How Do Etsy Listings Appear In Google Shopping and Search Results?

Most Etsy sellers have the idea that their listings will show up in Google search results as well as on Etsy, but that’s not always what happens. Because Google deals with the entire internet, and has a specific way that it interacts with Etsy, it’s not tremendously likely that an individual listing will appear in search results.

There are places that your listings could show up on Google, though, so what are they?

As a general rule Etsy listings can show up in a few places on Google, including in the ads that Etsy pays for (offsite ads,) Google shopping results, Google images, Google video results, and in the regular search results. However, it’s more likely that an Etsy market page will show up than an individual listing. Unless the item is very unusual it’s unlikely that individual listings will appear in regular Google search results.

It’s important to understand how and why your listings might appear in Google, especially if you have a website where you sell the same items as you do on Etsy.


How do Etsy listings appear on google?

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Where can Etsy listings show up on Google?

There are a few places where Etsy listings can show up on Google, as I mentioned above:

  1. Google search results (The main page of text in the “all” tab.)
  2. Google shopping results (The “Shopping” tab.)
  3. Google ads (Offsite ads, found in various places around Google and other websites.)
  4. Google image results (The “image” tab.)
  5. Google video results (The “video” tab.)

Each of these pages has different criteria for showing your listings, and it’s easier to be found in some places than in others.

It’s also more complicated if you want your website listings to show up in a better position than your Etsy listings, since websites and Etsy interact differently with Google, and Etsy’s domain authority is clearly higher than most small ecommerce websites.

This means that you’ll genuinely be “competing against yourself” if you have a website and an Etsy shop, so you need to understand how to work search results to get your website ranking higher than Etsy for your own listings!

You also want to try to minimize the sales that come from offsite ads whenever that’s possible, so having your website listings showing up instead of an Etsy ad in the Google shopping tab is something to try for.



How do you get your listings into Google search results?

The easiest way to appear in Google search results is to have very unique items that you don’t also have listed on Etsy. If an item is listed on Etsy it’s likely that the Etsy link will outrank your site because of the site authority that Etsy has with Google. If there’s an unusual item that you sell that you don’t have listed on Etsy, however, you might be able to outrank it.

I have a bunch of listings that outrank Etsy in organic Google search results, but only because I’ve totally deactivated them on Etsy and I only sell them on my website.

If I sold them on Etsy, it’s likely that Google would choose to show the Etsy listing instead of my website, either with the individual listing or with an Etsy market page.

My crab legs mold at the top of Google search organic results.
My crab legs mold at the top of Google search organic results.

Notice that even though my listing is at the top of organic search, I still have to deal with the ads that show up ahead of it. Luckily, none of the ads are for exactly what the search term was, so my listing is the most accurate.

The truth of the matter is that it takes a lot of maneuvering to outrank Etsy, Amazon, or eBay, since they’re the largest marketplaces and their domain authority is always going to be higher than our websites.

I go into great detail about this in my SEO Club for websites, so if you’re interested in learning more about that you can click here to find out about that: SEO Club for WebsitesOpens in a new tab.. It’s way too complicated to get into it in one article!



How do you get your listings into Google shopping?

Google shopping results is a separate section of search results, and is made up of paid ads and organic results that Google finds online. Etsy listings can show up in Google shopping without you having to do anything specific, but in order to maximize your chances you’ll need to optimize your listings for Google.

This generally means that you’ll have to write descriptions that include your main keywords, and use photos that don’t have logos or text on them. However, Google isn’t consistent about this.

You can see in this photo that my clam shell mold listings are showing up side-by-side with the same listings on Etsy:

My listings on Etsy and my website in Google shopping results
My listings on Etsy and my website in Google shopping results

You’ll also notice that Google is showing the photos from Etsy that have my shop logo on them along with the ones from my website that don’t have a logo.

Even though the Google shopping guidelines say that you shouldn’t have any type of promotional text or logos on the listing photos, they’re really inconsistent about that and most of the time it doesn’t matter.

However, if they do disqualify a listing because of a logo, they won’t show it, and it could mean that they’ll stop showing other ones of yours, too. This might matter to your website more than to Etsy, because Google’s looking at Etsy as a better-quality site than most smaller websites.

That just means that we should be more careful about the guidelines for our websites than for Etsy, and if you want to maximize your chances of getting into Google shopping no logos is the way to go.

