Who gets to be relevant?

[Former_Member]

I have tried the whole tweaking my tags to better my SEO, and have tested it by doing my own "search" as if I were a customer. While my stuff hardly ever shows up in a search (I realize there is a sea of sellers and it is very saturated), I look at those who do make it to the 1st page, and look at their tags to get an idea of what I am doing wrong...and you know what? I saw a lot of one word tags, such as "girl" "boy" "baby"...same seller over again gets exposure, whereas my tags are way more detailed using phrases and I'm nonexistent? I know this is probably not the case for every listing, but it kind of puts a bit of confusion as to who is relevant and who isn't.

[Former_Member]

http://www.etsy.com/teams/10713/cindylouwho-team

Try joining the CindyLouWho team to understand relevancy...because it's confusing/complicated.

[Former_Member]

Thanks, I will apply!

[Former_Member]

Excellent team. Thanks for sharing!

[ComfortAndGrins]

thanks for sharing.

[Former_Member]

This sounds like just what I need. I've just posted on another forum that I listed a scarf yesterday and as I went to look for it in the categories as well as using search, I couldn't find it and I have no idea why. I will also apply to the SEO team!

[Former_Member]

I shared a few posts on my blog, you might find them useful!

How to Get Found on Etsy
http://trashn2tees.blogspot.com/2011/08/keeping-relevant-on-etsy-how-to-get.html

Etsy Sections Are Meta Tags
http://trashn2tees.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-get-found-etsy-sections-are-meta.html

Recency Still Matters, Folks
http://trashn2tees.blogspot.com/2011/09/keeping-relevant-on-etsy-recency-still.html

If you have any specific questions I'd be happy to try and help out- I'll check back later or feel free to send me a convo!

[heartsabustin]

I think clicks and sales help, too. That's just something I've noticed. Adding new stuff or renewing some items also helps.

[Former_Member]

Deffinetly, the amount of clicks something gets helps in a HUGE way; one of my patterns is on the front page of a search, the rest are the 2nd, 2rd, etc.... I've also seen a lot of 1 word tags getting higher in relevency, so I'm trying it out for a while; I ythink relevency takes into account how many clicks you get, and the higher the clicks even if from diffrent searches gets sellers higher. Thus, while 2 words are preffered, 1 words can get you a lot of views, too. Plus, I see a lot of people just searchinf for 'pattern; 'bolero' etc, so that can only help your views, too!

[Former_Member]

Genevieve: I'm poking around your shop a little. Just some quick suggestions- be sure to utilize all of your tags.

I'm specifically looking at this listing right now: http://www.etsy.com/listing/107445104/custom-made-to-order-knit-pearl-necklace

When you set up your listing it's also important to categorize it properly. You have it listed: Knitting --> Jewelry ---> Earrings (its not earrings) Another option might be to categorize it Jewelry ---> Necklace---> Fiber this is one of those items that could be categorized differently so experiment to see what works for you.

Your title isn't going to help someone find your knit necklace. I might suggest you rearrange the title, starting with what it is. Knit Pearl Necklace. Some other keywords might include (also tag possibilities) : Womans Jewelry, Autumn Fashion, Knit Necklace, Statement Jewelry, Yarn (I noticed bamboo mention in listing- if if applicable mention that its sustainable & use that as a tag) Wool, Bamboo, Yarn etc. Custom Order, Made to Order. Color tags: Ivory, cream, beige

Your shop description is vague, Handmade Knits and Yarn Art
I discuss this in the Meta Tags post. Adding key words here will certainly help: an example- Handmade crochet and knit scarves, hats, headbands and accessories

Hope something in there helps a little- I know it can be frustrating when you feel like your not getting found.

[Former_Member]

Relevancy isn't just about the tags that you're using. It's a combination of four elements; Title, Image, Description, and Keywords/Tags.

Let's grab this item from your shop for reference:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/107181213/chunky-infinity-scarf-infinity-cowl-seed

When you're deciding what title to use, you definitely want to choose one of your keyword phrases to use as your title tag. Titles should be less than 70 characters, spaces included. It doesn't matter how many words those are, as long as they're not more than 70 characters because Google will only show the first 70 characters of a title. (This is probably why most Etsians say the first three words are most important.)

