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[TTFUNctionalCeramics]

Hey all,

I've found a lot of useful info on the forums and so haven't had to post much or at all. But now I'm stumped. A few days ago, I could use the search bar, type in something ("handmade stoneware mug" for example) and it'd pull up a list. But it would also show you how many items show up in that search. Now that's gone, and most of the time that number just says "1000+ results". I noticed you can hit a button at the top to "see more" and sometimes that "1000+ results" number will change but other times I don't see what it does. 

Did I miss something and why did that change to a generic "1000+ results"? I was using that to see how useful the term would be as a keyword or tag so now I'm really floundering!!! 

Confused and any light shed will be most appreciated.

Thanks so much,

Tina

[BagmakerSupply]

@TTFUNctionalCeramics: Undoubtedly some test showed Etsy that a generic '1000+' generated more interaction and sales than a real number. Or they just don't want to waste the computation time to count the number of results.

[PetandWildlifeGifts]

It's an extra step, but you can still get some approximation of that number by using a keyword research tool like Everbee, Alura, eRank, Etsy Hunt, Marmelaid, etc. Those tools not only show an estimate of the number of listings for those keyword phrases but also an estimate of the number of competitors who are competing for that term. Most have either a limited free version or a free trial before you have to pay to use them. But I miss that number too, for a quick reference.

[TTFUNctionalCeramics]

thanks, I've heard of eRank and Marmalade, not the others. Do you know if Keywords Everywhere still works on ETSY?

[FleurDesignCoShop]

I noticed this too! I use the search bar stats to help me choose good titles and tags. Now I feel like I am randomly guessing.

[TTFUNctionalCeramics]

I know, right? I don't want to be randomly guessing. What will you do? I'm considering Keywords Everywhere, used to work right on the searchbar. but maybe I'll check the other options mentioned from PetandWildlifeGifts

[FleurDesignCoShop]

Yes, I think I will look into Keywords Everywhere and the other options suggested by PetandWildlifeGifts. It will probably take me  a while to figure out the best one, but I got to try something!!

[SakuraDreamzStudio]

Etsy, please return the number of SEARCH RESULTS We can't create, list, and then live on the prayer that we chose a good keyword. Some of us don't use paid tools to sell on Etsy! This test is cutting us off at the knees and exacerbating an already-hectic listing process.

[BagmakerSupply]

My concern with using the 'search results' number for anything is how accurate it is, even if it showed a real number. Seeing how many unrelated listings are displayed in a search, can you really depend on search results to indicate how good a keyword is?

[SakuraDreamzStudio]

i find that when i am using good, well researched SEO relevant to my products that the related search results are also very good related results. it was pretty accurate for me. but my seo skills improve every day tbh!

[LunarStarCreationsCo]

Just want to shed some light on this as I literally just noticed this issue when searching up other niches to see if they were profitable or over saturated... this is literally by far the worst update from Etsy in a long time... it's now impossible to know if a niche is over saturated or not if you are a seller... plain stupid but not surprising...

So here's what I found out... the 'manual' way to find the real number of results for a search term is to ignore the '1000+' and go straight to page 2. Once you are on page 2 you can then adjust the URL page number to say '100'. You now know that etsy showcases 40 listings per page so a simple bit of maths will show 100 pages means 100 x 40.

Now... this method is a bit of trial and error with page numbers to see what the maximum page number is... Here is where I found the problem... they cap it at 250 pages... there is no way to go past 250 pages but I know for a fact some of these niches (literally most of them) have more than 250 x 40 (10,000). .e.g. 'flower prints' - etsy is now saying there are 10,000 as per their new setup which is a total lie - 'flower prints' has well over 900,000 last I checked a few months back so it's a given it's over saturated... if you are an etsy newb and don't know this information already you are in for some serious disappointment... when you think you are up against 10,000 listings... good luck lol

Please can someone let me know when they change this back just in case I miss it... literally the stupidest change by this platform...

[GreenthreadStudios]

I agree, this is so disappointing!  How are we supposed to guess how our keywords rank?!  Seems like yet another obstacle for the seller...

[GreenthreadStudios]

Just FYI, I just got off of the phone with Etsy, they say they have seen a few complaints from sellers about this change, but at the time, there are no work arounds for the sellers.  They said there was no way to elevate the complaint, they will consider my frustration and see if it merits a change back.    If anyone else wishes to complain, maybe there is strength in numbers.   

Thanks for letting me vent!

[LunarStarCreationsCo]

I spoke with SaleSamari the other day after posting this as I am looking for a solution... I haven't tried it yet but according to them they have found a loop around the whole thing so their software is able to uncover the true number of results behind key words/phrases... Their response to you sounds pathetic - the past few years it just seems whoever is in charge at Etsy for all these decisions needs to be let go - absolutely awful decision making and no care for sellers...

My personal thought on this is... many sellers are put off entering niches because of how saturated it is... now we are all in the dark, Etsy will profit a tonne more from new sellers entering the platform, trying to get into a niche because it appears like a gap in the market (especially when only 10k results is the maximum you can view now ((going up to page 250 in search results maximum)). Absolutely no protection for sellers and their best interest... shocking.

[PetandWildlifeGifts]

@LunarStarCreationsCo 

This is nothing new. It's always been that way. Tools like Sales Samuri are only making an educated guess, but it is much more accurate than just guessing off the top of your head.

Etsy has always shown a maximum of 250 results for any search term. But it is really only the first 1 to 3 pages that matter. Only .0000001 % of searchers go beyond page 5 at most.

If you are using titles and tags properly, you are already ahead of 95% of the competing sellers.

What I miss is what the OP posted about. Until a couple months ago, Etsy used to show how many listings there are for each search in the upper right corner of the page. Now every page says 1,000+, even tshirts which I know are in the millions, so it doesn't help you anymore. I used to use that as a quick look before using keyword tools. There are many keyword tools that will give you a fairly close estimation, but it was handy for a quick reference.

[BagmakerSupply]

@LunarStarCreationsCo: "...but according to them they have found a loop around the whole thing so their software is able to uncover the true number of results behind key words/phrases ..." The "loop" is probably just estimating at best, guessing at worst as @PetandWildlifeGifts said. We use the same API that companies like Sale Samurai has access to, and Etsy does not expose the data in any of the API endpoints that will allow anyone to KNOW what search results for a keyword are.

[HotDiggaDing]

As of today it's still showing as 1000+ searches. Some of us were lucky enough to run our keyword searches and take note of the actual search results before this change. I can go back to my notes but if I'm adjusting my keyword strategy I might try counting the number of pages like mentioned previously as a quick gauge and continue a niche-down strategy.