different results when somebody types them into search. That said, if you have “shirt dress” as a tag on your listing, you’re still eligible to appear in search results for “dress shirt.” But if you have “shirt dress” as a tag and they’ve typed in “shirt dress,” you may rank higher in those search results.

You want to really lean in to what you think your buyers are going to type into search. That’s a really good way to come up with your titles and tags. Just be mindful that you’ll be eligible to appear if the arrangement of words is a little bit different, but you may rank higher in the ones that are an exact match.

Amy: I also think it’s helpful to refer to your shop stats periodically to see which search terms buyers are using to find your listings. You can use that information to update the tags or titles on listings that are getting less traffic.

One caveat: I would avoid making updates too frequently because it can take some time for new keywords to gain traction. You want to give any updates enough time to gather some data before making another big update. I like to look at my Etsy traffic every few months or so to get a sense of what keywords are getting the most visits. I always make sure that the most popular keywords are represented across all of the other relevant listings in my shop. Then I’ll swap out any keywords that aren’t really doing much for me.

Isabella: OK, let’s move on to common mistakes that we see. Do you want to get us started here?

Amy: Yeah, a mistake I often see is when sellers will repeat the same keywords in their tags. The 13 tags you add should be really unique and include as much variety as possible. Remember, people may use different queries to search for the same thing. So including a variety of relevant keywords can help you get found by a wider audience.

For example, instead of using tags like “nursery art” and “nursery prints,” you might want to use something like “kids’ art print” and “nursery wall decor” because that will help your listing get in front of more potential buyers.

Isabella: So you’re saying “nursery art” and “nursery print” are two separate tags that you’d have on your listing. You’re kind of repeating though, right? You’re repeating the word “nursery” twice. If you feel really strongly that buyers are definitely going to type in “nursery art” and “nursery print,” then it would be OK to have them both. But chances are, you might get further with having something like those two separate tags you mentioned, “kids’ art print” and “nursery wall decor.”

Amy: Exactly.

Isabella: So if somebody does search “nursery print” and you don’t have “nursery print” as a tag but you have “nursery wall decor” and “kids’ art print,” you’re still eligible to appear in a search for “nursery print.” Our system will put them together since you have both words in there.

Amy: Right.

Isabella: OK, cool. Going back to categories and attributes, repetition is also relevant here. The selections you make in categories, subcategories, and attributes act as tags so if you have these words already on your listing, you don’t necessarily need to add them into the tags. Unless, of course, they’re part of a common phrase that you strongly believe someone would type in to search.

Amy: Yeah, for example, if you sell something in the home decor category, you don’t need to add "home decor" as a tag. But you might select something like “boho wall art.”

OK another “don’t”: It’s not necessary to include misspellings in your tags. Etsy search will redirect shoppers to correct any small typos they might make when they’re searching.

Isabella: Oh yeah. I think way back in the day maybe there wasn’t that autocorrect situation in search so I did see sellers putting three different versions of a phrase, some of which were misspelled, in their tags. You definitely don’t need to do that anymore.

Another area I get a lot of questions about is the concept of singular versus plural. When a shopper enters their search on Etsy, the system will actually look at the root word for the phrase they entered and then match them to the root words in your listing’s keywords. For example, a search for “shelf” would still be matched with listings that have “shelves” in the titles or tags because they have the same root word. Same thing for words like “woman” versus “women.”

Amy: All right, let’s shift gears. Can you explain the nuances for sellers in international markets? How does keyword translation work for them?

Isabella: Yeah, so we actually advise against adding tags or title words in multiple languages. This is because the titles and tags that you add should only be in the language that you chose when you set up your shop. Etsy will translate everything for buyers who are shopping in a language that’s different from yours.

With that said, if you happen to speak multiple languages fluently, then you can choose to translate your listings yourself. If you add in your own translations, you can also add translations for titles and tags. Again, this is only if you speak multiple languages fluently. You can read our Help article, Translating your Shop and Listings, if that’s something you want to check out.

I will say, if it’s applicable, sellers should also consider including regional phrases. For example, if you sell a handknit sweater and a lot of your customers are in the UK, you might want to include “jumper” somewhere as a keyword. Etsy is not going to translate that for you, since that’s a regional difference in language rather than a translation.

Amy: So that would be helpful if you sold internationally.

Isabella: Definitely.

Amy: All right. It’s time for the lightning round. We’re going to be answering questions that we sourced from the Etsy Forums.

Isabella: Yes, thanks for all the submissions! We really appreciate you taking the time to share your questions with us.

