Esty Shop Optimization Focus Group - Day 1

[#1]

Hi Team! Before we get started...

1. You can see the format and timing for today's workshop here:
https://www.etsy.com/teams/15782/etsy-meet-n-tweet/discuss/13432955/page/1

2. Regarding keywords, with the exception of Jan, I want you all to set aside what you currently consider your keywords--they were much too broad for getting found in search engines as they were more like categories or headings. However, Jan, there is still room to work on yours as well. So, let's all see where today's research and analysis takes us!

Today's Participants:
1. Jan Purves from cardsbymormorjan
2. Tori Jackson from SecretScentSociete
3. Kathy Jones from KKJJewelry4You
4. Randi from LovelyLikeTheSun
5. Miss Tan from MissTanDesigns

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STEP ONE: Know What You’re Really Selling

Keywords depend on what you’re selling and the terms customers are most likely to use to find items like yours. Before trying to figure out the best keywords for your shop, determine exactly what you’re selling.

This might seem like a no-brainer (hello, I make knit hats!); however, many sellers have a product, but still don’t know exactly what they are selling. The ins and outs of your product can make a huge difference in the keywords you later choose for SEO.

Using knit hats as an example. A knit hat is a knit hat? Nope: not when you’re trying to be an SEO superstar. The knit hats likely come in different sizes--for men, women and kids. And different colors, textures, yarn types and varied thickness. Knit hats can be offered in different styles--cloche, newsboy, pixie, etc… PLUS, knit hats can offer an experience, not just warmth i.e. a trendy style accessory or a statement piece. Or maybe offer the memory of bundling up as a child and running out to throw snowballs with the neighborhood kids.

Get down to the nitty-gritty of what you’re really selling by considering all the details and options your products provide; then make a list. Write it all out and you have a perfect starting point for finding the perfect keywords.

ASSIGNMENT: Complete as quickly as you can so that we will have time to discuss your list before moving on to Step Two at Noon.

1. Make a list of all the details related to your products. Include variables like size, colors, demographic or genre, uses, feel, texture, trend, can it be customized or personalized?

Use the questions and suggestions in these article as a guide:

www.etsy.com/blog/en/2007/guidelines-tips-tagging-on-etsy/
www.etsy.com/blog/en/2009/seller-how-to-tag-o-rama-with-descriptive-keywords/

Also, on your list be sure to include any feature(s) of your products you feel your customers might be PASSIONATE about? ie all natural, organic, genuine...

2. Please post your list below.


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Special Note: I adapted much of the wording for this post from the following article:
http://outright.com/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-seo-for-your-etsy-shop/

[Former_Member]

Hi Clarissa! Quick question: for our "new list" of keywords/phrases that we get from typing in our search bar, about how many should we choose before moving on to the last step?

[cardsbymormorjan]

I noticed that often people sell more cards or a pack of assorted or only one card and they all sell well!
titles are not all color lead some are nice titles like 'mist rising over the valley' quite whimsical.
some give a gift with each order
I will look for key words later

this has been very interesting! thank you for all your good ideas Clarissa.

[MissTanDesigns]

Here's my list of potential keywords:

Cards:
funny cards
valentine cards
christmas cards
birthday card boyfriend
funny greeting cards
humorous cards
funny birthday card
greeting card set
holiday printable card
shoe cards
personalized card

Art:
motivational art
keep calm art
christian art
shoe art
printable art
inspirational art print
kitchen art print
kitchen print
modern wall art
digital wall art
typography print

[TwentyandUnder]

Hi Kathy you might use 5 or 6 phrase to search with but in the end you want to come away with just few potentially powerful keyword phases for you products that we will begin to optimize your shop for.

We'll just the other attributes from step one to help build titles, descriptions and tags.

if anyone is struggling with part, convo me your number and we can do a quick 15 min through to get you going.

This part of the exercise is really important. If you need a walk through just let me know or if you just want to double check your work.

[Former_Member]

I have some stuff I have to do, I will have to play catch up later one. Thanks so much for doing this!!

