Something very wrong with Search

[PhoenixFarm]

There is something very wrong with Etsy Search. I was curious why my views were so low over the holiday shopping season compared to past years. I sell a lot of vintage in my shop. I decided to search using just the keyword Vintage and I limited my search to shops located in my state by using the Filter function. The search returned 20 pages of listings. Of those 20 pages full of items, only one listing from my shop came up, even though I have thirty-three listings in my shop with the word vintage in the title. Even though I filtered for only shops located in my state, lots of listings came up from shops in other states and even other countries! They were not ads, just listings. What is wrong with Search? Is it broken? What are we paying for if Etsy can't perform the most basic function for us?

[MyLittleBalletAttic]

Yes, it's been like this for me for the entire December. All of a sudden, I stopped seeing my own items in search. Interesting, other people see them. I opened a topic here back then, and ...well, it wasn't a positive experience exactly:) I even got lectured on what I should and shouldn't expect in search, lol. Anyway. Yes, this happened. And it wasn't like this before, that I am sure of, because I used to search my own items on a regular basis.

If you narrow down your search to specific keywords (like three or four sometimes), you will most likely see your items.

[DougsVintageStore]

For all of last year I had a major gripe as so many others did about the broken search engine here. It was fine for my vintage store until it broke at the beginning of last year.

Ive done a lot of trail and error to get my listings back on the first page like the first years I had here.

Ive changed the listing titles wordings and re-did the alt text on the pics.

Thats helped a lot, but its still not as good as when I started here in 2017.

I use other puters like my lappie or when I visit friends or family to search for my listings placement.

Best of luck.

[ArtDollsbyJD]

I tried search using your strategy and it came up with vintage items only from Maine sellers.  You did choose Main, United States of America right in the filter?  Makes a difference what you choose.

In your state alone there seems to be over 1000 items so the likelihood of your shop appearing often would depend on many factors including how often you sell and the desireability of your items.

Etsy's search is not perfect but it is not broken either.  It does take some skill just as it does with any site to use terms that result in desire outcomes.  

[HouseofWhisperingFir]

@ArtDollsbyJD   and do you really think buyers are taking the time to hone their search skills when shopping on Etsy?

[PhoenixFarm]

Yes, I selected Maine, USA shop location. The search returned 20 pages of items. I looked through every page. Only one of my 33 listings showed up. There were lots of listings from shops in other states and even other countries. I clicked on listings to verify what was being shown to me. ALL items should show in a search result. If Etsy is hiding our listings from shoppers who are searching, then, in my opinion, Etsy is cheating us.

[PrairiePrimitives]

@PhoenixFarm This article may be enlightening ... 

https://www.etsy.com/seller-handbook/article/375461474487

[LateCenturyArcadian]

I wouldn't say Etsy are 'cheating' us, more... 'sneaking' us. They have laid down some standards for what they want to showcase in search and you may not be living up to that. Unfortunately they didn't exactly put these standards where everyone can see them, and some were bought in without announcement (as far as I can see). They were in things that not a lot of people are going to pay much attention to like Etsy Up videos and the forums where I would assume most Etsy sellers don't go! Would be busier here if they did...

I'm not saying this is what's definitely going on with you, just that it could be. I clicked on some random listings - some listings have images that are too small for Etsy's base expectation of 2000px on the smallest side. Some listings only had 3 or 4 images, and Etsy expects us to use all 10, though somewhere between 6-8 will probably do for niche searches. The actual number is not clear, so my info is based on what I've read in their policies and here, as well as what I've seen in search results as I mostly look for vintage.

Etsy also 'scores' our listings with a checklist of 'good/bad' elements - again they don't share this with us, I suspect because if they did people would find out just how badly they're really doing! But it'll have things like how many clicks, hearts and purchases you get and if a listing gets old enough without any attention from buyers, it will either slide right back or maybe not show up at all. Especially if other things ate going on, like not enough or too small images. You don't have the shipping or convo badges displayed so if you're lacking there, that could be keeping you down. Could also be the $6/lower shipping issue.

There is also personalisation to consider; if you were signed in and/or on a non-private browser when you did your search. I don't think you need to worry about the kind of customer who would just search 'vintage' and then browse, those people don't have a clear idea of what they want. You want to worry about buyers who search things like 'vintage painted plate' or 'retro kitchen'. Listings have to be titled/tagged appropriately, though I can't see your tags so I don't know what you're doing there.

Etsy have a ton of sellers with a lot of listings, so they don't need to show everyone. Just what they consider the best, and now and then they'll mix it up. Most corps will put sales above all other things, but Etsy seems to value machine learning just as highly. They are willing to fail in serving us in order to better serve their shareholders.

The only solution, if you feel they're not doing what you need them to in terms of traffic, is to bring your own. The market is so saturated now, it's not just a matter of 'if you wanna get seen you have to advertise'. That was the old way. Most everyone is advertising now, so not only do you have to do it as well, you also need another 'hook' to raise yourself above it. That might be killer photos, specialising in one type of thing, or an Instagram that does more beyond 'here's a thing I have for sale'.

I'm only here as a hobby, but it's pretty clear I have to have some kind of battleground strategy to even get a peep out of it. Lucky I'm a nerd for this (if you can't tell). More fun than ebay at least!

[MrsDsHandKnits]

 I don't think any of my hand knit items ever comes up within the 20 pages in a general search, but I also refuse to pay Etsy to put them there...

For myself, it is just as easy to sell on eBay as it is on Etsy...

[OneEyeCatStudio]

Etsy    We make it easy to find your thing.

is a lie.

[HouseofWhisperingFir]

I thought your cats were right there.  Are they missing?

[OneEyeCatStudio]

Those things are easy to find this time of year.  They are sleeping on the heater vents.

