Etsy's New Pattern Website Option

[#1]

I would not use this even if it was free. Here is why:

I took a look at this to see how the Pattern websites are structured. The website is part of Etsy and is so deeply embedded within Etsy that it would be very hard for the search engines to even find it. All SEO would have very little effect in Google rankings.

Look at the URL address and count the number of slashes ("/") https://www.etsy.com/your/shops/me/pattern/home. There are five slashes which means that the website is 5 levels deep and each level deeper makes it harder for SEO to work and for the search engines to find your shop. these are also powered by Etsy.

The website depends on Etsy and if anything happens to Etsy or Etsy removes your shop for some reason, the website is also gone.

There are so many better options for stand-alone websites. Use a different Web hosting service, if you would like your website to be easily found in Google searches and for all your SEO efforts to work.

I like Etsy for many reasons but this new venture is not very good for Etsy sellers.

[Former_Member]

I agree with all of the previous commentary and thought is was suspect, to say the least, that Etsy would roll out pattern without warning, on the day that sellers are preoccupied with the new interface. Why not talk about this beforehand? it is a huge roll out. It's not like they could do this last minute. I imagine this has been in the works for a long time.
Not sure if this is accurate, but is Etsy selling domains? If it is, caution. Read the fine print. Make sure you are the legal registrant of your domain. There is so much to know; I just don't trust that Etsy would ever look out for ayone other than Etsy. Disappointed, but oh, well. Working on building my brand and then going it off the Etsy platform.

[WhimzyThyme]

Thank you so much Mary for quickly commenting on this and giving us the real story.

[OceansideCastle]

Ditto what you said Deb! My thanks as well to you Mary for advice & info we can trust.

I was so angry to learn that the new shop format is nothing more than a format change to support Pattern & create another add-on source of revenue for Etsy. The hidden agenda is so obvious! I hope the blinded masses that are following the Etsy machine like sheep get out before they are slaughtered.

[LunaEssence]

Your the best Mary Thank you !

[BehindGreenDoors]

Thanks so much, you saved me just in the nick of time. Luckily I read my emails before I jumped into Pattern. I had the tab open ready to do it after I checked my emails.... phew... I have been looking for a website option and I thought this looked easy as I could simply use my Etsy content. Thanks for the warning, I am so glad I didn't waste my time and money. :)

[CharmAccents]

Will those who don't sign up for the pattern website be penalized in search for not doing so?

[OceansideCastle]

Charm - Good question! Apparently sellers will not be penalized by Google!

[OceansideCastle]

Copy & Paste from Etsy Admin post in forums today.

Sam Yeh from Beyoncyeh 12:34 pm Apr 5, 2016 EDT
Hi! Having a Pattern site can potentially improve your SEO. Search placement is dependent a bunch of factors, & one of the biggest factors is the uniqueness of your brand name. A unique name will rise to the top of search faster. If you’ve registered a custom domain for your Pattern site, you can also submit your site through Google Webmaster to request an index of your site.

Mary - This is exactly the opposite of your comment. Truly sad as many sellers think Etsy admin is correct.

[ZenCatPottery]

I gave this link to another seller and she has been "researching it" She just messaged me and stated," as I am looking at it. your URL will actually be youretsyshopname.patternbyetsy.com or your domain name.

this www.etsy.com/your/shops/me/pattern/home is just how you get to it to set it up."

[Former_Member]

Does anyone else think Etsy is moving more towards the Pattern type platform as a permanent thing? Like we'll all need to pay $15 to be seen outside Etsy or something? Just seems strange to have such a copy cat shop of your own shop and pay $15 more for it.

[dstefanTreasures]

That's what I thought…..a copycat shop. I clicked on it to take a look and immediately all my shop content was added to the Patterns site. What? Luckily I didn't sign up. Thanks Mary and others for clarifying this.

By the way, Etsy isn't making a profit and I don't think it ever has. This is probably a new way to bring in some revenue.

[CharmAccents]

Laura from Oceanside--we are North County neighbors! I will convo you.

[Former_Member]

Thank you for your insight. Unfortunate for Etsy to prey upon skilled crafters that may not be as techie savvy. I reviewed this pattern site but did not impress me or show any justification for me to migrate from my current established website outside of the realm of Etsy.

[homecraftframing]

Here you go Sarah.

http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y15/m09/i15/s03
(pay attention to this paragraph)
Seller services has become a growing source of revenue beyond the listing and commission fees Etsy charges sellers. Seller services include Direct Checkout; Promoted Listings: and Shipping Labels.

I tried Promoted Listings for 3 days and they were charging me for clicks I was not getting. I do not use Direct Checkout or Shipping Labels. Etsy does not always pay the postal services in a timely manner and packages are held up. There was a tread about this with our Canadian neighbors on the forum.


Etsy's (ETSY) CEO Chad Dickerson on Q4 2015 Results - Earnings Call Transcript

http://seekingalpha.com/article/3922746-etsys-etsy-ceo-chad-dickerson-q4-2015-results-earnings-call-...

[Former_Member]

www.wix.com is simple to use and I have a top ranking google website for feather extensions - seo is made easy there - it uses ajax browsing - use what you have learned from Mary for basic google practices - and use similar keywords. :) I pay $19.95 a month to wix and 2.9 percent to PayPal. You CAN easily have a top ranked google website where you keep most of your money from your sales. I surely like when Etsy works but it's getting worse each month with longer periods of down time here for sellers over 3-4 years old. (from what I am noticing).

Pattern - Don't Do It!

[Former_Member · Accepted solution]

Every page of every website should have a unique title tag as well as a unique meta description tag. Etsy's Pattern does not include a meta description tag and the main shop page and every section / category page title tag is "shop Shop YourEtsyShopName's store". I could not find a way to change the title tag to include keywords. This is also very bad for SEO. The title tags for the listing pages are all the same: "Etsy Pattern: Design your own website, powered by your Etsy shop." These are website SEO basics that should be included but are not.

[Former_Member]

Thanks for passing this along -- I just noticed the Pattern thingy tonight, had no idea what it was about!

[PrettyPictureGiftsCo]

As usual...you are the voice of reason
- and I greatly appreciate it!

[Former_Member · Accepted solution]

Susan,

Adding your own domain name is adding a "mask" that disguises the real structure of the Pattern website. It does not change the structure itself.

[Former_Member · Accepted solution]

I signed up for the free Pattern website test just to see how everything looked and worked.

The real URL changes to http://myetsyshopname.patternbyetsy.com/. This makes my shop a subdomain of the patternsbyetsy.com domain. Not quite as bad as originally thought but there is still the important issue of a complete lack of even basic website SEO.

[VivaTerraVintage]

Mary is there a way to have a domain pointed at a Etsy shop without having a free standing site?

[Former_Member]

Charm Accents,

I don't think that Etsy will penalize Etsy sellers who do not sign up for Patterns. I have another Etsy shop that does very well in Etsy searches and will keep an eye on the rankings to see if there are any changes.

[Former_Member]

Tracey,

A domain name can be directed to point to any website including an Etsy shop.

[OceansideCastle]

Thanks again Mary!

Sellers fees are a drop in the bucket to Etsy's bottom line. Common knowledge that Etsy's primary source of revenue/profit is Add on services. They will continue to expand the source of this income. Pattern is exactly that; an add on service. Pretty pathetic that this latest service they chose to implement is unlikely to be profitable for the sellers.

[LilmadeDesign]

Thank you Mary!