This first question is from Soulful Grace Shop and they’ve asked, “Can I add the same keyword in my titles, tags, and description? If so, can I please get an example?”

Yes, you can. While it’s not necessary to repeat keywords and phrases word-for-word in your titles, tags, and descriptions, you can if you feel so inclined. But like we said earlier, variety is really helpful if you’re trying to appear in a wider array of searches. You want to make sure that you’re really covering your bases, covering all areas that someone may explore when typing in a search for your item. Lean into the most important details about your listing when coming up with titles and tags.

For this seller specifically, they sell perfume so they may want to include keywords that describe the fragrance. You can do that in your titles. Your tags are there for those finer details as well, and, of course, descriptions. We know that when looking at a listing, folks will read the product description after browsing through the photos a bit. And this will make it easier for shoppers who may be searching for a specific fragrance to find their listing and, hopefully, click and make a purchase.

Amy: This next question is from pHashION passION and they ask, “What is the difference between a long-tail and short-tail keyword? Please provide an example.”

Long-tail keywords are more specific search phrases made up of a few keywords, whereas a short-tail keyword consists of one word and is likely very broad. Something like “long floral dress” would be considered a long-tail keyword, whereas “dress” would be a short-tail keyword.

As you may have guessed, long-tail keywords may bring up fewer search results but they can really help you get discovered by buyers who know what they’re searching for. Since short-tail keywords are very broad, they tend to surface a wide range of search results which will likely make it a little bit more difficult to get discovered.

Isabella: Our next question comes from Des Des Vintage: “Can you please give good keyword usage examples for vintage homewares, home decor, and clothing?”

You want to include keywords in your titles and tags that you think buyers are going to type into search when looking for your vintage items. When I’m searching for vintage home decor, I tend to type in something like “mid-century modern lamp” which would be something you could put in your title. Or I might search for “‘70s drinking glasses,” which could fit into your tags.

The best keywords tend to include details like style, size, material, color, and the era that best describes the item. I think you can also include things like brand names or who made the vintage item if it’s relevant. A lot of shoppers come to Etsy looking for unique gifts for a special occasion and your shop has so many lovely options. Try to get inside the mind of your target customer, think about who and what they might be shopping for, and add those as your keywords. And then, like Amy was saying earlier, be sure to monitor your stats over time to see if those keywords are bringing any views to your item.

Amy: This next question comes from Nuriart Deko and they ask, “I would like to know if the order in which the long-tail keywords are written is important or if the search algorithm reads them even if they’re not in a row?”

I think it’s a good idea for your long-tail keywords to be formatted as a phrase that best represents what a person might type into the search bar. For example: “coastal wall decor.” However, if the long-tail keyword that you want to use is longer than 20 characters, adding multiple long-tail keywords can help your listings show up in those searches as well. Let’s say you want to target shoppers searching for “ready-to-hang coastal wall decor.” You could break this into a few different long-tail keywords, like “ready-to-hang art” and “coastal wall decor.”

Isabella: Roma Arellano is interested in hearing more about keyword stuffing. They’ve asked, “I’ve seen information that says we should use short, descriptive titles and not worry about keyword stuffing, but I have a hard time not using up all 140 characters in the title.”

The problem with keyword stuffing is that it can make your titles really confusing or even spammy-looking. The strong listing titles that we see tend to be short, descriptive, and make it really easy for shoppers to quickly understand what it is that the seller is selling. They also lead with the most essential or click-worthy information, written in the seller’s unique voice.

Think about when you conduct a search on Etsy: You see all these search results, and then underneath each image is a preview of what the listing title is. You don’t want that to look spammy. You don’t want it to look clunky or stuffed with a bunch of random keywords. You want it to be very direct and relevant to what it is that you’re selling. That can influence your conversion rate, which we’ll talk more about in our next episode.

I will say if you have a listing that you think would benefit from a longer or more descriptive title, make sure you’re using punctuation to separate out those phrases to make it easy to read. We typically recommend commas. It keeps things easy to digest and understand without it looking too clunky or spammy. I understand that it’s tempting to use all 140 characters and they’re there for you if you need them. But again, listing titles are public-facing whereas your tags are not. Keep it easy to read, keep it clean, and you can cover the more intricate or finer details in your tags or even your descriptions.

Amy: Rustic Buckets South had a question about why search sometimes produces results that aren’t directly related to their search terms.

This might happen for several different reasons. For one, if you’re searching for something really specific or rare, it’s possible there may not be a lot of search results so we’ll do our best to search for what is most relevant or similar to what you’re looking for. Also, each seller adds their own keywords to their listings so it’s possible that some listings could include keywords that aren’t relevant to their product.

