Here at eRank, we’re back again with the top keywords on Etsy now. Let us take the guesswork out of your Etsy SEO and product research. We’ll show you the most popular search terms with US shoppers. Then we’ll analyze what these trending keywords tell us about what’s selling best on Etsy now.
Tip: See what the most searched keywords on Etsy were yesterday, as well as on dozens of other marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, and Google Shopping.
Want to read about Etsy’s top trends in 2024? Here’s our annual review.
December’s US Top 20 most searched keywords on Etsy
| 1. gift |
| 2. personalized gifts |
| 3. stocking stuffer |
| 4. gifts for her |
| 5. gift for her |
| 6. earrings |
| 7. wall art |
| 8. gifts for him |
| 9. arcane |
| 10. birthday gift |
| 11. pokemon |
| 12. stickers |
| 13. signs |
| 14. rings |
| 15. mugs |
| 16. keychain |
| 17. jewelry |
| 18. wall decor |
| 19. gifts |
| 20. grandma gift |
Warning: Beware of trademarked terms. This report may contain keywords that are trademarked. USPTO Trademark Database
We always start with current Top 20 keywords that weren’t on the previous month’s Top 20 list. These get our focus because they climbed the farthest. That is, in just a month they jumped the most places in line.
Now, for well over a year the turnover of Etsy’s top searches has been the highest we’ve seen yet. The new normal is having nine to twelve shopper searches be new Month on Month. Volatile! For instance, back in November, we had 10 climbers, two of which were screamers. (So-called because they scream to the top seemingly out of nowhere. Just the month before, those hadn’t even made the Top 1000.)
However, for December 2024, we have just seven climbers, none of them screamers: far more seemly, right? But then we decided to compare this December’s Top 20 keywords with 2023’s December Top 20. And that yielded some unexpected results.
So, since we’re winding down 2024, let’s look at those too. And then we’ll end with a roundup of which top searches indicate the most purchase intent. You might want to add the seasonal and giftables to a Keyword List for next year. First though, December 2024’s climbers.
These keywords climbed highest the fastest
Here they are, listed in order with their current rank first, followed by their rank in November.
#3 stocking stuffer, up from #688 (but the plural ranked #185)
#5 gift for her, up from #26
#10 birthday gift, up from #31
#13 signs, up from #256
#15 mugs, up from #24
#16 keychain, up from #28
#20 grandma gift, up from #152
We know lots of you are busy gearing up for Valentine’s Day shoppers. So let’s look at just the highest climbers. And we can also skip “stocking stuffer;” it does this every year. The climber that surprised us most is “signs.” We do not recall ever seeing that shopper search on any Etsy Top 20 before.
Ranking 13th: signs, up from #256
Anything odd catch your eye?
What struck us most was that lackluster Average CTR (click-through rate): just 62%. For Etsy, that is distinctly low. Especially for a Top 20 search, and most especially one making a December Top 20. Simply because in December more people are buying; we should be seeing more evidence of purchase intent. When calculated just for December, the other 19 have monthly CTRs well above 80%. And yet, signs’ monthly CTR is even worse: 36%!
Might Etsy have been promoting “signs” on its US homepage? Etsy promos can be so enticing, people click even though they’re shopping for something else entirely. And so they don’t go on to click through to many listings they’re shown. So we opened an incognito window and checked.
Aha!
Are you here looking for what to sell on Etsy? Given that oddly high December spike coupled with its low CTR, better hold off on this one. Add it to a Keyword List. Let that tool track it for a while before you invest time or materials.
Ranking 20th: grandma gift, up from #152
This is the only other climber that leapfrogged a hundred+ places to reach December’s Top 20.
And unlike “signs,” grandma gift has our trend-alert banner waving that it’s still popular now. (Maybe some grandmas are getting Valentine’s gifts?) And unlike signs’ abysmal 36% December CTR, grandma gift has 93% for the month.
Another consideration: Etsy has a “signs” homepage promo. We didn’t find one for “grandma gift.” This suggests the latter has better purchase intent. Shoppers on Etsy for the purpose of buying their grandma a gift. And apparently many more of such shoppers than before – a year ago in December, “grandma gift” only ranked #358! (But it did have a 104% CTR for the month.)
And speaking of December 2023, as we mentioned up top let’s compare that Top 20 with this year’s. We learned so much when we did that for our Annual Etsy Trends report. Including a couple of shockers!
Dec. 2023’s Top 20 searches turned sliders in 2024
Nine of December 2023’s Top 20 keywords also made this December’s Top 20 list. Eleven however did not. We’ve listed them in order by the rank they had in Dec. 2023’s Top 20, with their current rank (if any!) last.
