DAY 1: Identify What’s Not Working

Why your listing isn’t performing (in 15 minutes)

Before you fix your listing, you need to understand what’s holding it back.

Today, you’ll stop guessing and quickly identify why one of your listings isn’t performing.

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Goal: Pick one listing and identify the main reason it’s not working.

By the end of today, you will:

• Identify one listing to improve
• Compare it with top-performing competitors
• Spot the biggest gap

💡 Before you begin: Only update listings that aren’t performing well. If a listing already gets steady views and sales, it’s best to leave it unchanged even if the SEO isn’t perfect.

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Step 1: Identify One Underperforming Listing

Start by identifying a listing that isn’t performing well using the Listings Tool.

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‍Note: This methodology requires your shop to be connected to eRank. Click here for more info on how to connect your shop.

How to Spot an Underperforming Listing

Once you’re in the Listings Tool, sort your listings using one of these options:

• Visibility Score: spot listings underperforming vs other Etsy shops
• Views: find listings with low views (not being discovered)
• Age: find older listings with little traction
• Grade: identify listings that need optimization based on Etsy best practices and listing performance.

👉 Pick one listing that stands out as underperforming.

If you’re unsure, start with the listing that has the lowest visibility score or views.

🔇 No audio: These videos are designed to be followed with on-screen instructions.

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Step 2: Identify 2–3 Competitors 

Method 1

Go to the Keyword Tool, search for your product using descriptive keywords (e.g. “personalized coffee mug”), then click “See Best Sellers” at the top right of the results page.

Method 2

Go to Etsy and search for your product using descriptive keywords that define what your product is (example: “personalized coffee mug”).

Choose 2–3 listings from the first page that are:

• Similar in product and style
• Not marked as ads

💡 Quick tip for sellers outside the US: Change the Region at the bottom of Etsy's homepage to the countries you sell to, to see which listings rank in those markets. Etsy search results are personalized based on many factors, including location and search history.

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Step 3: Compare with Competitors

Compare your listing side by side with competitors using eRank’s Compare Listings tool.

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Learn how to compare listings with eRank:

🔇 No audio: These videos are designed to be followed with on-screen instructions.

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Then toggle on Cards view to compare listings side by side:

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Look for the biggest gap:

• Visibility → Are they getting more views/hearts?
• Performance → Do they show higher estimated sales or conversion rates?
• Keywords → Are they using better or different keywords?
• Images → Do their listings look clearer or more appealing?
• Offer → Are they priced or positioned differently?
• Shipping → What is their shipping pricing strategy?

You only need to identify one main issue.

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💡 Mini Reflection

What’s the biggest difference between your listing and top performers?
Is it the keywords they use, how clearly they describe the product, or how well they match what buyers are searching for?

👉 In the next step, you’ll use this insight to build a stronger keyword strategy; finding better search terms and applying them to improve your listing’s visibility and performance.

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Day 1 in the books

What you accomplished

Today you:
✅ Identified an underperforming listing
✅ Compared it with competitors
✅ Found the main reason it’s not working

What's coming next

Tomorrow you’ll:
🗝️ Find high-impact keywords
🗝️ Build a keyword strategy
🗝️ Identify your Superstar Keyword

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Day 1 Mini Quiz: Audit Like a Strategist