Get a Relevant Makeover

[#1]

Hi Team,

Many of you have already heard – Etsy search now defaults by relevancy. HeyMichelle and I are working on a blog post to help you get the most out of this change. In addition to this great post by Natalie, "Putting Your Shop on Top : Etsy’s Most Relevant Search"
http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/putting-your-shop-on-top-etsy%E2%80%99s-most-relevant-search/

Michelle and I will select a few of you to use as real life examples to explain how you can best optimize your search position. Let us know if you think you need help below – and tell us a bit about how you're already worked to optimize your shop with the tips above, so we can see what is and isn't working for you!

I'll pop back in this thread to let you know when we have enough submissions and when the blog post will go live!

Best,
Danielle

Here are a few more links to help you:

Answers to common questions:
http://www.etsy.com/help#/relevancy/1

Chat with Frank (and the rest of the Search Team working on this) here:
http://www.etsy.com/teams/7718/site-help/discuss/8808254/

[Former_Member]

I feel like I've done a lot to optimize my titles and keywords. I use all my tags and optimize them by filling them with phrases if they will fit. My items are colorful, but I've stopped listing every color in the item except the main one or two because people aren't searching for what the accent colors are. I'm thinking of treasury makers and including applicable stylistic phrases like "shabby chic", "back to school", "woodland". I'm on multiple teams and I've used up several slots for them so I can be included in team treasuries. I've found the only way I get views is by getting on that front page. My sporadic renewing nets me 100 views or less a day if I go by Google Analytics where I've excluded my ip adress (by the way I figured out you have to check daily to see if it has changed and update the filter- for a while I thought I was doing really well!) My Etsy stats don't match Google- they are a little higher if you add together item & shop views. The Etsy stats are showing people finding me mostly with searches within Etsy, very little from outside which makes me think I'm not doing all I can with key words.

It could also be that I my shop isn't focused. Perhaps I would do better branching out into a second shop with only baby stuff and keeping the older kid stuff in the original shop. A person landing on my shop because of a purse might not browse long when they see all the onesies. My bounce rate hovers around 57%. Then again, if you look at my sold section, I'm selling a little of everything.

I think my shop would give you something to chew on if you did an analysis...

[Former_Member]

I am fairly new to Etsy and would love some help. I have been working on my tags and listings and have seen some improvement in views over the last week. I would like to start my site off with the correct search position for my shop.

Warmly,
~ Ana

[Former_Member]

Please help. My second shop ceramic buttons is new. I also have a shop selling art glasbeads with moderate success : kathrinkneidl.etsy.com. Maybe it was a mistake to open a second shop. maybe I should have introduced the buttons in the lampwork shop. I didn't want to make it too confusing for the customer selling two unrelated items in one shop. I would love an opinion on this Thank you in advance.

[MamaLoveOrganics]

I could use some insight! My stats took a nosedive when the search changes took effect. I've been attempting to change my titles for relevancy... but I started doing that BEFORE the changes took effect so I guess I didn't do it correctly. I worked on it again tonight and then saw this post.

[Former_Member]

Hello and thank you for this thread! I would love some feedback but I would also like to tell you that the new relevancy search tools have helped my shop out a lot! I love that I can show who my product is targeted to or if it was recently made or what type of style it goes under. I have doubled and tripled my views by changing my descriptions from the name of my wreath to things like "Halloween Wreath" and then adding the name of the wreath, Yippee! So I checked out my shop stats and have found I am being found very well on etsy but not on google....is it because of my titles or how I save my photos? Is there a helpful link for getting views from google? I would love help here. I just thought they would find me on etsy through google by typing in "wreaths on etsy" or something similar. Also, tagging is going well but I am a bit unclear as to what is cheating or not. I would never want to cheat and would love a helpful link on tagging. Thank you, you all do wonderful work!

[Former_Member]

Hi! I don't know if here is the right place to say 'Thank you' but I still want to! Today I made a comparison with my views from Thursday before the change and yesterday, and just found out that my views from Search have almost doubled (12 last Thursday against 20 yesterday)

I now this is just such a small amount and I am a small shop but it matters for me because it means that buyers actually find me through Search more easily now. Since the change Search has been my top traffic source.

