Why you are not getting found newbies

[#1]

Things are tough when your category has 2,000,000 items, and you have 40.
You must do everything possible to give yourself a chance to be found. I dont see that in threads compalining about low views.
And, it isnt that hard, nor does it take much time to have good tags and titles. Ignore all that constant "tweaking" noise you read about. Do it right the first time, and you can spend the tweaking time making things.

I have learned the following from the Queen of SEO:

1.Your title is not the name of your item. It is a 70 character string whose goal is to get your item found by etsy search.

2. If you cant tell exactly what the item is by reading your tags, your tags stink. Those words are what people search on. If I had a dime for every purple necklace that had neither purple nor necklace in the tags, I would have a lot of dimes.

3. Words in your title must show up in your tags. If Blue scarf is in your title, blue scarf needs to be in your tags.

4. Use as many of the 20 characters in your tags as possible. Blue scarf as one tag is better than blue, then scarf as two tags.

5.Read about SEO at cindys seo group. she is very wise. http://www.etsy.com/teams/10713/cindylouwho-team/discuss/10196168/

the end

[JaneStaufferPaperCo]

Great share! Thank you lots....

[Former_Member]

Wow, Alex - looks like you have a following! Do you regret your post yet?

Do you feel like critiquing another shop? : )

[PureImpressions]

Alex...I've been laughing for the last 30 minutes at your replies.
They're so blunt and to the point and it's great!

Can you please take a look at my shop and tell me how I can improve?
Thanks much :D

[BaloolahB]

It's so refreshing, a pleasure to read, this is my light point of the day.....why can't more posts be like this, positive, instructive and b***dy funny!

[Former_Member]

Yah, I think people are too worried about offending to be honest. We like your honesty, Alex!

[Former_Member]

Alex if you have a minute to look at my shop I would be very grateful. I am trying something new with my Halloween listings. Not sure if it is working or not yet.

[Former_Member]

This made me laugh so hard. Alex rocks. I know this from other teams.

[CraftyMrsP]

Alex is the Simon Cowell of Etsy....love it.....

If you have chance alex, my shop could do with a bit of honesty please xx

[Former_Member]

Wow! This thread is so informative and, who could be in a bad mood after reading Alex's fun critiques. Thanks Alex for your awesome advice!!!!

[Former_Member]

This is a great thread- very generous Alex. On page 2, someone mention etsyshoptimizer. It was interesting, but one of the listings it faulted me for because of the title is my most favorited and viewed, and sold item. So, I'll check out Alex's tips a bit further.

[Former_Member]

rebecca from widdle rhodie

you have many items and many sales
you are in a slump I see
that causes stress and irrational thoughts
good news is that you are to blame
ergo you can turn it around.
if etsy were to blame, we would all be SOL.

how is your search traffic been from etsy?
have you looked to see where you come up in various searches?

your tourmaline tags:
autumn
leaves
fall
rustic
nature
woodland
modern

uh... how did you get all those sales with those crappy tags?
not only do they have nothing to do with the attributes of your earrings. they look like the tags I would use for truffles.
get specific. if you were playing $20,000 Pyramid, you would lose even with tony randall as your partner.
i see the same thing in the chrysopase earrings. I dont even know what that is, but I love them.
everyone is using book backdrops for jewelry, especially the chinese.
holy crap! you arranged your pages by color!!!!
brilliant!!!

I would also like to see the titles start off with what the item is:hairpin, earring then go from there. I hear the google likes that.
your work is great
the competition is daunting
use multi word tags
think of who else each item would appeal to, like the birthstone example back there

my example was the fleur de lis
i have always sold a few locally, here there
my sales for them took off when I started tagging with:kappa kappa gamma, new orleans, louisiana, french decor and even boy scouts. That isnt just an ornament to those groups. It is part of their identity.

so, think about that
work on the tags BE SPECIFIC

I would love to see g clef earrings. there are some on etsy, but most suck.
my cousin has teenage boho daughters who play instruments, they would eat those up.

when I slump, I always ask myself one question.

What else can I do ?

that was taught to me when I did not want to hear it.

[Former_Member]

Could I have some criticism as well, please?

[Former_Member]

Alex - you are becoming an Etsy hero! what we poor newbies can do for YOU? as you do a great deal for us here!
I opened in july and i sell jewelry which says it all... i sold 1 (one!) item... here comes a sob....
I see views increasing but soo few are from search... on top i am from switzerland so not a native speaker... could use some help if you have time for yet another critique...
i will send swiss chocolate :)

[Former_Member]

Hi Alex,
Would love some constructive criticism if you don't mind checking out my shop :)

Thanks so much!
Angela

[Former_Member]

linda from columbus O

what do you have,,,, not real sure,,,, vintage stuff and your own
not a big fan of mixing the two
i really dont
I think the vintage detracts from your work.
as a buyer, I would leave if I saw that.
not everyone is me
i love the tiki stuff
i hear 1950s hawaiian stuff is big now

your tags for surfer dude

tiki
island
ocean
beach
shopstream ??
gift-no no no
collectible-no

use multi word tags, preferably words that are in the title

tagging this item is easy

hawaiian pottery art
tropical tiki pottery

you can easily make 25 tags for this one. lots going on

same theme holds for the vintage
double the single word tags
be more descriptive
you dont even have the maker for the virgin mary in the tags
oy
brainstorm with someone on the tags.

I could make a really good board game on the tagging

you should lay out 20 things, write out the tags on the cards and have a family member put the right tag on the right item.
how would you do?

[Former_Member]

This is a great thread- very generous Alex. On page 2, someone mention etsyshoptimizer. It was interesting, but one of the listings it faulted me for because of the title is my most favorited and viewed, and sold item. So, I'll check out Alex's tips a bit further.



the shoptomizer is pretty good, but by its nature, it is limited

[Former_Member]

Wow, Alex - looks like you have a following! Do you regret your post yet?

