Search engine optimization (SEO) is a powerful process to boost websites’ visibility and item listing or online stores in Bing, Google, and Yahoo. SEO is the most overlooked strategy for online sellers. If you’ve been planning on opening an Etsy shop, but you’ve no idea of how its ranking and algorithms work, then this article will answer all Etsy SEO tips to use.
Implementing the correct Etsy SEO strategies will drastically increase visitors to your store. It’s not a sales guarantee even if you use the best Etsy SEO tips. But, SEO will increase visitors to your listing through your descriptions, photos, prices, etc.
This article is the Ultimate Guide to SEO and as a seller. Implementing these tactics will benefit your store and help you decide between eBay and Etsy.
What is Etsy SEO?
If you’ve worked with such platforms in the past, then you must have come through this SEO. For instance, Amazon SEO is one of the most popular sellers to drive more traffic to their websites and products.
The same thing applies to Etsy SEO, and there are various consideration factors to have the Etsy algorithm organize its results coming from a query. Etsy SEO uses the following ranking factors, recency, relevancy, customer score, languages, shipping price, listing quality score, and buyer’s habit. With that in mind, here are some of the best practices to use to improve your store’s Etsy SEO.
Have niche-specific product
Etsy marketplace is a niche-specific website, and there are many Etsy ideas to sell. So your products should either be vintage, handmade, or unique but not second-hand. The first step to draw buyers to your online store is by offering interesting, desirable, and unique items or products.
Before you decide whether not to apply SEO tactics, analyze the type of products at your shop and make an analysis. Find out what will make your store unique. If you need to get more products for your store, you can check on ideas to sell on Etsy.
Find the best Keywords
Find the best keywords for your shop’s SEO by selecting the best words to describe your shop and items. What word would you use if you’re a buyer to search for products or a shop? The keyword selection process is very important even when choosing tags for your products listings that help your items be found on Etsy search.
Your first goal is to ensure your shop appears in Etsy searches for your brands. Those searches include unique product names and brand names. By doing so, customers who had earlier purchased from you or had discovered your brand can find you again.
Your business name should be part of your page title and written in product descriptions and your website pages like about page. Also, use the brand name as your blog or website’s domain name and web address for easy visibility, though this doesn’t correspond directly to your shop’s SEO.
• Keywords related to the targeted customers and products
Every page you create for your shop should have your targeted keywords for your page to appear in. For instance, product pages will need category pages and page headers to bring your page down to niche-specific categories.
If you are working on how to sell digital downloads on Etsy, you can create pages for your digital download services like an add-on, game, or software. For your pages, have descriptive titles for the best 2022 game, then you can now be more specific on the type of game you sell. Create subpages for the various games available.
Use category style names for various items in each section for Etsy SEO purposes. This section should include keywords to help shoppers find you in searches and visit your shop. A buyer looking to purchase print invitations will not type “print invitations” in Google. They already have an idea of what print invitations they want.
So, finding specific keywords that are more relevant to your searches will help buyers find what they are looking for. Remember, a buyer who finds what they need is more likely to purchase the item.
Also, another way to improve Etsy SEO through keywords is by creating content targeting the keywords related to your item or products. Adding a blog page and filling it with content in your website targeting your related products it’s the best way to begin. Create informative content with an attractive title keyword inclusive introducing buyers to your brand and products. If you own a blog, ensure you link to your Etsy shop to enable buyers to discover and make a purchase through your blog.
But, how do you search for popular keywords?
Finding suitable keywords for your website can be challenging, especially new to online marketplaces. Keywords feel natural. Ideally, it all starts with searching for a product online. The idea is to search for your phrase in Google and view what other people are searching for.
More so, Google offers other research tools to find the popularity and searches of a certain keyword. Use Google trends to explore various search terms and Google keyword tool to examine different keywords used though it’s not Etsy specific in whatever way. Other tools recommended include Keyword scout, eRank, Keysearch. co, and Etsy keyword tool dominator.
Item Listing Pages
Etsy loves a well-organized shop so putting products in categories is essential; if you sell vintages and handmade products, group your items into several categories then use different keywords. The two most important Etsy SEO essentials are product title and description. So, is Etsy worth it? Let us explain why these aspects are important, making Etsy your best selection as a seller.
• Product title
Product title is what creates your page title. Search engines shoot approximately 66 characters. An automatic rule is used to determine the total characters to use for your page title in the Etsy platform.
Make a keyword inclusive description at the start of your product title. The title is a factor that the Etsy search engine also uses.
• Product description
The product description is popularly known as Meta description for a listing page. Meta descriptions are around 160 characters long, and they are the descriptions below your page title, which appears on search engine pages.
Search engines focus on a page’s full content so that you can aim your description to over 160 characters. If you’re marketing printing invitations, describe your services well. Say, best places to print invitations from Etsy, and provide all your products details. The main idea is to use keywords that shoppers can find your items.
Also, you can use search terms in these sections and make them descriptive enough. Avoid repetition.