[WirequeenJewelry]

Would love some help. I was finally getting sales and the summer hit and no sales. My views went into the toilet.

[GemSourceCorporation]

Hey Need some help on promoting our products..NEW to ETSY!!..

[Former_Member]

I would appreciate assistance! I need some help with getting my shop off the ground. I am ready and willing to be deicated to my store. I have the colors and types of jewelry in the title. I also tried to tie my etsy page to my facebook. My views are still low though. Please take a look and advise is appreciated. Thank you so much for this post!

[Former_Member]

Hello Danielle,

So I must admit I read this blog post, but it just didn't "click" with me why my listings weren't showing up when I searched. For example, in the last couple of days I sold and relisted a letterpress print which is titled "I Can Because I Think I Can". After I relisted the item, I searched "letterpress" (a tag I ALWAYS include in my listing) but my print didn't show up. I thought it was just a temporary "glitch" in the system, but then tonight when I searched "I Can" (the beginning of the title) it was at the top of the list. I am so confused now how to tag items so people can find them. Help!!! :)

Thank you,
Lori ~ happydeliveries

[Former_Member]

I put in my request early on, and today I have found that I am now syndicated which is fantastic for me, however, now I am in real need of some help. I know that I need to work on my tags and and doing so slowly, and not being very computer savvy its taking a lot to understand and work out the best possible way to do them. I have also now got a .co.uk domain, so am certainly willing to do the hard work it will take.

[Former_Member]

Hi,

I have just opened up a new esty shop. I have written clear descriptions and titles but I don't have really any views. I read over you new policy for labeling and tagging and I am confused about the whole process. I'm not sure if I am labeling and tagging correctly. I really want to get off to a good start and some help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Tia

[MichelleLakeArt]

I sure could use your help. I have sold some art, but I feel I could be doing so much more. Thanks for your consideration,

Michelle

[Former_Member]

beachngoodthings:Been playing with my titles. the challenge is the WIDE scope of the item (not unique).ie.
first group~

~ I have pillow covers (there's thousands out there)
~ Burlap (there's thousands out there)
My pillows are of Coastal theme and have art panels on them. so i'm trying to differentiate them.

I have the following titles to describe listings of the same line:
- Burlap and linen coastal pillow covers
- Coastal pillow , burlap and linen
- Pillow cover, burlap and linen
- Burlap coastal pillow cover

You get the idea - all words are very common, not sure which are the most effective, so I'm trying all.
The other thing that complicates it is that I've had some featured on treasuries (so there are more hits) And some I've promoted on Twitter (those have more hits.
What I really want to know going forward, is what words here are the most important to list first.....?

Round two:

Another part of my line is so unique, nobody will "search" for them, but the words to describe them are common.i.e. pillow shirts (shirts for your pillows) pillow covers.

OK, so here I've listed as follows to try everything:

- Shirt Pillows nautical pillow covers (just changed)
- Shirt Pillows nautical map pillow cover(just changed , because I saw "shirt pillows" on my search words)
- Pillow cover with Island Vibe
- Pillow cover canvas with conch art applique
- Pillow cover ,put a shirt on, Island vibe

As you can see, I'm struggling with what words to describe an item with, while trying to promote uniqueness
I don't know how to show something people don't know about, therefore don't search for......
And again, some of these have had visits due to Twitter.....

Any insight is GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks a ton!
Therese

[Former_Member]

I read Natalie's article when it was first published and applied her (Etsy's) recommendations to all of my newly listed items. The article could not have been more timely for me because I had three new collections of ceramics to add to my shop. I'm already noticing a huge difference in the number of visits/hits, Treasury Lists, and Admirers! Now I need to update all of my older listings. That being said, I'd still greatly appreciate your feedback and guidance because there's always room for improvement and I'm totally committed to increasing my sales so that I may earn a respectable/modest income through the creation of my wares. Thanks for keeping us abreast of the latest developments!

