Improve Etsy SEO By Focusing on These Three Etsy Listing Factors
So you’ve created a great new item for your Etsy shop and now comes time to spread it far and wide. Do you know how to list on Etsy to improve Etsy SEO?
If you’ve spent any time researching SEO tips, Etsy SEO can feel really overwhelming. But getting more views for Etsy listings doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, you can improve Etsy SEO by focusing on just three pieces of your Etsy listing.
Let’s dive right in!
What is Etsy SEO?
Before we start talking about how to improve Etsy SEO for your Etsy listings, let’s take a minute to do a quick refresher on what Etsy SEO is and why it’s so important.
SEO is search engine optimization. It’s the practice of optimizing a website, webpage or digital element to be more easily found by search bots, rank higher in search results and get more traffic.
When it comes to Etsy, improving your SEO means:
Appearing higher in Etsy search results (with the first page as a goal)
Getting more views for your Etsy listings
Getting more sales for your Etsy shop
When you sell on Etsy, SEO strategies are so important. While Etsy doesn’t have a traffic problem - in fact, it gets more than 2 million visitors every month - it doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to get that traffic to your shop.
Working to improve Etsy SEO is the best way you can help all those visitors (or at least a good portion of them!) find your shop over your competitors.
So, what should you focus on if you don’t have tons of time for Etsy SEO tools and SEO tricks for Etsy? Let’s explore the top three Etsy listing factors to focus on to get more views for your shop.
Top Three Etsy Listing Factors to Improve Etsy SEO
When it comes to writing better Etsy listings that are optimized for Etsy search, focus on these three things.
1 - Start with Etsy titles
Your Etsy listing titles are important for SEO for a couple of reasons. For one, Etsy looks to titles - and the keywords you use in your titles - when determining how relevant your listing is to a shopper’s search. Additionally, titles, along with your listing’s thumbnail photo, are one of the first impressions your listing makes to a shopper - and it’s important to make a good one!
My top tip for better Etsy titles is to not be afraid to get specific when it comes to the keywords you use (a.k.a. the words a shopper might use to search for a product like yours).
It can be tempting to use general in your titles in an attempt to reach more searchers, but that practice almost always backfires. Think about it this way...There are thousands of shops selling custom T-shirts. If your listing title includes general keywords like “custom T-shirt,” you’re going to have a very hard time standing out from the competition.
Instead, think about what sets your custom T-shirts apart, those unique features of a shirt someone might be looking for when they go to Etsy to shop. Is it 100% Cotton? Is it organic? Is it screen-printed or embroidered? Does it have a specific design or text on it, or is it a specific color? These kinds of characteristics can and should be used in your title to ensure you’re reaching the shoppers who truly want what you’re offering.
(By the way, if you still need to learn how to choose the right keywords for your Etsy listings, check out this article on simple Etsy keyword research.)
2 - Choose the right Etsy tags
Choosing the right Etsy tags is another important part of every Etsy listing. But how do you choose Etsy tags that get your listings seen by your ideal customers? I’ve got three quick tips for optimizing your tags.
Use all 13 tags. Etsy allows the use of 13 tags, so make sure you’re making the most of them! Not using 13 is just a waste, and tags are so important to Etsy SEO.
Just like with titles - don’t be afraid to get specific. A multi-word tag (like “nursery decor”) is going to serve you much better than a single word (like “nursery” or “decor”). While it may seem like a small distinction, using single-word tags (in my example) means your product will match search queries for all kinds of items that relate to the word nursery and to the word decor, many of which likely have nothing to do with what you’re offering! Remember, you don’t need to reach everyone - just those shoppers who want what you’re selling!
Make sure the keywords used in your title match the keywords used in your tags exactly. This is something that Etsy’s search bots love to see. When the keywords used in your title also show up in your tags, it shows the search bots that those keywords are highly relevant to your listing and, therefore, that your listing is highly relevant to search queries that include those keywords.
3 - Don’t overlook Etsy attributes.
Attributes are things like color, size, occasion, style and method of creation that you’re able to fill out when writing an Etsy listing. Attributes act as more tags for your product and help Etsy ensure your product shows up when a shopper searches for a product like yours, so it’s important to fill these out completely and accurately as possible.
My top tip for attributes actually comes one step before you even fill out attributes for your product: make sure you’re choosing the best Etsy categories for your product.
As you’ve likely noticed, different categories of products have different attributes available to fill out. There are multiple categories for earrings for example, depending on whether you’re selling hoop earrings vs dangle and drop earrings vs stud earrings and they all have different attributes available for completion. Choosing the most relevant category means you’ll have the most relevant attributes to fill out, which will help ensure the right people are finding your Etsy listings.
Improve Etsy SEO with Simple Etsy Tools and Tricks
As you can see, improving Etsy SEO doesn’t have to be overly complicated. Just focusing on the three factors outlined in this post - titles, tags and attributes - will take you a long way toward creating better listings.
Of course, you may still feel like Etsy SEO is a bit of a mystery (I know I did for a really long time!). If you’re ready to dive in and get some serious Etsy SEO help, you’re definitely going to want to check out the 21-Day Seller Success Challenge.
The Challenge is 3 weeks of daily SEO lessons that teach you the ins and outs of getting more views for your listings, more sales for your shop and taking your business from passion project to profit.
Sellers just like you have already grown their shops and increased their revenue with the simple, actionable lessons in the 21-Day Seller Success Challenge. To learn more about the Challenge, click here.
And if you’re not quite right to grow your shop and sell more stuff, but still want to learn more about Etsy SEO, be sure to check out my free guide to the 20+ Essential Etsy Tools for Sellers. It’s totally free - no strings attached!