Etsy search is broken?

[ArkansasMineralsLLC]

When i search Arkansas Minerals on etsy, as well as specific searches of particular mineral specimens, etsy shows me all kinds of things that are not that...these tests (from my end via app and desktop) have shown my items ways away on page 4 or 5 ....many times Brazilian minerals show up before Arkansas minerals....and if i search for a specific mineral like wavellite, it will show me vanadinite, or random other mineral species from other parts of the world. sometimes it will show other peoples advertised listings for vanadinite....firstly, unfortunate that their algo seems so inefficient. Secondly, etsy should be ashamed for wasting other shops ad money by showing completely irrelevant ads across searches. This is the very reason i pulled my ad spend away from Etsy....it just all seems very broken. I really think Etsy's tech team needs to reevaluate the algo here, and maybe implement a better Ai to create more relevant search results for the customers....times are hard and every ad dollar should be generating some relevant views....it's wild how etsy's efficiency seems to be tanking so hard.  Ebay is so much better. If Etsy can fix it's algo, it has great infrastructure and a huge potential for the future...its gotta be worked on tho...there are so many cracks in it.

[BagmakerSupply]

@ArkansasMineralsLLC: You need to give up on the concept of Etsy search providing the results that you expect. Due to "personalized searches" there are many many factors that affect listing placement and the relative weight of each factor probably changes constantly. Even exact word matches to your title no longer ensure that you will appear in search. Etsy is proud of the fact that they provide search results which they think you will actually purchase regardless of what you actually searched for.

Keep in mind that if everyone on this forum searched for the exact same phrase they would all get different results and you can NOT rely on anyone's search results - particularly your own - to define how your listing is ranked.

Plus when the algorithm keeps seeing that you are not purchasing the items it shows you it will eventually stop showing them to you.

There is a very interesting thread at https://community.etsy.com/t5/Marketing-Your-Business/Etsy-search-is-moving-away-from-relevancy/td-p... that you may want to take the time to read.

[ArkansasMineralsLLC]

This is honestly sad to read....Etsy assumes everyone is cognitively impaired....very sad Etsy. Shame on ya. No more ad money, and will not recommend Etsy to anyone wanting to sell on a platform. i will recommend Ebay. So sad. I wish all of you fellow sellers the best of luck. Godspeed. May the future shine brighter.

[ThePurplePuppy]

It is this way on purpose and has been for several years. Do not expect or hope for them to change it because they will not. We only have 2 choices--1. put up with it or,  2. go elsewhere.

[CanningCrafts]

Etsy thinks they know best. I believe the CEO has stated they want to show you search results they think you will like. I can kind of understand showing some search results that are in the same category, but not the exact item you searched for. But sometimes search is ridiculous. Weeks ago I searched for chocolate, & Etsy showed me chocolate soap. That sort of makes sense. I searched for cookies & it showed me ads for frozen fish. I turned off my ads at that point. I had only run them for a few weeks after having them off for many years. 

On your mineral searches, does it work better for specific searches if you add parentheses around the word? Or is Etsy's search so flawed it ignores that too? When I searched for wavellite, it looked like all the first page results were for that. 

[ArkansasMineralsLLC]

Certain hyper-specific searches can be more efficient, But, importantly, most often they are still contaminated with completely unrelated items.....one would think that with all of this avancement in Ai, that someone would lasso up a brilliant system for a site such as etsy....I think the major problem is how quick an established business can fall because of it. Many pitch the whole "one must evolve with the changes" but it reaches a point where it becomes hypothetically close-to-impossible to implement such changes to rooted infrastructures of the internet age. It takes ALOT of time to list 300 items and fine tune an etsy shop....hard to tweak such a machine with deep roots entwined.

[BrickHouseFabrics]

I hate to be cynical, but,... I never thought it worked... ever

[DivineCrossings]

“Etsy Search is Broken?”  Well, that depends on who you ask:

Sellers: “Yes, it’s a disaster”. 

Buyers: “It’s mostly frustrating, filled with items that aren’t what we want, so we’ll go elsewhere”.

The CEO: “No, it’s working exactly the way we want it to work…it’s great and AI works perfectly”.

