All right, let’s break down SEO
What is SEO? SEO stands for search engine optimization. Having good SEO will help your listings rank in Google searches, Bing searches or any other search engine and ranking high in these searches (along with ranking high in Etsy searches) is how to make more sales on Etsy. SEO is ugly and complicated and could literally suck weeks out of your life researching all the ins and outs. Trust me, I’ve done it. So for this post I’m only going to give you what you need to know for your Etsy shop.
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join Etsy and SEO in holy money making
First things first, you need to find your magic keywords. There are paid resources for this like Google AdWords but it isn’t really necessary to use them. You can get creative and come up with some pretty awesome keywords on your own.
Okay, let’s say you sell knitted newborn hats and outfits. Go to Etsy and start typing newborn hats into the search bar. You’ll see a drop down with more suggestions like newborn hats for boys, newborn hats for girls, newborn hats with bows. If those fit what you make then they are all good keywords. Next be more specific. You knit these and that sets them apart so try knitted newborn and you’ll get results for knitted newborn hat, knitted newborn outfit, knitted newborn wrap, knitted newborn bonnet (gotta say, I didn’t think of that one). Again, all good keywords if they fit your product.
Next try to think of ways you’d search for your item. Type newborn photo (because a lot of times these hats and outfits are used for newborn photography). You’ll get a drop down with newborn photo prop, newborn photo outfit, newborn photo outfit boy, newborn photo outfit girl and so on. Do these searches in Etsy, Pinterest and Google and I promise you will come up with a TON of keywords.
Good Keywords actually contain more than one word. We call these long tail keywords and they’re actually more of a phrase. You want your best long tail keywords coming up first in your title and in your tags.
What to do with all these keywords
Etsy allows up to 13 tags for each listing so you’re going to want 13 different keywords (combining both short one word keywords and long tail keywords). Make sure you’re adding any specifics like color, size and material to your keywords. Fill out all 13 tags. Next move on to your description. You WILL NOT be putting all 13 into your description. Pick 2 or 3 that best describe your product and incorporate those keywords at least 2 times each into your product listing description.
Make the wording flow like normal language. Google looks for keyword spammers so if you use too many keywords too often or just throw them all in there together you’re going to get dinged. You should start your item description with your best long tail keyword. If we’re going back to the knitted hat example a good start to your item description would be “These knitted newborn hats are made by hand with love for your little one.” You could then go on to say “Each of my knitted newborn hats are made with the highest quality yarn…”. Now you’ve got that long tail keyword in there twice and it doesn’t sound spammy at all.
Your title is also very important. Etsy is currently changing their algorithm but for now, you need to put all of your keywords into your title. The first 30 characters are the most important and will be used to identify exactly what your item is. Make sure you are putting your best keywords at the beginning of your title. I will updated everyone when the new algorithm is pushed out, but for now, do it this way.
Make things easy on yourself
Hopefully you have a ton of listings but that also means a ton of titles, descriptions and tags. Make a template for each kind of product you make. I have one template for my vinyl decals, one template for my children’s sippy cups and another template for my Christmas ornaments. I leave all of the basic info the same like size, material, uses and how-to’s and I leave the keywords the same for each group. Then I just add in the item specifics like color or design options.
Having templates already made with perfectly placed keywords will save you time on each listing. I also have a folder on my desktop with photo I use for every listing. I have a color selection photo and an email sign up photo I put on almost every listing so I like to keep those handy on my desktop to upload.
How to make more sales on Etsy
Let’s wrap this all up. If you want to make more sales on Etsy then you need to do 3 things. First, research the heck out of some keywords for your products. Second, write up a template for each type of item you have using your new keywords. Third, put those keywords in your title, your item description and fill up all 13 tags.
A deeper Dive
(This post contains affiliate links. This just means that if you purchase something by clicking on one of my links I may receive a small commission at NO additional fee to you.)
If you’re wanting to dig a little more into SEO, a friend of mine over at Rhoda Design Studio has written a little eBook called Beginners Guide to SEO for your Blog and Business. This gives you an introduction to SEO and how to use it for your business. It’s a quick read and really informative. I highly recommend it! Snag your copy here.
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