You also want to steer clear of keyword stuffing, which is defined as using as many keywords in your titles as you possibly can. The idea that you will return more searches because of this is a myth and a very harmful one, at that. Google actually penalizes web pages that do this and while a page may show up in the search results the first few times, it won't take Google long to start reading it and indexing it as spam, thereby removing it from its SERPs.

Avoid using punctuation marks in your titles if you can. If you can't, use a hyphen ( - ) to separate your words rather than a comma. The hyphen is the second most search engine friendly punctuation mark. (The friendliest is the bar ( | ), but for some reason, Etsy doesn't allow its use in titles.)

In my opinion, a good title for this scarf would simply be Infinity Scarf - Olive Wool. It uses 28 characters, has a commonly used search term (keyword phrase) and accurately describes your item.

Images are also important for search relevancy. The most important factor, the alt ref tags, have already been taken care of by Etsy. If you right click on your picture and select 'Inspect Element', you can see the alt ref tags that are being used...it's the same as your title. Alt ref tags are relevant to search engines because crawlers cannot see the image and must rely on the alt ref tags to tell them about the picture. So, if your title is relevant, your pictures are relevant, as well. This is another reason why your title is the most important factor in the relevancy equation.

In your description, you want to use your keyword phrase again, as well as some other search terms (keywords/phrases) that are relevant to your item/page. But, don't bog the description down with more keyword stuffing. The first 150 - 160 characters (including spaces) are important for search engines since that is what shows up in SERPs.

Descriptions can be tricky because you want to keep a conversational tone, provide an accurate description, -and- optimize it for search engines without it looking as though you're optimizing it for search engines. Choose two to three keyword phrases (including your title keywords) and use them in your description. You can think of keywords/phrases as salt. You just want to sprinkle some to add flavor, but don't overuse it because then it's just too salty and inedible.

For this item, I would use Infinity Scarf, Peruvian Highland wool, and olive green scarf as my keyword phrases in my description.

Your keywords/tags. Google doesn't use tags anymore (which I think is a good thing). But, Etsy's search engine does and I believe that Bing still uses them, as well. So, here, you want to reiterate the keywords/phrases that you've already been using, as well as use a few additional keywords/tags that you may have mentioned in your description, but weren't focused on. Some sample keywords/phrases that I would use for the scarf listing would be infinity scarf, wool scarf, olive infinity scarf, chunky wool scarf, and green scarf. If you need help brainstorming other relevant search terms, you can use Google's Keyword Tool. It's an excellent source for keyword research.

I use these techniques in my own shop. I sell mostly jewelry items, which is a highly saturated niche. I use Google's Keyword Tool to help me decide on which keyword phrase I want to focus on before I list. Some of my items are similar (IE mens bracelets) so I try to use different search terms for each bracelet that I offer (mens beaded bracelet, mens magnetic bracelet, mens bone bracelet) because this allows different pages of my shop to show up on SERPs and that draws more traffic.

For each of these search terms (mens beaded bracelet, mens magnetic bracelet, mens bone bracelet), at least one of my items shows up on the first page, sometimes within the first three or four items, and has done so since the day that I listed the item. (Every now and then, my item will appear on the second page, but that's when I go in and tweak the description and keywords.)

Sorry for the extremely long-winded response. >__<

[Former_Member]

Excellent & thorough response Disco!

[Former_Member]

TNT Tees
Since I opened my shop in July I have been so frustrated with pictures and searches and views and sales... I am so new and I have been searching for information and trying to change and update my shop. I feel like I feel off the Etsy world. I knew I must be doing something wrong (I have so much to learn). When I stumbled upon this post I followed your advice and went to your blog. WOW, what great information. Thanks in advance for all the help I will great from the information you provide there. There is so much I did't understand and you make it so clear. I will start using some of your advice today. Again thanks.
Cindy

[Former_Member]

Thanks Disco
Now Back to work for me, so much to do

[Former_Member]

That's a very interesting and informative post Disco. I've re-read it a couple of times now ;)

[InsideSandysShop]

TNTees - Thank you so much for all this info. I am marking it for reference later as well. I am in the process of going through and redoing all my titles, tags and descriptions now so this will definitely help me as I do that. You made everything so very clear and I can't wait to get over and read your blogs also.