I personally still put my logos on all of my Etsy listing photos because I don’t WANT people to go to Etsy if they find me on Google, I want them to go to my website! I also want Etsy shoppers to be able to identify my listings in Etsy search, so the logos help with that.

Google Search vs. Shopping vs. Ads

Something else to notice with Google shopping results is that most of the shopping results are NOT paid ads, they’re organic results.

That means that if someone clicks on the organic results section, it doesn’t result in the offsite ads fee.

The only time we pay for offsite ads is if someone clicks on an ad that Etsy has paid for, but most of Google shopping isn’t ads. The top row usually is, but after that, it’s regular results.

In fact, if you have a website, you can submit a product feed to Google in order for your website products to show up in Google shopping for free! That’s why my website listings are right next to my Etsy listings on that result page, Google is pulling them from my product feed.

To learn more about that, go to the Google Merchant CenterOpens in a new tab.. I also go over this in my SEO Club that I mentioned above.

My Google Product feed
My Google Product feed

Google shopping is a free way to be found on Google, but what if you actually DO want to be found in Google ads results?


How do you get your listings into Google ads?

To be included in Google ads results, which can appear on any page of Google search results and in many other places online, Etsy needs to advertise your listings with Google. In addition, you need to follow the Google ad terms in your listings. This includes not using certain words or images that can make Google think that you’re selling something that violates their user policies.

To see Google advertising guidelines, click here: Google Shopping AdsOpens in a new tab.

There’s no guarantee that Etsy will choose to show your listing in Google ads, and if you’ve opted out of ads they definitely won’t show them.

Click to see the video.

If you do want to take your chances and let Etsy advertise your shop, go to your shop dashboard and click on settings—> Offsite Ads—> Turn the ads on.

If your ads are turned on, you’ll potentially be shown in Google ads as well as in other places online where Etsy advertises. You’ll also pay the offsite ads fee if you make a sale through these ads.


How do you get your listings into Google image results?

To have your Etsy listings included in Google image results, your best bet is to post a lot of images in your Etsy listings, and to use alt text when possible. You can also use Pinterest to show up in Google search, and if you have a blog you can add photos to the articles. Make sure that the metadata on the photos is filled out if you’re posting photos in places other than Etsy.

None of this is a guarantee that your photos will show up in Google images, but chances are that they will for specific searches.

Google image results
Google image results

For this search, my photos show up both from Etsy and my website, but also from a blog article on my website and from my Pinterest account.

In addition, the little tag on certain images shows that the photo comes from a link that leads to something that you can purchase. If you look closely, the ones on the bottom right don’t have that because they come from Pinterest and a blog article.

Google images pulls photos from all over the internet based on the search term, and if Google knows that the search query has buying intent behind it, they’re more likely to show product images.

If you want to see where Google is pulling images for your type of product from, go search for some of your keywords and check the images to see where the pictures are coming from, That can give you a hint about where you should be putting pictures.

At this point Google does NOT pull images from most social media platforms, so make a note of that, too!


How do you get your listings into Google video results?

To have your Etsy products show up in Google video results, all you need to do is post a listing video. Because Google video results don’t tend to have a lot to draw from when someone searches for a product, it seems to pull in a lot of videos from Etsy listings. If you have a video in your listing, it’s likely that it will show up in Google video results.

The real question here, though, is whether people who are searching for products actually go to the video tab to shop. I doubt that it happens too often, so don’t do listing videos just to get in this section.

It’s more important to do a listing video on Etsy so that you can give the customer a 360-degree view of the item, which makes it much more likely to convert to a sale.

However, why not take advantage of the fact that there aren’t a lot of videos out there for products, and get a double benefit from posting a listing video?

It won’t hurt, and it will help Etsy shoppers see your listings better, which is the main goal anyway.


The thing to remember about working to have your Etsy listings improve their visibility in Google search is that you shouldn’t do it at the expense of a website.

If you have a website, you should do absolutely ZERO work to get your Etsy listings included in Google results. All of that effort should be directed at getting your website positioned better!

And if you do enough toward that goal, you might see something as fun as this image (I have to include this because I love it so much.)

Outranking Etsy
Outranking Etsy

Kara Buntin

Kara Buntin has run a profitable home-based business since 1999, and has a background in art, theater design, and cake decorating. She's a top Etsy seller with over 51,000 sales on Etsy and her own website, and helps other home-based business owners with their business goals and SEO. She founded the Artisan Shopping Directory website to promote the artisans who are members of her EShop Success marketing program.

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