Day 3: Strategize with Your Superstar Keywords

Now that you’ve found some keywords, it’s time to research them. Learning which relevant keywords have a good balance of search volume and competition is essential. Knowing how to find and use them shapes your SEO (search engine optimization) strategy. Keywords help Etsy match your product to the right buyer at the right time, so it’s important to use relevant phrases within your listings. 

Your Category and Attributes count as “bonus tags,” so those are already included in the terms that Etsy uses to match listings with shoppers. Today’s focus is on choosing a “superstar keyword”, using attributes correctly, and tracking changes to your listings.

Superstar Keyword

When crafting your Etsy listings, it’s important to include a single “long-tail” phrase that clearly describes your item. A long-tail phrase is detailed enough to describe the product, but concise enough to be a keyword that a shopper may use. These long-tail keywords generally have higher purchase intent. Customers with purchase intent search with a plan to buy, as opposed to those just browsing. These are known as your superstar keywords. Here is an example of how to take both a broad and very niche keyword and find a balance:

Use your superstar keyword within the title, tags, and description of your listing. This sends strong signals to Etsy that you want to be known for that specific search phrase. Using the same superstar keyword across relevant listings can help Etsy understand more about your shop. With positive sales data and reviews, your shop can gain keyword authority for that phrase, giving your listings the chance to rank higher in search.

For personalized tips, tell eRank what your superstar keywords are. You can do this via an individual Listing Audit or within the Listings page. To add it to a Listing Audit, open up the audit and look for the “Superstar Keyword” box. Once you’ve entered your keyword, eRank will scan your listing for where you use that phrase and highlight where it is missing.

💡Remember our golden rule of SEO: Never change the title or tags of a listing that is performing well for you! If you want to test out a new superstar keyword, consider creating a copy of the listing and experimenting with the new copy.

If you prefer to easily add multiple superstar keywords at once, use the Listings page. Navigate on your Listings page to the “Superstar Keyword” column. Here you can add your keywords, see those you are already using, and learn which listings still need one. When making changes to your listings, you can use the “Notes” column. This is a useful at-a-glance space to jot down experiments, remind yourself when to adjust listing photos, or brainstorm update for the holidays.

For more tips on superstar keywords, read eRank’s The Importance of Superstar Keywords blog post, or watch coaches Pam & Starla talk about Superstar Keywords during one of our past Live Q&A sessions. 

Holiday and Occasion Attributes

When creating a listing on Etsy, one of the areas to fill out is the Attributes. These operate as tags for your listing that shoppers can filter by in search results. It’s important to fill them out where relevant, leaving any unrelated to your listing blank. Filling out attributes that aren’t related to your products can mislead shoppers and lead to a poor browsing experience.

Two attributes frequently misused are Holiday and Occasion. Holidays are annual events such as Halloween, Mother’s Day, and Christmas. Occasions are life events that can happen year round, such as weddings, graduations, and baby showers.

Many sellers add “Christmas” to all of their listings once Q4 holidays are near, because they believe their items make ideal gifts. But this goes against Etsy’s best practices. In Add Attributes to Help Increase Your Shop's Visibility, Etsy says that “Attributes should describe what a product is, not how it’s used.”

For example, take a look at these two mugs. While the one on the left may make a nice Christmas gift (for your favorite eRank-loving Etsy seller), it isn’t specific to Christmas. The mug on the right, with its holiday lights and Santa hat, is clearly a Christmas item. Therefore, the mug on the left should have a blank Holiday attribute, while the mug on the right can use the Christmas attribute.

Keep in mind Holidays and Occasions when filling out the title and tags for a listing. “You don’t need to add tags that are exact matches for attributes you’ve already added,” per Etsy’s Keywords 101: Everything You Need to Know article. Bonus! This frees up a tag or two that you can fill with other keywords. And more keywords mean more chances to match a shopper’s search.

SEO Basics Resources

Here are some resources if you’re just learning about SEO or need a refresher:

• How Etsy Search Works (Etsy Seller Handbook)
• Keywords 101 (Etsy Seller Handbook)
• Etsy SEO Basics (eRank blog article)

Deciding which keywords to use and where is a big step in an overall SEO strategy. Keywords, however, are only one part of how Etsy matches your listings with the right buyers. Don’t worry about finding ideal keywords the first time. Your keywords don’t need to be perfect. Focus on a superstar keyword and balancing Attributes with the other keywords in your listings. SEO is a constant experiment, so keep track of the changes you’ve made so you can revisit and refine when needed.

Today’s Tasks:

• Choose one superstar keyword to use for at least one of your listings
• Check your listings for Holiday and Occasion attribute relevancy
• Add Notes to listings you’ve recently made changes to, or want to test in the future