Shop-Specific Advice

[Former_Member]

Hi! :-)

Now I have sorted out the links and logo, I thought it was time to start a thread for shop specific advice. I will no longer be offering personal advice over convo, as I have been recently.

That's because I'm typing out a lot of the same information, and if you HAVE to go for this blasted Team Forum thing, we need to try and make as much information available as possible.

This discussion is visable to all.

Simply post a link to the shop you would like looked at, and I or another SEO helper will gladly have a poke around and offer you some personal advice for your shop.

Keep us updated on how things go! And don't forget I have a 5 day SEO course for beginners which might help you get started :-)

http://twinklyspangle.blogspot.com/search/label/challenge

[Former_Member]

Let me be your first guinea pig then :D

http://www.etsy.com/shop/phoenvix

Ladiya knows I could use all the help I can get :D

Carrie

[Former_Member]

My shop is www.candyscorner.etsy.com. Thank you so much for this help!

[Former_Member]

I would like a helping hand as well.
Thank you.

[Former_Member]

Pheonvix

You are making three classic mistakes.

1. Your Shop Title is currently Pheonvix Designs. I can assure you that noone is going to be searching Google for that unless you are in a magazine or something. You need to change it to something stuffed with keywords about your shop.

It's under Edit Shops Info And Appearance

I would change it to something like Handmade Bead Jewelry By Pheonvix Designs. There's three keywords right there.

Then I would head on other to the Google Search Based Keyword Tool to find some more specific words for the type of jewellery that you make/plan to make.

2. Another place for key words is the first line of your shop description. Google sees this only! Welcoming people to your shop isn';t going to get anyone clicking your google result. They want to see at a glance from the first 40 characters what you sell. I'd throw in Jewelry, Gift, Handmade and a few other keywords specific to your shop.

3.

Item titles:

Your item titles need attention.

You need to think about what people are going to be searching for. haven't looked at your tags, but I assume you have used all 14 so that Etsy users can find your items. Why not do the same for Google users? SEO means using words that are highly searchable to draw people to your listings. Think about what people are going to be searching for.

I hope that helps! I would suggest doing the five day course on my blog, it will guide you through finding keywords that will get you visitors!

http://twinklyspangle.blogspot.com/search/label/challenge

[Former_Member]

CandysCorner:

Three places where you can make an improvement :-)

1. Your 'shop title' (sometimes referred to as shop description) is Welcome To The Loom Room.

You need to be thinking, are people looking for Loom Rooms going to be happy to find my shop? There's no point in drawing people in if they are looking for something else, they will just click out of your shop. Welcoming descriptions ARE nice...but if you want to optimize you need to do away with being sentimental and get down to the nitty gritty.

Go here: http://www.google.com/sktool/#

Chose the updated version, and start thinking of words you can fill your shop with. Some of your items are quite unusual, so you should be able to find a nice niche.

When using the tool, you'll need to look for words that are HIGH monthly searches and LOW competition. I would put aside about an hour for this!

2.

Change the word 'stuff in your shop sections. Noone, bar NOONE will be searching for 'stuff' in Google. Replace it with Toys, Knitted Gifts, Gifts etc. Fill those shop section titles with great words because Google uses them as METATAGS which describe what type of webpage yours is.IMPORTANT!

3. Search your shop name on Google with the word Etsy. Then have a good hard think about whether the first result would make you click if you were looking for a knitted gift. I think your description could be must more enticing. People don't want to waste a click they would rather scroll down if they think your result isn't going to be relevant.

:-)

[Former_Member]

verycreativecreations

Great Shop Title! 5 great words. I would look at the Keyword Tool and put each of those words in.

Double check you couldn't replace a few with similar, more highly searched words.

http://www.google.com/sktool/#

But it's a great start!

You need to be working the same kind of magic on your shop announcement.

"Welcome to the Shop Where Old Things are made new."

This is the first thing that people are going to see when they see your result in Google. Does it draw people into your shop? I think you would be better off with something like this;

Vintage Upcycled Handmade Gifts And Jewelry

You'll find using the keyword tool that these words all have high monthly searches but also quite high competition. You need to research a niche to fit into to add to this. Something with relatively high searches and low competition that you can add to this.

