Google and Etsy Revisited Recap

This week I have been revisiting ways to get your shop found On Etsy and Google. Tags, Titles and Descriptions need to be well thought out and well implemented.  I always start with my tags and work the description and title from there. Here are a few tips that might help you to come up with better tags.

1. Ask your mom what she would use to search for your item.
2. search all your tags on Etsy and Google and see what shows up.
3. Look at your stats and see what words people are finding you with.
4. If a tag isn't working, drop it and try another.
5. Ask someone for help.

When you come up with good tags and use them for your title and in your description you stand a much better chance of being found. Of course just being found isn't your goal. Your goal is to make money by selling your products. Soon, I will revisit photography and pricing to help you hook that customer.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Google and Etsy Revisited Part 3 - Descriptions

As discussed this week Google looks at titles and descriptions and ignores tags. Etsy looks at titles and tags and ignores descriptions. The key to being found on Etsy and Google is a combination of titles, tags and descriptions. Yesterday I said I write all my tags first. I then take the best tags and use them in my title.

I also use the best tags in my description. I generally even use the tag phrases twice. The rule here is never use your tags phrases more than the number of full paragraphs you have. Well, that is my rule and it seems to work out pretty well. I also throw in my company name in my description so that my tags get associated with my business name.

A good description answers all the questions that a customer might have. A great description does this while enticing the customer to buy. Try and describe as many senses as possible. How does it look, feel, sound, smell and taste? If it is jewelry what is the size? How does it clasp? What metal is it made from? When can you wear it? What kind of outfit does it go well with? What makes it special?

Paint a picture with your description.  Tell a story. Make a statement. Just be sure to answer any potential questions. If someone has to write to ask you a question you have lost an impulse buy.

That is all for today. Stop back by tomorrow for a recap and some more tips. Feel free to send questions to MarketMyShop@gmail.com Also, if you are interested in a topic I have not covered I am always looking for more things to write about to help you out.

Relevancy Revisited: Recap

This week we have discussed how to build the foundation of your shop item listing by picking key word phrases that answer questions about your product. I showed you how to use those keyword phrases in your title and your descriptions. I shared a few more tips with you to make it all come together.

You should have at least a working knowledge of how to make a better listing. Now the fun part comes in. Practice, practice, practice. Change a few listings and see how they work. Did you get more views? What search words are driving traffic to your shop? If what you did worked, do some more. If it didn't work go with another approach.

The point is you may never be happy with the way your shop looks. You may not be happy with how it performs. You have the power to change that. The harder you work the luckier you will get. If you have questions please feel free to leave them in the comments or email me at marketmyshop@gmail.com Remember, the only dumb question is the one that goes unanswered.

Relevancy Revisited: Part 4 Tips

This week we have been revisiting Relevancy. We talked about tags, titles and descriptions. Today I have some tips to help you out when you are creating a new listing. Of course, the tips should work for revamping a listing as well.

1. Have the item in your reach when you start your listing.
2. Upload your pictures first.
3. Type your tags second.
4. Use your tags to create your Title.
5. Use your title and unused tags to create your description.
6. Try to use two keyword phrases in your title.
7. Use as many of your keyword phrases as possible in your description.
8. If you get stuck on tags, check out what tags your competition is using.
9. Be sure to put a link back to your shop sections in every listing.
10. Use call to action phrases in your description like "When you purchase..."
11. If your item has color, list it in the tags.
12. Looking for names of popular colors? Check out what colors people are doing for treasuries.
13.  Be as accurate as possible with all measurements.
14. Provide both US and Metric measurements so your customer does not have to convert.
15. Optimize your title and tags for Etsy.
16. Optimize your description for Google.
17. Check your stats and see if the tags you used are getting people to your shop.
18. If a keyword phrase (tag) isn't driving traffic to your item change it.
19. Optimize for trends, seasons, holidays and events.
20. Check your stats every day.
21. If you have Google Analytics, check them at least weekly to track your progress.
22. Make sure your photos put the focus on your item not props.
23. Don't give up.

Relevancy Revisited: Part 3 Descriptions

This week we have been revisiting relevancy with a focus on Etsy. We talked about how to come up with good tags that answer questions about your item. We also talked about how to use the tags you come up with to create a relevant title. Today we are going to explore descriptions. Please note that Etsy all but ignores the description in their search algorithm. It pulls from tags and titles with a few other variables.

