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SEO for Etsy - 6/22/2011 9:42:15 AM

imakeart

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I know some of you cringe when you read SEO - Search Engine Optimization. It's such a pain in the you know what! LOL

But it is so very important. I decided, instead of spouting off a bunch of information I would show you exactly what to do for your Etsy shop, bit by bit. Today's post is on your listings. Birthday lady, Carolyn, has agreed to be my guinea pig.

A. The first thing to remember is that Google (and other search engines) are looking at your title and description--only! If you don't have the keywords for Google to search for it will not find your Etsy listings.

Below is how I would transform the above listing (the numbers correspond to those in the image).

1. Title:

Art Print, Pittsburgh Skyline, City, Cars, Digital Photography, Bold Colors, 11 x 14

2. Description:

Art Print, Pittsburgh Skyline, City, Cars, Digital Photography, Bold Colors, EBSQ 11 x 14

This bold image of the Pittsburgh skyline, full of reds, oranges and blues, was created in Photoshop from my original photograph. Several layers make up the final image of this digital artwork.

Title: ??
Size: 11 x 14 on 13 x 19 paper
Printed on (Premium?) Luster Paper with Ultrachrome pigmented inks.
Color Longevity of 75+ years!
Signed (on the back?) by the artist.
Comes with a certificate of authenticity.

(Please be aware that some computer monitors display colors differently)

************************

The changes above are pretty basic. Carolyn could add more to the description, like where in Pittsburgh was this taken (the parking garage of a mall, etc.)--People want to know, maybe it will have special meaning to them.

You'll notice I repeated the title in the first line of the description. This may seem silly or redundant, but it's important. It actually tells Google that those keywords are important. After the description I broke down the specific details of the item into bite size chunks. Titles are important, even if we don't add them to our listing title. Give your artwork a title. In this case it might be Pittsburgh Skyline and that is fine, but make it clear to the buyer that this is the title of the artwork.

Also, I took out the bit about the fading of the colors. Don't put anything negative or anything that could be construed as negative. This print is going to last a LONG TIME, so keep the information on the inks, leave out any mention of colors fading.

Remember too this is an artwork. Is it signed? Does it come with a certificate of authenticity? How will be it be shipped? Flat or rolled? If someone has to send you a message to ask these questions chances are they will keep searching for something else to buy.

Buyers want all the information, right there in front of them---they don't want to waste time searching for it.

B. The second thing to remember: the tags you create for your listing are used by Etsy's search function. With the new listing software you can only choose 13 tags, so you have to choose them wisely. Also the tags are separate from the categories, so you can use them again in tags.

In the tags above for this listing, I don't see "print." I would take off "yellow." Think about what the dominate colors are in the print: blue, red, orange. Also remember that the Team EBSQ tag is "ebsq team" not "ebsq." You already have EBSQ in the title, so I would be sure to put "ebsq team" in the tags.

**Lastly, (this goes for everyone) Etsy recently made changes to the listing software--if you have NOT listed anything or renewed anything in some time you need to go and "Edit" your listings. The tag system has changed and a few other things. So go update your listings and take advantage of the changes.

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Post #: 1

RE: SEO for Etsy - 6/22/2011 1:22:23 PM

skeymask

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Wow, Amanda...great advice!

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Post #: 2

RE: SEO for Etsy - 6/22/2011 1:37:50 PM

imakeart

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Thank you, Sherry! I hope it helps!

I recently went through my shop and made all of these changes, listing by listing. It was not easy and it took a few days, but already the views to my items have increased without evening sharing them on Twitter or Facebook.

Next week's post will be on Duplicate Content and Google Shopping.

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Post #: 3

RE: SEO for Etsy - 6/22/2011 4:36:08 PM

barbsgarden

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Thank you Amanda very much.

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Post #: 4

RE: SEO for Etsy - 6/22/2011 9:33:22 PM

bromley2

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Amanda this is great, thank you!!! I want to write more, but it is my bedtime and I am pooped (birthday girl had a nice day!!)...will try to post something tomorrow. I think all your comments are spot on. There is a lot of work I need to do, that is for sure!!! Thank you!

C

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Post #: 5

RE: SEO for Etsy - 6/23/2011 6:57:06 AM

imakeart

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You're welcome.

