Marketing on Etsy

For Etsy sellers, especially those new to the game, getting your listings found by potential customers is half of the battle. You may have an amazing product at a competitive price, but without any marketing or SEO, it will never be seen. There are marketing tools within Etsy to help your listings appear in searches, but there is a lot you can do outside of the paid options to help as well. Below are some tactics for marketing on Etsy that I have used in my own shop and gotten great results!

Marketing Within Etsy

Use Strategic Names and Descriptions

The most basic step in getting your Etsy listings found is to give your products names with good keywords, and then to mention those keywords again in the description. To help you find great keywords for your products, put yourself in the shoes of your customer. What would they type into google or Etsy to search for your product? Check phrases that come to mind by testing them in a Google and Etsy search. Are the products that come up similar to yours, or completely different?

Here is an example of how you can refine a product name: Imagine you sold handmade puppets. If you had a princess puppet, your first instinct might be to name it it’s actual name, “Princess Aurora.” The reason you wouldn’t want to leave the name at this though, is that your puppet will only show up if someone searches “Princess Aurora.” This person would be looking for anything – a Princess Aurora dress, a kid’s bed set, or even a painting of Princess Aurora. A name this vague could bring up any number of things. Instead of naming your product literally the name of that item, focus on how a customer will find you. They would probably start with a search more like “handmade puppet” or “princess toys” or “puppets for kids.”

Once you have search engine-friendly keywords, work them into your product title along with the item’s literal name. You can develop your own style, but I like to write titles like this: “Princess Aurora // Handmade Puppet // Fairy Tale Toys // Puppets for Kids.” That way, you can grab people searching a few different ways that could lead them your item. Use those key phrases you researched again in the description, and voila! You just used SEO to get found on Etsy.

Paid Marketing on Etsy – Promoted Listings and Google AdWords

There are a few paid marketing options on Etsy, including Promoted Listings and Google AdWords. Promoted Listings increase your chances of being seen within Etsy, and Google AdWords will show your listings when someone searches a relevant term in Google.

Promoted Listings is a great tool if you are brand new to Etsy or have a decent sized advertising budget to work with. I personally stopped using Promoted Listings once I was able to show up on the first page of relevant search terms by my titles and descriptions alone. But, if you are selling a super competitive product, or are too new to show up on the first page with just your title and description, consider using promoted listings.

Google AdWords through Etsy takes your products into a whole new market. It is possible to show up in Google listings organically (for free), but with paid ads, you will get a lot more traffic. I still use AdWords for my top selling products, but I keep a close eye on the cost vs. my sales through AdWords. AdWords definitely helps get more traffic, but its not necessary to get sales if it starts to really cut into your margins.

Marketing Outside of Etsy

Social Media

The simplest way to market outside of Etsy is through social media. Instagram, Facebook, and even Twitter can be great platforms to show followers a “behind the scenes” look at your process and promote your products. Simply take photos here and there as you work and of new items and post them to these platforms. There is a great community of Etsy sellers out there (especially on Instagram) and a strategic use of hashtags will help you reach potential customers too.

If you have a good advertising budget to play with, social media paid advertising can draw in a lot of business to your Etsy page. Paid social advertising is a step I would recommend after the two paid methods inside of Etsy, though. It takes more work to set up and can require a decent budget to take hold.