Tagging done right or cheating....?!

[#1]

I just read the rules one more time, and there were no changes.... But when I look at other shops, my head starts spinning with an overload of keywords..... 50 words in the titles, tags with 5 unrelated keywords, and even the material section does not say anything about the material, but contains another 50 keywords.....
As a 'law abiding Etsian' I would like to know what is ok and what is not..... Why even have rules if they are not enforced?! Sometimes I get frustrated.... Of course the 'cheating shops' usually are the most successful ones, and that also means more income for Etsy..... So, what is it? Go by the rules and don't have a lot of sales, or forget about rules and be successful?

[MyGigiDoll]

Oh, also...Gaby...how do you know that you are showing up on page 250? Is there a way to tell without browsing through all 250 pages of results?

[GabysSchaufenster]

Jennifer, your shop looks great! You're on the right path.... :-)

With all the competition it is hard to be 'different', but it helps to have one item that stands out.....

Good luck to you, too.....

[GabysSchaufenster]

Melissa, no I can't..... There is a count-down (90 seconds?) for editing....
Well, I looked at the first 20 pages and didn't see anything, so I started from the last page.... :-) I admit that I haven't checked all pages, but some items (with the same first 4 - 5 words) showed up so randomly that I couldn't figure it out.....

[GabysSchaufenster]

Looks like the editing time is 2 minutes...... Can you see the count-down after you post a message?

[Former_Member]

Well I read all the comments and retitled and retagged all my items. Whew! 1 day later my views have dramatically increased. All my tags were done the "old way". It is a lot of work, but it seems to have helped!

[DeerGirlDesigns]

putting knit down under crochet is not cheating at all! There are a lot of people who have no idea there is a difference and they search for the more common term, "knit" when they may very well be looking for an item like yours. How is that cheating?

More my moonstone, I often tag "labradorite," because both stones are in the same family and many people search for one looking for the other. Doesn't mean it's cheating. Please, crocheters, put KNIT in your tags!

[DeerGirlDesigns]

more =with

[StarJewels]

I would add the tag knit...I buy a lot of crochet and knit hats and I don't care whether it was crocheted or knit, it's a look I am going for. When I am looking for one I am often looking for the other. So as a buyer I would find that helpful, not cheating.

As for putting tags in the materials section, i don't think it helps with Etsy relevancy at all, unless someone is searching by materials which is a special search that is probably not very common. It might help on Google, not sure. As for titles, my understanding is they can be as long as Etsy allows, though the words at the front are given more weight. However I have read that long titles will decrease your rank with Google.

Basically as long as your titles and tags are truly relevant to your item, descriptive in phrases a buyer might search for, and not full of loosely related terms such as Christmas gift for a pair or yellow socks or tag stuffing, I think it's usually OK as far as the rules go. At least that's what I've been able to gather from reading the materials etsy provides. I think there are tradeoffs to really long and shorter titles, but descriptive is better.

[Former_Member]

The same shops are always at the top of the searches and when I try their tagging methods, I don't move up to where they are. So frustrating! I've been told some search engines work in a way that the search with the most clicks ends up first. Maybe Etsy's is like that. It would explain why the same shops seem to always be in the forefront. I spent $25 on search ads, had a 10% off sale and re-tagged everything. I have no sales and it's been a slower day for "favorites" than usual.

[TwiggyandOpal]

I have read and heard that material tags don't really matter. I do the basic...which is what I use. As far as knit and crochet, some people really don't know the difference. I don't know what else I would put if I didn't put either of those. Yarn? then you get into supplies. Everyone is trying to get a leg up, for me it isn't working...yet! I don't agree with using the material category for more tags, but I don't think they matter in searches. Does anyone know?

[JeannieGrayKnits]

I guess I'm a pretty mean & hateful shopper, lol, but when I come across items tagged incorrectly, I get a bit pissy and leave the shop without a second glance. I guess it comes from years of slow-speed internet & waiting 10 minutes for a page to open only to discover that the "red Christmas stocking" that I searched for turned out to be a purple beach bag. I also wonder about the shops that do that. I'm sure they get more views by mislabeling their items, but does it really help sales? When someone wastes my time that way, it sure doesn't inspire me to browse in or revisit their shop.

As for the knit vs. crochet, although it bugs me to find crocheted items when I'm specifically searching for knitted ones, I can never spell crochet & would probably use "knit" for the search & hope crocheted things show up. And, as many have mentioned, lots of people do not know the difference. In fact, my husband still thinks, after 20 years of marriage, that knitting & cross stitch are the same activity. LOL

[Former_Member]

I used to only use one word per tag, however when I see so many people doing it the other way, what does it matter if the rules says 13 tags and one word per tag? I mean it is little consolation to me that I can call myself a rule follower when I have so many tags I want and need to use. teams are requiring tags for each team you are in. I am in so many, so I waste 3 or more tags just for teams. Then I need to mention the ethnic backgrounds of my items. Not to mention colors are so important when people want to make treasuries but are too lazy to search beyond "tea and red."

You have to know your audience. Well the etsy audience wants to type two words and not work much more beyond that. Therefore, I need to plan for that, add more than one shade of red in my tags, holidays and christmas, winter, and more because if not, I am not reaching my entire purchase base.

It is breaking the rules I guess, but what does that matter when the rule is not there for anything beyond formatting issues. There is no business standard that states tagging an item with no more than 13 tags is the best way to sell something. It's arbitrary.

I guess sometimes you want to follow the rules because it makes you feel good, that you are "right." But in this case, I think following the rules is wrong.

[Former_Member]

I do however agree, if you are selling a beach bag, dont put santa suit... I mean present, gift, summer, july june august, and so for.

Fooling someone into clicking is not the idea... it's making sure you covered all your bases

[Former_Member]

Title stuffing doesn't always work. A random string of words is not nearly as powerful as two or three keyword phrases. Searches are based on exact matches to titles and tags. If you search "pink birthday card" this will match a title of "Pink Birthday Card for Girls," but will NOT match "Birthday Greeting Card for Girls with Hot Pink Polkadots Purple OOAK Custom Order." The exact match for "pink birthday card" has to be in the title in that exact order as well as the tags for it to show up in the first few pages of a search.

If you have tags like "pink card" and "birthday card," that's fine. If you have tags like "pink cat flower," that would be tag stuffing since you are stuffing a random string of words, rather than an actual search phrase. Since relevancy, Etsy doesn't seem to mind "tag stuffing" as much anymore.

My titles are admittedly quite scary, but I've been trying to trim them down.

[Former_Member]

Hi all,

If you see a shop or item that is not following our policies, you can report them by clicking on “report this shop to Etsy” or “report this item to Etsy” link on the shop or item pages. For a refresher on our policies, which includes more info on labeling items appropriately, go here:

http://www.etsy.com/help/article/483#tagging

Note, seems there is a little confusion in this thread over the use of multiple word tags. You’re welcome to use more than one word in one tag as long as the “short descriptive phrase” accurately describes your item. More at the link above and below:

• You may use a short descriptive phrase as a tag if it accurately describes your item (for example: "sterling silver," "messenger bag," "steampunk cufflinks").

For more info on how relevant search works, and how to help bring your items up in relevant search, see this article from HeyMichelle with a lot of great tips and advice:

http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/make-your-shop-more-relevant/

I do need to close this now as we can’t negatively discuss a specific member or shop in the Forums. From the Do’s and Don’ts:

• Discussing a specific member, shop or item (either by name or with identifiable hints) in a negative way is not allowed.

http://www.etsy.com/help/article/483#thecommunity

Thank you!