[Former_Member]

So after much thinking, I believe I have narrowed down my shop to a few keyword phrases (PLEASE let me know if I'm on the right track--this was the hardest step to really understand):

Bridal jewelry
custom wire jewelry
rock jewelry
swarovski crystal
wire wrapped jewelry handmade
romantic jewelry

[TwentyandUnder]

MissTan Great Job! Now that you have your list of potential keywords and successful shops in your genre we can begin to do a compare and contrast in order to:

1. Refine your most important Keyword Phrases
2. Possibly generate new ideas for your shop

Are they offering something in their shop with great success that you can easily be doing with your own art or twist?

(remember just because someone else is doing something doesn't mean you can too! They can't supply the whole world!)

[TwentyandUnder]

Randi...going over your lists again...brb

[TwentyandUnder]

Randi you're on the right track...but when you start to type swarovski in the etsy search window it will lead you to other combinations like

bridal swarovski earrings
pink swarovski earrings
swarovski jewelry set

gemstone earrings....gets you dangle gemstone earrings
gemstone bracelet

popping these word in the etsy search leads you to more specific terms...these term are the words buyers are using.

and these are the terms we will be combining to create strong keyword phrases

[TwentyandUnder]

Hi Team before posting the last Step lets see where we are with keyword phrases

Please post the phrases you think will be powerful for your shop with the potential to drive traffic and sales.

Keep in mind these won't necessarily be your only keyword phases for your whole shop.

you should a few powerful combinations

but let's see what you have...

[TwentyandUnder]

Maybe we should stay with this part a little longer I really want us to nail our keyword phrases. Again I'm available to for a little phone work to see where we're at.

We work on part three tomorrow but to give an idea...

The next Step is using your most important keywords to create:

• Your shop title
• Your shop announcement
• Your shop sections
• Your product title
• Your product categories
• Your product description
• Your product tags

I'm here and will wait to hear how everyone doing.

[cardsbymormorjan]

Sorry can't do any more now it's nearly bedtime. Will have to do the rest tomorrow after work. Thanks for all your hard work Clarissa much appreciated.

[TwentyandUnder]

Good night Jan! Thanks for all your hard work! See you tomorrow!

[Former_Member]

I have been using several combinations and not getting anywhere - I have found one of my items on the 1st page of the search results, some pages into it and still not found. I have looked at several shops and heck, one of them just started 3 days ago. I guess my biggest issue is finding the other shops. Eyes crossed from this and making jewelry today. Will look at it in the am with fresh eyes. Goodnight all KJ

[cardsbymormorjan]

think will try Part Two again I did it in too much of a hurry yesterday. a couple of the shops I looked at were not that inspiring.

[cardsbymormorjan]

https://www.etsy.com/shop/favoriteflower?ref=l2-shop-info-name
here is one more shop.

I am looking for inspiration but really not many of the shops I am looking at give me new key words. They sell well tho'. Mostly offering five or six cards in a pack, higher prices as a result,

words I have noted from several shops (in no particular order) are:
vivid, premium, vegetable art, party hostess, sunshine, wall art, printed digitally, good luck, dealing direct with the artist, soothing, blue sky, miniature works of art, bold color, matted and framed, groovy, signed,

some shops include in their description links to other sections in their shops.

Off to work now see you all later!
Jan

[Former_Member]

Question - I am sorry if this was covered already - do the items listed in materials section influence the search results in any way? Or are they strictly for information for the buyer only? Thanks Kathy

[TwentyandUnder]

Hi Team, Having some PC issues this morning! Trying to get them straightened out and hope to be with you shortly! Kathy that is a good question! Will have to find out the answer. I imagine they do but probably further down the ladder...but I will check!

We'll convo you all when I am back in operation!

[TwentyandUnder]

Hi Team I'm back in business! Taking a look at what you've posted and sent me and well have feedback for you shortly.

[TwentyandUnder]

Hi Team

This is what I am doing...

