Esty SEO ✽ Search Engine Optimization Part 2

These dresses are available from varius shops on Etsy -just look for "Crocheted Baby Dress" :). 

Once you know what keywords are the best for the range you want to aim for, you have to put those phrases where you can in your listing!  There are a few ways to put multiple titles in your listing name. They need separated in some way, and the most common ways of doing that are "Title - Title" and "Title, Title". I have also seen "Title/Title"... I haven't read that that is a good way to do it, but neither have I read it was a bad way to do it, and it doesn't seem to hurt those shops I've seen, so you could try it :). 

Take the keywords you decided to use in your listing name. It has to be those that will fit (you have 140 characters to make use of), and preferably the ones you think will give you the best benefits. Try to put the one that you think will bring the most results at the very beginning, because although Etsy will pull from all of your titles, the first listed will be the one they see as most important :).

For the sundress we talked about yesterday, I decided to use "Crocheted Newborn Dress, Crocheted Purple Baby Dress, Crocheted Baby Girl Dress, Crocheted Baby Summer Dress, Crocheted Newborn Girl Outfit” as the title. Those are the best ranking keywords that all fit together in the space I am given :).

After that, I would copy those and put the same things in my tag section. Tags can only be 20 characters long, so I'll have to take the word "crocheted" out of my tags to bring them down in size, and I'll put that word as it's own tag so that it can work alongside of any of the other tags if someone searches for "Crocheted -----".  This will give me the tags "Crocheted, Newborn Dress, Purple Baby Dress, Baby Girl Dress, Baby Summer Dress, Newborn Girl Outfit". You have the use of 13 tags, and this leaves us with 7 to use. For best results, you want to use all that you can, so you could add "Baby Girl Gift, Baby Shower Gift, Baby Girl Outfit, Coming Home Outfit, Baby Gifts"... and then I would add my team tag :). I'll share more about teams in another post. It's something you might want to consider!

The final thing you want to do is add as many of those keywords as you can to your description - but without being annoying to potential customers by repeating the exact same word over and over ;). The first three lines will be shown to people who look on google for something like your product, so that is the most important area! I might start my description for a purple and pink crocheted baby dres with a description something like this... "Are you looking for an adorable baby shower gift, or a coming home outfit for your little girl? This purple and pink crocheted sundress might be just the thing! Size newborn, this handmade summer dress makes a great baby gift for parents to be." No, it doesn't actually have my keyword phrases in it, but it DOES have every word included in my list of keywords to use within it's structure, and google will highlight those words that are included in which ever keyword phrase the searcher includes, so it works the same way :)! 

 If you have multiple listings that are similar but different, make use of the fact that you can then find 15 good keywords and give 3 listings 5 different titles! Some people even make two listing that are identical except for the title, so they can double their title character limit. This also helps you determine which keywords are working best for you, because if one identical listing gets seen more than the other, it's all in your keywords!

A special thanks to Ashley for letting me use some of the material I sent her last month in my blog posts the past couple of days! Have you checked out her shop, Ashley's Yarn Works :)? Which format of separating your titles do you find most visually appealing? How would you write the opening of a description for a baby dress such as we've talked about?

Etsy SEO ✽ Search Engine Optimization Part 1

All of these baby dresses are available on Etsy... just search Crocheted Baby Dress :)!

The most important way to get your listings in front of buyers is to have your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) working in your favor. Your SEO is your listing title, your tags, the first three lines of your listing description, your shop description, your section titles, and even your shop name if it includes a word that describes what you do (like Carrie's Knit Hats). These are all the places that you can use the keywords that people will be typing into the Etsy search bar, which can cause you to get your listing viewed by others, if they decide your picture stands out to them and they want to click through for more information :).

It is very important that you use each of these spots to their full advantage, on each and every listing. Each keyword you have inncreases your chances of being seen, because it gives you a wider range of searches to be seen in. It's also important that you use phrases, rather than single words; there is a middle ground you have to find. If you have the word "Knit" listed as it's own title, people who search for "Knit" are going to be shown 724,680 results. This is wayyyyyyyyy too broad. Nobody is going to go through all of those pages, and out of all those results, if you are just starting out, you are very unlikely to get shown within the first few pages. You can be too specific, though. Title your item as "Kitty Cat Quilled with 100% Recycled Paper Mounted in a Black Shadowbox", and you are the only person with that title. True, that means no competition! It is also means it is highly unlikely that anybody is going to look for such a long titled item without ANY variation in the wording, leading them to someone else's listing instead. Titles of 2-4 words are best :).