Your shop’s name
It is essential to have a brand name, but it should correlate with your products. Let’s take an example of our digital products to sell on Etsy. For instance, ABCGame creation doesn’t seem like a creative brand enough. You can add other descriptions describing your products; say ABCGame creation is a …
Generally, a shop title is that text that appears under your brand name on your homepage. The shop title becomes your page title for your shop page. As we saw above, the “ABCGame creation is…” is what search engines use to rank your shop.
Go to the shop manager category on your dashboard click on the icon under sales funnels to edit your site title. Include your business name or full names in the shop title to increase traffic to your shop.
Product Photos
Unlike other websites where you can change the alt tags or image names, the Etsy platform does not allow this. Consider high-quality photos if you need more reviews, better sales, and high rankings.
On the Etsy platform, photos are very important, especially for gadgets and accessories sellers. High-quality photos of your items can make a difference to your shop. According to Etsy, quality photos are a determining factor to help sellers make a purchasing decision on the platform.
Shipping
In Etsy marketing and SEO, offering free shipping to buyers is one of the best ways to go on the platform. Most Etsy shops charge a bit for the shipping fee. But, shops that offer free shipping or discounts tend to rank better. Most Etsy sellers use this tactic to successfully run their shops by making products a little expensive but free shipping.
As a new seller on the platform, check on your competitor’s offer before pricing your products. Take time to analyze the market price and settle on a fair price that is slightly lower than for your competitors.
Link Building
Optimizing is one of the best ways to promote your Etsy shop, but using links is also a good method to rank better within the platform. You can consider using the SEO tips provided above by acquiring links. The best way is to start by backlinking and using inbound links from your website or blog that you already run. Also, you can make use of your social media presence to assist in increasing traffic and gathering links to your Etsy shop.
Apart from using your website for backlinks, reach out to other sellers who have websites. Use indirect link exchange or create guest posts articles. Social media platforms like Instagram are one of the most popular platforms to use for marketing. Find several Instagram users to assist you with marketing your Etsy products in their posts. Most brands use influencers to market products, which is the same tactic.
Paid Ads
Using paid ads for your platform is one of the ways to boost your website rankings in today’s service provider. SO, running Etsy ads on your store can also be advantageous. It can help you repeat new customers and acquire reviews, also considered a ranking factor.
However, it depends on the type of item being sold. Use items that proved to make a difference in your Etsy shop performance and search like other social media network ads, Instagram ads, and Pinterest ads.
Product listing Updates
Product listing updates are one of the relevant rankings for consideration. Renewed product listings are perfect so that you can update your listings bi-weekly or regularly. More so, it’s essential to update your product listings because the keyword you had used could already have a lot of competition.
The most appropriate way to go about product listing updates is by updating it once bi-weekly, especially if your products are in the handmade niche.
Etsy Analytics
As we had aforementioned, relevancy is one of the key factors for Etsy SEO ranking. The relevancy insights give you clues on what your buyers want and discover your store Analytics. By this, we mean you’ll be able to monitor your page views and traffic sources.
Etsy has a native reporting tool to offer you insights about your shop. This tool enables you to identify which keywords buyers used to land on your shop. You can find Etsy analytics on the Shop manager on your dashboard.
Etsy SEO services
If you find it difficult to understand how SEO works, you can search for Etsy SEO services platforms. There are various brands and freelancers that you can find in Fiverr, Upwork, People per hour, and much more, specializing in Etsy SEO.
But, the fees charged for such services vary depending on various factors, including the number of positive reviews and services being offered. Generally, you can pay a minimum of $10 to start with Etsy SEO optimization. Others provide feedback after analyzing your website and offer insights on how to improve your ranking better.
Things to avoid in Etsy SEO
Some popular search engines like Google are not transparent about their factors and their impact on the search ranking. However, some practices are known to affect a website or blog negatively. The best way to organize your site is by offering high-quality content, and written in natural language is the best choice to avoid penalty. Ideally,
Some of the negative practices include;
• Stuffing your page with text blocks containing less relevant keywords. Search engines need to know that your web content is meaningful to the user.
• The use of filler content: Create original content unique to both you and your buyers; this will help you escape plagiarism and rank the bottom pages of Search engines.
• Links Buying.-Don’t purchase links that are sold, hoping to boost your website rankings. If you try to manipulate your rankings, then you can get penalized. In addition, Google knows when traffic is not coming from quality websites.
• Focusing on search sites. Don’t just focus on how to search sites, but also think on how to market your brand on social media platforms. Always link to your products so that customers who land on your page may also purchase.
• Cloaking. Avoid hiding your pages or links so that search engines may not see them. Always ensure the search engine showcasing one version of your content is equal on all platforms.
• Avoid dead-ends. Dead ends refer to linking to pages or sites that lead buyers to a 404 error page. The purpose of a search engine is to help buyers find what they are searching for, but broken links could affect your search ranking. Check that there are no broken links to your site and redirect your pages to new ones.
Conclusion
SEO tips tend to work from one seller to another. But, when looking at Amazon vs. Etsy vs. eBay, each has its SEO tricks. Essentially, the Etsy SEO tips listed above are proven to work. If your items have high competition, the correct SEO tricks will help you rank better even as a new seller.
