Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Etsy's New Focus on Relevancy and How it Effects Your Shop

Hopefully you've already seen the info on changes Etsy rolled out last week, which will soon make "relevancy" the default search. However, if you haven't I'll give you the "411" and help you determine what you can do to make those changes work to your benefit in Etsy searches.

When searching on Etsy you have options to the narrow the searches. We are focusing on "relevancy" for this article, as it appears that more people are searching via relevancy - and soon it will be the default search.

❀ Item titles are now given more weight. Tags are important but your item title is even more critical. As titles are the most direct way for sellers to explain what they have, Etsy has given them more weight in Etsy searches. This means that it is critical that you have complete, accurate and descriptive titles for all the items you list. (Remember do not use the "name" you have given your art as a title, but describe what it is.)

GOOD title "Original Painting, Acrylic Seascape, Southern California Pacific Ocean Cliffs, Blue Green Turquoise, 11 x 17"
Not so good title: "The Calm Before The Storm, Seascape 11 x 17"

❀ Words that appear at the beginning of your title are given more weight. So, you will want to put the defining word/s of your item (sign, photo, bracelet, art print, oil painting, earrings, baby hat, coffee table, etc.) in the first 2-3 words. You will see better results if you put the most important characteristics of your item at the beginning of your title.

GOOD title: "Pearl Earrings, Sterling Silver Amethyst Beads, Extra Long Dangles, French Hooks"
Not so good title: "Elegant, Dressy, Fancy Handmade, Evening Style Pearl and Amethyst Earrings"

❀ Exact word pairs are now given more weight. If your search includes 2 or more words, Etsy will prioritize the search results that have those exact 2 words next to each other. For example, if I search for “California Seascape”, items that contain “California Seascape” (exactly) in the titles or tags will appear higher than ”Seascape Photo of a California Beach".

❀ Recency will also factor into searches sorted by relevancy. When a broad search (like “photo print”) returns a huge number of results, Etsy gives some priority to the most recently listed items in that search.
Before the Holidays take over our thoughts and shops, now is a great time to revamp your titles and make sure you use accurate descriptive words, putting the emphasis on the beginning of the title. If you do this - and someone is searching for items like what you make - you are more likely to show prominently in searches on Etsy.

Recent Etsy Blog Article on the Relevancy Search.
Etsy forum post from Frank/Etsy:  Relevancy Update

Have a great week, everyone!


Captain, Sellers Assisting Sellers Etsy Team

9 comments:

belinda marshall said...

interesting and helpful article ~ thankyou!!
i went ahead and put the description on my items at the front and then the title of the pieces at the end in ' '.
not sure if this is best, but will have another look and think.

MagicMarkingsArt said...

I read about this on Etsy and have noticed a drop in my viewings, so I went through and changed many of my titles to reflect relevancy. Since I sell paintings and prints this post is extremely helpful. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Awesome post, Sandie! Thanks so much!

Jaci said...

Excellent post! I do wonder if the punctuation should be removed in your examples since it can trip up the Googlebots.
ByTHeWay.etsy.com

Carrie at In the Hammock Blog said...

Oh gosh, I wasn't aware that relevancy was going to be the default search. I wonder if this will cut back on the need to 'renew' items. It seems like etsy wouldn't be happy with the loss of revenue from renewing. We'll see how it works out.

Handmade Crafts Done While RVing Blog said...

Right now I am willing to do anything to get some action going on in my stores - it's been terrible SLOW... So not only have I read this but reading it again and then off to make yet changes again. Cross your finger for me folks...

Evielynne

www.handmadecraftsdonewhilerving.blogspot.com

Handmade Crafts Done While RVing Blog said...

I also grabbed your code for my blog!!

Evielynne

connielou designs said...

Awesome help!

The Passionate Pearl said...

great stuff...thanks so much
http://www.thepssionatepearl.Etsy.com