The first line of your item description needs to be full of SEO terms too. I'd save the 'story' behind it, which is essential on Etsy, for a few lines down, and consider another line of keywords here. :-)

[Former_Member]

Thanks for that Twinkly. Have changed the shop title (hate the amrerican spelling HATE IT but oh well) and updated the description. Might tweak the description later-seems a bit japlish right now and am going to look at my tags and titles tomorrow.

Carrie

[Former_Member]

Ooops! I posted this in the wrong category. So I've recopied it here.
Sorry about that.

Hi, Katie,
I opened my shop last week. Wow, what a learning curve. I'm happy in front of a sewing machine but clueless in front of a computer. So far I've received some great advice from the forums on how to improve my photos, ( I've ordered a light box and I'm going to redo the photos and then I can add the rest of my bags).
I hadn't even thought about SEO until I read your threads. Lots of great information. I've now changed the 'welcome' wording in my shop, this new text hasn't come up in the google search yet, (The old one's still showing, perhaps this takes time, or perhaps I've pressed the wrong button!)
I'd really appreciate it if someone could have a look round and see what else I should be doing to increase trafic.
Also when I googled my shop the first listing was my shop name and then a text saying report this shop ????? Any ideas what this is about. (I've recently opened a shop on a website that sells in euros and one based in the UK in the hope of reaching more potential customers.)
Thanks for taking the time to help.

www.GraceHunterHandbags.etsy.com

[Orangies119]

Ok, I'm game...
http://www.etsy.com/shop/OrangiesAttic

[Former_Member]

Hi, I'm very new to etsy, I did make it through the holiday season and had good sales I thought, but know I can do a lot better. I really only started to get into the rhythm of things in late Sept of last year. Could use a lot of advice. Thanks in advance. I never joined a team or anything and thought it was time. Looking forward to learning a lot. Any advice would be appreciated. My shops are:

http://makemesmilecrafts.etsy.com

http://barbiesrus.etsy.com




Joan

[Former_Member]

I did change my shop name from Mrnglry's Quail Hill Treasures to Mrnglry's Doll House & Vintage Collectibles. I hope this helps some in the search and it better describes my shop.

I appreciate any input on my shop - Thanks!
My link: http://www.etsy.com/shop/mrnglry

[Former_Member]

GraceHunterHandbags:

Have you installed the Google Toolbar? I posted a guide on it here:

http://twinklyspangle.blogspot.com/2011/01/how-to-install-google-toolbar-and-check.html

From it, you can see when Google last 'crawled' your page. Usually it takes between a few days and a week to review the page after you major changes. You can also check when this happened by typing your name and 'etsy' into Google, finding the entry for your shop ( I would hope it be in the first page of results!) and clicking 'cached' This will load the page with the infobar at the top saying when your page was 'crawled'

[Former_Member]

I'll be back to catch up with this thread later. My little one refused to go to bed last night so I am a little behind!

[Former_Member]

We could use some advice as well, haven't had a sale yet and we opened in September.

http://diapercakedazzle.etsy.com

[ErikaPrice]

I'd love to be a guinea pig, twinkly - any advice whatsoever greatly appreciated :)

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ErikaPrice

[Former_Member]

OrangiesAttic:

Okay, I've looked at your shop and you have made a really great start. I'm not going to patronise you with advice I know you already know! I'm just going to give you three little things that could make a difference.

1. Your shop description is great, BUT when I load the page it says "Vintage and Recycled Shabby Chic Cottage Decor &" There is nothing after the &. Google is not picking 'gifts' either remove the &, because it's odd, OR possibly change out "Cottage Decor &" for "Homeware & Decor", "Homeware Gifts" or another two keywords you like/rate highly. I don't personally think anyone will search for cottage. I've never searched for cottage. Have you? If my dongle wasn't about to run out of juice I would look it up for you!

2. Section titles. I didn't see your shop before you tried my SEO course, so I'm not sure if these have changed or not. I think in terms of the words you've used it's looking awesome! Have you thought about adding a few extra words in? So maybe instead of Kitchen you could have Gorgeous Vintage Kitchen Gifts or Fun Kitchen & Cookware.