We can use this thread for questions too, so feel free to ask away if you need to.

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Post #: 6

RE: SEO for Etsy - 6/23/2011 7:59:15 AM

bromley2

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This is great, Amanda. Now some thoughts and questions....

I like the title. I realize that I didn't have enough in the title and I do need to redo all my titles. Oh, and Pittsburgh Skyline is the title of the piece, but you are right, I didn't make any point of that.

Do you think instead of Art Print, it would read better as Digital Art Print? I would like to try to be a bit separate from the whole Print world. This is not a print of an original that is already sold or something, it is the original in a digital art sense. The whole Print thing is a mess in the digital art world and I am not sure what to call my work. This piece was never first a watercolor, say...but it was an image created in my computer and then printed out. I guess I could say Giclee, but I think that has got too many meanings to the point that I am not sure what Giclee is supposed to mean. ACK! Enough of that. I will say Digital Art Print.

I hear you about telling people the place where the picture was taken, but (this is funny) I was on Deviant Art (I think) and posting this image. I wrote where it was taken and was not allowed to say that! LOL....it was taken in a market district called The Strip District in Pittsburgh. Everyone in Pittsburgh knows exactly what you are talking about when you say Strip District, but when I tried to post that info I was told it was not allowed. Now that I think about it I am not sure where I was that would not allow me to use the word strip, but I was not allowed, so ever since I have always left that out of the description! LOL...Makes me laugh! I will add it to the description for this piece and see what happens.

That is weird about repeating the title, but what you say makes total sense. I have seen some peopole do that and thought that they were being a little strange. Now I know why!

I like the idea of breaking everything down into small sections...never thought of doing that.

Now that you point it out, mentioning the fading issue is really probably shooting myself in the foot!! I had forgotten that it is not a good idea to mention anything negative in a sales pitch and when you think about it that is what your description is.

I like the idea of mentioning that it is signed....and actually mine are all numbered and I never mention that.

I agree about the shipping and in other places I have done that, but on this one I didn't. I see that I have a lot of rewriting to do!

I don't understand what the changes are in the listing software on Etsy. I know Etsy always limited you on tags and I usually did as many as I could think of. That is how yellow got included.

What do you mean that tags are separate from catagories? Do you mean I can mention Digital Art as a tag or at least rename the category, whatever it is, in tags? And, speaking of categories, I am not sure what one I put this image in, but would you have put it into photography or digital art? I don't think I could use both.

Anyway....I am unsure how the tag system has changed and how the listing software is working. Also, I didn't realize that we had to have "ebsq team" in the tags. I thought that having ebsq was enough. Gotta fix that.

Thank you for doing all of this, Amanda and for answering my questions. Most of the time I am floundering around in the dark when I post something to a site and your thoughts have really helped!! I see a few days will be spent doing a lot of rewriting!

C

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Post #: 7

RE: SEO for Etsy - 6/23/2011 8:26:38 AM

imakeart

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quote:

Do you think instead of Art Print, it would read better as Digital Art Print?

I would make sure that is clearly stated in the description but for the title, No. Because, Art Print will bring in more views than narrowing it to Digital Art Print. Someone could be searching for Art Print and find your's--maybe they weren't thinking of digital, but once they saw it and fell in love it, etc. etc.

As for the listing software--everything changed a week or two ago (earlier for some people who were guinea pigs). When you create a new listing or edit a listing this is what you'll see:

In the old way, you chose the Etsy Categories (like Art, Digital, Print) first then added the tags just under it. Now the two are completely separate. You choose the Categories before you type in the title and the tags are at the bottom. The tags are now not associated with the categories; which means you can add those as tags too. In the images above you can see I have ACEO in the categories and in the tags.

I hope that makes sense!

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RE: SEO for Etsy - 6/23/2011 12:49:05 PM

krisjean

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This is a great thread Amanda :D Thank you!

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RE: SEO for Etsy - 6/23/2011 4:35:50 PM

bromley2

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Oh, that is a good point about Art Print. I have such a difficult time with SEO stuff....I don't even see the obvious!

Oh, now I know what you mean about the listing software. Somehow I was reading that, but thinking about tags and searches. sigh....!....I like the new way of listing and it is nice to have it all on one page.

Now I need to find the time to sit down and go through all my listings and see where they need changes.

