Did Etsy hit the reset button when they introduced shorter titles?

[EdiePiePrints]

Since September started my best sellers have all lost their traction. For context here these are varied listings for different occasions. 40th Birthday, 30th Birthday, New Baby and so on... 

Did Etsy hit the reset button?

I did change some titles but none on my best sellers. September is tracking 40% down and my shop has lost that consistency it once had. All year I've been up so it's definitely a September issue. Sadly I've lost all confidence in my shop and this is causing havoc on my head space. 

[WishesontheWind]

HI @EdiePiePrints I'm sorry to hear your shop is still in a funk, Septembers are often bad, could just be its a worse year all round, who knows!

Hopefully once September is over things will pick up in October, I understand the worry,  take care.  

[EdiePiePrints]

Thank you, it's just sad isn't it. It certainly is a funk and I'm just trying to understand what I need to do to resolve it. This month goes against the grain of any prolonged issues I've had before. I've had weeks here and there with dips but this has been the whole month. 

[BenMcfuzzylugs]

Sorry you are struggling 
You are not alone. You can use a tool like eRanks 'sites' tool to look at the reach of sites like Etsy over time and when I look there I can see that traffic really does seem to be way down 
But so is amazon and ebay 
It is always a quiet time of the year with summer ending and holiday shopping not started yet 
And with the ratio of buyers to sellers being the worst it has been in years, and public opinion of Etsy not being great I think we are feeling it more 

I feel the title thing was just released at a bad time in terms of it feeling like it caused a step change - I dont think it did. 
If you didnt change your best sellers then it shouldnt have negatively impacted anything  

[EdiePiePrints]

I think you are right about the ratio of sellers to buyers. I think I'd be contempt with that if I didn't have stronger months leading into now. I just hope it all steadies out soon. 

[RuncornWax]

Etsy are publicly losing some of their customer base as time goes on and likely need some decent marketing to turn that around. Time of year also not helping.  However ... even so - something has certainly changed. I have said before now that in my sector, I have noticed lots of competitors having pretty much permanent sales and even doing the whole 30-40% semi permanent sale just to drive the traffic.  That in itself shows how tough things are on Etsy because those stores I always kept a close eye on and they used  to maintain their best sellers with normal non sale traffic

[EdiePiePrints]

This is sadly the direction it's going. I'm dropping further and further behind where I was. Today I've 0 organic sales. Last year I had 15.

[Crochetlovemelbourne]

Same here…

[EdiePiePrints]

Etsy changed something this month but aren't fourthcoming. Support don't support,

[rarefinds4u]

Etsy REALLY should be warning it's sellers not to make sudden changes all at once.  Slow and easy is the way to go to not upset your visibility. 

September is as stated, a bit slower historically.  I would take the slow time to make improvements to your existing listings (ex SEO, photo's ect. - again at a slow pace).  I would also take the time to build your shop with new listings and if you are not working SEO driving your own traffic - start.  New listings and social media seem to help balance changes out for my shop.

Good luck to you 

[EdiePiePrints]

I think the way they placed the warning into their platform insinuated that the change needed to happen. Kick myself moment as I know better but just reacted to the amber warning. Nothing at the moment is touching my shop. New listings, SEO tweaks, ads. Likely aligned to the climate but it doesn't make it easier to swallow. 

[HeyMomCreations]

I was wondering the same thing! I should be going into my best selling months but instead my shop is down 36%. I have also been up for the year until September. Hmm...

[apaperaffaire]

I agree--something is definitely going on this month. You're not alone! 

[JanetsCrafts]

The whole summer and now fall has been very slow for me.  I haven't qualified for star seller in months and months.  Renewal fees are really tough, when there are no sales.

[PrimFun]

I suggest a shop critique.  I don't think your titles are doing well for you today.  They may have in the past but today is a new ballgame.  But I could be wrong so I suggest getting the input  of others.

Shipping to US customes may be a factor.  Many buyers are facing decisions they did not have to make in the past about what and how much to buy.  

[EdiePiePrints]

I did consider this recently but I'm conscious the guidance for titles and SEO is a little distorted at the moment. They've recommended shorter titles but expressed that longer titles don't affect your visibility. 

I think if it continues into October, I will request a critique. The main reason I'm reluctant is the decline was sharp in September. My SEO, listings and overall shop was doing notably well prior to this. 

[KarlasCrafts]

Something is going on. I shorten my titles a few weeks ago. When I did that, I started getting really good sales. I was getting several sales every day. The last several weeks were really good. Then, everything stopped last Friday morning. I have only had one sale since then (and that was from a previous buyer). They changed something at that time. I wish they would let us know what they did, so we could fix it, and be seen again. I hope things get better for everyone soon.

[JosephinePainting]

I changed a few titles but the complete lack of sales in the last month seems more related to tariffs for my Canadian shop

[Liamore]

If I remember correctly, we already talked about this. Since then, it has become apparent that non-US stores display a message to customers warning them to be careful, as there may be additional costs when the package arrives. This discourages buyers, who filter out these stores when searching, and Etsy also hides non-US stores more effectively... These three factors can now completely ruin a store. Try to stay calm, and let's wait desperately for a miracle, because I don't think there's anything else we can do... Unfortunately...

[EdiePiePrints]

I also believe Etsy is mass reindexing their site to align to AI. The last week my bestsellers have stalled but random listings are being favourited or are even selling. 

Seems the cards are stacked against us at the moment. Etsy support have told me to trust them and to trust they are doing the right thing.

[Liamore]

@EdiePiePrints I hope things work out for you. I've given up... My biggest problem or concern with the new product names they suggest is that I think they suggest the same thing for lots of similar products because they are robots, so they can't optimize for specific products... In my opinion...

[Liamore]

@EdiePiePrints

 I hope things work out for you. I've given up... My biggest problem or concern with the new product names they suggest is that I think they suggest the same thing for lots of similar products because they are robots, so they can't optimize for specific products... In my opinion...

[SugarTaffySoap]

@EdiePiePrints  Your new AI titles now have to recalibrate and relearn and understand what you are selling. This doesn't happen overnight. It took keywords from your listing and made the title more mobile friendly which Etsy aims for. The guidelines do not say you have to keep AI titles. You can revise the title keeping in mind the beginning of it is very important as to what it is. Remember once you revise the listings it has to relearn again. Also check your alt text to be sure its correct.  Good luck. 

[SublimeBeeShop]

Me too! Weekends are usually my busiest time – I can sometimes have up to 20 orders to despatch on a Monday. But this weekend I’ve only had 2! I honestly haven’t seen it this quiet since I first opened my shop. I’m always updating my listings – tweaking photos, refreshing descriptions, adding new items – all the things that are recommended to keep visible in search. I don’t know if it’s the US tariffs, the title changes, or something else going on with Etsy, but it definitely feels like something has shifted.

[booknookcreations]

I'm actually wondering if they hit the "reset button" on regional locations since they did the tariff country blocks. I've been getting sales from only my midwest region for the last few weeks, which is very unusual for my shop.