Just HOW awful the Etsy search is.....

[CoolCyberCats]

Want to know just how awful the Etsy search is? Search on "Big Sky Cativity".  The search says "No results for big sky cativity. Showing results for big sky nativity." YET in the top 4 shown is a listing titled "Big Sky Christmas Cativity Figurine Set: Whimsical Nativity Scene"! I am selling a full 3 set Cativity that I never used on Ebay and wanted to see if anyone had one of the sets or ALL the sets here for sale, so that sparked the search. (deciding if I should list it here or not, but given the awful search, I may not)

Even WORSE, down a few rows is a result with the title "Vintage Big Sky Carvers Moosetivity I - Mountain Mooses By Phyllis Driscoll Complete Moose Figurine 5 Piece Nativity Set - In Original Box". Verify you see this. Now, alter the search to "Big Sky Moosetivity" and it does NOT show that listing, but shows a boatload of "Big Sky" things. Can someone explain this?

It is things like this that cause so many people here to complain about no sales and hits. If I wanted to find a "Grey Widget with Feathers" and searched on that, I would get nothing related. If I searched on "Purple Pole with Sugar" I am guessing I would get rows and rows of Grey Widgets with and without Feathers. *sigh*

[moonbeamgifts]

It sounds like Etsy's internal auto correct is overriding, there used to be a (very small) link that said search for what I actually typed that would force the engine to go out and look for the exact words.   Is that not there anymore?

I have no idea what the items are (aside from a moose themed nativity, of course) but is there a chance these are new items and not vintage so therefore not allowed to be sold?   That would be a refreshing change if they were somehow stopping traffic.    Although I think Big Sky is a tv show so it probably is helping those violating sellers out.  LOL

My last weird search was looking for a specific breed of dog graphic.    The results returned vintage vacuum cleaner parts.    Never figured that one out since there wasn't any cross over from a similar brand or anything, just here's a bunch of random vacuum pieces, maybe they were encouraging me to build my own robot?

[CoolCyberCats]

@moonbeamgifts Big Sky Carvers was selling these about 20 years ago. I would say they sold them between '98 and '07, so they are allowed on Etsy. Big Sky Carvers was bought out by Montana Silver Smiths, who destroyed the brand and then I think the original owner bought it back and they are a fraction of what they once were now (if they are still around, not sure).

I did not see a link to use the original search, but did not study the page for it either.

Between my cativity search and your dog search, Etsy shows just how bad their search is.

[BeaconwoodDettman]

I had to read the word "Cativity" several times, I had never heard it. When I understood it meant a "nativity with cats" I searched "nativity with cats" and it showed me Nativities with Cats.

@moonbeamgifts I think you are right about the auto correct, what's missing from the "search" line is what Google has - something like "showing results for nativity, search instead for cativity".  

[CoolCyberCats]

@BeaconwoodDettman But the actual name for the Big Sky Carvers one IS Cativity. Be like searching for a Hoover vacuum cleaner but nothing comes up so you search on "canister like machine that sucks dirt from carpets" to find them. If you search it on Ebay and in general you find the Big Sky Carvers set.

[audreytherese]

Sounds like search is programmed to ignore made up words. 

[CoolCyberCats]

@audreytherese That would be silly since many products can have names that are not in the dictionary.

[audreytherese]

There's lots of silly things being done around here. I'm not saying I agree with the logic, just that's what it seems to be doing. 

[dayspringcollectible]

And so do many companies and makers.  It looks like we are going to go through another holiday buying season with customers unable to find what they are looking for.  So they will end up at Amazon or Ebay instead.

[JJewellerySuppliesUK]

Cativity?  What next?

[digitaldoodlebug]

Search is bad, but this isn't the best example. There are only 5 results on ebay. And the first search included results for "big sky nativity". In order to still show results when people misspell things then they will usually correct it. Though they should give the option of looking for what you searched for. Etsy only matches a few words out of a search anyway. 
It would be more like a specific model name of a hoover vaccum. Like "windtunnel" or "sensotronic" or "onepwr". When I read "cativity" I thought of those cat towers and pieces you attach to the wall for them to climb on. 

Search engines only show what they want you to see and it's getting worse every year as they make bank on ads. Ebay is probably the best search. I was looking for something on amazon and it of course showed me things completely unrelated. 