#6 handmade gift: neither singular nor plural made this December’s Top 1000
#7 personalized, now #194
#8 gift newborn: neither singular nor plural made Dec. 2024’s Top 1000
#9 taylor swift, now #45
#12 unique holiday gift: neither singular nor plural made this December’s Top 1000
#13 housewarming gift, now #516
#14 personalized jewelry, now #127
#15 gift for kid, now #313
#16 home gift, now #301
#18 necklace, now #27
#19 christmas, now #33
Two of these, “gift newborn” and “gift for kid,” are not as standard, syntax-wise. We recall pointing that out in our report last year; their rise surprised us. And three more here didn’t slide far. But six others sure did.
Dec. 2023’s No. 6: handmade gift – down and out?
Neither its singular nor plural form made this December’s Top 1000. Here is “handmade gift.”
Year on Year “handmade gift” has dropped by over 300,000 searches; that’s 98% down. Ouch! Compare that to 15 months ago, October of 2023, with that year’s holiday shopping only just gearing up. It already had close to 105,000 searches. Huh!
Curious now, we did some digging. We found a screenshot showing handmade gift’s stats for the 14 months before that (August 2022 through October 2023).
Next we checked an even earlier one showing February 2022 through April 2023.
For nine months in 2022, February through October, there certainly weren’t enough searches to make a Top 1000 list. In fact, that October it got just ten.
Which means “handmade gift” only started to chart in November 2022. (Anyone else find this surprising? Sure seemed like this search went back ages!) Then in 2023, it peaked in March (188,990 searches!) and again for May and June. Once more for December 2023, and then from April of 2024, it’s back to being pretty flat. Not as bad as 10 searches a month. But having only 5,420 searches for December makes it a Year on Year slider for sure.
Dec. 2023’s No. 7: personalized, now #194
At least “personalized” has the Trend Alert banner telling us it’s been popular this week.
And “personalized” isn’t down by quite as much – still, it’s slid 93%. And competition from your fellow Etsy seller listings is ridiculous: over five million.
That said, like “handmade gift,” personalized is too broad a keyword for any mere mortal to rank for. Everyone has to niche down, get more specific. And fear not: Etsy shopper demand for all things personalized is still there. This December’s Top 1000 has 22 shopper searches with the word “personalized.” And 24 more with “custom” or “customized.”
Dec. 2023’s No. 12: unique holiday gift – another down and out?
Like “handmade gift,” neither singular nor plural form of “unique holiday gift” made this December’s Top 1000. Back in December 2023, “unique holiday gift” had nearly 146,000 searches. A year later?
Oh dear! Just 10 searches. If you’re using up a tag on this one, don’t. Move it to a Keyword List; let that watch it for you. In shopper searches, the use of “unique” comes and goes. So who knows; it may be back.
Dec. 2023’s No. 13: housewarming gift, now #516
Yay! Another with the trend alert banner telling us it’s popular now.
In fact, doesn’t it make sense that “housewarming gift” should be popular year round? Maybe it was a fluke that it soared to 138,000 searches in December 2023.
Dec. 2023’s No. 14: personalized jewelry, now #127
This one didn’t fall nearly as far…
But for what has been a major trend on Etsy for ages, this is worrying. It’s one of those you don’t notice is gone until you compare year to year. While December 2024’s search count (25,830) isn’t terrible, Year on Year personalized jewelry is down 81%.
Last January, it stayed high for Valentine’s Day shoppers. And our Trend Alert banner confirms it’s popular now. But it’s got quite a ways to go to approach January 2024’s performance. We’ll keep you posted.
Dec. 2023’s No. 16: home gift, now #301
The last of our Year on Year sliders.
Remember “housewarming gift?” These both shot sky high a year ago, and both are decidedly down Year on Year. And jeepers, look at the number of listings competing for “home gift:” over ten million. That’s ten times the number of listings using “housewarming gift.”
“Home” ranked 30th this December. We checked to see how that did back in December 2023.
Wow. Unlike “housewarming gift” and “home gift,” this one’s way up. And a year ago, it didn’t crack December 2023’s Top 1000. Neither did “personalized home gift” (that ranks #107 this year). Nor “home gifts for him” (it ranks #290 this year).
And in both Decembers (and every month between), home decor-related searches are regulars on every Top 20. So, we’re calling this a healthy niche – apart from the competition, of course. But you know what to do about that, right?
Just niche down!
Works even for a keyword like “home” with 30 million competing listings! Just now, we scrolled down to home’s related searches table, and we saw low-competition keywords.
Here’s one: “custom home altar.”
