Whyyy?

[#1]

I listed three new items yesterday...and I'm dumbfounded as to why I have had ZERO views? (it's possible that one item had two views, but C'MON)!!! What is up with that? I'm trying to NOT focus on views...but if nobody is 'viewing', then what's the point? :::sigh::: :(

[Former_Member]

Janie, no that isn't correct. Punctuation and characters are ignored by Etsy and search engines so either don't include or just make sure they are used correctly with spaces in the right places. If for example you had cat/dog in a title it would be read as catdog which obviously isn't helpful. However cat / dog would be read as two separate words ie 'cat' and 'dog' which is good. A plus on punctuation is that is is easy on the eye and helps buyers and because of that it can increase visibility. However it won't be to your detriment in SEO terms if you don't use it.

A negative on punctuation is misuse of it as above and over use of. So a string of characters such as ----------------------------- in a description for example could be read as spam by search engine bots and is also a big no on Google Shopping. So just use it normally and it won't be a problem.

[ionesAttic]

thanks Claire for Clairifying some SEO questions.

I am still learning, choosing to use commas between key word phrases, and eliminating of, by, for in titles.
Keep the great observations coming...some of us need to hear this information decoded in a way that we "get"

[Former_Member]

Kriya, you're a doll. THANK you. But can you just clarify what you mean by "get on the right searches"?? I'm not sure what that means.

Maggie, that was funny. Sometimes I feel like I'm standing on one leg, crossing my fingers and jumping up and down. It's HARD!! And Barbara, yes it DOES take a while to 'get' this stuff!! Every little step is an "Ohhhhh, I get it now" moment. Lol.

[Former_Member]

OK, i'm also in a similar boat, April was the biggest month ever for me on Etsy, but May has just dropped off a cliff in views, orders, favorites, etc.

What the hec?

Holly

[kidsstore]

Claire, thank you for clearing that up. I am in my 60s, so using punctuation is normal for me. In fact I used to do the final proof reading for the newsletter for the education association newsletter. I am sort of new to the internet rules and the changes in grammar, spelling, etc.

Judy, it is hard getting on the right searches. I have a lot of inquiries/custom orders for one of my items from customers that are new to Etsy. I was curious so finally went on Google Search and found my item shown as the 2nd item on the first page and again 2 more times on that page. I thought, Wow, so I tried a few more of my popular items. Guess what, I couldn't find any of them listed on the first 8 or so pages. I am syndicated, so I can't figure out why the one is shown right away and the others aren't. I'm just glad for the traffic from the one item, as it brings viewers and potential customers to my shop.

[Former_Member]

Thanks, Janie. I understand what you're saying about punctuation. I've always been a stickler for grammar and punctuation ... so I didn't know if the rules still applied in Etsyland!! I'm still not sure what you all mean by 'getting in the RIGHT searches'. What are the 'right' searches and how do you get there? I feel so dense right now!!

[KriyaDesign]

:-) Judy, I am thinking about something and assuming you could read my thoughts. What I meant was the "right keywords (referring to tittles and tags)". What folks are looking for or typing in their searches.

There are quite a few items in my shop I don't know where they are. I do the search on them, and they are not even in the first 15 pages. That's how far I click normally. My guess is the items don't get views because the keywords are off. So I have to find another ones. How?

I search something using 2 words phrase, so I assume everyone does too. So... .very scientific :-). I am crazy about jewelry since birth, so said my mom. Silver jewelry, gold necklace, tree bracelet, tree of life bracelet, pearl bracelet ( I love love pearl)... I am born with the vocab ha ha ha

Keep testing and go easy on yourself (telling this to myself too) and have fun

[KriyaDesign]

Pandora Beaded Bracelet Glass & Sterling Silver Beads

I'd search: pandora bracelet, lampwork bracelet, sterling silver bracelet, colorful bracelet, bead bracelet, beaded bracelet, chunky bracelet, pandora style

If you're selling glass lampwork beads, its okay to use "glass... beads" in your title. But you're not so, maybe you can drop the "glass" and use the space for... "right keywords". When I am looking for pandora style bracelet, I don't care much if the bead is made of glass or not.

~ Beautiful Faceted Tourmaline Gold Anklet LAST ONE Green Peach Golden
I'd search for gold anklet, gemstone anklet, tourmaline jewelry, gold filled jewelry, bead ankle bracelet, gold ankle bracelet, gold jewelry,

and I don't know what anklet is, but I do know ankle bracelet. So... you see folks who search ankle bracelet may not find your listing.

Do you get my drift? :-)

[SerenityInChains]

Thursdays are slow for us, so it could be that it's just a slow day.

[Former_Member]

Kriya, yes I DO get your drift!! Excellent search words. So now....am I correct that these search words (or keywords) are the words I should use in my title, description and tags?? Is THAT the point? (I have joined the SEO & Relevancy Team...so I am overwhelmed with all that I am learning. But it's ALL GOOD.) :)

[KriyaDesign]

:-) Yes. Test itty bit at the time, and see if the views increase.

Views don't necessarily equate to sales but I've noticed items that collecting dust (on the virtual shelves) are the ones with low views. I've also have high views items, still collecting dusts. What's the science here? ha ha ha no clue.

Overwhelm is good :-). Chaos is the prelude to order. Test, play, experiment, go easy on yourself. The more relax you are, the easier to see what works.

Go get busy gal...

[wildwomanbeads]

Here's my experience. My views were running about 25 a day on a good day. I loved my poetic titles and vowed to keep them. Then I decided to give Mary at SEO/Relevancy a shot at advising me.

She showed me how to use the Google search tool, how to figure out if a long or a short title was best for my items, and what words I should always try to include in both titles and tags. (I don't remember everything she told me, but I printed it out and refer to it whenever I'm titling a new item, which I soon will be this weekend.)

She recommended I start with changing the titles on 2-3 items and watch my stats. They immediately increased on those items. So I gradually, over weeks, began to change more...and the views crept up. The more titles I changed, the more views I received. Bye bye, poetic titles.

My titles are now pretty dry but they have increased my daily views fourfold on many days. I now average 100+ views per day.

So my best advice is to let Mary and her team show you what to do so you learn for yourself (or copy out the directions, as I did), and then give it a try. If it doesn't make any change, you haven't lost anything. If it does, and it did change views for me, all the better.

What I now try to do is always use both the words "lampwork" (or "glass") and "jewelry" in my titles, and all three somewhere in all of my tags.

[Former_Member]

Thank you so much, Krya & Meredith!! What you're both saying makes perfect sense. Meredith, I have joined the team and already got started with my review. I had an awful day (physically) yesterday-- REALLY bad Lupus flare (which is ironic because it was 'World Lupus Day') so I completed Part 1...but just couldn't get to Part 2. Hopefully, I can do so today.

Kriya...I absolutely LOVED that quote!!!! "Chaos is the prelude to order". Fantastic!!!!!

[Grandmasandeze]

My views are really low too, but I'm working away on new items to add.
I hearted and pinned your turqoise bracelets. very nice.

[Former_Member]

Thank you, Sandy!! I just noticed that!! :)

[Former_Member]

Here is a question for you...for those who sell jewelry: Do you ever use the tag bclt? For example 'tree of life bracelet' does NOT fit as a tag. Neither does 'sterling silver tree bracelet'. Too many letters. So in this case, do you think that people actually search bclt? I'm really having a bit of a time tagging properly (on SOME of my listings).