Reading time: 4 minutes
Publication date: April 24th, 2023
Wondering what graduation-related shopper searches are trending on Etsy in 2023? We data geeks at eRank analyze what’s popular with Etsy shoppers. And we can tell you: they do a lot of shopping for graduation celebrations! As a seasonal search, it’s up there with Father’s Day! Surprised?
First, let’s see results for a top graduation-related keyword from last year. Here is Etsy shopper search volume for just one keyword, “graduation gifts.”
That’s quite a spike! By the end of May 2022, it was just over 272,000 searches! In fact, it was Etsy’s top-ranked search that month! This year by the end of March, it had already climbed to rank #243 in Etsy’s Top 1000 Keywords with 22,700 shopper searches.
And think: that is the search volume for just one search term! Now, let’s look up that same keyword in singular form, “graduation gift.”
What a difference an “s” makes, eh? With just over 5,300 searches, this keyword didn’t rank at all in March 2023’s Top 1000 Etsy shopper searches. And back at its 15-mo peak last year, it had only 17,750 searches. Of course, Etsy treats singular/plural forms of keywords the same in terms of what results are shown to shoppers. But notice how much more action there is in that trend line than what’s indicated by graduation gifts’ single spike.
What this tells us is that some people are shopping for graduation gifts at other times of the year. In Feb 2022, they were already searching. And search volume climbed in July 2022, and again in Oct-Nov. After dropping in December, it commenced to rise again beginning in January 2023.
This suggests it may be worthwhile to keep a few items titled and tagged as graduation gifts year round.
What types of graduation items are Etsy shoppers seeking?
Again, let’s begin with what graduation-related searches were trending a year ago in March, April and May.
Analyzing March 2022’s Top 1000 Etsy shopper searches, there were six:
- ranked 160, graduation
- ranked 205, graduation gifts
- ranked 228, graduation decorations 2022
- ranked 408, graduation cap topper
- ranked 523, graduation cap
- ranked 819, graduation 2022
Then in April’s Top 1000, it jumped to a total of 15 search terms. The first one, graduation gifts, ranked 15th overall! Here are the rest: graduation, graduation decorations 2022; graduation cap topper; graduation invitation; graduation stole; graduation cap; graduation gifts for him; graduation gifts for her; graduation gift; custom graduation stole; college graduation gift for her; graduation 2022; graduation svg; graduation announcement.
And in May 2022’s Top 1000? As we mentioned in our opening, “graduation gifts” was Etsy’s top-ranked search for May! There were 17 grad-related searches. They were similar to April’s but some changed around in rank order. A new one was #330 “graduation gifts for her high school.” #420 was “graduation card.” #822 was “graduation lei.”
Graduation searches aren’t just for gifts!
Did you notice? Those searches show that shoppers are also on Etsy to find graduation decorations and party supplies. Also, accessories like graduation caps, toppers, custom stoles, and leis. And print-related things like graduation announcements, cards and svgs. This means lots of you can hop on this train!
So, keep an eye on the “Last 7 Day” lists in Trend Buzz for graduation and gift-related searches. At the time of this writing in mid-April, “graduation gifts” ranked 34th in Etsy’s Top 100 searches, and “graduation” ranked 35th. And also check the Monthly Trends report in the categories in which you list. For instance, below is March 2023 data in Etsy’s Paper & Party Supplies category for the keyword “grad.” Those blue bars on the Trend Graphs show all four searches are performing much better Year on Year. (We think all celebrations will be bigger this year!)
One more tip!
Last week, we published an article about how to target Father’s Day shoppers on Etsy. We suggest you check that out, too; its marketing tips apply to any widely-celebrated occasion.
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