I would probably check any of the suggestions I'm making with the keyword search tool. (Seriously, google needs to sort me out with a commision on that!)

I'm running on 2MB of juice on my wireless internet left until tomorrow, so I can't even look for the link right now. Just type Keyword Search Tool into Google and it's the first link!

3. I can't think of a three right now! I think your shop is looking awesome and I see lots of words I would definitly search for if I was looking for vintage pretties! I'll be interested in how your PageRank increases as you carry on working!!

[Former_Member]

MakeMeSmileCrafts/barbiesrus

Okay. Well. I'm not going to repeat the same info for both shops. You seem to be doing quite well in the niche you have! In terms of SEO, I think a great place to start would be to, taking each of your shops at a time, write the main selling item in the middle of a large piece of paper. Then FILL the WHOLE paper with words all about your shop.

So, makemesmilecrafts, you might start with:

Dog
Canine
Pet
Companion
Gift
Cat
Feline
Costume
Dress
Clothes
Friends
Fur
Small
Fun
Quirky

You are going to need a whole bunch of words, like, seriously, I want that paper FILLED UP for both your shops.

When you are done, come back and tell us 10 different words to those I've already said. It'll be fun :-)

p.s just a tiny note, I wouldn't usually correct spelling randomly but I think Valentine might be spelt incorrectly in the first line of your shop, which means it isn't going to be picked up by people searching for Valentine!!

[Former_Member]

Mrnglory:

Wow, I'm super impressed with what you have done so far. I think changing the shop name thingy was an excellent move. It's nice to have a cute, original name, but if you *want* to do SEO you need to take it seriously, which it looks like you have done. I'm loving the first line of your shop announcement, LOADS of highly searched words and it doesn't look like you haave just said a load of random things either.

I'm very proud of you! I had a look when google last crawled you (eewww!) and it was 11th Jan. It's still showing your old description/title/announcement.

I think the best thing to do for you is to start working on your backlinks. Do you have a blog? If not I would be happy to host your first purposefully relevant backlink on my blog. Try here:

http://twinklyspangle.blogspot.com/2011/01/twinklys-beginner-seo-day-4.html

Post your shop link in the comments. I'll send you an email when I have updated the link page, and then you come back and select someone else to link from the list. It's like a karma-based backlink library!

From there, you can start building your own backlinks. Contact blogs you like. If you don't especially like any blogs, look for some you might enjoy! Think about your interests and search for them with the word BLOG in google. Find some you love and start following! It's the first steps towards writers noticing you :-)

[Former_Member]

DiaperCake and Erika, I'll be back with some specific advice for you tomorrow when I have bought a top up for my wireless internet dongle - grrr!

[threadsandthings1]

I would like some advice on my shop. I've made some changes, but would like a second opinion. Thanks!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/threadsandthings1

[Orangies119]

Twinkly... THANK YOU for taking so much time to help all us newbies out! Ok, as for my shop description, COTTAGE DECOR came up with a 1200 and COTTAGE CHIC game up with 820, SHABBY CHIC came up 1300... which is why I tried to kind of combine it all... suggestions???

[songinmyheart]

Oh I've been POURING over every word here and yesterday implemented Tip#1 & #2 on half of my items, and will do the rest today. I was hoping you would take a look at my shop as well
http://www.etsy.com/shop/songinmyheart
i've only been building my shop for 2 weeks and have a very long way to go. I want to start on the right foot and get this down before adding too many more products I will have to edit later.

I'm also working my way through your very helpful blog!! (love the peacock feather BTW! LOL)
thank you so much!

[Former_Member]

Thanks for your advice, I'll start tonight with my sheet of paper. It's let your mind go wild, eh? Thanks again for all your time that you give to help us, it is truly appreciated.
Joan

[Former_Member]

BarbiesRUs:

Yes. GO CRAZY!

It's fun, if you live with anyone else, to take ten of your words and do that word association game, where you say a word and they say the first thing that pops into their head. That can throw up a few new ones (don't tell them it's about your shop though, it might taint their perception of the game)

I'm just about to start another batch of shop specific advice posts, I just thought I'd say that first x