Overnight 90% decrease in Views since last Wed-Thu. What has happened??

[SewlyButtons]

My daily views have been fairly consistent. But last week, like overnight, it was like a light was switched OFF. My views have plummeted... up to 90% down from what is normal. Aside from all the crazy tests and horrible search function, I'm struggling to find what the cause is? I don't think I use any "shadow-banned" words (I mean, c'mon... I sell buttons... I don't think there's nothing offensive, sexual or otherwise no-no-ish about buttons). I know etsy has changed the search filter function regards categories (another crazy test??). But I don't know when that happened or if that has anything to do with it.

I've been here over 10 years and NEVER seen a sudden change like this. Has anyone else seen their stats fall off a cliff like this? 

[NeedlesnPinsStichery]

I am the same way. I have been on Etsy over 12 years and have NEVER had such a horrible year as this one. My views and visits are in the toilet. I keep hearing that it is the economy and things like that. Blah, blah, blah. How do I go from 15 sales one day to 0 the next. Doesn't make any sense to me. But hey....I am busy getting ready to enjoy the holiday season with family so I am not dwelling on it. Hopefully next year is better.

[TamJewelryandUniques]

The worst views in the last 30 days for 2023. This should be my highest views. I at a loss@

[ReImagineBrewing]

I feel that if you don't run a sale this is happening. Then if you have a good day even 1% better than last year the next day will tank to that 70-90% down. I can't figure it out. It just stinks.

Have you checked your key search terms to see if they have changed. Like right when the tanking occurred?

[cindylouwho2]

Your listings currently state they may not be delivered until the 29th, so that could be part of your issue, if people are shopping for last minute crafts. Etsy did say they'd be boosting items that would arrive in time. 

My views peaked on Friday but sales are still ok, other than yesterday and Friday (when I hadn't updated my processing time to show that I was shipping daily, so it said things wouldn't arrive until after Christmas.) Today is very close to my best day of the month, though -  always get a bunch of Americans buying on or right after Canada Post's suggested deadline. 

If you look at your views since the day they dropped, are any traffic sources doing worst than others, compared to the period immediately prior? 

[SewlyButtons]

@cindylouwho2 
Those are great questions!

My delivery time hasn't changed for the past 5 years, at least that long! I actually ship out the next day... but have always had it set for longer (just in case).  Thing is, my items are really not "gifty". There are NOT millions of button collectors, so I'm not really a Xmas gift option for the most part. Previous Xmas's have seen no appreciable drop in views, so what's happened this year ( litterally overnight ) is just bizarre. I always get a little bump the last couple weeks of Nov and the first week of Dec from crafters scrambling for supplies, this year the same as always. But then the drop was just so frickin' precipitous, like nothing I'd ever seen.
  
Traffic sources? The worst drops are etsy driven... app, search, and Marketing/SEO. Up to 70% down.

Another strange thing. About a month to a month and a half ago, stats showed that I generated like 80% of my visits, etsy only 20%. That was an extreme reversal from the norm... which "used to be" about 60-40 to 70-30. That lasted about 2 weeks. Then it flipped back to the usual split

I'm just so puzzled

[timelapse]

Yep, I just went through all my shipping profiles and updated from 3-5 days to 1-3 days, at least through the end of the year. It changed delivery from Dec 14-27, to Dec 14-23. 

May be too late, but here's hoping!

[OLDSTUFFNOW]

Once you do everything everyone says to fix you still won't sell anything. The Internet is flooded we with product nothing last forever nothing 

[heavyistheheart]

if views do not translate into sales it is kind of a non issue

disregard the above....i read overnight increased lol

[CozyAfghans4U]

In the past week my Stats have been extremely weird. Visit # showed one thing, but the actual items didn’t show any views. Then the last couple of days I had no Views/ Visits. I usually get at least one a day. 

[JunkLoveTreasures]

I’ve been experiencing the “lights on/off” phenomenon for the last couple of months. It’s super discouraging, but I’m hanging in there. Good luck with your shop & sales! 

