Discouraged...and need to vent a little

[Former_Member]

I really thought I was getting a handle on Etsy's relevancy search. I have researched it, read all that I can on it, and spent literally hundreds of hours working on my titles, tags, and descriptions. I finally felt I was gaining a measure of success and when I'd do a search, I could always count on 3, 4 or even more showing up on the first 2 pages.

Suddenly, I've pretty much dropped off the radar. I do searches on all of my main keywords and am lucky to find one of my products in the first 4 pages, if that. Yet items that are far less relevant are showing on page 1.

My views have dropped from 200-300/day to less than 100. I am so frustrated. I just don't understand...so obviously everything I thought I learned means nothing.

The only plus I can see is that my Etsy bill this month will be much lower than normal.

I apologize for the whine...I'm still getting some sales, they've just dropped pretty dramatically and I desperately need my shop to work as I think my day job will disappear this year. I want to spend my time creating, not having to re-work my shop for hours every day.

Any thoughts or advice on what I might be doing wrong are welcome.

Thanks...

[bhangtiez]

You have been workin hard. Maybe look into branching out into your local community. Are there any shops you sell at locally? I've heard this works well for some people, broadening your business may just help it grow.

I'm no pro.........so this is just a thought.

[silverthaw]

I feel your pain, I'm going through the same thing. I'd be interested in hearing what others have to say on this because it's happened to me too!

[Former_Member]

Jana- I think that's a great idea. Any suggestions on how to begin approaching local shops would be great :)

[Studio463]

Local boutiques are a great niche to get your business growing. Depending on your product, you may need to be willing to work with the shop on a consignment basis at first. Be sure to visit the business as a customer a few times to see if it looks like a good fit for your product.

Feel free to email or message me if you have any other questions about tapping into the local market! Good luck!

[Former_Member]

I freeze when I try to approach people or stores to sell my things. So no, I'm not doing anything locally, but I need to. Something to work on, I guess.

I just made a jump tonight and ordered materials to add another item to my shop. I'm hoping it will work, but it will keep me busy for a few weeks...and I'll appreciate the quiet!

[MyDistinctDesigns]

Marcia, I understand your frustration. I spend more time researching than I do creating. I would much rather create. I am beginning to feel like I am fighting a losing battle.

[Former_Member]

Aw :( I can completely understand this ! Hard work will definitely pay. So dont worry. And dont give up !
Am a newbie and havent sold anything. But am adding things, working on titles, description and tags just like you..and hoping something happens soon :-)
Chillax and taka a break Marcia. I generally dont work on anything when am feeling down as the outcome is bad.
Have a good night !! :-) Things will be normal soon :-)

[Former_Member]

Its so funny to see the jewelry makers sailing on the same boat. !! haha

[studionubbo]

Hi Marcia,

Are you relisting, renewing or adding new items? This will help you get higher up the searches. I really notice if I miss a day or two and my views drop right down.

Your items are great and love the photos. Your prices seem very reasonable to me too. I guess you could check out the competition and see if there's anything you could improve on!

Good luck! I've pinned one of your items!

:)

[TheCultivatedThread]

Just have to remark on how supportive you all are, it is a really nice thing to see! Good luck to all!

[Former_Member]

Keep in mind that as you have improved your titles and tags for relevancy so have others. Even though renewing isn't the driving force behind being found in search anymore, it still does help. If I can't list new, I renew one or two items a day - it does factor in & it will keep you visible.

[Former_Member]

i was told that renewing AND changing your photos around (ie moving your second or third photo up to main) can also make you more relevant. worth a try.

[Former_Member]

These are all interesting ideas. Thanks for sharing. I still haven't gotten a handle on all of this stuff, so I appreciate the advice!

[Former_Member]

Anything is worth a try! I probably don't renew as often as I should, I do a few each week, so I will start doing some each day.

I don't add too many new items anymore, as I have 181 items in my shop already. I know there's nothing wrong with adding more, but out of my 181, there are about 10-15 that sell consistently. Everything else is hit or miss.

Thanks for all the ideas. I'll get busy this week and start tweaking yet again.

[Former_Member]

It helps to wear your stuff - I got my first boutique by just wearing a bracelet - she loved it and I sold with her for ages. I need to go back, because she's one of the people that got me started in jewelry. And don't be afraid - a lot of time the conversation can be naturally turned to what you do. :P

I'm horribly bad at selling my own stuff, but I've managed to overcome that fear.

As for the stats - my stats in all three shops were absolutely horrible yesterday. With the exception of the bridal work I do, I don't sell a terrible amount this time of year. Business goes in cycles - use this time to make new things and get them listed. If you list new stuff, you'll get more views.

[Former_Member]

Marcia, I feel your pain. I was on a roll last week.
I did not change any tags, just descriptions and all of the sudden, my searches went poof
It felt like Etsy turned my shop off... ;-)
I use Etsy on sale to auto-renew which helps but it can be different for your shop.
Good luck. I hope the views come back again. I try not to worry and just keep doing what I have been doing....

[glassbead]

I'm with Marcia- dropped out of the searches I used to show up on the first page of all the time. And views have dropped in the last few days too. Strangely, my sales picked up at the same time. So what's it all about????

[Former_Member]

I confess, I emailed Etsy Support and asked them what we are all to do when we follow all of the guidelines they put out and still don't get found in the searches.

They emailed back immediately and made a pertinent suggestions to my titles, which I'm going to go through and fix. Other than that, he couldn't tell me anything more. The problems with my titles, he thinks, are that I have personalized them too much, I should be more general in my descriptions.

So, I'll change about 10 of them and see what happens in the next few days.

[Former_Member]

What does he want to change in your titles?
A key chain is a key chain or a mouse pad...you must separate them a wee bit
with polka dot or palm tree. You could get rid f Lily Pulitzer I guess, IF that is not one of the keywords your customers come up with.
I checked my top 50 keywords from a week where my Etsy views were 74% of my total views. I am still coming up on the first page in all but 3 searches.
The past 2 weeks, my Etsy search views have dropped steadily. Not sure of how to hold off the decline....

[Former_Member]

renewing helps tremendously, as does adding more items. even though you have 181, keep adding things, and deactivate the listings that don't sell. try doing some craft shows.

good luck!

[prettypiecesjewelry]

Marcia,

Think there might be a deeper issue going on here. There was a thread yesterday that talked about this very issue...vanishing from first few pages of search when you use to show up just a few days, a week, or whatever time frame prior. Then for some, their listings would come back to first few pages.

Some of the posters are seaoned etsy sellers so I know they know about relevancy and tagging for optimization.

All this to say, I think there is something else going on or perhaps a combination of things. If you were relevant and then it suddenly stopped, it can't be you.

[prettypiecesjewelry]

Here is the thread................

http://www.etsy.com/teams/7718/site-help/discuss/9782939/page/18/

[mahzerandvee]

I can totally understand that. Good job working so hard to try to make your shop successful.

When I find myself on pages 3 or 4, I forgot to re-list them. Have you renewed any items, usually that will bump you up. I try to renew an item or two, a day.

All the best to you and your shop! :)

[Former_Member]

Marcia, if it makes you feel better, I've been drooling over your shop since I found you here on this forum a few weeks ago. I want to order a keychain but I can't decide which one of the many cute designs I want! I scroll through everyday and I keep finding more that I like. How many keychains does one person need? lol You've got a great idea with adding a clip for another .75.