Don't just come up with 2-4 word titles and slap them in your listing title section, though. Do some research and make SURE it is a good title! I recently looked for keywords for a Crocheted Baby Dress while talking about keywords with Ashley from "Ashley's Yarn Works" of Etsy, and this is what I did...

Looking at the dress, some of the things I thought of were, crocheted baby dress, crocheted baby sundress, crocheted purple baby dress, crocheted newborn dress, purple and pink crocheted baby dress, crocheted baby shower gift, and crocheted baby girl outfit. I wrote those down and that gave me a good starting point, so I looked up each of those phrases, and any others that I thought of, or saw other people using, as I looked through the Etsy search pages. If you are stumped for ideas on what to title something, look for the basic idea of what it is -say, Pumpkin Magnets- and see what other people who are selling pumpkin magnets are calling them :). It will help you get ideas on where to start, which usually leads to having a good idea of where to go from there :). My research for the crocheted baby dress led me to find these stats for the keywords  I came up with...

• Crocheted Baby Dress: 17,763 results.
• Crocheted Baby Sundress: 420 results
• Crocheted Purple Baby Dress: 1,381 results.
• Crocheted Newborn Dress: 4,075 results.
• Purple and Pink Crocheted Baby Dress: 1,830 results.
• Crocheted Baby Shower Gift: 62,343 results.
• Crocheted Baby Girl Gift: 46,417 results.
• Crocheted Baby Girl Outfit: 9,961 results.
• Crocheted Baby Girl Dress: 11,652 results.
• Baby Summer Dress: 17,728 results.
• Crocheted Baby Summer Dress: 1,735 results. (I wondered if results would change if I changed the wording on this one, so I looked for....
• Crocheted Summer Dress for Baby: 1,735 results. That changes nothing, so I might as well save on my title limit of 140 characters by leaving out that “for”! I typed “Newborn” into the search bar for ideas right now, and I saw “Newborn Girl Coming Home Outfit” listed as a suggestion for a quick click; I’m going to see what that gives me!)
• Newborn Girl Coming Home Outfit: 23,401 results.
• Crocheted Baby Girl’s Coming Home Outfit: 1,481 results.
• Crocheted Newborn Girl Outfit: 7,201 results. 

See how this helps you see which keywords are a good viewing range? I wouldn't use Crocheted Baby Sundress in my title, because it has only 420 results. That means sellers don't think of that phrase often, which means buyers probably won't either. And I won't use Crocheted Baby Shower Gift, because competing with 62,343 results isn't something that as a smaller/newer seller right now, I can do very well. I can include those in my description, maybe my tags if I need more, because they are great phrases for what I am selling! But it is important that your title includes the best keywords, the ones with that middle range that get you the best chances of being seen! I can't give you the perfect number to look for... Etsy SEO is something I truly only started learning about this summer. I had heard a lot about it before... but I'd gotten a completely wrong idea about it and didn't know to check my titles before that, so they needed a totally new do when I took an online class for it this summer (because I injured my wrist and couldn't create new product as I had planned; that might have been a blessing in disguise ;).)! I do know that I personally am featured on one of the first 4 pages, usually the very first page, if my keyword is 4,000 results or smaller. But I'm also on the first page with my second best acting keyword, which is one of about 15,000 results! Try some things out, see which keywords are your best, see how many results they have, and maybe that would give you an idea of what range works really well for you :). Tomorrow I'll show you how I would use the keywords we researched today!

What range do you try to stay in when doing your tags? Do you like the challenge of finding the perfect phrasing to get you results?

After Your Etsy is Open ✽ How to Rank Even Higher

After what we talked about yesterday, your shop background details prove that you mean business and that you are dedicated to the little details. That is a big boost in helping all the other things you will be doing from now on get bigger results! From here on out, the methods of building trust are not as clear cut, and will require more work... but you have a great foundation for them, and the work is well worth it!