[MorningGlorious]

@PhoenixFarm

if you don't mind some advice - work on your titles so they are more in line with what Etsy wants us to do. You have a listing for spoons without the word "spoons" in the title, it says "teaspoons." But not "spoons."

You have a listing for forks and "forks" is the seventh word from the beginning of the title. You have a listing for cups and saucers but "cup" is the 10th word into the long title. Etsy wants us to have the most important keywords near the beginning.

Vintage California Franciscan EL PATIO CORAL Satin Matte 4 Cup & Saucer Sets 8 Pcs Orange

I would write that as:

Franciscan Cups & Saucers, 1940s Vintage California Pottery Coral Satin Finish Pretzel Handle 4 Pc Coffee Cup Set

You have a listing for a slip but in no place that I can see does it say it is a slip dress, or a dress slip - as opposed to a half slip or skirt slip.

You are not taking advantage of your shop section titles, lumping almost all your items under "vintage." A section called "mismatched" - I know they limit characters but most people think of "socks." Will they click on just "mismatched"? And "Supplies" - what kind? You have patterns and yarn, how about "sewing supplies"?

And same with your shop description - words like "farm, Maine, vintage, antiques" can only paint a very broad picture - what distinguishes you? How about saying you specialize in colorful floral pottery and porcelain dinnerware, and fine cutlery - or whatever - be specific! Get those keywords updated all over your shop. Add many more listings. You will be showing up better in search if you do these things. I hope this is helpful.

[PrairiePrimitives]

@PhoenixFarm Shoppers aren't likely to search for just vintage. I did the same search and also got 1000+ results (how I miss the days when Etsy showed exactly how many search results there were!). 

Then I looked for multiple listings for the same type of item. I saw that "stainless" is used in 15 of your listings, so then I changed my search to vintage stainless. This reduces the number of search results to only 188 (with ads) ... so maybe 150 actual stainless listings? Why not see how many of your stainless items are in this smaller search?

[PrairiePrimitives]

I see 1 of your items on the first page of my search for vintage stainless. The 2nd page has 8 items. And 2 items on the 4th page of search results. This is only 11 of your 15, which isn't perfect but it's pretty good! 

Then I tried vintage stainless spoon. You have 10 listings for this and Etsy shops located in Maine show 27 listings. 4 of your listings appear at the top in the "Most Loved" section. There are 6 items in the remainder of the search results. I didn't look closely to see if this is your 10 listings, or if the 4 at the top are also shown in the 6 below. 

[RusticBucketsSouth]

I searched “vintage mismatched cups and saucers” and you were on page 1.  Only 1 of your listings but you are competing against yourself for placement with titles that are very similar.

[HeatherFerman]

I don't know about all the vintage issues but today I needed to reorder from past stores on Etsy.  I typed the name of the stores in the search bar and I tried a few pages to find those stores.  I did not get the prompt that says are you looking for a store?  I got pages of junk! I even tried my own store next and nothing came up.  What is up with that?  How are we going to get a following of loyal buyers if they can't find us?  I had to go to my purchases and search to find the stores again.  It should not be that hard to be a repeat buyer on Etsy.  Why don't they have an easy to find search function for stores you may be looking for?

[FreshArtMJ]

I have the exact same problem. 
low visits, views through the holidays. 

To be quite honest, I’m befuddled. 

[PinkRoses]

I am having the same issues!  I sell vintage Valentine candy heart boxes this time of year.  I've posted boxes and  later renewed my listings-- in both cases my vintage chocolate boxes are lost in the pages upon pages of items that aren't necessarily even vintage or candy boxes.  I'd like to point out that back in the day when I renewed a listing, it would end up back at the front of the list.  Now after renewing, I can't even find my item.  I've had friends check in different state and on different platforms, same story.  My gorgeous vintage chocolate boxes used to sell quickly and I had tons of visits to my shop.  Now, it's difficult to find them when searching.  This is extremely disappointing, as I spend a great deal of time prepping and photographing my items.

[BrokenGhostClothing]

I am in canada so I turned on my vpn set to the US, went to an incognito page and searched "vintage valentine chocolate box". 6 pages came up and you were not shown on any page. So I turned off the vpn and did a search and you still didn't appear at all. Do you ship everywhere in the US? I would contact etsy, something's not working. 

PS, the only way I can see your items in search is by searching 'midcentury candy box"

[PinkRoses]

Thank you so very, very much for checking for me, I appreciate it!  

I am 100% completely perplexed now!!!! You, along with my family and friends have graciously searched on my behalf and are not finding my items via seach.  Literally, if I/they seach "vintage valentine candy heart box, "vintage chocolate heart box," or anything similiar  my listings do not show up at all.  Those are key words I used, plus in the main listing description.

Does Etsy respond to questions of this nature?  I am paying to list my items, and my items are not listed in search. I have sold on and off for more than a decade and am in perfect standing.  So, I am not understanding how this can even happen?

[PinkRoses]

PHOENIXFARM, 

Has the situation improved since you posted this two weeks ago?  

I am a fellow vintage seller.  At this point of the year, I sell a lot of vintage Valentine's Day candy heart boxes.  Frilly lacey midcentury chocolate boxes... 

There are a limited number of them available on Etsy, so it's easy for me to track.

Using the key words I entered, plus the words in my item description, I am unable to find my listings.  I've asked friends and family members in various states, and they are unable to find my "vintage Valentine candy heart boxes" either, using a variety of key words.

If I am paying to list items that do not show up in search this is a BIG problem--and seems to be occuring mainly for those of us who sell vintage.

Will you please post an update to let us all know if your issue has been rectified by Etsy, and (if so) how you went about doing so?