[SAGaStone]

Same there. I have been on Etsy over 13 years nd this year is horrible. My view and sale have 80-90 % down. What happening there??

[SaltwaterVillage]

I have experienced a similar drop in overall visits. Stats over the longer term (2018-2023) surprised me because each source of visits actually increased annually (in raw numbers), with one exception: ETSY APP & OTHER ETSY PAGES. The drop in visits from ETSY APP & OTHER ETSY PAGES in 2023 and 2024 is so significant that it brought down total visits substantially. 

Furthermore, this tells me that the general economy cannot be blamed for the decline in visits, as there IS growth - perhaps a bit soft - in all categories except for ETSY APP & OTHER ETSY PAGES. I would love to understand why this is happening and what I can do to improve in this category. 

Are you experiencing a drop in visits from ETSY APP & OTHER ETSY PAGES too?

Does anyone know what might have changed? 

[TheNiftyNeuron]

After having read a number of posts here about sudden drops in views, I'm thinking that there are things that Etsy has changed about their algorithm, but they aren't going to disclose anything about that.

[LBclothingStudio]

The original OP started this thread in 2023.  2024 continues to have slow sales and decrease in every category.  

[ScoutandRemy]

Well with the economy and cost of everything these days maybe people are not spending as much on non essentials.  

[JoeGiuffridaArt]

I have been on Etsy for 3 years now and have had a consistent record of sales and favs or likes. It has been pretty consistent until the start of this year.  Could count on sales every week and numerous favs. I've noticed the fall off since Christmas and sales have steadily dropped in my shop leading to the most dismal 2 months that I  have had since the beginning. I understand that you have to spend some money on ads, or you will not get the visibility, so I have been consistently spending one to two dollars a day in ads, not a ton, but it has served its purpose. I haven't changed anything, yet my sales are in the toilet. I can't help but wonder if the administrators don't tweak the algorithm occasionally to reduce visibility to shops that aren't upping their advertising input to get them to go higher. The change has been pretty dramatic...I mean in two or three months for sales to come to a screeching halt?? I haven't sold anything in a month. 

[WhatMoreFabric]

I sell in a month what I use to sell just over a weekend.       

There is a make it club on  Thursday nights that I go to.     It is a large group of artisans and crafters.      Many have just given up on etsy.

[MoonVinyl]

Yes, there's definitely a problem.  A noticeable drop in views and sales for about a month now.  I'm fairly busy elsewhere - thank goodness -  but something isn't right, and I hope normal service will be restored very soon for the sake of all sellers. 

[OLDSTUFFNOW]

Everyone will tell you what to do lol nothing works to continually spend time trying to fix your shop you only lose more time and money. The Internet is flooded to death with product you can't expect things to always continue as before. Nothing ever lasts. My shop died im out doing shows

[8BitPixelVisions]

Its not “the internet”, other traffic streams are working just fine, it is specifically the etsy search that is currently problematic.  

[TarotByMokko]

Yes, it's been happening to a lot of shops. A couple of weeks ago, I did a total refresh of my storefront, including changing the titles, adding new listings and updating item icons. I also looked up new Etsy SEO rules and updated all of my listings and saw an immediate improvement within three days. I even had a sale after 4 days when the entire month of March was dead. The morale of the story is you gotta stay fresh because the algorithm changes all the time. And don't just rely on Etsy because the changes they've been making over the past year and a half have been wacky.

[TheNiftyNeuron]

Definitely. There are free resources or free trials of paid resources for doing keyword research. It's worth it to update your SEO to see if it makes a difference.

[NancyNicoleArt]

wow that's great - can you advise me on where to find the new Etsy SEO rules? I thought I was current but I have no sales in the last month! thank you!

[TarotByMokko]

@NancyNicoleArt I googled it and realized that from the results I looked at, they've changed it to blogging SEO. So, a legible title, external and internal (shop) links and keywords based on likely searches that you haven't incorporated in your title or description. I also added video so that when people hover over my listings, they'll see movement.