Etsy’s search bar is at the top of the platform, but did you know that it is linked to an algorithm that determines the ranking of your product listings?
This post will explain what Etsy Search is, how it works, and some search engine optimization techniques you can apply to your Etsy store.
What is Etsy Search Engine Optimization?
Etsy SEO refers to search engine optimization in relation to the platform’s search algorithm.
Customers can find products on Etsy in a variety of ways, whether they are browsing the website or app.
These include browsing the categories and scanning the homepage. If they are logged in, they can even view product recommendations.
When it comes to finding specific items, customers tend to go to the search bar on Etsy.
Etsy, like any ecommerce shop worth its salt, has an internal search engine that makes it easier to find the products you are looking for.
There are more than 7.5 million sellers and hundreds of millions of items on the platform.
The buyers need to be able to sort through all of this information quickly.
As a seller, your job is to learn Etsy SEO so that you can appear in Etsy’s search results when searching for keywords related to the store and its products.
Searching on Etsy is easy.
Etsy’s Search Engine works similarly to Google (and other search engines). Its main function is to return the most relevant search results for keywords that you enter.
The algorithm’s main purpose is to provide relevant search results for customers. How does it achieve this? Relevancy of the query and matching.
All product titles, descriptions, and listings, as well as tags, attributes, and categories, can be used for multiple purposes.
Etsy’s’ search engine can better match customer queries to search results by using these products.
The search engine can then return products that are relevant to the terms entered.
This is only half the story of how Etsy’s search engine functions. Etsy’s search results don’t just list products randomly.
Behind the scenes, there’s a ranking system that determines which products are listed first and in what order.
Here are Etsy’s’ top-ranking factors. All of them are important for Etsy’s SEO:
Relevancy: How closely your tags, titles, and attributes match the search query of a customer. Search results are ranked higher for exact matches.
Listing quality score – How well your listings convert. Etsy is interested in how many people view your product and how many buy it. The higher your number, the better you will rank in search results.
Recency Etsy boosts search rankings for new listings to gauge shoppers’ attitudes towards them. This boost can last anywhere between a few minutes to a couple of days. The increases are also given to the renewed listings, but they are much smaller.
Customer Experience Score — A score that combines all your positive and negative feedback. Your score is affected by customer reviews, shop page policies, an About section that’s complete, Etsy cases, and infringements of intellectual property.
Shipping price – Listings with free shipping and digital downloads are given priority in the search results. According to an Etsy survey, 50% of buyers said they would be less likely to buy something if the shipping costs were higher than usual.
Translations – Etsy automatically translates titles and tags. You’re still more likely to be ranked higher in search results by adding your translations, as they are often better than the platform’s automated translations.
Shopper Behavior Etsy customizes search results for each buyer. When Buyer A enters “soy candle,” they will see different results than when Buyer B does the same. Etsy’s platform suggests using stats to determine what buyers search for in order to find your most popular and least-viewed listings. You can then optimize your underperforming listings.
Search on Etsy: How Customers Use It
Let’s first see how Etsy works from the buyer’s point of view. Let’s use “soy candle” as an illustration.
Before even starting to browse, a buyer has a number of options for refining their search.
Etsy offers a list of relevant alternative keywords that you can use. Here are some of the keywords that came up for soy candle searches:
Each of these represents a keyword that buyers searched for.
You’ll see three other ways to sort and filter Etsy results below the row of keywords:
Estimated arrival: How soon can the buyer expect their item to arrive if they place an order today? The buyer can choose between five options: Anytime, Three upcoming Dates, and a Custom Date.
Sort: Buyers can sort Etsy results by relevancy, lowest price or highest price, recentity, and customer reviews.
Filters – Filters include Sort by and Estimated arrival, but also query-specific filters. Filters included Wax Type and Occasion for soy candles.
As we go through the list, keep all this in mind.
Select a shop title that can be searched
We didn’t mention a suggestion that appears when buyers use a search bar.
This option is “find shops containing the ‘keyword.'”
Clicking on the link will show Etsy shops that are related to the keyword.
You may choose to name your store after your niche, even if it is not necessary. This will make your shop more searchable.
Keywords in product titles
Etsy’s’ help documents tell us that exact matches are more likely to rank highly in search results. It’s, therefore, best to use the keyword that your target customer searches for most often in order to find your product.
You can quickly find the right keyword by writing down some keyword ideas and entering them in Etsy’s Search Bar.
Etsy’s keyword tool is a better way to find the keywords you want to use.
eRank allows you to see the search volume of a particular keyword, as well as popular tags, price points, and long-tail keywords.
eRank is a set of Etsy SEO Tools that audits your listings and reports changes. It also allows you to create keyword lists to track them.
Use the bank to find keywords.
You’ll see the Trend BuzYou’lloon as you log into your account. This is a list of the 100 most popular keywords that buyers have searched over the past week. You’ll also find a list Of top Etsy sellers from yesterday.
Enter your keyword into the search bar by moving the focus to the tool’s top.
eRank return tool’s keyword statistics are below for your query.
Average searches (Avg) – The number of searches per month, based on data from 12 months.
Average clicks — Number of clicks per year based on data from 12 months.
Average click-through rate (CTR). Based on data from 12 months.
Competition — Number of results and a color-coded indicator for how hard it is to rank based on the keyword. Green is for easy, Orange is for possible, and Red is for difficult.
You can see how popular and difficult it is to rank your keywords.
Keywords related to the query entered are listed below the Keyword Statistics section.
These data include character count, Etsy competitors, and a yes/no/maybe response for whether the phrase is considered a long-tail keyphrase. To view more data, you’ll need an upgrade.
You have different titles for each product.
Etsy and other ecommerce solutions have product attributes to make the process easier. Sellers don’t have to create many listings of the same product.
You don’t have to create separate listings if you are selling a yellow and red sundress. Create one listing for “Sun Dress,” then add “y” below and “red” to the”attributes.”On “the listing page, customers can choose which color they would like to buy.
Avoid using the same title on multiple products by using product attributes instead of various listings.
Find a way to make each listing unique if you have two products that are sufficiently different to warrant separate listings.
As an example, let’s look at two different ceramic bowl designs from a potter. Both ceramic bowls are the same, but their plan is too different for them to be listed together.