Etsy SEO Guide
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Before understanding what Etsy SEO is, let’s first understand what SEO is.
What is SEO?
SEO is an acronym that stands for Search Engine Optimization, a process that helps to improve the visibility of your website in search engines.
SEO can be a long process because search engines or mobile applications are used to change the way to search a word or term when they decide to change their algorithms.
So, what are the best ways to keep your shop refreshed and popular?
Here’s an Etsy guide of a list of ways to improve SEO for your shop online:
According to the various ways listed in the link above, we know that you can improve your SEO by:
- offering a unique and interesting product
- add keywords to your products
- add a brief description of your shop in the shop title (a text under your shop name in search engines and in your shop homepage)
- name your shop sections
- make the best of item listing pages by writing the items’ title and description
- link your shop to other sites to maximize your traffic
What is Optimization?
We know that a rank represents your sector’s position in search engines and plays an important role in your shop’s popularity.
In order to rank your Etsy shop, Etsy helps a lot thanks to its digital tools and services, but you can also make use of other websites, such as rankingcoach.com and erank.com, that offer tools to help your shop to maximize its traffic.
Moreover, rank.com presents three plans, one of which is free, to improve your SEO site, and a blog page with interesting articles, e.g. about the top keywords on Etsy during a determined period.
But can ranking be the most important aim to improve your website’s popularity?
Someone may think so -and in fact, ranks help a lot to gain popularity-, but it’s not like that.
Why?
First of all, it is important to know what optimization is because it is strictly correlated to all the functions that permit the improvement of your website.
Etsy SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) means using all the best techniques to improve your website’s popularity on SERP (Search Engine Report Page), the search engine’s results’ page.
But positioning your website at the best positions in the search engines’ results is a process in which optimization is only half of the job. You need to consider, for example, the algorithms used by search engines.
What about Etsy SEO?
Etsy is an e-commerce site where you can buy vintage or hand-made products or create your own online Etsy shop.
Etsy has its own algorithms and tools that help your shop to be in the first positions during a search on Etsy or in search engines, though considering, for example, Google’s algorithms (e.g. its ways to rank your products during a search) by an Etsy seller is important as much as considering the Etsy ones.
Etsy SEO is the function of making your products more visible during an online search through, for example, your products’ titles, description and tags.
Ways to Improve your Etsy Shop Optimization
According to an Etsy’s article, the best way to optimize your Etsy shop’s SEO is to make sure that customers find your items on Etsy easily by
- adding all the 13 tags Etsy allows for each listing (you can add descriptive phrases’ tags)
- using specific categories and attributes (on Etsy they function as tags) as much as you can for your listings (that is, optimize your listings)
- staying up to date with the listings that help your shop to get more traffic (occasionally you’ll need to update them)
- offering free shipping
- placing the most important keywords at the beginning of the title
- using the best photo quality (at least for the first photo)
- adding an About section to increase your score, that can in turn improve your ranking
- adding a clear policy to your shop
- adding tags in the language of your shop (and if you prefer, you can translate them afterwards)
Difference Between Search Engines’ And Mobile Applications’ Optimization
As previously said, search engines use algorithms and they can change (and frequently) the techniques to use them.
The same thing happens with applications.
For example, the algorithm that permitted applications to be in the best positions thanks to a lot of downloads has become less important after the activation of a new one that has introduced the analysis of the real use of the application, that is the DAU/MAU relationship’s analysis, that stands for “Daily/Monthly Active User” analysis.
That means that the applications with lots of downloads but that are less or never used by users have lost many positions.
This is the reason why it is important to consider frequently what users like most.
Looking For Mobile Applications Through Search Engine
The importance of mobile applications has been increasing both in smartphones and in search engines and, we know, this is due especially to its praticality, utility and cost-effectiveness for sellers and buyers, and some of them has been successful in the early days all thanks to mobile (e.g. Instagram).
But now, let’s talk a little about looking for mobile applications in search engines.
We know that through backlinks, a search engine can enable us know the most popular webpages. The same thing happen with mobile applications.
In fact, to give you an example, Google has created a store page for both smartphones and its website called Google Play where you can download and buy various apps.
Google Play
And it’s just a fact that there are some mobile applications you can find easily integrated in various platforms. For example, nowadays you can find Twitter in your smartphone or in search engines such as DuckDuckgo.com.
We could be wondering whether Etsy will receive as much consideration as Twitter one day, since Etsy has its own community page as well (see the link https://community.etsy.com/).
Etsy and Social Media
Meanwhile you can say that Etsy has been integrated into social networks such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Etsy’s YouTube Channel
Etsy on Facebook
Etsy on Twitter
Social media has been increasing more and more popularity especially because of the growing number of buyers that prefer to use them.
Here’s an interesting article from Etsy staff regarding to improving of your following on social media: https://www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/podcast-transcript-ideas-for-growing/1076641874299
According to Evan, a member of Etsy team who deals with social media, if you want to grow your following on your shop with social media you don’t need to use all ones but just “Focus on the channels where your target audience is and where you think you can create the best content”.
In order to help sellers, among other products on sale, Etsy enable to sell and buy softwares regarding social media (of various areas, e.g. art, planning, Instagram posts, etc.).
Here’s an example of digital tools’ softwares on sale found by Etsy search by the phrase “social media”: https://www.etsy.com/search?q=social%20media%20
social media search on Etsy
Moreover, Etsy itself offer advices to sellers about the sharing of social media related from their Etsy shop (see the link https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000344428-How-to-Share-to-Social-Media-from-Your-Shop?segment=selling).
Etsy’s advices about social media
And here’s the page link to download Etsy app from the Etsy’s website to your iPhone or iPad: https://www.etsy.com/it/mobile
In order to maximize their traffic in their Etsy shop, Etsy sellers can link their social media (for example, Pinterest) to their Etsy shop page.
Digital Marketing
As the expression itself says, digital marketing is a marketing activity that uses digital technologies, ranging from digital tools (e.g. Email marketing) to where you use these tools, that is, computers and social media (e.g. Instagram), to promote products in a digital space.
To better experience its field, digital marketing can also make use of the previous traditional marketing (press, physical shop, magazines, flyers).
Etsy and Digital Technologies
Since Digital Marketing depends on digital technologies, let’s talk briefly about the latter.
First of all, we should consider that society changes through their habits. At one time, having a ’60 tv was the latest trend for sure!
Several inventions has brought to where we are now, that is a world that lives for half through various digital technologies such as PCs, smartphones, and so on, thanks to which marketing has been reaching a lot a improvement.
Digital technologies enable marketing to have more popularity because it extends its publicity to a wide customer base more easily and more cost-effectively.
Etsy’s Digital Tools’ Improvement
Etsy is a website existing since 2005 and has been increasing various functions to improve itself. Regarding to its improvement, in 2016 it purchased Blackbird Technologies that developed an Al software to improve search applications.
Here’s an interesting article about it: https://investors.etsy.com/press-releases/press-release-details/2016/Etsy-Acquires-Blackbird-Technologies-to-Enhance-Search-Capabilities/default.aspx
Moreover, in 2014, Etsy has chosen to integrate a mobile application called “Sell on Etsy” to its site on pc platform for Etsy sellers.
“Sell on Etsy” app’s download is available on the AppStore for iPhone and iPad.
Etsy News’ article
Here’s the link page about its download: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/sell-on-etsy/id860815329
Sell on Etsy app