I'm taking words from the list you made of attributes for your shops and combining them into keyword phrases...then popping them into the etsy search bar. Within the results I am looking for shops with recent sales that:

1. are similar to your items and
2. fall within the search criteria

meeting these two criterions is a good sign that this product sells with these keywords.

Kathy for example searching for "Holiday Earrings" lead to a shop that is selling well in this category that uses a combination of
Holiday Earrings
Christmas Earrings
Swarovski Earrings

This shop is optimized to shop up on the front page for all three searches!

For you Tori

scented soy candle is the search that is showing the highest number of

1. shops selling soy candles
2. experiencing strong sales

I've already convo'd you the name of a shop that I think is good lead and from that shop the following keyword phrases seem to offer the most potential:

scented soy candles, All Natural Candles, Holiday Hostess Gift

looking at Jan, Randi...

brb...

[TwentyandUnder]

Jan, this is going to sound simplistic but there is a lot of interest in watercolor and i think for you it's just a matter of optimizing your site for watercolor along with a combination of keyword phrases for note/greeting cards ie

Christmas Baubles, Watercolor Christmas Cards, Blank Notecard Set, Holiday Greeting Cards

Watercolor Holiday Card, Tulips and Hyacinths Watercolor Notecard, Blank Notecard Set, Watercolor Greeting Cards


watercolor bird,

[TwentyandUnder · Accepted solution]

Step Three: Using Your Keywords

Yay! You’ve done the foundation work and now your SEO efforts will make more sense and have some measurable results. So, now that you have these golden keywords, exactly how do you use them? You’re going to utilize your keywords in the following places:

• Your shop title
• Your shop announcement
• Your shop sections
• Your product title
• Your product categories
• Your product description
• Your product tags

All of these places combined, pack a powerful SEO punch. Search engines love consistency; when they see a particular keyword or phrase used in many places by the same business, they may rank that business higher.

I'm posting each section of this assignment separately in posts....first up...Shop Title

[TwentyandUnder · Accepted solution]

SHOP TITLE

Search engines look for keywords in your shop title first. It’s important to have your best keywords in your shop title to increase your chances of being found. Google looks at the first 60 characters of your shop title, and Etsy gives you 55 spaces to make your impression! That’s not much to play with so you don’t want to waste spaces on nonessentials lie we make we sell…instead just get right to it!

Two Examples

1. Swarovski Jewelry, 14k Gold Filled & Sterling Silver

2. Original Watercolor Art, Greeting Cards, Notecard Sets

Assignment:

Write out a new shop title using two or three of your best keywords or phrases.

Next up...Shop Announcement...

[TwentyandUnder · Accepted solution]

SHOP ANNOUNCEMENT

This is another place that can pack a punch with your prime Keywords. You don’t want to waste this space with fluff! Cut straight to the chase! If you have a coupon code in your shop announcement, add it after the first sentence.

Anything you place above your first line of keywords will essentially become your keywords.

Example:

Swarovski Jewelry, earrings, bracelets and necklaces, handmade with 14kt Gold Filled and Sterling Silver Wire—Bridesmaids Gifts, Bridal Jewelry & Minimalist Jewelry - 20% Off Storewide Holiday Sale!

Okay so the above is not perfect but hopefully you get the idea. Lots of keywords plus the sale portion is still visible.

Assignment:

Craft a keyword rich shop announcement.


Next up...Shop Sections...

[TwentyandUnder · Accepted solution]

SHOP SECTIONS

The sections you use in your shop also have an effect on SEO. Etsy allows you 24 characters for each shop section. Utilize keywords to name your shop sections.

Example:

Instead of just ‘earrings’ try ‘swarovski earrings’ Consider how you can accurately name your sections for ease of use and organization, while still using a keyword or two.

Assignment:

Write down some possible Shop Sections using keywords. Remember our aim is to use CONSISTENT KEY WORDS OR PHRASES THROUGHOUT the product title, description and tags.


Next up....Product Title...