Things You May Not Know on Etsy's Search Results

Many of the activities of running a shop require effort, time, money, extra work and stress. You may ask yourself, why aren't my items show in the top of the search results. Here are some of the reasons:

The factors included in Etsy's search placement are many. At times Etsy are testing new search functionality and may introduce more permanent changes in the future. Search algorithms change continiously for many of the world's largest platforms (Amazon, eBay, Google, etc). Google, for example, roll out hundreds of changes every year for their search engine.

As Etsy are introducing changes to their search algorithm, they now include customer experience as a factor in search placement, in addition to whether a shop is in good standing based on Etsy's policies. Now, positive reviews, completed About pages and completed shop Policies can help your placement in search.

Aspects that can result in lower placement include recent cases and intellectual property-infringement issues.

New shops without reviews can improve their ranking by filling out their About page and Policies.

Developing an effective marketing approach takes time, but it is an important part of building a following for your new small business. Formulating a social media strategy is particularly challenging for shops with diverse product offerings - you can use our social automation tools to help you with spreading out the word on your Pinterest boards or Facebook pages.

When displaying search results to potential buyers, Etsy may take into consideration many of the individual buyer's searching history as well as other parameters (like physical location, previous purchases and other demographics that they keep collecting on buyers). As such, be aware that sellers will not see their own items boosted within their search results, but a seller's listings may be boosted in other shoppers' searches. If you'd like to see search results unaffected by this targeted search approach, you can log out of your Etsy account or use your browser in incognito mode.

Etsy will be boosting items that they think shoppers will be more likely to purchase based on their history. As sellers, you still control the most important factors in your own search placement: tag and title relevancy, listing quality, customer and marketplace experience as well as seller's interaction with past or potential customers. If you'd like more information about how search works on Etsy, check out their Help article: How Etsy Search Works

Overall, listing placement in search may change as Etsy try to connect shoppers with the listings that they're most likely to purchase. Search results will differ from person to person, so even though you may be using the same search terms as another shopper, you won't necessarily see the same results, even between your own accounts. These results will be based on the shopper's account, not on your shop.

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