Etsy SEO Changes in 2022 + Beginner Tips
Etsy recently announced some SEO changes for 2022 that are sure to affect the way your listings rank in search. Keywords have always been important, but now they are more important than ever. Don't freak out. Here's what you need to know. Hey everyone, I'm Dylan from Marmalead, and thanks for tuning in. Today, we're taking a look at a recent update to Etsy SEO in 2022. If you haven't heard the news, the Etsy algorithm is now considering keywords in your listing descriptions when it comes to ranking your listings in search. Huge news, right? Eh, not really. This recent Etsy SEO change isn't as big of a deal as you might think, so let's talk about why. Now, in the past, your keywords have always only been used in your listing tags and your listing title. That's because Etsy's algorithm didn't even care if you used keywords in your listing description at all.
Now, if you're familiar with SEO and other search engines, that kind of goes against the grain. We know that Google's algorithm has always cared about keywords in your listing descriptions, so that's kind of why we've always talked about optimizing your listing descriptions with Google in mind. That's because Google will crawl the first 160 characters of your listing description and use that to create the meta description for their search engine. In Google search, the meta description is the short paragraph you'll see underneath the SEO title or the title of the search result in Google. So when your Etsy listing is optimized with strong keywords in your tags, your title, and in your description, there's a stronger chance that your listing will rank in Google if someone searches for your product there instead of on Etsy, so that's kind of why descriptions have always been important in the first place, but never on Etsy side of things. Well, now, Google isn't the only algorithm that cares about keywords in your listing descriptions, and it's all changed as of May 2022. Etsy announced that their search now considers keywords and phrases and your listing description when ranking your listing in search.
In other words, the keywords you use across your listing tags, titles, categories, and attributes have always been important, but now the keywords you use in your description are just as important. And this is coming straight from the horse's mouth: Etsy. So what in the world does that mean for you? Well, here's what Etsy says. Now that Etsy's search is looking for keywords within your listing description, the algorithm has even more to scan, allowing us to get your items in front of even more buyers. They go on to list some Etsy SEO tips for writing listing descriptions, so let's talk about those. Aim to incorporate relevant keywords in the first few sentences of your listing descriptions. So those top performing keywords that are the most accurate and the most descriptive for what your product is, yeah, use those first. Avoid copying your title verbatim or simply listing your top keywords. Instead, you wanna craft a sentence or two that casually incorporates a few of your top keywords in a way that sounds human and written in your brand's voice.
Now, this means no keyword stuffing and including a nonsensical mess in your listing descriptions just to get some more keywords in there. I mean, could you imagine if Netflix did this for their show descriptions? "In this sci fi TV teen show, TV horror, a young boy goes missing, which is ominous and scary for Millie Bobby Brown fans, including '80s nostalgia, Steven Spielberg, ET inspired, Goonies, Coming of Age, Boho TV series for binge watching Netflix lovers." Yeah, that just doesn't make any sense at all. Alright, moving on. Etsy says continue to include important information that will help buyers understand your product. So what they mean here is that you should continue to include information that you wouldn't otherwise include in your keywords or in your title. For instance, the dimensions or measurements of your product, keep those in descriptions, just as you always have. So that's Etsy's announcement. They didn't really give much more information than that, and again, this shouldn't come as a shocker, because you really should have been using your top performing keywords in your listing description already.
But if you haven't been, here's a workflow that you can start incorporating in your Esty SEO strategy for 2022. So keywords, right? That's what we've been talking about this whole video. Those are those descriptive words or short phrases that tell the algorithm what your listing is all about. Now, these same descriptive words, keywords, are what shoppers use to search for your listings in Etsy search. Ideally, you want the keywords you use on your Etsy listings to be the same keywords that a shopper would use when typing something in Etsy search. If Etsy's algorithm thinks that your listing is the most relevant for by our search, then you have a higher chance of your listing being shown to that buyer ahead of other listings, which means you have a better chance that your listing will be found by interested buyers. And in the simplest terms, that is why keywords matter for your Etsy listings. So how do you use keywords, especially with Etsy's recent changes in mind? Well, like we've been talking about, on Etsy, you used to only use your keywords in your listing tags and in your listing title.
But now, you need to know how to use your keywords within your listed description. It's not as complicated as you might think, but here's the workflow we would use. So if you're selling olive green throw blankets, you wanna make sure that you're using tags like "olive green" or "throw blanket," and then you might use some tag to describe your materials, like "wool blanket" or "handwoven throw." And then you can even use some tags to describe what it's used for, like "housewarming gift" or "large blanket." You could even throw "boho" in there if it works for your listing. I mean, why not? Everyone's using it, even Stranger Things.
And once you have your tags all set up, you'd write your listing title using those top performing keywords that are the most accurate and most descriptive for what your product is. So it's not necessarily important that your best keyword to go first, but you do, however, wanna make sure that your title makes sense to shoppers, and this more than likely means putting your best performing keywords at the front of your title, 'cause those are the keywords you want your buyer to see first.
Etsy wants to see your top performing keywords at the beginning of your listing description, and that's even how Etsy recommends you set up your titles on the first place, so yes, it usually makes sense that your top performing keywords are gonna go first in your listing title. So in this case, your title could be something like, "Olive green throw blanket, handwoven housewarming gift, home decor blanket for bedroom, couch, or sofa, large blanket, decorative tapestry." Wow, that's a mouthful when we say it, but we're using all the title space that we can, and you should, too, making sure that your most important keywords go first, because on mobile, they're not gonna see the entire title.
Alright, so now we've got our tags and our title for our Etsy listing, and it's time to write our listing description. Now, this is where Etsy's SEO changes are gonna come into play. But first, if you're wondering how we came up with the keywords we're using in our example listing, it's simple: We're using Marmalade. So if you wanna try it out yourself and start using the best keyword to get your listings on point, we'll pin a link down in the comments below. Okay, so using Etsy's advice, we're gonna write our listing description. So here it goes: "A stunning, handwoven olive green throw blanket, perfect as a housewarming gift for her or him.
Cuddle up in this large sofa blanket and enjoy lounging around the house under the soft natural wool fibers. Drape it over the couch or use it as a cozy bed spread. This one 100% wool blanket can also be used as a decorative wall art or a hanging tapestry. Measures 60 inches x 80 inches. Eco friendly, made with organic materials. Machine washable in cold water, hang to dry, or tumble on a delicate cycle." And there you have it. We used our top performing keywords in the first sentence of our listing description.
We sprinkled some more keywords throughout the entire listing description and made sure that it flowed naturally and you could read it like a human. We made sure to write our listing description in a way that draws shoppers in, makes them feel welcome, and we included some necessary details that shoppers would be interested in knowing, but we might not include in our tags or in our title. And now, all that's left is to make sure you're using your best listing photos to show your blanket in all its glory. If you wanna learn how to do that, then check this out. So how do you think we did with our listing description? What would you have done differently? If you wanna learn more about writing compelling Etsy listing descriptions, then make sure you check the description down below where we'll have a link for you.
Do you think this Etsy SEO change is a good thing for sellers, or do you think it'll just end up being more work on your end? Let us know down in the comments below, and as always, thanks for watching, and have a nice day..
