Tags and Keywords

[Former_Member]

Hi everyone!

I've received a few convos asking about keywords vs. tags. Let me explain.

Tags are directly related to Etsy Search - Google (and other search engines) don't weigh tags too much (if at all), so if you are thinking about optimizing your shop for search engines - you should be thinking about the keywords you use in your titles and the very first paragraph of your item listing descriptions. More info on that here:
http://www.etsy.com/help/article/247

Tags on etsy must be single words or common compound words. I'll give you an example: "sterling silver" is a fine tag. However, "textured silver" would be two words together so that should be two tags. "Aqua blue", is fine as one tag but "red blue green" is a no-no.

I hope that helps!

Best,
Danielle

[Former_Member]

Hi and thanks :)

How about "plus size clothing"? If I understand correctly 'plus size' is OK because plus doesn't make sense without it but the first one is more like tag stuffing.

[Former_Member]

You got it - and great example! Tags should be: "plus size", "clothing"

[Former_Member]

Ah, superb- thanks!

[Former_Member]

Great. - thanks. I probably wouldn't use clothing as a tag unless I had room at the end because if I'm getting it right it would already be passed from the category I'm in and I can stick it in section names and my shop title too if I want to.

[TrashAndTrinkets]

sigh

[TrashAndTrinkets]

There are a LOT of good questions and concerns about tags here:


www.etsy.com/teams/7714/ideas/discuss/8790856/page/1

www.etsy.com/teams/7718/site-help/discuss/8786812/page/1

www.etsy.com/teams/7718/site-help/discuss/8785784/page/1

www.etsy.com/teams/7718/site-help/discuss/8791885/page/1

www.etsy.com/teams/5002/etsy-success/discuss/8705393/page/1/

and then there is this…

www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/putting-your-shop-on-top-etsy’s-most-relevant-search/

[TrashAndTrinkets]

I may have been "a little confused" before this. Now I am completely in the dark. There are a LOT of contradictions from Etsy Admin in the threads and blog post above. There are more, but I haven't found them all yet. Something in announcements too.

[Former_Member]

I'm also curious about using colors, this question came up in another forum, say I use the tag "royal blue" and someone searches just blue necklace, will it still bring me into results or do I need to have a separate tag with just "blue"??

[Former_Member]

I put it seperatly . Like, blue grape.i put it" blue" and then "grape" would this help people to find my shop easier or it's just a waste of my tags?

[Former_Member]

Thank You Danielle for coming in to clarify for folks. I will give another good example of a multi word tag that is ok. I had a charm that was a "Star of David" obviously that is one tag but soon I have another necklace coming that is just generic stars and moons so I would NOT tag that like "shiny star" I would tag "shiny" and then "star" in another tag

[SleepingKnight]

Here are my top searches of keywords on Etsy according to my shop stats:
1. chainmail
2. medieval
3. clock cogs
4. belly dance
5. steel chainmail choker
6. coif
7. chainmaille
8. indian anklet
9. halloween costume
10. votive holder
11. steampunk jewelry
12. leather lace

By what your saying I should have votive and holder as separate tags. Although someone searching for votive will find me even though I do not sell any candles.

I should also have "halloween and costumes" , "steel chainmail choker" , "indian anklet" , steampunk jewelry" , "leather lace" "belly dance" all listed as separate words even though it does not accurately portray what I am actually selling.

In your example above someone looking for a hammered silver necklace would not be able to find that because you more than likely would not put hammered as a single keyword because it describes the silver style.

Also, in the examples from the links above list information that contradicts what you just posted by other admins. I would think that Etsy as a whole would like for people to find the items they are looking for so that they get the fees from the sales.

Etsy already states that more weight is given to those who renew their items items. It weighs heavier because you are paying Etsy for that right. Along that same logic Etsy should want the fees on my $350 item if someone looking for it can find it quickly.

When people are looking for information they generally use single key word searches. When they are ready to buy they generally use 3 or 4 word phrases.

With all of the confusion maybe Etsy should make it a rule to ONLY use single keywords and not allow possible confusion with things like "Sterling Silver" because in that same line that would mean the following are okay to use: "Chinese Silver" "Fine Silver" "Mexican Silver" and "German Silver" of which only one is real silver.

Maybe you could clear some of this up a little better and explain all of the contradictions. I am honestly not trying to be a jerk. I interpreted what I read differently than how you posted it. In fact I posted all of the official Etsy rules about tagging and there are some contradictions in there as well.

[Former_Member]

Fine silver is "fine" to use LOL it is an actual material... I can't speak to the others as I am off to watch TV but perhaps Danielle will pop back in and can help you out with that :)

[Former_Member]

It still seems as though the descriptive words used in tags are open to interpretation.

"1966 Red Chevy" could be descriptive if the whole term is "1966 Red Chevy Truck."

"Hammered silver" could be descriptive as it usually means silver that has been hammered.

