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[#1]

For some time, we’ve heard from our community that our categories could be clearer. Previously, categorization was based on many different concepts, including what an item is, who it is for, and what it is made of. That made it tricky for sellers to pick the right categories for items – and for buyers to find them.

Over the past year, we’ve been working with Etsy buyers and sellers to better understand how searching for products on Etsy can be improved. Based on their feedback, we have updated our listing categories to ensure there is a logical place for every unique item on the site. The new categories take effect today. You can check out the new categories by searching for an item, adding a new listing or editing an existing listing.

To go over these changes and what they mean for your shop, we will be hosting an Online Lab on Wednesday, February 25 at 11 a.m. (ET). We’ll also be answering your questions during the workshop.

In the meantime, we encourage you to check out the category changes and learn more about them in this Forums thread http://etsy.me/1Aivcfz and FAQ http://etsy.me/FAQ3280.

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Subject: Exploring the New Listing Categories
When: Wednesday, February 25 @ 11 a.m. (ET)
Where: http://etsy.me/labs225
Who: Etsy Admin, and YOU!

To Participate: For those of you who get a chance to take a look at these new categories, let us know if you have any questions, thoughts, or advice that you’d like to share. We will be highlighting as many comments as time allows during the live session on Wednesday.

When posting, keep in mind that this team is dedicated to sharing small business advice in a supportive environment. Please do not share social media links, Treasuries, new item listings, calls for entries or submissions in team discussions, unless you are sharing or asking for small business advice. Thank you!
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There are no sign ups or automatic reminders for this session so please be sure to set your own reminder. If you are unable to attend, we will be posting an archived version of the video in this thread the day after the live session. Please note that if you would like to participate in the live chat, it is only available during the live session.

[GoldenTwinClasps]

This is a great improvement and I was happy to see that they put most of my items in the right category. But I did have to edit all my listings to drill down to "clasps" which is odd, since it's in the name of my shop.

But thanks to all who did this hard work.

[OurVintageBungalow]

The categories update is interesting to me. I do enjoy more options with certain items but will have to admit that there are fewer options with other items. However, I do realize that out of the thousands of different items that are being sold on Etsy, there is only so much narrowing down that you can do. I'm sure I will have more success the more I use it.

I do wonder though how much categories effect buyers. I saw that this question was raised by others as well. I have tried the best I could to correctly categorize, but the hits from "Categories" on my stats page is extremely low, almost negligible. Should I work more on this or not?

[GabriellasTreasures]

Tammy King - I ditto you totally.
I think I'm not going crazy with categories and will check them as I have time. I also have negligible views from categories.

[efinegifts]

I, too, get negligible views from category.

However, according to this statement from admin, categories will be incorporated into search rankings and your category may affect your external SEO rankings in Google, Bing, etc.:
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Admin
Giovanni Fernandez-Kincade from giovannigiovanni 6:58 pm Feb 17, 2015 EST

"Tags and titles are currently the most important pieces of information for how you perform in search.

However, over time we expect to incorporate category information into search ranking so it's probably best to ensure your categories are accurate."

"It is possible for your category selection to affect your external SEO (google, bing, etc). So again you'll probably want to make sure its accurate."

https://www.etsy.com/teams/7722/discussions/discuss/15992322/page/83?post_id=263188543

[GabriellasTreasures]

Ooooh, Thank you Marc - again - that changes things for me significantly!!!

[Former_Member]

I wonder with as many food items that are now sold on Etsy why can't we have a separate section food. It seems hidden now under home and living. I dont think food and goodies under there, I think home stuff like decor and what not. I wonder too how to be more relevant in the category stats

[GabriellasTreasures]

Sweetie Cake - wow - your suggestion for separate food category makes so much sense - hope someone who can effect that sees this - good luck!

[GoldhawkPotteryEtc]

Sweetie Cake - there is a section for Food and Drink. It is now under Home and Living - then Food and Drink. I believe you'll find lots of options after that.

I'm not seeing that categories has affected my views. I thought it might but even after checking my stats from the last 30 days - I seem to have only one view from categories. I'm happy that in some cases my items will be featured in multiple categories (previously it was only one). I still think tags, titles and how you promote makes the biggest difference.

[DesignsbyChristine]

under toys & games/toys/stuffed animals & plushies/ [NO DOGS category!!!]

given the number of dog items that I sell and that I see others selling, this seems like a big oversight? Can this get fixed?

[SouthernBelleOOAK]

I thought that the on line lab was going to be available to view after the live session. Do you have a link where we can view it now?

[SouthernBelleOOAK]

Etsy is taking suggestions for improving the categories using this link:

https://www.etsy.com/ca/taxonomy-feedback

[Former_Member]

I just switched to the new Listings Manager, and was dismayed that there seemed to be no way to indicate if a bead was a gemstone, glass, etc. As a beader and a seller, this is an important distinction. The categories seemed to be all about shape. Fine, but I only bead with gemstone beads. Did I miss something?

[LuluGirlDesigns]

I was out of town for the "Categories" live chat. Is there a link to the archived version? I have an addiction to Etsy Labs video tutorials and can't get them to load.

[Former_Member]

Several of you have asked for the link to the archived version of this session, so I'm posting it again here: etsy.me/labs225archive

[dstefanTreasures]

My views from Categories have actually gone down in the last 30 days. I started with 4 and this morning it's 2. I spent quite a bit of time adjusting the categories for each item in my shop. I guess I won't worry about it unless something changes.

I think tags are important to fill in the gaps, especially if one of the categories is lacking…such as jewelry, then brooches. No sub categories. There's so many types: cameos, rhinestones, etc.

I'm thinking the whole thing is still a work in progress.

[Former_Member]

I went from having regular sales for months to no sales at all since the categories changed .. :(:( also I noticed that the same items in other European countries are listed in categories that don't exist on etsy UK .. doesn't that mess up the searches??