Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Etsy's Relevancy Search

A while back, on my blog, I wrote a post about Etsy's default search feature changing to Relevancy instead of Recency. You can read the original post HERE. I have found out some new things about relevancy and I thought I'd share what has been working for me.

First, I'll start with a short recap:
*Think like a buyer - use keywords that you think buyers would use when searching for your items
*Use these words in both your title and tags
*The first three words of your title are the most important - Skip the cutesy titles and tell the buyers exactly what they're buying

One new thing I've learned is that Etsy now allows multi-word tags. You don't want to stuff your tags with unrelated words like "red green blue". But you can use words like "lime green".
Take this listing for example:
I have used the multi-word tags of: wine bottle stopper, bottle stopper and laser engraved. If someone is searching for "wine bottle stopper" they will find my item easier if I have this all in one tag as opposed to three separate tags.

That being said, I have also learned that it can be beneficial to repeat tags/words in different ways. Take this listing for example: I have repeated several keywords here...I have used both "champagne flutes" together and "flute" by itself. I also used "etched glass" together and "etched" by itself. This gives you more options to be seen when people search different ways. This is like covering yourself from all directions.

I hope this helps you understand Relevancy a little better :)
Have you learned anything about relevancy search? Let us know in the comments!











Edi is the creative mind behind Memories for Life Srapbooks (and Laser Engraving). She has been paper crafting for over 15 years and recently purchased a laser engraver that is keeping her creativity at an all time high!

9 comments:

Jenny said...

Thanks for sharing Edi. I think it's easy for me to forget to rephrase or reword things. I liked your example of using "etched glass" and "etched." I would tend to choose one or the other and then scratch my head trying to use up all my tags :)

SarahBeth said...

Good info, Edi! I'm slowly going thru my tags and rewording/repeating etc. I wish we had a greater number of tags to use -- sometimes I just don't have enough for teams too!

Splendid Little Stars said...

I suggest looking for you own items by using search words and see what comes up.
for my silk scarves, I use a couple tags: silk scarves, silk scarf.

Thanks for this good article!

Rose Clearfield said...

Great post, Edi! I have been using these tips on HubPages. It's going to take me a while to get it down for my Etsy listings. I'm starting to, though!

BeadedTail said...

Thanks for the tips Edi! I always thought it didn't matter if a word was with another one or by itself for instance if someone searched just etched, they'd still get ones with etched glass. I have so much to learn!

Blogging Business Artisans said...

Thank you for the great tips and clarifying a few things! Like Beaded said, there is a lot to learn.

storybeader said...

My multiple word tags, like art journal and watercolor journal are more popular than just plain journal. It pays to be descriptive {:-D

Judy Nolan said...

Great post! I am in the process of retagging and retitling items...it's a laborious process, but necessary.

Anonymous said...

Great advice! Ek...it's daunting to think of editing every single listing. I've made it a goal to do about 3/day, but I don't always get to it.