Etsy Keyword Research: How to Find the Words Buyers Search

What counts as a keyword on Etsy

A keyword is any phrase a shopper types into Etsy search. Your listing can match it through four places: the title, the 13 tags, the attributes you pick (colour, material, occasion and the rest), and the category. Keyword research is working out which phrases real buyers type for your product, so those four places can carry them.

Start from the buyer, not the product name

Sellers describe what they made. Buyers search for what they need. A “hand-poured soy candle in amber glass” is searched for as “birthday gift for her”, “cozy candle” or “vanilla candle”. Before you open any tool, write down how someone would look for your item if they did not know it existed:

• What it is: the plain product word, and the other words people use for it
• Who it is for: mum, teacher, dog lover, new home owner
• What it is for: the occasion or the problem it solves
• What it is like: style, material, colour, size

That list is your set of seed words. The rest of the work is finding which combinations of them people actually type.

Free method 1: Etsy’s search bar

Type a seed word into Etsy search slowly and read the suggestions that drop down. They come from what shoppers type, so every one is a phrase real buyers use. Add one letter after your seed word (“candle a”, “candle b”) to surface more of them. Write down every suggestion that genuinely describes your item, and ignore the ones that do not, however popular they look.

Free method 2: your own Etsy Stats

In Shop Manager › Stats, Etsy shows the search terms that brought shoppers to your listings. This is the most reliable keyword data you have, because it is not an estimate: those are phrases that already found you. Look for two things. Phrases that bring visits but no orders often mean the listing is showing up for the wrong search. Phrases that bring orders deserve a place in the title and the tags of every similar listing.

Free method 3: read the first page of results

Search each candidate phrase and look at what comes up. If the first page is full of items like yours, the phrase is right. If it shows something different, buyers mean something else by it, and ranking for it would bring visits that never convert. If every result has thousands of reviews, the phrase is crowded: add a word or two (“personalised dog lover mug” instead of “dog mug”) to reach buyers who are further along and face less competition.

Long-tail phrases do most of the work

Short phrases get the most searches and the most competition. Longer phrases, three or four words, each get fewer searches but convert better, because the buyer has already decided what they want. A new or small shop almost always does better targeting ten specific phrases than one broad one. Etsy tags allow 20 characters each, which fits most two- and three-word phrases, and the title gives you 140 characters for the one or two phrases that matter most.

Where paid keyword tools fit

Etsy does not publish how often a phrase is searched. Paid tools such as eRank, Marmalead and Sale Samurai estimate it, along with how many listings compete for the phrase. Treat those numbers as estimates for comparing phrases against each other rather than as exact counts. They are most useful once you have more listings than you can research by hand, or when you are choosing between two phrases that both fit.

We do not make a search volume tool. For a side-by-side of the ones that do, see the guide to Etsy SEO tools, or the comparisons with eRank and Sale Samurai.

Put the keywords to work

1. Put your strongest phrase at the start of the title, written the way a buyer would read it.
2. Use all 13 tags, each a different multi-word phrase rather than single words or near-duplicates.
3. Fill every attribute that applies. Colour, material and occasion match searches without using a tag.
4. Check the result against Etsy’s character limits, then come back to your Stats in a month and see which phrases started bringing visits.

The free Etsy tag generator and title generator turn a live listing into 13 tags and a title within those limits, and the listing checker shows what is still missing.

Checked 27 September 2026. Etsy changes its search and Stats pages without notice, so the menu names here may move.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find keywords for Etsy for free?

Three free sources cover most of it. Type a seed word into Etsy search and note the suggestions, which come from what shoppers type. Open Shop Manager › Stats to see the search terms that already brought buyers to your listings. Then search each candidate phrase and check that the first page of results shows items like yours.

Does Etsy show search volume for keywords?

No. Etsy does not publish how often a phrase is searched. Your Stats show which search terms brought visits to your own shop, and paid tools such as eRank, Marmalead and Sale Samurai estimate search volume across Etsy. Treat those estimates as a way to compare phrases, not as exact counts.

What is the best Etsy keyword research tool?

It depends on the job. eRank, Marmalead and Sale Samurai estimate search volume and competition; EverBee leans towards product and competitor research. For a new or small shop, Etsy's own search bar and Stats are enough to start. Our guide to Etsy SEO tools compares them by the job each one does.

How many keywords should an Etsy listing have?

Use all 13 tags, each a different multi-word phrase of up to 20 characters, and put your one or two strongest phrases in the 140-character title. Fill every attribute that applies too, because colour, material and occasion attributes match searches without using up a tag.

Should I target short or long keywords on Etsy?

Mostly long ones. Short phrases get more searches but far more competition, while three- and four-word phrases convert better because the buyer already knows what they want. A new shop usually does better with ten specific phrases than one broad one.