Etsy Search Ads

Etsy has a new way for you to get some more exposure. After the change to Relevancy as the default search, shop owners have had to work just a little harder to be found. Before you could renew your items and keep near the front of the search.

The new Etsy Search Ads promise a way to help get you some exposure. Though it seems at first glance to be based off of the Google AdWords and Facebook Ads model, the pricing is far more reasonable and there is no bidding for key words. It gives you the option of a lower dollar amount based on your renewals from back when that was the way to go.

I averaged about $6 a week with renewing so that is my base rate for the low tier. The rate of "ads" for the money is very nice as well. $1 will get you 1,000 impressions. When you set up your "ad" Etsy gives you a list of keywords based on your existing Titles and keywords. I opted to delete the very generic terms from my list but left a few somewhat generic terms. I deleted "glass beads" and left "necklace."

The best thing about the ads are that you can start and stop them at any time. Only time will tell if it is helpful or not but Etsy was smart enough to tie the ads to your stats so that you can see the results in real time. I plan to revisit this topic after it has been running for a while.

Etsy Search Vs Google Search

Etsy and Google use very different search algorithms. It is sometimes difficult to grasp trying to optimize for both Etsy and Google. Learning what they share and do not share can be the key to being found in both places. Do your best to optimize for both.

They both give weight to the title of your item. Etsy gives strong emphasis on the first three words of your title. Google gives a little weight to your entire title. Put the most important words first.

Etsy gives heavy weight on tags, Google all but ignores them. Using multiple keyword phrases is good for tags on Etsy. Repeating the same word on different tags is good because the Etsy search algorithm is looking for EXACT keyword matches. For example if you have a vintage red leather belt, try to think of ways people would search for it. "vintage leather" and "vintage belt" both describe the item and optimize you for two different phrases. Avoid tag stuffing. If you have a belt that is three colors "red orange blue" is not a way to describe it. You'll want to use the colors in separate tags like "red belt" and "orange leather" and "blue buckle".

Etsy does not use the description in their algorithm but Google uses it very heavily. Try to make sure that you have the keyword phrases listed in your description. Try to use them multiple times as long as you can make it sound conversational or descriptive without sounding too repetitive. I try to use the keyword phrases twice in the description and have some of my other keyword phrases spread out in the description since Google does not look at tags. Please note that since your tags are listed in the main body of your description it is possible that Google does see and use your tags slightly.

There are a lot more factors and variables that go into both search algorithms but I feel like these are the main ones that you have control over. Make your words count. Etsy and Google do not release all of what goes into their search algorithms so we may never know exactly whet they look for but taking steps to optimize for what we do know they are looking for will at least give us a better chance of being found.

How To Take Better Pictures

"How do I take better pictures?" That is the second most asked question I get. The answer is simple, I really don't know. I am not a photographer. In fact I could not even define some of the most simple photographic terms if my life depended on it. Fortunately I have the Internet.

My photographer was recently out of town for a week. I needed some pictures to list some new items. I called my sister and asked to borrow one of her cameras. She has five kids, so I knew she had at least one camera. She loaned me two. One was some type of Sony and the other was an Olympus.

I know about how to set up a light box and how to light things by watching my photographer work.(This post about Photography can be helpful to you as well) I always wondered what she was doing with all the knob turning and changing settings and such. Now was the time for me to learn all about that.

The very first thing I did was search for a tutorial on the camera I was using. Now, I didn't look up just any kind of tutorial, I got really specific in my search. I searched for "How to take closeup pictures of jewelry with the Olympus model number." It turns out that several people had taken the time to talk about how to set the camera for great pics. I did not even have to read the owners manual.

Now, my lighting wasn't perfect so I had to figure out how to fix that after the fact. I am very fortunate to own a copy of Photoshop CS4 and I do know my way around some of it. I searched on the Internet for "Ways to lighten a photo in Photoshop CS4." Yes, you guessed it, there were tutorials galore. Now, I will say that some of the tutorials on Photoshop were too far advanced for me to have a clue what they were talking about but after looking through a few articles I found what I was looking for.

I realize that most people cannot afford a high dollar camera or expensive photo editing tools. You can make the best of what you have. Photoshop Elements is a great program that costs a fraction of what Photoshop will cost you. You can also try out some really great FREE open source photo editing software. Gimp is a great open source program much like Photoshop, in fact, you can use the add on for it that makes it even more like Photoshop. There is a bit of a learning curve with it. Fortunately there are tutorials galore.

Using a 10 mega pixel or better camera makes a lot of difference. You can buy a camera for under $100 that will shoot great pictures. Just make sure it has a Macro setting. That is what helps you take close up pictures. Around Christmas time, especially Black Friday, is a great time to pick up a good camera. You can get a $200 for under $100 sometimes. Just do a little research and look for tutorials on the exact camera model before buying one.

I hope this has been helpful to you. Let me know what kind of camera you use for your pictures and what kind of experience you have had with them.