So what are some of these other ways that you can rank your listings higher on Etsy?

-Great SEO. This includes titles, tags, your shop description, and shop section titles. SEO stands for Search Engine Optomization, and simply put; it's how you get found without giving someone the direct link to your shop. A customer comes to Etsy and types into the search bar what they are looking for. If that phrase is in your listing title, they'll see you! I'll show you how I go about finding my Etsy Keywords in another post :).

-Visually appealing photos. This is the one I struggle with, and yes, I know it well :P. I just bought some photographer's paper, and am trying to learn how to use that, hoping that it will make a difference in my pictures and raise my sales. SEO is how you get found; but photographs are how you get views. A person searches hats, and your listing comes up. Great, it's in front of them! But until they click on it, it doesn't count as a view for you. A good photo will be what make a lot of people pick your item out of all the others listed. Some people will look past the bad picture to see the product... but others will know that it looks like you don't know what you are doing. It's truthfully I think the hardest aspect to get right, but so important, which makes it worth it to "try, try again", right :)?

-Mail your packages out on time. You got an order, yay! Now make sure that it gets in the mail on
time, because if you don't, you won't be as likely to succeed. And make sure you MARK it as shipped, too, because Etsy knows your promised date, and they'll be keeping an eye on it. Packages arriving late can upset buyers, who can leave you a bad review or complain to Etsy, and neither of these is wanted when you want to improve your shop credibility or customer relationship! If you can't make it by a certain date, don't promise it. Of course after it leaves your hand, the post office is responsible; but the date is an estimated shipping date, not delivery date :). Make it a policy to always have things done ahead of the time promised; it makes really happy reviews :).

-Good reviews. Now, this one is difficult, too. You need sales to get reviews, and reviews are important to get sales. But it's alright, they'll come in time! I'll talk about how to get more reviews in another post, too, but just think about when you shop; you like to know that past customers got their item, that it was what it said it would be, and that the seller was nice to work with! Your customers are going to want to know these thing, too.

-A good conversion rate, making sales, getting item likes, and getting shop likes. Each time a potential buyer either buys your item or "shows it some love", that listing is seen as more valuable to Etsy's search engines! It's the gift that keeps on giving :).

What of these important elements is the one you struggle with most? Which is the one that you find you are best at, and do you have any tips for the rest of us in that area :)?

Being a Trusted Etsy Seller ✽ Remembering the Little Details

When starting up an Etsy shop, it can be easy to think all you need is a shop name, and some listings. The shop name is required to put up a listing... and, well, the listing is what gets you money, right?! I'll admit even I did this at first. I had my name, Under the Tapestry, picked out a couple years before I started my shop, and I had some of my products (my tatted bookmarks) made up in abundance before my Dad and I sat down at the table and he helped me take the plunge. We listed one item (my Tatted Cross Bookmark), and then I started slowly working on adding up more items. I set up my policies fairly early on, using Etsy's generic policies as my main springboard, but there were details I overlooked. Details that would have been simple to take care of, but I didn't realize that it was something that would hurt my shop if I left undone... or I simply didn't know where to look to even find that it was something I could include! I've learned and worked on these things as I've went, and though I know I still have a ways to go and there is always something to learn (just yesterday, in fact, I learned something about one of Etsy sellers' favorite "Like Game", that I'll share with you later this month!)

Think about this. There are hundreds of thousands of sellers on Etsy. Etsy search engines have to pull through all of those sellers, all their shops, and all their listings, to find listings to show searching buyers. Etsy wants to show the people who rank high. I'll share other tips on how to do that later this month, too, but for now we'll talk about how the little, initial details help you be a trusted seller :).

When you don't have all the little details set up, you won't rank as high in Etsy search, because...

1. Etsy knows that sellers aren't going to be as interested in a shop that they can't get to know. Etsy is the place for handmade items. Everybody knows that it is an actual person creating their order behind the scenes, and they like to know who that person is. They also like to know that there IS a person creating their items behind the scenes, and if you've taken the time to fill out the little details, it helps them know that you didn't just take a picture off the internet and slap it with a made-up description and a price. They want to be able to trust that you care about them, about your art, and about being trustworthy!