[SoigneTreasures]

The search has not worked in the 6 years I have been here. It certainly has no idea of what I am interested in. I often get a lot of maps turn up. I am not now, nor ever have been, interested in cartography. On a side note the targetted ads are nonsense as well. I have received several targeted emails recomending MY OWN items! I guess that is because I check my listings to see that they display correctly like any sensible seller would...

[OneEyeCatStudio]

Etsy search is like old Uncle Elroy who, at every family gathering, gets ferschnockered and tells you what he wants to say no matter that it has absolutely nothing to do with what you asked.

[TheHomespunLoft]

I agree search is very frustrating. I am not the only person who gives up after 10 mins of trying to find what I am looking for and I have just left the site. Instead of what I am looking for.. all kinds of odd things are showing up.. really odd things.

I am at the point where I refuse to play the game here. Everyone needs their own web site. I pretty much only buy fabric here and Thankfully most of the fabric sellers that I buy from here also do have their own sites and it is just far easier for me to go to them- then to wander here looking for a specific cotton print. I don't even care if I have to pay more on their web site.. at least I can find what I am looking for.. NOT something that AI THINKS I want. It would be lovely if it was different- but it just is not.

No wonder buyers leave this site!

[Girlfriendnecklace]

Etsy search a complete disaster! I don't even know what to do anymore and in years I never had such a slow Christmas Holiday gift views!

[CraftyCornishMaids]

If you keep searching for the same thing, and not buying what etsy shows you

they will start to show you other things

because they are learning you don't actually want to buy, what you are looking for.

The more you search and not buy, the more random the results will be, they will try to show you anything they you might have been interested in before

[ArkansasMineralsLLC]

this is a wild concept that etsy has illogically concluded as logical, as it is supposed to hold One-of-a-kind items proudly up in search as high priority...so if a customer is searching for the perfect one of a kind wavellite mineral or quartz mineral or handmade (ooak) crystal jewelry/decoration for example, the customer might be shopping for months trying to discover the perfect one for their collection. Due to etsy's flawed coding logic, the customer will discover less of the specific result over time, resulting in frustration on the customer's end, and thus, the likelihood of a non-sale. Not to mention, it will also at the same time, prioritize the recommendation of other shops who sell similar items but offer "forever" sales of 40-60% off...it is a flawed system overall. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

If they search, and the ones etsy shows them they don't buy

next time they search, those will go down a bit, and others will be bumped up

If a new one is listed, and it is a good match, it will be up front for them.

[TheHomespunLoft]

That just seems crazy to me..lol... so basically people can't "shop".. unless you find your item right off the bat.. so for me there Is no point in looking anymore- because according to this-- I will never see what I am looking for. And it will just be a waste to keep looking for something because I did not buy the first one they showed me?? 

Again- no wonder buyers tell me they find my things more other places-- where search actually brings them back what they put into search.. hmmmm.

And yes I know Josh says he thinks search is great and works the way it should.. silly man. Obviously he does not shop on the site.

[TheWestcountryWitch]

The other day I was looking for a specific style of art, and nothing but AI generated art came up. Tried searching for various things, to go against AI art, more AI art showed. Then Yesterday was searching for a free standing Crucifix made of wood for my mother in law. First page I had AI digital download of various crucifix ai created digital downloads. 

I went to google and instead searched there and found sellers personal online shops instead. 

[ArkansasMineralsLLC]

yes i think the future is : In person sales, then, direct people to personal website. Bypass all of this flawed platform bs. We are Wishing your business independent success far into the future. 

[DougsVintageStore]

Lots of frustration here, I'm not happy also with results of what shows up in a common query for a vintage board game for example.

Its been broke for months. Todays queries seem to be displayed to point you towards the hottest sales, or what has free shipping.

But Ive had some success with sales lately by modifying the alt-text and the listing titles. Pretty sure its just a short term climb out of the hole but I'll take it.

Best of luck to all.

[ForeverWindingWool]

@ArkansasMineralsLLC I recently watched a YouTube video about Etsy search.  It seems that it takes our descriptions and gives them a bit of weight in search.  This is what I walked away from that video with (it may or may not be right).

You need "blue yarn" and put that in the search bar. 

My listing title might include the words "Orange yarn", and the image is of orange yarn, but my description talks about how great blue and orange look together.  Desperate to get all 13 tags, I've slipped in the "goes with blue" tag.   

