Vikni Dee from VikniDesigns 2:22 pm May 8, 2016 EDT
Try this, highlight copy & paste into a Google or Yahoo search for several of your “Listing Titles” leave out the “by shop name” as that would surely be indexed to your shop, note that your buyer would typically NOT KNOW your shop as they enter a search as a rule. Search a few of your listing titles one listing at a time; searching for your specific listed item in Google, Yahoo…. Note that you will "RARELY" get your “specific” Etsy listing link to show up since the changes last year, what you will get are “similar items” in the ("Etsy/market/of many similar listings”) of your various competitors and not even likely YOUR item showing up at all, if so; count yourself lucky for being 1 out of a sea of many!
This was not the case until the Etsy html source code changes apparently sometime around August 2015. Since then you can rarely find your specific items in Google as in the past this was the NORM. Especially if you searched your complete listing Title, you could "ALWAYS" find ANY Etsy specific item listing because Google indexes listing (Titles and Tags) that “were” both embedded in your Etsy listing html page source code pre approx August 2015.
Etsy now circumvents this and points ALL your Etsy listing “tags” to (("ETSY/MARKET/”your tags”)). To see this for yourself simply hover over any of your Etsy tags in an item listing and look where it’s url points. That’s an Etsy housed INDEX of item listings grouped into categories and tag phases, these Etsy Marketplace grouped tag items are submitted too Google from Etsy instead of your specific Etsy Listing Titles as in the past.
The <meta name="keyword"> that used to be in all Etsy listings page source by default has been removed and is no longer provided in Etsy’s html source code. All 13 Etsy tags now point to Etsy/market/"your-keyword-tags". This automatically dumps your listing into the Etsy marketplace pool of similar shops that Etsy determines algorithmically who gets displayed. Etsy “tags” are no longer proper SEO tags for web portals such as Google or Yahoo since they are no longer passed into the html meta data anymore, but instead are converted to an internal Etsy search index as URLS! Since all 13 Etsy tags plus the Etsy Category keyword tags in your Etsy listing now point to (etsy com/market/"your-keyword-tag") all externally sourced searches are by default directed to the Etsy marketplace.
Google can no longer find you’re specific listing directly because Google cannot see your Etsy “tags” to determine if your listings are valid or relevant as a vital piece of data required by Google to provide your specific Etsy Listing Title link is missing. Result: Since Etsy has “removed” from its html source the vital <meta name=”keyword” content” your tags”> key field, search engines can no longer “index” your listing outside the Etsy marketplace.
This is how Etsy "spreads the sales" as mentioned earlier in this post. By removing the proper seo html tags plus adding other shops listings into the middle of buyers viewing YOUR items as per the OP's post, multi-layer hoops to clear to even be within the " viewable subset" of the thousands whom remain invisible in Etsy Search, while promoted listings becomes your only hope of being seen thru this algorithmic fog that many cannot afford for long periods without the sales to support it, thus "spreading the love (sales)" becomes automatic.
Etsy represents an opportunity to get us started in eCommerce and showing the world our creations to see if there would be interest. However, we simply cannot depend on Etsy to provide our livelihoods forever when its focus is 100% devoted to Etsy's shareholders and it's particular visions and goals simply cannot include our individual survival. If you are not developing your brand outside of Etsy then your will be obsoleted no doubt about it, not being cold just stating the facts. The marketing model such as Etsy, Ebay, Amazon only gets your foot in the door, (there are rare exceptions of shops on Etsy making the big time yes, those days are sorta over). The reality is you have to develop your brand "on your terms" if you ever hope to be a success in eCommerce. Don't be too distracted by Etsy's constant changes that will undoubtedly cause your sales to fluctuate up/down or possibly die off, if you have a product people want, work your brand and make yourself available to your market, or seek other means of income. The Etsy chips will fall where they may, its out of our control, so we must adapt to survive.
