To be found in Etsy search, you need to use the right keywords. But what keywords are the right ones for your shop, and where do you find them?
Some places to find Etsy keywords include:
- The Etsy search bar.
- Other Etsy listing titles.
- Other Etsy listing tags.
- Your own Etsy listing stats.
- Google ads keyword tool.
- Paid Etsy research tools like Marmalead.
- Outsourced keyword lists.
- Paid Google research tools like Ahrefs or Semrush.
- Amazon listings.
- Pinterest.
All of these sources can give you keywords that can be used on Etsy, but you shouldn’t assume that they’re going to bring you sales unless you research them a little before using them in your titles and tags!
At the time that I write this, I’ve made over 45,000 sales on Etsy, and I only use SEO and keywords to get traffic.
All of my social media goes to my website, not to Etsy, and I rarely send traffic to Etsy at all. I rely on good SEO and keyword choice to help customers find my Etsy listings.
Let’s go over how to find good keywords for your Etsy shop that will help you to get more traffic, and with a decent conversion rate, more sales.
Table of Contents
- What’s the best Etsy keyword tool?
- How to find keywords on Etsy.
- Finding Etsy keywords in other places.
- Using Google SEO research tools for Etsy SEO.
- The last word in finding keywords for Etsy.
What’s the best Etsy keyword tool?
The best Etsy keyword tool that I’ve found is Marmalead. I’ve used many keyword research tools and Marmalead is the most accurate when I compare it to my own data, and the data set that they use to figure out their estimates for search and engagement is worldwide, so it’s an excellent representation of actual Etsy customer activity.
I’m not a Marmalead affiliate so I get nothing from recommending it!
Click here to check it out: Marmalead.com
I’m not going to mention other tools by name, but I’ve tried them all as they pop up, and none of them are accurate as far as the Etsy shop data goes.
I have at least one offer every day from someone who wants me to do YouTube videos about this or that service or product, and whenever a new keyword tool comes along, I try it out by putting all three of my Etsy shops into it.
So far, I haven’t had any of them show numbers that are accurate, and they’re usually off by A LOT.
The tools that claim to report on sales numbers generally seem to be scraping information from the publicly available data that’s on Etsy, but it’s never accurate because of how Etsy reports sales numbers.
They also seem to be using those inaccurate sales numbers to try to estimate the revenue that different shops have made, and it’s never accurate. Just don’t believe any of that.
Marmalead doesn’t try to do any of that, it’s just focused on finding good word-order-match keywords. It’s not telling you to do something that’s a waste of your time.
How to find keywords on Etsy.
There are a few places where you can find keywords on Etsy. The first is the Etsy search bar, which shows recent searches on Etsy. You can also look at other Etsy listings’ titles and tags to gather ideas. In addition, you can use your own Etsy stats to figure out what you’re already being found for.
Using the Etsy search bar for keyword ideas.
The Etsy search bar autosuggest is a starting point for keyword ideas, but you shouldn’t limit yourself to using only those terms.
That’s a big mistake, because the Etsy search bar is pretty easy to mess with, and if you search for something often enough you’ll be able to make it show up in there.
That clearly means that it’s not all good keywords that show up there, it’s actually recent searches, not good ones. So get ideas there, but research those keywords in Marmalead after gathering them
To get ideas from the search bar, type in a basic term for your listing, then see what comes up in the autosuggest dropdown.
Write down any terms that look good for your products, then do the same thing with other words.
You can also put the word in, then start adding a,b,c,d etc. one at a time to see what else comes up.
Just remember that these are recent searches, they’re not guaranteed to be good search terms, so don’t use them without checking them out further!
Also keep in mind that the words that show up in there aren’t always actual searched terms. Sometimes it seems like Etsy just puts things in there to have a result.
A good example of that is that “zombie” is an autosuggested result for a bunch of searches, even if that makes no sense. They just want to give people something for the letter Z.
Using other Etsy listings for keyword suggestions.
You can use other Etsy listings to get ideas for keywords, but like the search bar, remember that they’re only words that other sellers are using, they’re not guaranteed to get you to the top of search results.
Copying someone else’s title won’t do much for you because Etsy looks at a lot more than just the titles and tags when deciding where to put listings in the search results.
Get ideas by seeing if people have used terms that you think apply to your listings, but write the individual terms down to investigate later, don’t just copy people’s titles.
To see the listing tags on Etsy, you can scroll down to the bottom of the listing page on desktop and look for the round buttons that say “Explore related searches.”
Those are the tags for the listings, and some might be categories and some additional terms that Etsy has added that it thinks are related.
Again, just write down the words that you think are relevant to your listings, don’t just copy everything.
You have to put some thought into this, and if you don’t improve on the titles that are already on Etsy, you won’t be able to do better than them!
Keywords on Etsy on other pages.
Etsy also gives you an opportunity to find keywords on the home page, and in search results at the bottom of the pages.
Using an incognito browser, search for your type of products on Etsy, then click on a few that are similar to the things that you sell. Go back to the Etsy home page and see what they’re suggesting to you.
Etsy will suggest searches that it thinks are related to what you were looking for, so you’ll be able to see what kind of keywords Etsy is using and suggesting.
Keep doing this to gather more keyword ideas. Scroll to the bottom of the page to see if there are suggested searches with keyword suggestions and write those down, too.
There are more suggested searches at the bottom of each search results page, so you should take a look there after searching for your type of products.
Finding keywords in your own Etsy stats.
When you’ve started to get some traffic to your shop, you’ll start seeing Etsy search stats in your shop dashboard and listings.
You might not see the keywords right away, because Etsy doesn’t post them until there are enough to hide the identity of the searcher, but they’ll show up eventually.
When they do, you can use the information to either add or remove words from your titles and tags, and you can also add words that are related to the ones that you were found for already.