Would you mind if I copy and paste this over in the "How to improve my shop" team - I am a leader over there and etsians are constantly wanting this type of info and you have put it in clear and simple terms.

Blessings - Sandy

[InsideSandysShop]

Sorry it's Disco not TNTees! OOPS

[Former_Member]

@ Sandy - I actually copy pasted portions of this into my blog. I've been looking for something to write about in my blog and I think I've found it. You're more than welcome to link to it if you wish. =)

http://enigmaticcreations.blogspot.com/2012/09/relevancy-on-etsy-easy-formula.html

[Former_Member]

Cindy, I'm happy to help. Getting noticed on Etsy can certainly be overwhelming- so many things to take into consideration: titles, photos, tags, prices. Don't be discouraged! You're on the right track- continually learning & updating is crucial for success.

Have you checked out any of the Etsy Lab videos? Another great resource for creative business is www.ohmyhandmade.com or www.handmadeology.com both are stuffed with great useful content!

[Former_Member]

My SEO is finally working for me. It definitely took a lot of tweaking. Sme things you'd think would work...wouldn't..and some things you'd think wouldn't work..did. But my views are way up and I'm making a sale for every 15 views or so...which means my listings are relevant to what people are actually searching for and not just showing up in search results in general.

[VintageFabricStudios]

I am new to this whole SEO thing...but doesn't Google also consider where your shop's back links are located. Linking up your etsy site to other sites relevant to your shop's content through promotion and sharing is another way to see your etsy shop in the first few pages of a Google search.

Please correct me if I'm wrong on this one! I've been reading a few etsy help books and this was a topic I read through last night :)

[Former_Member]

Oh, most definitely, but backlinks don't have anything to do with Etsy searches and being found in Etsy's return pages.

When you're SEO'ing for Google, though, you want to be very careful about where you leave your backlinks. For example, you wouldn't want to leave a backlink to your shop on a muscle car forum/blog if you're selling baby blankets but you would want to leave a backlink on an arts and crafts/handmade forum/blog.

Google penalizes your shop page/website for this. Hardcore.

For the longest time I had been telling my friends not to leave backlinks on sites that are irrelevant to their own website. (These are wholly unrelated to Etsy shops.) They refused to listen and continued to build their Page Rank based mostly on the backlinks that they posted like....everywhere! So, when Google released the Panda, I had a few phone calls at two in the morning that went something like this:

Me: Hello?
Freaked Out Friend: AMG NETTE We're so SCREWED! It's OVER, we're FINISHED, we're DONE FOR!
Me: /freaks out What? Why? What happened? Are you okay?
Freaked Out Friend: Google released the Panda and it hit us hardcore! We were penalized so hard that even our site's name doesn't show up anymore!
Me: /rolls eyes and laughs a sinister laugh. I kept telling youuuu. My site's fine. /hangs up and goes back to bed

They shoulda listened. =P

[VintageFabricStudios]

Thanks for clarifying that Disco! I'm listening ;)

[Former_Member]

TNTees...oops!! Thank you so much for pointing that out about the necklace....off to go fix that, I obviously goofed there.

Wow, Disco Sorbert...all the info you provided just opened my eyes. I have read several threads on SEO and none of them mentioned anything about keyword stuffineg, etc. which makes so much sense. All of it does. A lot of the things I have read up on (and a lot of listings I see) use as many descriptives in the title and throughout the listing...there is obviously a lot more to it than I've learned so far...I think your response has been the clearest and most informative post on SEO that I have come across since I joined. Thank you so much for this valuable info. I am off to do a lot of changes woth my listings, and I so appreciate all the help you have offered, I just know this thread will help others like me.

[Former_Member]

Kelly, here's a resource of over 50 places to link your Etsy biz
http://trashn2tees.blogspot.com/2011/10/60-free-links-to-promote-your-biz.html