Optimizing your description helps with Google and other search engines as well as describes your item for your customer. Today we are going to use my little Teddy Bear Knight Wearing Chainmail as an example. Note the title, it is optimized for several terms. Artist Bear, Teddy Bear being the most prominent, with Knight Wearing Chainmail and Chainmail Costume being used as well. Also note that my bear is photographed with a white background with nothing that could take your eyes away from him. (Be sure to read my article on taking better pictures for your handmade or vintage items)

Though it may be a little hard to see in this snapshot you can see that the first thing I put was "Teddy Bear in Chainmail - Chainmail Home Decor by Tangled Metal" and what that does is give a keyword rich statement of what the item is and who made it. Part of the reason for this is keywords near the beginning of the text is weighed a little heavier than further down in the text and part of it is for the purpose of branding.

I go on to answer questions like, what is it, who is it for, what occasion is it good for, what materials were used, etc. I use keyword phrases where ever I can fit them in without sounding like a list of key word phrases. I try to make it sound as conversational as possible.

Writing copy is not my strong part and I struggle with it every time I list a new item. The one thing I try to do is make it so that it will come up in Google search. Google gives a lot of weight to key word phrases. Using the same keywords throughout the description is fine. How many times is too many times to add a keyword? Read it out loud and see if it sounds awkward, that should help.

Questions? Comments? That is it for today. Come back tomorrow for a list of tips to help make your life a little easier when listing an item.

Relevancy Revisited

I get asked a lot to go through people's shop and see if their tags, titles and descriptions are relevant.  They also ask me to look to see how I would tag an item or what title I would use or if I like their description.  Unfortunately I do not have the time to go through the multiple requests I get every day. I would have to stop making my art and go into checking people's shops as a living. So, maybe this will clear some things up.

Relevancy is defined as having direct bearing on the subject matter at hand or as being pertinent. In the past, Etsy did not rely heavily on relevancy for search. They relied on people renewing their items to get them near the top of the search. It gave those with a little bit of money the ability to get their items in front of people without having to do all the work of being relevant.

If you did research on Etsy shops that do really well, you would have found that those shops were not only paying money to renew their items they also had great SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for their shop and items. If you look at who is successful now, many of those shops are still on top because they were already optimized for the changes.

Take one item in your shop and look at it. Write down 10 things that it is. Does it have color? Does it have a shape? Is it a certain style? Who is it for? What will they do with it? Can it be used as something else? Who created it? What process was used? Is there anything special about it? What is the material? What circumstances will it be used in? Is it easy to use? Is it one of a kind?

All of those questions are relevant to the item and in some form or fashion those answers are your relevant tags. From your relevant tags you will create the title for the object. The title should include no less than two of your tags and those tags should be in the very first part of your title. They should also be in the very first sentence of your description. Also in your description you should use as many of your tags as possible.

That is it for today. I will add more tomorrow. If you have questions or comments let me know.

Etsy Search Getting On Top With Descriptions

Etsy Search

I have talked about Keywords, Tags, Titles, and Photos now I would like to try and pull it all together with the addition of the Description. When a customer/shopper does an Etsy search, the first thing the Etsy Search Engine does is look to find exact keyword phrase matches in the title, tags and description. So trying to guess what the searcher is going to search is the name of the game. See the article on How People Search written earlier here.

You learned that placing your chosen keyword phrases into your Tags and Title help to be found. But you also learned that Tag stuffing and Title stuffing does not do any good. Etsy also says not to use generic terms in your tags such as "Stocking Stuffer" because it might be misleading. HOWEVER it is 100% okay to optimize your description for keyword phrases that are not allowed in the Tags section.

You can say your item is perfect for a Christmas Stocking Stuffer in your description. The Etsy search will look for exact keyword phrases in your description, so if you ran out of tags this is the perfect place to put them in. Just make sure that your description sounds conversational. Use your keywords you are trying to optimize for close to the beginning of the description and put things like exact measurements after all of that. It is rare that someone searches for a pendant that is 7/8 inch long. They will more than like be looking for a silver pendant or a steampunk pendant.

I hope this helps to clear a few things up for you. If not please feel free to ask a question and I will be happy to clarify for you.