C

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Post #: 10

RE: SEO for Etsy - 6/23/2011 9:35:31 PM

imakeart

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You're welcome Kris!!

Carolyn, I know how you feel. I went through all of my listings in batches, that way I didn't exhaust my self. It can be quite a chore, but it's worth it in the end.

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Post #: 11

RE: SEO for Etsy - 7/7/2011 8:55:21 AM

imakeart

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I'm a little overloaded this week, so my post on Duplicate Content will be up over the weekend.

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Post #: 12

RE: SEO for Etsy - 7/7/2011 2:14:35 PM

bromley2

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No problem, Amanda! I wasn't sure if there was going to be more or not. Looking forward to this.

I have started working on changing all my images over to the new stuff, but it is a LOT of work!!!

C

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Post #: 13

RE: SEO for Etsy - 7/7/2011 5:35:32 PM

imakeart

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I know Carolyn!! I don't know about you, but I found it very exhausting. I had to pace myself and do a little bit at a time. Very glad it's all done now though.

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Post #: 14

RE: SEO for Etsy - 7/7/2011 8:59:42 PM

bromley2

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Oh yes....I find it quite tiring and when I get tired I make mistakes. I am taking it slowly, trying to do a couple every few days or so. It is going to take a while!

C

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RE: SEO for Etsy - 7/7/2011 9:31:41 PM

platypus

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quote:

ORIGINAL: imakeart

quote:

Do you think instead of Art Print, it would read better as Digital Art Print?

I would make sure that is clearly stated in the description but for the title, No. Because, Art Print will bring in more views than narrowing it to Digital Art Print. Someone could be searching for Art Print and find your's--maybe they weren't thinking of digital, but once they saw it and fell in love it, etc. etc.

As for the listing software--everything changed a week or two ago (earlier for some people who were guinea pigs). When you create a new listing or edit a listing this is what you'll see:

In the old way, you chose the Etsy Categories (like Art, Digital, Print) first then added the tags just under it. Now the two are completely separate. You choose the Categories before you type in the title and the tags are at the bottom. The tags are now not associated with the categories; which means you can add those as tags too. In the images above you can see I have ACEO in the categories and in the tags.

I hope that makes sense!

Thanks for explaining all this, it's very useful (assuming I can ever get something listed). I don't get how the categories & tags are different in the new version vs. the old one - in both you say you choose the categories first, then list the tags. I didn't know tags were associated with categories before, what do you mean? You could only use certain tags in certain categories? Also isn't it a waste of a tag if you have to repeat, for example, ACEO in both the category and the tag? I'm sorry I'm sure this is very obvious and I'm just missing it.

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RE: SEO for Etsy - 7/8/2011 6:12:31 AM

imakeart

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Vicky it would seem like a waste repeating it, like with ACEO in the Categories and ACEO in the Tags, but here's why you must do it.

The Categories only organize your item on the Etsy site, so that if someone clicks on Art from the main page and then ACEO they can find your listing that way--by browsing.

But if someone does a search on Etsy, saying using the keywords "ACEO lunchbox whimsy" and you don't have ACEO in your Tags they will find a lot of other stuff before they happen upon your ACEO.

The Tags you type in during the listing process are tied directly to Etsy's own search function, so they are very important. I hope that makes it more clear!

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RE: SEO for Etsy - 7/8/2011 6:17:32 AM

bromley2

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Good question, Vicky...I thought the redundancy just allowed for more hits....but now I understand it's importance. Thank you, Amanda.....

C

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RE: SEO for Etsy - 7/8/2011 7:25:16 AM

platypus

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Ok that makes sense, but isn't that how it worked before too ? I would put the same info in tags as categories then too. Didnt we use to get 14 tags ? Do you know why they changed it?

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RE: SEO for Etsy - 7/8/2011 7:41:57 AM

imakeart

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I think before it was suppose to work that way, but wasn't always very precise. They made a lot of changes recently to improve their site search functions. Hopefully it is helping.

I think the new listing process was also designed to help with the Google side of things. Google doesn't look at the tags at all. It only looks at the title and description and something in their new system is suppose to be Google friendly and Google Shopping friendly.

You may be right on the number of tags. When I think about it now I'm not sure. There are times when I wish I had just a couple more tags!

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