Brand-new on the scene; 3,420 searches in December. Think it’s got potential? As with any single-month spike like this, we advise you first add it to a Keyword List. Let that report on its activities for awhile before you invest materials.
And there were others! “Alligator home decor” had 1,500 searches in December and a 12-mo CTR of 148%! That’s a lot of purchase intent!
New to online selling? On marketplace sites, click-through rates (CTRs) reflect how many times shoppers clicked listings in their search results. Therefore, CTRs are an indicator of purchase intent. That is, a shopper who’s more likely searching with the intention to purchase (as opposed to one just browsing).
And speaking of which! Here’s your insider roundup of the top keywords on Etsy now that have the highest CTRs. Are you here to find out what to sell on Etsy? Then this lightning round is for you!
Roundup! Top Etsy searches with 125%+ CTRs now
Of the top online marketplaces we cover, Etsy has the most keywords with high CTRs. That said, even on Etsy, CTRs above 125% are rare. We did these calculations based exclusively on December, our most recent full month of data. Which means that regardless of what their 12-mo CTRs may be, these keywords should be what’s selling best now. We hope some prove to be profitable leads for you!
One last thing before we begin. Some of these shopper searches could cause an Etsy seller problems. Whether they be protected by intellectual property rights or prohibited by Etsy, please look before you leap!
Ranking between 1-50
Just two qualifiers in this month’s Top 20: #9 arcane with a monthly CTR of 125%, and #15 mugs with 126%. (To be as readable as possible, from here on we’ll only shout out the CTRs above 140%: sky high!)
Moving on: #29 bookmark, then a pair at #33-34: christmas and cat. Next is #42 tshirt, and this section ends with #50 dice.
Ranking between 51-100
Straight out of the gate is #51 dog, then a pair at #54-55: ring and mug. Skip just two and there’s another pair at #58-59: planner and book embosser (150% CTR!). And the next is sky-high too: #72 fallout with 150%. Next is #80 art, then at #83 scarf, another with a CTR of 150%.
At #85 is sweatshirt, followed by another with a 150% CTR: it’s #88 jewelry box. And this group ends with a bang: #90 zelda with a 150% CTR.
Ranking 101-150
Here we have to jump ahead but it’s worth the wait. At #111-112 a pair, both with CTRs of 150%: lamp and naruto. Skip ahead again and there’s another pair: #121-122 butterfly (144% CTR) and slime (150%!). Next is #129 tarot, then two in a row with high CTRs: #132 dnd dice has 143% and #135 crochet has a 150%.
At #138 is christmas stockings, followed by another exceptional pair at #143-144: press on nails has a 149% CTR and 2025 planner has 150%. And this section ends with a trio at #146-148: png, then earrings and slippers, both with CTRs of 150%.
Ranking 151-200
Here we begin with #157 hoodies, then #161 music box (150% CTR). Next we have to jump a bunch but it’s for a pair at #175-176 with 150% CTRs: pearl and pikmin. Then another pair at #181-182: menorah (150%!) and fursuit. Next is #188 wood and #190 fabric. Then we wind up this group on a high with #196 valorant and its 150% CTR.
Ranking 201-250
Another hot start: with a CTR of 150% we have #201 baldurs gate 3. Then nothing until #225 warhammer (with 146%). Next is #227 custom and then a trio, all with CTRs of 150%! At #229-231, they are enamel pin, trench crusade, and neon sign.
At #233 is halloween, also with a 150% CTR. Skip just two and at #236-239, we have a quartet, all with 150% CTRs: keycap, helldivers, stocking, and sylveon. And we end December’s Etsy Top 250 with #247 ita bag (150%) and #249 stray kids.
With that, we’re off to see what’s trending in Etsy’s other top-selling countries
And even if you only ship within the US, you might want to stick with us. We always discover more about US trends as we research what’s popular in the UK, Canada, and Australia. Parlez vous français? You can read our monthly reports covering French Etsy shopper trends here.
As always, we love hearing what you think. Got questions or suggestions? You’re welcome to join us in eRank’s private Facebook group. With over 28,000 members from around the world, someone friendly is always up and about. And don’t miss our weekly live Q&As on YouTube, where you’ll also find dozens of eRank tutorials, demos and more! For instance, we just added a new weekly series of eRank tool tutorials every Tuesday. And here we are on TikTok with lots of fun and quick how-tos.
RESOURCES: eRank’s Trend Buzz and Keyword Tool have 15 months of historical Etsy search data to help you understand trends in what’s selling on Etsy now, what did well this time last year, and to help you spot what’s new. Together, they are the best way to track what’s popular with Etsy shoppers now.