[LastCentury]

Etsy does not like weird words or odd names. That test can be applied to many authors names as well when selling books.

in re 'cativity' though...  I wonder if the final person buying it would use the search term 'cat nativity scene' or 'wooden cat creche'; something real / normal but accurate... AND if the final purchaser's search term was cativity, whether that would result in an off site ad fee since it would likely come from google or some other fee-earning site and not through etsy due to their inability to allow for odd words.

[VivianJoel]

I gave up search on Etsy when I was shopping for vintage jewelry cabochons and I was shown a full size dining table and chairs set and POD mugs.  Several years ago but that ended it for me.  I am amazed anyone finds my items or store.  Cativity should not be an obscure word or item.  Seems simple (but impossible on Etsy) to just enter what you want and get accurate results.

[SimplyInvitingLLC]

I stopped relying on Search after I was looking for Printmaking supplies and wound up with pages of Prescription Drugs from Eastern Europe. 

[ForeverWindingWool]

Search is not as bad as many think (autocorrect problem for a niche item that has a similar spelling to a mainstream word aside). 
Many times, Etsy sellers are bad at creating listings that follow the guidelines.   Search engines are only as good as the information a seller provides them.  Etsy has shared helpful tips on how to craft your titles, tags, and descriptions to make your listings more visible. Many sellers have not searched for this information, which could help them get noticed more easily.

[dayspringcollectible]

When search won't bring up a listing that has the word right in the title, there is a problem.  Period.

[audreytherese]

I think it's intentional. People misspell things all the time, which is not intentional, and are still more likely to find what they are looking for because search looks for the closest real word. I know we've all seen the shops that say desing instead of design. So if someone searches for 'Halloween desings' they will instead be shown 'Halloween designs'.

While I can see how this can be beneficial the majority of the time, I do wish they would do like Google does and tells you, 'Including results for Halloween designs. Do you want results only for Halloween desings?'. Give you the option to override the automatic spell-checks and show you what matches what you actually entered. 

As a side note, I also searched Google for 'cativity'. They assumed I meant captivity. But they did give me the option to refine the search to what I actually entered and came back with mostly 'cat activity' results, no 'cat nativity'. 

[ForeverWindingWool]

@dayspringcollectible
I agree, to a point. You would think that if there was one listing to return, Etsy search would have done that. But it didn't have the confidence to do so. Probably only the AI-driven search and the programmers truly know why.

But here’s another viewpoint as to why search did what it did.  It's not right on all points, but many are.

FULL DISCLOSURE, THIS IS COPY/PASTED FROM A CONVERSATION I HAD WITH AI

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I saw a frustrated Etsy forum poster looking for Big Sky Cativity and complaining that Etsy search wasn’t cooperating. Here’s the post:

CoolCyberCats – Conversation Maker

Just HOW awful the Etsy search is...
Search on "Big Sky Cativity." It says "No results for big sky cativity. Showing results for big sky nativity." Yet in the top 4 shown is a listing titled "Big Sky Christmas Cativity Figurine Set: Whimsical Nativity Scene."

Even worse, a few rows down is "Vintage Big Sky Carvers Moosetivity I - Mountain Mooses By Phyllis Driscoll Complete Moose Figurine 5 Piece Nativity Set." Alter the search to "Big Sky Moosetivity," and that listing does not show, but you see many "Big Sky" results.

It’s posts like this that make sellers complain about no sales.

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I asked whether it’s possible to find the Cativity on Etsy, and why search returned those results. Here’s what it found:

• The Big Sky Christmas Cativity Figurine Set exists and is indexed.

• On Etsy’s “cat nativity set” search results, this listing appears.

• The “Vintage Big Sky Carvers Moosetivity I” also exists under nativity/figurine categories.

So the Cativity is there, but Etsy search has quirks.

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Why Etsy Search Behaves This Way

1. Auto-correct / fuzzy matching

   • Rare terms like “Cativity” are often interpreted as typos for more common terms like “Nativity.”

2. Keyword weighting

   • Etsy prioritizes keywords in titles, tags, and categories. Listings with “nativity” may rank higher even if “cativity” exists.

3. Semantic expansion

   • Etsy may treat “cativity” as related to “nativity,” returning broader results.

4. Incomplete indexing

   • If listings don’t include “cativity” in searchable fields, they may be skipped.

