I can't get on the map...

[Former_Member]

Hi,

I've been reluctant to do this as I know everyone is busy with their own shops, but I need some help. Ive been reading up on SEO, tweaking my tags and titles, but I just can't seem to get seen.

I have had some custom portraits coming up under the Mother's Day category, which is great. It brought me in my first couple of sales, but I'm afraid of whats going to happen after Mother's Day.

I listed a brand new item yesterday, and havent seen it show up yet. Today I tweaked another listing and renewed it, and nothing. Not even under the most obvious keywords.

I know were all busy I our own shops, but if anyone can give me any advice, id be so grateful.

[Plektra]

A few things I've noticed:

a) Tour tags are one word. They should be phrases that describe your items.
b) In your titles, ideally the first 3 words should describe the item you are selling. In some of them, you start with the name of the drawing. Customers will not be looking for your work guessing the names of your items.
c) In the listing descriptions, your keywords should be in the first paragraph and should repeat the keywords in the listings. And these keywords should also be in your tags. This way your items will have more chances of coming up in searches.

Think of how the customers might be looking for your work. You could try these suggestions with some of your listings and see how you go.

[Former_Member]

Great feedback Minerva! Just what I was looking for! Thank younfor taking time to look and reply! You are awesome! !

[Plektra]

I hope you find the suggestions helpful and that your views increase. Etsy is such a big site....
You have beautiful work, by the way!!

[BlackCatStudio98]

I agree with Minerva. Your titles need to be what a buyer will search for. You can put the title in your description, but put what it is, what it can be used for, and what style or colors it is in your title. And use your whole title, so you can get as many keywords in there as you can. Then make sure your tags match your title exactly. Put the broader searches at the beginning of the title and the narrower searches at the end.

Once you have your titles go back and do searches for your keywords. If you find some that you don't show up in, then the search is too broad and you will have to narrow it down. For instance silver bracelet, pink bracelet, turquoise earrings, etc are such large categories that my items won't show up in the first 20 pages, so I don't bother to use those keywords. I have to find different keywords to use. But most of the time buyers search under pretty broad terms, so I use the broadest searches I can use and still be found. And then if I still have room in my title I will put more narrow searches at the end of the title.

I hope that makes sense!

[Former_Member]

Thanks for this thread, just the clear consider advice on seo that I need :) will have a tweak tomorrow!

[Former_Member]

Yes Amy, it makes perfect sense. You broke it down for me nicely. Im dizzy fromtrying today. Will rework again as soon as I can see again.

I had a taste of success with my first few sales. I am very excited to be successful on Etsy, and Im so appreciative for the very succinct and helpful answers!

If you ever need portraits done, I'll take good care of you both;)

[TheSalvagedEdge]

I agree with the SEO advice and I have one more bit for take it or leave it. Most of your photos feel like they are dark and a bit muted. The one with the boy is sort of bluish in the closeup but it looks like it's done on white paper in the second photo. Do you use a photo shop program to brighten your photos? I think it would really make them pop more. Because your work really is fabulous. :-)

[BlackCatStudio98]

Oh good I'm glad it made sense! Congratulations on your first sales, it does feel so good when they come in!

And Marie is right your artwork is awesome. I really like these two:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/187152949/reflections-of-summer-original-oil?ref=shop_home_active_6

https://www.etsy.com/listing/184170515/cowgirl-hat-charcoal-drawing-18x24-wendy?ref=shop_home_active...

[Former_Member]

No Marie, I'm here for the cold hard facts, I really want this to work. I appreciate your comments, and am taking all the advice seriously. I am so glad I asked. I am taking the rest of the day working on my art to fill up my shop, but when the light is gone you can be sure I will be acting on everyones generous input.

Thank you Amy! They're my favs too. They are light and airy and my latest works!

And thank you Minerva for your nice comments too! I'm so happy you like my work.

Wendy

[Mzcarley]

have you tried the google keyword planner. You just go to google adwords, skip all that stuff about buying an ad. You can use the Keyword planner for free. You type in a word or phrase and it will show u how often that word has been looked up on google in the past month and the many ways that google users have searched that word or phrase. It is really insightful and useful for coming up with tagwords because I could type in the word white and it could give me 5 different words that mean white that google users have searched for this month. I also write down the words and phrases I find in a notebook so that I don't forget them and can reference them later on.

[Former_Member]

Very beautiful work! I see you have a lot of advice already; thought I would throw this in there. This is from an old post I listed earlier this week. Hope some of it helps!
1. Tags and Titles
Make sure your tags and titles MATCH, and are both specific and generic descriptions of your items. For instance, if you have a purple beaded necklace, your tags and title could look something like this; purple beaded necklace, purple, jewelry, beaded jewelry, handmade, necklace, accessories, accessories for women, womens jewelry, fashion, gifts, beads, handmade necklace.
2. Fill the shop with items.
I see so many shops with something like 15-25 items, and they wonder why they don't have any sales. Question: if you went into a grocery store, and all they had was a single shelf in front with 25 things on it and an empty warehouse, would you continue to shop there? You stuff is BEAUTIFUL. Make more.

3. Social Media
It counts. Period. It's how you get more views and activity in your shop, share your craft, and communicate with people. This is soooo important in a handmade business. You are a great and talented person; let people know that. You don't have to sign up for everything, either. Post on a blog, and join one social media site, but keep up with it everyday. Post something everyday, or with every new item submitted.

5. Learn, learn, learn.
You have a HUGE bag of free education at your fingertips. Join teams, view online classes, how-to videos, and ask other sellers how they do what they do. You can get some people who are close-mouthed, but mostly everyone loves to talk about who they are and what they do (I'm doing it right now). Take advantage of that.

[Former_Member]

Thank you Carley, I will try Googles keyword planner. Art seems hard to come up with very descriptive and different words. How many ways is there to say original painting you know, lol. I have started a text file for keywords too, its a good idea. I changed a couple up yesterday and noticed I got a few views, maybe mixing them up once and a while is a good idea too.

Kisha, thank you so much for the compliment. Great advice too. I am working everyday to try and fill my shop. My Etsy shop has really disciplined me and focused me. Im so glad to be here and so glad everyone was so kind to help me.