[ARTbyDanaC]

My biggest challenge is to get people to my shop, view my work, and hear what others are saying about their purchases without sounding overly overt – love to have honest sharing without sounding proud.

The Buyers whom have come and purchased have all expressed they are very happy with the service and their purchases.

A goal would be is to get the word-out about how happy and glad others are with their service and purchases, although one of the biggest challenges is I work long hours (my first love is painting and sharing my work with others) time and energy to promote are a challenge – I need quick ways to promote “ARTbyDanaC” and draw others to the Etsy Shop.

Thank you for your consideration to help me make the most of Etsy and share what I do with others.
Sincerely, DanaC

[ElainaLouiseStudios]

I've recently redone my titles, putting the main words first and repeating key words in both title and tags. I've had a critique from the critique team and one of their mentors. I've tried to learn a bit about SEO and Google Analytics, but GA is still very overwhelming for me. Shop stats have been very helpful and I'm trying to add more of the key words into all of my listings, if they fit. My views have increased but my sales have only had a small increase. Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

I look forward to reading the article.
Lisa

[sistersilver]

I am still a little unsure about relevency...Lord knows we could all appreciate a little help after tweeking and changing everything around a million times to make it easy for others to find what we offer. I am wondering, then, where we put the artistic part of the description. Now it seems to get so staid and almost mechanical! Guess the art goes into the art and English into the description. Help! Yes, I would love to have help understanding the stats and applying proper words to the tags, titles and descriptions so search engines can find the works easier.

[Former_Member]

Hi. I have been an Etsy seller since March, 2011. When initially setting up my shop I tried to follow the recommendations provided by Etsy. However, I need help to ensure I am making my shop, and items, easy to find. I think the titles and tags are fairly good, but would love to have someone help with tips on how my shop could be improved.

[thelittlepackof5]

Hello Esty Team Helpers,

I have had an etsy store for almost a year now, however, i dont seem to have made much, if any progress. I have been an avid crafter every since i can remember at markets & via commissioned crafts, however I am new to the internet, etsy & fb, so its kinda a slow process. Although, I am currently going through my etsy store and updating titles & tags to incorporate ur tips for sales, so bare with me. I am also just trying one area of my products to take advantage of ur slowly but surely approach. Fingers & Toes crossed! After reading ur emails & before i started this editing process, i logged onto etsy & did a search on my products as if i was a buyer & sure enough their was only one area of my store i could find. Go figure, lol.Suprise, surprise, what was i thinking??? I heart these tips & feedback. Ppppplease help????

[Former_Member]

I'm sort of new to Etsy and have only had sales from family/friends. I would love some help getting my shop in a better position to be more visible and appealing to buyers.

[AnnaSiivonen]

I had two sales tonight. Great to have some action again, I think this new relevancy search effects me badly, can't understand why though, I ve workt with my titles, descriprions and tags. I think etsy should slow down with the changes, it's difficult enough to understand an keep in the loop with

[Former_Member]

I am new to selling on Etsy and have tweaked my titles, descriptions and tags on several items several times but I am yet to see a difference in traffic to my shop. I think my titles and tags are relatively good but some help and tips on how to improve would be greatly appreciated.

[Former_Member]

Hello,
first thank you for all advises days after days. I feel too like my shops has low views. However I try to put some news items regularly (I'm doing some news to post next weeks). I think my banner is nice (what do you think?)
I try to optimize my tags and to have the best titles for my objects.
I know that I'm not good to do treasury list but I try to see what other people do because I wanted to do new ones.
I think my prices are correct (for an original etiquette) and I read a lot of Etsy team succes and others teams.
I used to thank people when they add my items in their favorites but I don't know how to continue.

Thank you in advance for advises!!! :-)

[Former_Member]

I've been working on changing titles, using tags more effectively, improving my photos, and participating more in the Etsy community. I would be thrilled to be selected for this process. I've been on Etsy for over two years and I have never, ever had so few visits and sales. I feel like my shop has become invisible - lost and floating aimlessly in the great cyber-void ...