5. Popularity boosting

   • Frequently clicked listings with “nativity” may appear higher than rare exact matches.

6. Personalization

   • Etsy tailors results based on user behavior and past searches, sometimes favoring “nativity” over “cativity.”

7. Fallback behavior

   • If no exact match is found, Etsy shows “similar” results, like nativity listings.

8. Indexing lag / caching

   • New or low-volume listings may take time to appear consistently.

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The Real Issue: Seller Optimization Gaps

Many sellers don’t anticipate these quirks. If listings were optimized like this:

• Title: “Big Sky Cativity – Cat Nativity Set, Christmas Figurines by Big Sky Carvers”

• Tags: cativity, cat nativity, big sky carvers, big sky christmas, phyllis driscoll, cat figurine set

• Description: Uses “Cativity” and “Cat Nativity” naturally

Etsy would have a better chance of connecting that listing to both literal and interpreted searches.

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Summary

Factor Reality Etsy search engine Not “awful,” but favors popular terms and autocorrects aggressively. Seller keywords are often incomplete. Rare or niche items need both creative and common keywords. Buyer personalization affects results depending on prior clicks and purchases.

Bottom line: Etsy search isn’t broken, but it isn’t intuitive for rare terms. It rewards sellers who understand SEO and punishes listings that skip basics.
@CoolCyberCats 

[dayspringcollectible]

@ForeverWindingWool 

Yes, the eight reasons they give are at play.  But those become excuses for why Search doesn't work.

Search should ALWAYS bring up the exact search word or phrase entered first, then default to one of more of those 8 reasons to expand the search, AFTER the results for the search term are first displayed at the top of the search.

Other search engines can do this.  There is no reason why Etsy's shouldn't also except poor design or coding.

[ForeverWindingWool]

@dayspringcollectible
I see what you’re saying, but I think in this case, search was doing the best it could with what it was given. When you have a very niche item paired with less-than-ideal seller SEO, the results are almost guaranteed to be off. 

You know as well as I do, people are always coming in here saying, "Why isn't my blue bucket coming up in search??  Search is crap!  I'm being throttled!"  Then, when we look at the title, it is a kitchy name (Mark Twain's water collection system) with no tags, and you see the word "bucket" in a description that says, "This is the greatest bucket in the world.  Mark Twain said so."

Etsy search definitely isn’t perfect — we’ve all seen how aggressive that autocorrect can be, and I'm sure that's not the only idiosyncrasy! But when sellers stick to good SEO practices, their listings usually stand a much better chance of being found.

The tricky part is that we expect search to handle every rare or oddly phrased query equally well, and that’s just not realistic. The algorithm leans toward what’s common and proven to sell, so it’s up to us as sellers to help it connect the dots for those more unusual items.

[MissPussinBoots]

i just searched for "Big Sky Cativity set" and was told "No results for Big Sky Cativity set. Showing results for big sky nativity set."

Yet the very first listing was for...

wait for it...

"Big Sky Christmas Cativity Figurines", then an ad for a felting DIY kit, then a Polartivity set, a Moosertivity set, a Dogertivity set, a willow nativity set, another Dogitivity set, a Black Bearitivity set, and then just random wood, ceramic, and metal 'regular' nativity sets.

This is the most accurate Etsy search I've done in ages... but it's been a while since I used search because it always sucks so bad. (shrug emoji)

[PrimFun]

Yes and the search is working just as it should.  One item with that wording alone does not work for today's search (didn't work in the past either).  Search abhors a vacuum so it changes wording so it can offer just in case you made an error in spelling all the matches it can find.  So the cativity one is first with nativity ones following.  Search results are never shown as one, always more.  And that's any search done any place. 

[dayspringcollectible]

Yes, the search is going to fill the page once it runs out of the search term.  But many times it doesn't return the search term or places it far down the search behind many other items instead of the first results. That is NOT how it is supposed to work.

[CoolCyberCats]

If you use GOOGLE to search Etsy (go to google and on search line enter: site:etsy.com Big Sky Cativity) and the FIRST item returned is the Cativity. It also finds it in peoples favorites that are public (mine shoes for example) AND it understands to also find cat nativity.

[CoolCyberCats]

Actually with the BETTER search results this way, perhaps I'll use google to search when I am looking for things on Etsy.