2. Etsy does hold themselves accountable to make up losses if a customer files a complaint that they never received what they offered payment for. They want to be as sure as the customer that your store is one that can be trusted, because if it isn't, they are the ones who will have to go about fixing it. And Etsy wants to keep the site as creditable as possible, not only for them, but for sellers like us. What would happen if Etsy was deemed unsafe for buyers, and nobody came to shop from those of us who run honest shops, either?

Some of those little details you can focus on while making your shop professional, thorough, and genuine from the start are...

-Photos; not for your listing, but to show off your brand. Include your profile picture on your personal account, so people can see you, the seller; make a nice shop icon/profile picture to give a branded personality to each individual listing (the icon shows at the top of a listing page), and a shop cover photo. While showing Etsy you took the time to include this, you also build a connection with buyers as it adds visual appeal to your shop's home page :).
-Your shop tag line. Right under your shop name, this is where you describe what you sell. It helps if these can be keywords, to score you more searches!
-Your shop announcement section. And try to keep this spot fresh, always with the latest announcements, coupon codes, sales, and deals that you have going on!
-Use your sections! It helps categorize, it helps keep things clean, and if you use keywords for section titles -once again, you'll get more views!
-Set up your shop's "About Me" page. Go ahead and fill in your personal profile, too!
-Add links to your social medias in the place given for it, right under your "About Me".
-Make sure you have shop policies that work for YOU. Etsy's general ones are a good starting point... but change what you need to to fit with YOUR view on returns, refunds, shipping dates, international or not, etc!
-Do you get a lot of the same question, or forsee getting a lot of the same questions? Try to answer them in your listing descriptions, but also answer them in your "Frequently Asked Questions" section!

These are just a few of the ways that you can work with Etsy to get your shop "up there" in the ranks. There are many more nitty gritty details that help, too... but those come later. This is just the initial set up, so that all the other things you do in the future are given the boost of coming from a well thought out and well put together shop background :)!

What do you think is the most important aspect on this list? Did I forget something that you could add in the comments?

Write31 ✽ Welcome to 31 Days of Etsy!

To those of you who may be new here, I want to say hello! Saved by the grace of Jesus Christ and blessed to be a child of God, I'm Bri, a 20 year old daughter and older sister to 8 here on earth, and 4 waiting at the throne of the King. I'm happiest digging into God's word, creating beautiful things, enjoying the out-of-doors, connecting one on one with loved ones, and serving others. I have a desire to help orphans and those with special needs, and I love autumn, coffee, soft blankets, candles that I can never bring myself to burn, inspiring quotes. I've been told that when I described myself as "random, consistent, confusing, and wordy", that it was spot on me, if that gives you any idea of what it is like to know me; and I run the Etsy shop, Under the Tapestry!

For those of you who don't know Write 31 Days, it's a challenge for bloggers to post once a day every day in October on one topic, and all the people participating in it link up at the official site :). This is my second year participating in Write 31 Days, the first being with my Romans 12 series in 2015. That year was such a wonderful time of digging deeper into Romans 12, of sharing and discussing the posts and verses with my friends, and of really pushing myself to post every day. I really did enjoy it, and I can't wait to share with you all this month, as well!

I've decided my theme this month will be all things Etsy or crafting related! I've got all kinds of ideas; Etsy item collections to share with you -scripture pieces, Thanksgiving and Christmas items, my favorite listings I've seen from other's shops; reviews and links to some of my favorite shops; some compilations of tips I have learned selling on Etsy myself; and I have some personally created patterns I want to share with you for free this month, and behind-the-scenes snippets! Also -comment on this post or follow my blog to let me know that you are interested in this series, and if the interest is high enough, I may just have a giveaway coming later this month!

And y'all; I made my own BLOOOOOGGGGG BUTTOOOOONNNN!!! All by my own self. I tried that a few years ago and spent a miserable two days fighting it before a coding friend was like, "Really? Oh Bri... send my the image, and let me make it." And then she was done. Ha! But I used Amy Lynn's tutorial this time, and I got it the very first try, and yes, I was so thrilled :D. So if you'd like to share my button, it's the (working!) one right under my profile :)...

"She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle." -Proverbs 31:19