Saturday, June 9, 2012

Etsy Talk: Tagging Listings

The majority of your shop traffic comes from searches, either within Etsy or through another search engine, like Google. Therefore, it is vital you properly and optimally tag your listings. Here are some tips to help you:

Use all 13 tags! The more tags you have, the more likely someone will find your items.

Use two- or three-word tags. One-word tags are too broad; any more than four are too specific and probably won't fit in the 20-character limit. Describe the:

item: crocheted baby hat, beach photography
color(s): pink (generic), magenta (specific), black and white
shape: geometric, round, abstract
material: wooden, felted wool
size: 2x4 inches, 5 mm (always include metric to bring in international buyers), XL, 3-6 months
era (for vintage): Sixties, Victorian
brand (for vintage and commercial supplies): Disney, Studio G
use: embellishment, home decor
recipient: toddler girl, men's, dog

Try different word combinations and synonyms. For example, here are the tags for my most-viewed item: vintage owl, vintage figurines, owl figurines, vintage owl figurine, brown owl, ceramic owl, vintage 70s, vintage seventies.



Check your spelling. However, if your item is commonly misspelled, then including the misspelling in your tags may be a good idea.

Review your shop stats. See what words are bringing people to your shop. Change tags that are not bringing in views.

Use Etsy's search box for ideas. Start typing and see what word combinations show up to get an idea of popular searches.

Follow Etsy's rules of tagging. Read them here for more tips and dos and dont's.

2 comments:

  1. This is a very helpful subject, so I'm glad you wrote this. One thing that is important to note is that you have to be careful when talking about the use of the item.
    From Etsy:
    "You should only state what the item is, not what the item may become or potential uses for the item (for example: yarn should not be labeled as "sweater," beads should not be labeled as "bracelet," small gift items should not be labeled as "stocking stuffer")."
    (I had some items tagged "stocking stuffer" for the longest time! Learn from my mistakes!!! LOL!)

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  2. Yes, that is why I included the link to Etsy's rules. I didn't know how to word it right. For example, I have an item in my shop that could be used as a die cut/embellishment for scrapbooking or table confetti, so I tagged it as both. That's what I meant by use.

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