How to Find Keywords For Successful Etsy SEO

This post is part of a 4-part blog series which dives deep into how Etsy SEO works and tells you exactly what you need to do to grow a profitable Etsy shop.  Be sure to check out the other posts too:

• The Ultimate SEO Crash Course for Etsy Sellers
• How to Get Found on Etsy Using Etsy Search
• Where to Place Keywords for Successful Etsy SEO

So what keywords should you be choosing for successful Etsy SEO?

Well, keywords are simply the words a customer would use if they were searching for your item.  It is very important that you use a strategy for identifying your keywords and don’t just guess or pick them randomly.  If you haven’t researched why you are using a particular keyword, then you shouldn’t be using it.

You need to have evidence and know that the keywords you have chosen will be effective for your Etsy SEO.

This post will show you some of the free tools you can use to build up a list keywords AND give you my results-proven method of finding the best and most effective keywords for my Etsy shops.

Each keyword must describe your product exactly.

Avoid using any complex tags or correct jargon.

When customers search, they use broad, generic terms and simple language.

You need to ask yourself, what would my customer search for if looking for a product like mine?

Use the same words your customer would.

Use different focus keywords for similar products.

If you repeat the same keywords for similar products, your items are competing with each other.

Different customers search in different ways.

You want to make sure as many people see your items as possible.

Changing the words you use helps to attract this larger audience.

Plus, with a wider range of keywords, your products are more diverse.

If one keyword suddenly stopped trending or being searched for, you still have the other keywords to drive traffic to your shop.

Use a focus keyword strategy for Etsy SEO.

Etsy allows you to choose 13 tags (keywords).

From these you need to choose one focus keyword that you repeat all over your listing.

You’ll put this word at the beginning of your title, in your tags, and throughout your description.

One word or phrase to describe your product that you repeat all over the place in your title, tags and description.

And the tag that you choose must describe your product exactly using words that customers would search for.

Be accurate with your keywords.

If over time, customers click on a particular item of yours and then don’t buy it, this tells Etsy that your item is not a good match for that keyword.

Etsy will notice and log this and then stop ranking you highly for this keyword.

That is, Etsy will send fewer people your way when they type in your keyword.

But, if Etsy finds people searching for your keyword and people then go on to buy your item, Etsy will rank your item highly for the keyword.

For example, let’s say you were using the keyword phrase, “panda party kit” and lots of customers clicked on it but no-one bought the kit, then your product would appear lower and lower down a search for this keyword.

However, if a customer searched for “panda party kit” and bought your item, your product would appear higher in the search next time.

So, the key takeaway is be accurate with your choice of keywords.

Be specific when choosing your keyword phrases for Etsy SEO.

For example, rather than just choosing “party tag” use “pink panda party tag”.

Etsy want to make sure that customers are getting exactly what they search for and if you help with this then Etsy will reward you.

Explain exactly what your product is and who would use it.

Use all of the attributes and occasions options that Etsy provide you with to make sure your customers are crystal clear about what they are buying.

Not spending time polishing and perfecting your tags and titles can mean that an otherwise amazing shop with awesome products can fail at Etsy SEO.

So, the key message is: spend time researching your tags and titles and be super accurate and specific when choosing keywords to describe your product.

Once you’ve chosen your keywords you can place them in your titles, tags, categories, attributes and descriptions.

So now you know what keywords you should be choosing, how do you find them?

Etsy search bar

Let’s say I want to find some keywords for this product:

One of the first things I can do is go to the Etsy search bar.

Type in your broad main keyword and look at the drop-down list of suggestions that Etsy provides.

I chose to type in “unicorn party”.

Etsy then gives me a drop down of popular searches related to “unicorn party”.

You can use these as keywords.

However, one major disadvantage is that there are no data attached to these keywords – you don’t know how competitive they are or how many people are searching for them.

Therefore, I suggest you only take these words as a starting point and then enter them into other keyword finding tools to get more information about how effective they are as keywords.

Other Etsy SEO keyword-finding tools

Other Etsy SEO keyword-finding tools you might like to try are illustrated here:

Marmalead is the best tool you can use to find keywords for your Etsy SEO.

It is specifically set up for Etsy sellers and takes all of the guesswork out of choosing effective keywords that drive traffic to your shop.

Marmalead uses data to help you to:

• choose 13 tags that are proven to be the words buyers use
• shows you what is trending on Etsy
• it allows you to compare effectiveness of different keywords
• tells you exactly what you need to do to fix your listings to rank well on Etsy

By the way, I don’t have any affiliate links with Marmalead, so this is a completely genuine recommendation.

I just wanted to share with you the tool I use every day to keep on top of my SEO.

I think you will find it valuable too.

Want some extra support with Etsy SEO?  Grab your free SEO Crash Course eBook

In summary …

I know that Etsy SEO can seem complicated and difficult but keep at it and you’ll see incredible results, I promise. 

Chat with me in the comments below.  Tell me:

• What are your favourite ways to find keywords?
• What big challenges are you having with SEO at the moment?

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