Do you feel like critiquing another shop? : )
........................

alex regrets having the gout and having to limp around

here are the TOU for my gout med

take as needed until severe nausea, vomiting or diarrhea occur.

aint that great?

I am going to try to go down to my shop and get something done
before the vomiting kicks in

[Former_Member]

AWWHH! Hey Alex! I can make treble clef earrings for your nieces! Please critique my shop!

..anyway, I will read through this thread. Its the best ever. Thanks!!

[designsbydkd]

Alex,
Hope your feeling better, I understand the gout is NO fun..
I would appreciate it if you would critique my shop also,

Thanks
Dori

[ChristalDreamz]

Alex, I know you're probably bombarded with reviews and critiques and I'm going to add myself to the list too. If you get a chance please take a peaksy at my shop and give me some input. Thank you!

[Former_Member]

judys widdle shop

what is judy selling....bows..silk.. and some vintage stuff
alex aint a big fan of mixing in vintage

looks like its hard to photograph the bows.. not really popping...closeups are fuzzy
wow
the pics are great compared to your tags
white bridal ribbon
you have five tags
none of them are white bridal ribbon
you have pearls in them
not in the tags
you say it can be a hair thing
how so?
you say a barrette, but I would like to see it
and barrette aint in the tags
sigh
eyeroll
white hair accessory
me mum has white hair
gift wrap bow
white flower bow
etc
i like the links at the bottom of your listings
I forget to do that.
a good reason to do that, for me at least, is because most of my google hits are for sold items, ergo if I put a link back to my shop, the person may go there instead of saying, "crap, its sold".

it looks like the tags and titles for the black and white scarf were written by someone different than the last one.
mucho better
65 hits in 3 months is pretty good
it is on page 2 in necktie scarf
what search would you like that to show up in most?
i would put your main words in the front of the title
looks like you worked more on the scarflette things than the bows.
the red barrette pin is pretty bad
you dont have hair bow in there anywhere
flower hair pin
crimson flower pin
etc
94000 results for flower pin
wow
you really need a lot of specific and descriptive tags and titles to be found in the smaller searches.The big Flower Pin category will be a tough nut to crack, but use that anyway in both the tags and titles, you might get lucky, Back those up with narrower tags, like crimson flower pin, red rose hair barrette, etc.

you have much work ahead

[Former_Member]

Alex,

I would love to know what kinds of suggestions and/or insults you have for my shop! I have been thoroughly enjoying what you've written so far, and look forward to tweaking my listings.

I have only had about a 12 sales in the last few months, but things have picked up and I've now had 5 in 2 days and am averaging around 100+ views of my shop daily.

What do you make of Etsy's ads? Seems like I receive few views per $ spent.

Lindsey

[Former_Member]

cranky mary from Mt Royal, hometown of Mario Lemieux!!
thanks for that

so.... you paint widdle pictures and put them on pendants
lotta cat stuff
i hate cats
they are evil and are plotting to take over the world
anywho

yes!
we have some cleavage pics
thanks
you spelled jewelry very wrongly.Its half american and half canadian. jewelery
why are the dictionary pendants the same price as your painting ones?
i want to see the most important words in the front of the title consecutively
cat girl cameo necklace
cat cameo pendant necklace, then put the other words
cat cameo pendant will fit in one tag
cat watercolor print
also, i would like to see more about you in the shop title and profile
google crawls your title. stick keywords in there

you can be more specific and descriptive in many of your tags
they are ok as is, but some are so general that they really dont apply to your item.
so, you are doing fine
more items will help
and thanx for the cleavage pics
I am almost certain that there is an etsy team that collects those.
a team for everything

[Former_Member]

aiasha from beantown
i am not a big patriots fan
at all
I really depise them
I will still try to be nice
ish

you sound very youmg and sweet.
life hasnt pounded the hope out of you
yet
I have a story for you.

About a year ago, I was done with my shows for the year, and was coming off two rainouts. Had a lotta stuff left. I had a few weeks before I was going to consign/wholesale the stuff, so I figured to put it on etsy and see what happens. I already had a store, though I was only open here and there. Totally closed for 4 years before that.
I had 32 sales total then.Now I am at 600ish.
The first month I made over $600, then 1400. Hasnt stopped.
Was it my pics? uh, no. I dint know about photo editing for months.
seo? started that in june
social marketing ? i dont know what that is.
It is because I have been making stuff for over 10 years. I found out what people will buy. I chose something that cant be copied. Still took a lotta hard years to figure it out. The etsy stuff is much easier, but still takes time.
So, if you are new to making stuff AND new to etsy, you have a LOT to learn.
And you wont learn it if you beat yourself up while learning. Dont be so hard on yourselves. Every overnight sensation takes 10 years.
Getting all this down is like patting your head while rubbing your tummy while playing Stairway To Heaven on a kazoo. Be patient. Hard stuff takes time.
alrighty

aaisha
your tags just silenced the cheers left in the air after my speech
the leaf necklace has one good tag
how bout freshwater pearls leaf necklace gold, etc for the tile
then
freshwater pearls
gold leaf necklace
minimilist style
gold plated necklace
gold necklace has 220,000 items
so you need smaller more specific to your item searches to get found easier
its important
there are eight suggested searches at the bottom of that page. Use them as tags if they apply!!!!!
Etsy is doing your tags!!!!
brilliant
wow
someone used a pic of jennifer aniston on the first page, she has a really nice
personality

so . same deal with the other 62.

I am going to check back on you, and see how you are doing.
I did a lot of typing for you

[TOMgirlApparel]

I am enjoying this thread tremendously, I want in! Alex, whatcha think?