If you’re new to the world of ecommerce, you might be surprised at just how much competition there is out there. Every online marketplace is packed with other sellers trying to sell the same products and services that you are.
Even Etsy—a seller-friendly site designed to give smaller businesses a platform to sell their wares—is crawling with competition. But don’t let that put you off! If you have a great product, find a niche and create quality listings, then the ecommerce world is your oyster. However, if you struggle to compete on any of these levels, it may take some time for your Etsy shop to get off the ground.
But don’t worry! With the right advice, creating an effective Etsy store can be smooth sailing from here on in…
Why Does SEO Matter For Your Etsy Shop?
Ecommerce SEO largely determines how many potential customers and sales you get each day. This means that if you want your online store to be successful and profitable, you have to make sure it gets the right attention.
Luckily, SEO isn’t just for tech geeks and online marketing nerds. Etsy sellers who understand the basics of SEO can enjoy a huge boost in their daily sales and sales conversion rates.
By optimizing your listings and Etsy shop, you can also ensure that your products are listed higher in search rankings and appear more frequently on product discovery feeds like Google Shopping.
With more people equating higher rankings with higher authority and trust, optimizing your Etsy shop for search engines like Google can also help you rank higher in other key ecommerce networks like Amazon and Shopify.
This makes it easier for more customers to find your products, spurs more sales and ultimately makes your business flourish.
What factors does Etsy consider?
Etsy’s algorithm for product discovery is based on relevance, user experience and search engine optimization. It’s also worth mentioning that Etsy’s algorithm is ever-evolving, so it’s hard to know precisely what each factor is looking for.
Matching your product titles, tags and descriptions to popular searches is an easy way to boost your product’s discoverability and ranking. This means that you should create a detailed product title and description, use relevant keywords and optimize your listing tags to ensure that your products are easily discoverable.
Etsy also uses data related to your products (such as item location, price and price of shipping) to determine which listings appear on search engines. This is why optimizing your product data is key to a successful Etsy shop.
Optimize for keywords
Keyword research is a practice that has been around since the dawn of search. By choosing keywords that people are actively looking for and typing into search engines, you can help boost your sales and increase your profit margins.
Etsy’s marketplace is highly competitive, so it’s important to find keywords that are relevant to your products and are also popular search terms. Focus on selecting keywords that are 10 or more characters long, but that also have low competition (or a high click-through rate). Etsy’s user interface allows you to include up to 10 keywords for each product.
However, you can also use your item’s title, tags and product description to enhance your product’s discoverability.
Use all of the attributes
You may have noticed that there are additional attributes beside the product title and tags. These include product categories, materials and product variants. You can fill in the additional data fields that Etsy provides to maximize your product’s discoverability.
Etsy also allows you to pick between browsing products by popularity, price or newness. While this isn’t as important for product discovery, it can help you decide which products to feature in your shop. Etsy doesn’t allow sellers to create their own product categories.
This means that you have to choose from the existing ones to describe your products. Ideally, you’ll want to select categories that are related to your products, but aren’t too general that your products aren’t easily discoverable.
Be patient
The best way to get instant results from SEO is to somehow magically leapfrog to the very first page for a generic term like “handmade gifts”. If you just started your Etsy shop, you may not sell many items on Day One. This is okay!
Etsy businesses—like any other online shop—take time to build up their brand and reputation. You can use your first few months to get your shop set up, create an attractive brand and create an initial inventory of products.
In the meantime, you can also focus on growing your following and creating relationships with potential customers through engaging content and strong customer service.
Etsy sellers who take the long view and are patient with their business often enjoy significant growth down the line. By staying focused on the long-term vision of your business, you can help your Etsy shop reach its true potential.
Offer great customer service – Earn star seller badges!
One of the best ways to earn a positive reputation as a seller on Etsy is by offering exceptional customer service. This includes responding promptly and thoroughly to all customer queries and reviews, as well as resolving any issues that arise as soon as possible.
Etsy uses Trust and Safety, a team that monitors and provides feedback about sellers. By responding promptly and politely to customer inquiries, dealing with issues quickly and resolving problems thoroughly, you can pick up Trust and Safety badges that boost your overall seller rating.
However, there’s a caveat: Trust and Safety badges are awarded retroactively. This means that you have to have been a seller for at least 90 days before you can apply for these seller badges.
So, don’t worry if your shop isn’t fully up and running yet; you can still request Trust and Safety badges as soon as you’re ready.
Conclusion
The ecommerce industry is growing at a rapid rate and there are more products being sold than ever before. With that being said, it is important for sellers to understand how to get their Etsy listings on the first page of search results so that they can gain more traction and increase their sales.
Ecommerce SEO largely determines how many potential customers and sales you get each day. This means that if you want your online store to be successful and profitable, you have to make sure it gets the right attention.
Luckily, SEO isn’t just for tech geeks and online marketing nerds. Etsy sellers who understand the basics of SEO can enjoy a huge boost in their daily sales and sales conversion rates.
By optimizing your listings and Etsy shop, you can also ensure that your products are listed higher in search rankings and appear more frequently on product discovery feeds like Google Shopping.