All in all, tags do not matter as much as the listing title per this Admin Announcement:
http://www.etsy.com/teams/7716/announcements/discuss/8755743

Scroll down to the second post and look for this:

2. Titles - As we mentioned, we are giving more weight to titles. You should have descriptive titles for all your items and use words you think people will search for when looking for your item. As an example, if you think people will best find your item if you have “SALE 15% Off” in the title, put it first otherwise, make sure to list the most important things about your item at the beginning of the title.

3. Tags - There were a variety of issues raised by tags. Unlike titles, the order of the tags does not impact ranking. As always we encourage you to use tags that are relative and related to your item. You asked whether single word tags are given preference over multi-word tags. Single word tags do not necessarily perform better for all searches. We encourage you to use Shop Stats to understand which tags work better for your items.

**** "see which tags work better for your items" *****

[Former_Member]

thanks! question though : if my earrings are in the category jewelry: earrings, do I need to tag my item with "earrings"? thanks!

[Former_Member]

graciebeal says

thanks! question though : if my earrings are in the category jewelry: earrings, do I need to tag my item with "earrings"? thanks!

------------------------------------------

NO. Absolutely not - there is already one sub-category tag that reads, "earrings". Do not waste precious tag space.

[Paperika]

TangledMetal, I do believe that those words may or may not be necessarily terms that people used to find YOUR shop. I think it works like GA--the person may have searched for a votive candle but somehow may have ended up in your shop.

[SleepingKnight]

Paperika, I disagree. This is what shows up when you mouse over the ? next to keywords on Etsy stats:

Keywords people used to find your shop and listings in search engines.

[Paperika]

With all due respect, Tangled Metal,I don't understand your reasoning. What exactly are you saying?Are you saying that we should use double word tags b/c that's what buyers are using, even if it doesn't pertain to your item?

So the birthday card in my avatar should be tagged with birth announcement b/c say my stats say that's what they were using to search, and found my card? That's ridiculous b/c if I were searching for a birthday card, that's what I'd want to see when I search for it. I don't want to see birth announcements or anything OTHER than birthday CARDS. Why? B/c that's what I told the search to do-look for birthday cards. That is my whole beef with the tagging problem here. Makes NO sense to tag something your item isn't. I think I am more confused than ever!

My way of thinking is this: you tag what the item is, use some colors, maybe who it's for, and a few other relevant words. It really shouldn't be so difficult.

[SleepingKnight]

Paperika,
You and I are saying the same thing, just in different ways. What I am saying is that many time it is more accurate to describe something with more than one word. Let's use me for example. The word chainmail means many things. It even has a bad connotation as a chain letter. The word coif has more than one meaning as well. In fact the word coif is generally used to describe a hair cut, not a piece of armor, though the name is derived from that. Now, if I use the word combination "chainmail coif" I am not talking about chain letters or hair cuts. I am talking about a very specific type of armor used from around 800AD to around 1300AD. Now if someone is looking for a haircut and they come across my page because I used the single word coif then I have wasted their time and directed them to something that was not what they were looking for.

That probably isn't the greatest example but perhaps you can understand that I am not trying to mislead someone with my descriptive keyword phrase. I am actually trying to make it easier for the people looking for my exact product and weeding out the people who might use similar single word searches for things that are not what I have.

If I tag my item as what it is, it would be a chainmail coif. The color is silver. It is for someone who is doing medieval reenactments or as a halloween costume or as ren fair garb. If I add a few other relevant words iI would have to say medieval knight (because it is for a specific type of knight) or renaissance fair.

Can you see what I mean about specificity sometimes needing more than one keyword to properly represent it? I am not trying to tag my item something it isn't, or isn't for or someone who would not use it or not related to it. I am trying to tag it what it is, what it is for, who it is for and how it is related.

And BTW- I thought your response was completely respectful. And I thank you for helping me to maybe be more specific with my words in general.

[Former_Member]

Thanks Danielle for the link to the research seomoz.org provided Etsy. I'm very new to this stuff and ETYS is FULL of things to read. Sometimes I get sidetracked onto "another" something I need to learn. I'll be reading this tonight to try to improve my tagging, titles, descriptions and whatever it takes to help someone find my jewelry.

[Former_Member]

TangledMetal - your keywords from shop stats don't just pull for tags - they pull for using those keywords in your titles and descriptions, actually anywhere in your shop!

[Former_Member]

I've also asked Natalie to revise this blog post: http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2011/putting-your-shop-on-top-etsy%E2%80%99s-most-relevant-search/

However, we'll have to wait until she wakes up in the morning :)

[Former_Member]

I will try to revamp my tags, maybe if i read articles like this 100 more times I might eventually get better at tagging my items. Thanks for #6 :)

[Former_Member]

I'll be sure to chat with the Etsy Team to come up with a better way to make this clearer. (And clean up some of the content we have on the site that is confusing.)

Please only use common compound words "sterling silver", "bunny rabbit", "crimson red" in your tags. Use your judgement here, no one will have their shop closed for using a common word phrase in their tags. Tag stuffing looks like this "red green christmas gift", "bunny woodland animal".

Give us a few days (since it's the weekend) to come up with more succinct language.