Now, if you searched anytime in the past for a blue vest (Etsy loves cookies!), and today you are searching for blue yarn, my orange yarn will probably show up somewhere in your search because in the beginning of my description I said that blue goes with orange.  You are confused why my orange yarn is showing up and the seller that sells blue yarn is infuriated because their listing didn't show up on the first page but is pushed back to page 5 in search results. 

But Etsy search AI theorizes, "Hmm, yes, they did a search for blue yarn, but I see they like (searched for) things that are orange in the past.  I'm going to show a couple of popular hand knit vests that have blue and orange in them ("blue yarn" is in the materials, title, and description), a pattern for making their own vest, some pocket watches (since these are usually bought by those who bought a blue vest in the past and this person looked for a gift for their train loving grandfather last week) along with blue yarn.

It's like Etsy AI driven search is too smart for it's own good.
I honestly don't know if this theory about how search works is true or not, but the way folks are saying search is acting...it sounds about right.

If you like to browse, stay on Etsy.  If you're looking for something really specific, go to Google and search "blue yarn" and blue yarn on Etsy will show up bold as brass tacks.  The seller of the blue yarn will then pay a fee because Etsy advertised (and you found) their blue yarn on Google and then purchased it. 

[NancyQstudio]

It's not broken because Etsy has stated it's working well for them. This means it's working as intended.   It's not unusual for Etsy to be disconnected with both the selling and shopping community.  So it might not be a fit for these groups.  

[SoigneTreasures]

My Etsy search stats are WAY down, the worst they have ever been. My own social media posts are up 74%. Fortunately I have a lot of regular customers who jump on my rarer items the moment I list so my shop is okay. I am pretty rubbish at social media, but obviously good enough to keep things ticking over outside my regulars. It does make me wonder why I am handing over 17% to Etsy though. I have kept an old website going which I set up with my daughter when she was at school.  8 years ago, gosh time flies. It has a great name for my business "the powder puff girls" so am really considering selling there as well as these paid sites. Anyone else spread their wings this way?

[FallenAngelBrass]

@ArkansasMineralsLLC 

What search terms are you trying to test?  We can enter those terms and tell you what we see in the results.  You won't be able to test accurately because @CraftyCornishMaids is correct, you're telling the search that you don't want whatever it has been showing you, so it's trying to show you other things that it think you might want.  Entering search terms and not buying anything - over and over again - is not a method that yields an accurate measure of what buyers are experiencing in the search. 

[ReImagineBrewing]

I miss the ability to fully browse without putting in any search terms. Then, I tended to get to what I wanted verses what I was being forced to see.

I also want my "vintage" filter at the top and not at the bottom of filters. I pretty much only use Etsy to attempt to buy vintage outfits a few times per year. I used to just browse not knowing if I wanted a jumpsuit or a dress and use the filters to drill down. I'd always find something. Now, I don't use Etsy to search for anything nor buy really. Anything I do buy on Etsy I've searched for in google. Like a 3d printed adaptor for my laser. I then didn't click on the google item because I didn't want the seller to be charged a surprise off site ad fee. Instead, I searched for the terms the seller used in their title on Etsy. I ground my teeth as the exact terms didn't bring up the item I wanted to buy. I then went back to google and did an image search of the product to see if they had their own website. They didn't. So, I opened up the item in an incognito window, copied the listing ID and the shop's name. I searched in Etsy for the shop's name, didn't find it, but then used the item ID and finally got to the item. I bought the item, saved the shop $12 and got very frustrated with Etsy. I knew what I wanted and knew nothing else was sold on the site that would work. Make it easy for me to buy. KISS...keep it simple stupid.

Now, I search in google first and actually try to buy anywhere but here out of pure frustration. Don't be a smart customer knowing what you might be looking for or you'll be disappointed. This is why Shopify, Faire and other sites are making it easier and easier to switch or add additional selling options. If sellers from Etsy start selling elsewhere and these other sites help make it easier for those sellers to set up and be found, well, they make money. So, they'll make things as easy as possible and offer good customer service too.

[DivineCrossings]

I did the same thing! Saw something I wanted to buy advertised on Google by Etsy, but I was able to find the seller’s independent website (rather than her Etsy shop) and buy there. So she gets to keep more of her hard-earned money. Sorry Etsy, you’re just making things too difficult to find. Too bad only Etsy sellers will know to do this. Unfortunately, most buyers won’t know how to get around the inadequate search function and will simply go elsewhere.