As many Etsy sellers know, keywords are important in getting found in Etsy search. Using all 13 tags in your listing and building your title around keywords has always been important for Etsy SEO. Listing descriptions are not only important for describing your items, but are important for increasing conversion rate for your products. Etsy recently announced that they WILL be looking at listing descriptions now for keywords just like Google does.
What Does This Mean for My Listings?
For most sellers, not much will need to change as you are probably (or should be) writing descriptive product descriptions that sound human. With Etsy now using your product descriptions for search, this gives sellers even more chances to have their products found. Like any change with Etsy, use this as an opportunity to review all your listings. Make sure that your product descriptions are providing value to shoppers while taking advantage of this new chance to get found.
What Can I do To Make the Most of This?
Like we mentioned above, any time Etsy announces a change, it’s a good time to review your listings. Ask yourself if you’re doing your best to attract customers to your products. In addition to having well written descriptions, try these things:
Leverage the first few sentences
Include your best performing keywords into the first few sentences in a way that comes off like it’s written by a person. Don’t stuff keywords in there in an attempt to rank, include them in a natural and authentic way.
Don’t Just Copy Your Listing Title
Strive to create a natural and authentic sounding description here. Don’t just copy your title and put it into your description. You want to them to work together without being the same thing. Provide quality and helpful information while working keywords in.
Don’t Simply List Keywords
There is a good chance that Etsy is trying to increase listing description quality by incentivizing sellers with SEO benefits. You want to avoid simply listing out your keywords, and focus creating meaningful information for your customers. The product description is there to serve your customers and gaining search ranking benefits is just a bonus.
Let’s Get To Work!
Despite all that we covered; we need to keep in mind the descriptions are just one factor in getting ranked in Etsy search. So, while this new information may have you racing to beat your competition to the punch, make sure that you are finding smart ways to place keywords into your description without sacrificing the conversions that come with a human sounding description. In short, avoid keyword-stuffing at all costs!
Remember that descriptions are there to serve your shoppers above all else, so make sure to write human sounding and helpful descriptions that help shoppers make an informed purchase decision.
DO work your best keywords into your first few sentences in a way that is natural.
DON’T directly copy your listing title.
DON’T simply make a list of keywords in your description.
Equipped with this information you should be able to make informed decision on how to optimize your product descriptions. But keep in mind that you shouldn’t be losing sleep over this single element of your listing. Good Etsy SEO comes from the big picture, not any one single part.
What do you think of the new changes? Join the eRank Facebook group for all the latest Etsy and eRank related discussions.