Are You Etsy Optimized ?

Photo By Jellybeans – Click to see Store

Being a handmade artist is hard enough. Having no marketing team makes it almost impossible. One thing I have always truly loved about Etsy, is their continued effort in the advancement of their sellers. Hey people they make money when we do, of course they want us to be successful and use their market space.

On Sept 24th Etsy announced new efforts in advertising and getting the word out. One being the Google Shopping space. It’s a paid model but one other sellers have done very well with.

97% of the buying process begins with research in Google. Whether that be product reviews, more technical information, or finally to get to a product page to buy. This is my world 9-5 every and I for one am terribly excited Etsy is also very interested in investing in this to run a test sample and see how it impacts their members. Brava Etsy!

So, are you optimized? And second WTF does that mean exactly?

While browsing Facebook today I came across a post by my dear friends Forrestina Vintage. As you can see (smile).
What I didn’t expect was to see the tech side of Etsy already on the Google Optimized bandwagon.

Lets start at the top and work our way down
1- Etsy has all the hot spots in the right places. My yellow arrows point those out. Keeping the top spots where a new buyer can use them quickly – awesome.

2- Shop. I tell all of my friends time and time again who want to “open” an Etsy store to carefully think about their naming structure. What you place is who your brand becomes. Choose your words carefully.

5- Photos. You need to read the community forums if you are a seller and learn how to do them. Whether you create a light box for clean well-lit photos or learn how to create ambiance in your dioramas you need to have it. Slapping a diaper snuggy on a Winnie the Pooh back ground with living room lighting isn’t going to make people ooo and ahh over your wares.

6- Use Keywords. Simple sweet titles that get to the point and address what you have is key. This isn’t eBay (OOAK Lim.Ed. Ork Raider WOW Combat Series HandPaint). Seriously. No.

7- Descriptions: yes like this blog post that I had to go back to and take my own advice, you need to include key important details. You should try to keep it short, but in doing so also give a little personality and try to create a scene story or need in your buyer. Brick and Mortar stores have mood lighting, fragrance tricks, touch to offer a sensation and sometimes even sensory additives to lure. You have a computer screen. Work that shit.

8- Forums Teams Treasuries. Use them. This is really a big opportunity.