In the mid-1990s I was taught how to make one-of-a-kind handmade books.
These types of books are perfect for selling on Etsy because Etsy knows that buyers are looking for books that are handmade, unique, artist books, junk journals, fantasy handmade…
I no longer make unique handmade books, but as an SEO expert who builds websites, I recently helped my son, a ceramic artist, improve his Etsy Shop, and move his pottery higher up on Etsy’s product page.
Regardless of what you sell on Etsy the same SEO principles apply to getting found on Etsy.
Etsy SEO Examples
Converse Fields sells hand crafted, hand thrown pottery: coffee mugs, pie places, dinner plates, vases. Things that people use every day.
He is highly skilled at what he does. He developed his own glaze chemistry, and uses a high firing technique to ensure his coffee mugs, plates and dishes are safe to drink and eat from.
The problem is his Etsy customer doesn’t care about the process, or the endless hours of experimentation it took to achieve that beautiful looking coffee mug. They also assume that if someone is selling a mug, it’s safe to use for hot or cold beverages.
Instead, his customers are looking for a fun and unique gift for themselves or someone special.
That’s were good keyword research comes in.
When you find the words your ideal customer is entering into Etsy’s search feature, you will raise your chances of selling more product than another highly talented craftsperson who sells a similar item.
How I Do Keyword Research on Etsy
Using my favorite tool, Keywords Everywhere, I enter a search term into the Etsy’s search bar that is related to my client’s product such as, coffee mug.
The Keywords Everywhere tool shows me relevant keywords and their monthly search volume in the United States, because I have selected only the U.S.
Etsy SEO Website: A Comprehensive Guide to Optimizing Your Etsy Shop
Etsy offers a handbook that outlines best SEO practices. The link below is an updated article to accompany their handbook
Etsy handbook keyword essentials 10
Etsy’s article, “Keywords 101: Everything You Need to Know,” gave me ideas on how to improve my customer’s ranking on his Etsy Shop.
After a bit of digging I uncovered an Etsy related word called Artisan Coffee Mug which had a monthly search volume of 260.
I added “Artisan Coffee Mug” to the product title.
My son added a short video and an image of his coffee mug.
My son added a description he knew would appeal to his customers.
I then related keywords as tags.
What A Surprise!
When I added “Artisan Coffee Mug” to his product title, Converse’s coffee mug appeared on the first page of Etsy…twice.
Tags In Etsy
My biggest SEO take-away from Etsy’s Seller Handbook was their recommendation to use up to 13 longtail keywords in the Tags sections of your Etsy listing.
Longtail keywords are a string of words that people type into search to find exactly what they are looking for.
About Page In Etsy
Etsy’s seller handbook also urges artists to complete the About section so that prospective buyers can learn more about you.
I had previously worked with Converse on his website About page, knowing how important it is to build a connection with website viewers. So, I simply copied and pasted most of information from Converse’s website into his Etsy About section, and added a few pictures.
TIP: People love seeing pictures of an artist in their studio.
Etsy automatically added the number of sales and how long Converse has been selling on Etsy, which helps build authority and trust in his product. Nice touch Etsy!
E-Commerce website builder
If you are an Etsy.com storefront owner, under “Shop Manager” you will see an item under “SALES CHANNELS” asking if you want your own website?
Pattern is an e-commerce website builder that costs $15 per month. It does not replace your Etsy storefront, but with a website built with Pattern, Etsy automatically imports most content and inventory from your Etsy shop to your Pattern website.
With a Pattern website you will be able to send people to your unique URL where they can purchase your products sold on Etsy.
According to Etsy’s Help Center, having your own website built with the Pattern website builder will give you, the Etsy Shop owner, more control over how your sales pages look and feel.
The problem is, unless you give people your Etsy URL, they will not find your Pattern website organically, on their favorite web browser, such as Google, Microsoft Edge, Yahoo, etc.
Why Many Sellers Complain About Selling on Etsy
Etsy controls their platform. Period.
And because they control their platform, Etsy makes it hard to know if your good SEO practices are sending people to your Etsy Shop, or if your ads are drawing more people to your Etsy page.
For example, if you place an ad on Facebook or Instagram to bring people to your Etsy page, there’s no way to track your ad. You will not know if people are coming to your Etsy page because they saw your ad, or because they typed in the same keywords you used in your Etsy title, description, and tags.
WordPress, on the other hand, makes it easy to set up a website page that can be tracked. And WordPress lets you setup an SEO structure that helps people find you online.
The solution?
Stick with your free Etsy storefront, and create a WordPress website that is built for SEO, that contains a big bold link to you your Etsy Store like this one:
Hands On Etsy Keywords Workshop
People shop on Etsy to find something special, but how do they find what they are looking for?
That’s what SEO is all about — knowing what words your customer uses to find your special product. It also takes knowing what words Esty is using to categories products sold on Etsy.
If you have an Etsy Shop I’ll show you how to find the words that your customer is using so that you can increase your chances your perfect customer will find you on Etsy.
I also show you how find the words Etsy is using to categorize their products.
Book your 60-minute private session today.
Meetings are recorded, plus you will receive a downloadable manual for $79.
Schedule today.