If you put some of those terms into Marmalead, you can find related terms that you can use.
You can also use the Etsy search analytics beta, but be careful with that because it doesn’t tell you what you probably think it does! Read this article about that to understand it better: Etsy Search Analytics Beta
Finding Etsy keywords in other places.
Keywords are really just words, so you can gather them anywhere. I use Google research tools fairly often to find words that I can use on Etsy, and there are plenty of sources to find more word ideas.
I’ve started putting keyword lists together for Etsy sellers, and each one is designed to give ideas based on one specific keyword or theme.
To see those, click here: Keyword Lists For Etsy Sellers
You can also find ecommerce keywords in places like Amazon, Google, and some free and paid SEO research tools. You should just make sure to research them in Marmalead before using them to make sure that they’re also effective on Etsy!
Using a curated list of keywords.
There are services where you can outsource keyword research, but you need to be careful if you decide to buy keyword lists or services from someone else. You know your own customers and products best, and someone else might not have the knowledge of selling on Etsy that can help to pinpoint good keywords for the platform specifically.
I sell curated keyword lists for Etsy SEO research, and I go through every term individually so that I can only include the ones that are right for Etsy.
When I start out, I usually have thousands of keywords to work through, and I narrow them down to the ones that will help each seller figure out HOW their customers search.
It’s interesting, because people really do search for different products in different ways. The keyword lists help you to figure that out so that you can use the keywords that real customers are more likely to type into the search bar.
To see the keyword lists, click here: Etsy Seller Guides. I add new keywords on a weekly basis, so if you don’t see any that work for you, check back later.
If you hire someone else to do your Etsy SEO research, make sure that you have them explain exactly why they want you to do certain things. In my experience, a lot of people don’t understand how Etsy works, and they try to do Google SEO methods on Etsy, which might not be the best idea.
Using Amazon to find keywords.
Amazon is a good place to find keyword ideas because it’s an ecommerce platform, so the keywords that you’ll get there are all going to be buying-intent terms.
You can use a free Chrome browser extension called AMZ suggestion expander to find phrases in the Amazon search bar.
This app will show you suggested terms that are based on whatever you type into the Amazon search bar.
Remember that it’s for Amazon keywords, not Etsy, but you can use it as a way to get more ideas.
Google ads keyword finder tool.
If you set up a Google ads account, you can use the keyword finder tool that’s used to find keywords to bid on in Google ad campaigns.
These are specific to Google ads, and the search volume that’s listed is actually the number of estimated ad impressions, not search traffic, but if you just use it to find keyword ideas it’s fine.
Any keyword mining method will work better if you run them through Marmalead before using them in your listings, but sometimes common sense will tell you that a keyword is a good fit for your listings.
Another way to get access to these keywords is to sign up for Keywords Everywhere, which is a Google search tool that shows the adwords data without having to get into an adwords account.
This is a paid tool, but it’s so cheap it’s totally worth it. You pay for credits, and unless you’re doing a tremendous number of searches, you won’t run out of credits quickly.
The app puts a little line of information about each keyword that’s typed into the search bar on any site. The data is from Google ads data, so it’s not specific to each site, but it will give you a rough idea of how popular a search term is.
Using Pinterest for keywords.
Pinterest is a visual search engine, and it’s another source of keywords as far as having a search bar with autosuggest.
Go to Pinterest.com on desktop to use their suggested searches. Make sure that the search bar is set to “all pins,” then type a basic term into the search bar.
Pinterest will give you suggested categories, and if you click into them, you’ll see more suggested search terms that will filter the results more.
You’ll also see dropdown suggestions for more search terms, and you’ll probably be able to find some that will work for your listings.
Because Pinterest is trending toward showing shopping options, they also have suggested searches for shopping. This means that their search suggestions will be good to use for products a lot of the time.
For another article about how Pinterest can help your Etsy shop, click here: Is Pinterest Worth It For Etsy? (And An Unexpected Benefit.)
Using Google SEO research tools for Etsy SEO.
You can use paid Google keyword tools to find ecommerce keywords that you can use on Etsy, but you need to be careful! Google searches aren’t always eCommerce-specific, so you need to make sure that the terms that you’re finding are accurate for your listings.
For example, if someone searches for “handmade soap” on Etsy, they’re probably looking for handmade soap to buy.
If someone searches for that on Google, they might be buying, but they could also be trying to find out how to make it themselves, figure out what’s in it, or decide whether it’s good for their eczema.
Google searches aren’t only buying-intent, so just because a keyword comes up a lot in Google search tools, it doesn’t mean it will work well on Etsy.
I was once doing research for someone who sold baptism gifts, and I kept coming across the term “christening,” in different keywords.
I was thinking that it must be an excellent keyword, but then I realized that it was showing up a lot because it was right around the time that one of the royal babies had been baptized, and everyone was searching “christening.”
It was showing up in Google stats like it was a really popular term, but that was only because of a temporary boost.
Every time there’s a royal baby baptism, searches for “christening” spike, but that doesn’t mean that it’s a really great keyword in general.
Make sure to do a reality check before you hop on a keyword and assume that it’s going to bring you a ton of traffic!
The last word in finding keywords for Etsy.
Deciding on keywords for your Etsy listings comes down to doing a lot of gathering, analyzing, and deciding on your final choices,
But the main thing that you should do is write an accurate title that clearly tells the customers what they’re buying.
As long as you don’t try to get tricky, and you choose accurate and relevant terms to put in your titles, tags, and descriptions, you’ll be fine.
Etsy wants accuracy in your listings, so use your brain and your own judgment to decide what’s accurate and what describes your listing correctly, using the words that you’ve gathered during your research. Write your title using those accurate terms, make it easy to read, and you’ll be doing it right.
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