Isabella: Yeah, this is kind of a bummer. But at the same time, those items probably won’t be getting clicked on or purchased when somebody conducts that search because it’s not relevant. So over time, those results may slowly phase out or head to the back of search results.

Amy: Etsy also customizes search results to shoppers. Our context-specific ranking technology learns what buyers are interested in and it aims to show them the items they’re most likely to purchase.

Isabella: Right. So the search results that you see on your end may be different than what I see.

Amy: Exactly.

Isabella: Our next question is from Mercurial Girl by Gina: “Does using some unique tags make it easier for your shop to be found, particularly if you are not a high-profile shop with lots of name recognition and what you are selling has a lot of competition?”

You always want any keywords you include in your tags to be relevant to the item you’re selling. So if by unique tags you mean super descriptive and specific to what you’re selling, then yes, that’s a great strategy. We recommend using phrases in your tags over single words because it allows you to add more details and ultimately gives you more chances to get discovered. Plus, like we said earlier, this is how buyers tend to search. They don’t typically just type in one word. They usually type in a phrase and they’re pretty descriptive. In terms of query matching, you may have more luck there if you get more specific.

You should definitely call out anything that makes your product unique or different from your competitors and your tags are a great spot for that. You can also include that information in your titles if you feel like it’s one of the most relevant things about your item and then, of course, your descriptions.

Amy: The next question is from the Unquiet Garden, and they ask, “Do keywords even matter if you have a new shop with fewer than 100 listings and can’t pad your item prices in order to offer free shipping?”

Yes, keywords definitely matter. As we’ve talked about, the keywords that you choose play a really big role in determining which searches your listings are eligible to show up in. Sellers are not required to have a certain number of listings in order to rank highly in search, but selling really unique products with relevant keywords associated with them can definitely help you get discovered.

Regarding free shipping, we know that this is something that buyers value which, of course, can impact their purchase decision or your conversion rate. (More to come on that in the next episode.) It’s just one piece of the search ranking puzzle though. Your tags, titles, attributes, photos, and other parts of your listings also contribute to your visibility in search.

Isabella: Right, it’s a variety of things that all work together. Our next question comes from Rosemary Abby: “I find when trying not to duplicate words in my titles and tags, I come up with tags that may not even be relevant to my item. Is there a magic solution to tags and titles, not duplicating but still being relevant? I’m having a hard time being creative I guess.”

I totally get that, especially with tags when you’re trying to come up with 13 different phrases. It can be really tough. You want to make sure you’re including all of the most pertinent details in these two areas so it does make sense that there will be a little bit of overlap between them.

What I would suggest is using the titles to call out exactly what the item is. If there is more than one way to talk about what an item is, you can use two phrases and then, like we talked about earlier, use those commas to separate them. Keep it legible. And then use your tags to lay out the finer details.

For example, think about things like how the item is made, who it’s for, or a problem it solves. If you're repeating a few words here and there across your listing, it’s OK. Especially if the word is being used in two different phrases that a buyer is likely to search. For example, “leather tote bag” and “large leather purse.”

Amy: The next question is from I Am Rachel Shop and they ask, “I sell jewelry. For example, red round enamel earrings. What keywords can I use that are likely to help me get found, as I find it hard to think of different variations that will help me stand out from other red earrings?”

Again, I understand this from my experience selling napkins in my shop. I recommend including keywords that capture details around size, shape, and material in your tags and titles. If there’s a particular occasion your earrings would be perfect for—for example, wedding jewelry for bridesmaids—add that as well.

It can also be helpful to put together a spreadsheet to develop more descriptive phrases. You can create a sheet with three columns. For the center column, you would input your main keyword. Let’s say in this case it’s “earrings.” Then use the column on the left to add more descriptive words that describe your earrings like “color-block” or “dangle.” The column on the right then would contain the new, more descriptive keyword like “color-block earrings” or “red dangle earrings.”

You can repeat this process with different keywords represented in the center column and you should end up with a nice variety of descriptive phrases to pull from. This process is explained in further detail in our Seller Handbook article, Case Study: Building a Keywords Strategy.

Isabella: OK, that was our last question. Thank you to everyone who submitted. We hope that this was helpful and that you’ll tune into our next episode for part two of this series on search. In part two, we’re going to talk about conversion, or how to maximize your shop’s ratio of visits to orders. We’ll also explain how to use your shop stats to implement changes that can help your conversion rate. Finally, we’ll critique three listings as examples so you can get a sense of how this will all look in action.