Top Keywords on Etsy in February 2023

Reading time: 18 minutes

Wondering what to sell on Etsy? Here at eRank, we’re back again to take the guesswork out of your Etsy SEO and tags. We’ll show you the most popular search terms with 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 Redbubble.

February’s Top 20 Etsy searches in the US

 

1.   valentines gifts for him

2.   gift for her

3.    gift for him

4.    valentine

5.    minimalist

6.    valentines gifts for her

7.    stickers

8.    tshirt

9.    wedding

10.   furniture and decor

11.   handmade jewelry

12.   valentines gifts

13.   earrings

14.   wall art

15.   digital planner

16.   gift

17.   handmade furniture

18.   hoodies and sweaters

19.   embroidery

20.   painting

NOTE: All search-volume figures in this report are based on eRank’s best estimates.

Yes, it’s still gifts galore in Etsy’s Top 20 shopper searches

Seven of the US Top 20 searches were Valentine- and gift-related. Haha, our first thought was, “Leaving it a bit late, aren’t we?” Because we know many of you have been reporting less than 5-star feedback due to gifts arriving “late.” And buyers who message after they purchased that they need it in three days. Despite the seller’s 7-day production time! Love isn’t in the air everywhere, lol. We sympathize.

In the US Top 1000, 19 searches were Valentine-related. Forty search terms had the word gift. As we mentioned in last month’s report, Valentine’s Day is second only to Christmas on Etsy for holiday gift-buying. In terms of annual holidays, the next big one for gifts will be Mother’s Day. And even though in the US* it is two months away, we’ve already got Mother’s Day searches in the Top 1000. *(Mother’s Day is celebrated much earlier in the UK. It’s March 19 this year. More about that in a bit!)

New to the US Top 20 in February

Compared with last month’s Top 20, in February we only have four new keywords. Some of you may recall that for the past two months running we had remarkable turnover in the Top 20 keywords. Unprecedented in the years we’ve been reporting on them: 11 each in December and January. Abruptly, now we’re back to only four. Very much on the low end in terms of change Month on Month (MoM). Interesting! When we first observed such low turnover was during the pandemic. Any theories?

Meanwhile, on to the four new keywords! Highest is sixth-ranked valentines gifts for her. That one didn’t even make the Top 50 in January! (Anyone surprised? As we mentioned, last-minute shoppers.) Next is 9^th-ranked wedding, up from #51 in January. Twelfth-ranked valentines gifts was down at #72 in January. On the other hand, #19 embroidery only just barely missed January’s Top 20, ranking #25.

What else is trending with US shoppers?

St Patrick’s Day is the next holiday the US loves to celebrate, especially in the Northeast. St patricks day shirt ranked #32, with a total of seven related searches making February’s Top 1000. More searches than Easter but then, St Paddy’s Day is in mid-March, while Easter this year falls on April 9.

Speaking of Easter, we also are seeing these two annual regulars: outdoor ranks #22 and easter is #31. Note that neither tend to be gift occasions on Etsy. For example, these are the Top 1000 Easter searches now:

#30 easter

#263 easter basket

#330 easter decor

#390 easter svg

#803 easter png

Another keyword we’ve been watching for awhile is this one:

This is the broad keyword couple. Certainly up and down, but it is clearly trending now. It’s at a 15mo high, and up MoM by 705%, holy cow! And not just in the US: look at that pie chart.

The highest-ranking “couple” search term on February’s Top 1000 in the US is custom couple portrait. That’s at #65 with a startling 43,850 estimated searches, followed by couples gift and couple. That’s it for the Top 1000, but it may be a lot more dominant depending on your niche. In our daily keyword reviews, we’ve been seeing “couple” searches in categories ranging from shirts, hoodies and sweatshirts to mugs.

Spike of the Month on Etsy US

It might be #79 self care sets and kits. (And it’s No. 1 in the Bath & Beauty category.)

See that spike on the Search Trend graph on the right above? That’s 40,820 searches in February 2023. As you can see, after 13 months of data too low to register it began to rise in January. Now it’s up MoM by 287%. Not as extreme a leap as “couple” but this one’s got well over 300% more search volume. And such low competition! And so far it is a strictly-US trending search term.

So, what is popular now with Etsy shoppers in the UK, Canada, and Australia?

Let’s start with the UK and work our way west.

February’s Top 20 Etsy searches in the UK

1. gift for her
2. gift for him
3. gift
4. minimalist
5. furniture and decor
6. mothers day gift
7. wall art
8. home decor
9. valentines gifts for him
10. tshirt
11. embroidery
12. stickers
13. valentines card
14. digital planner
15. custom portrait
16. candles
17. candle
18. mug
19. earrings
20. digital art

What’s hot and what’s not in the UK

Look at that! Anyone else find it remarkable that search terms like “furniture and decor” and “embroidery” and “stickers” and “custom portrait” and not one but two searches for candles have bumped perennial favorite “jewellery” from the UK Top 20? Sure, earrings made #19, and necklace is #21. But the trends they are achanging! Here is jewellery now, which ranked #11 in the UK back in January.

Gifts are definitely big there. Just not jewellery gifts, apparently. Note that of course this is for the British spelling of the word. Other countries’ Etsy searches tend to mix the two spellings. But wow, look at the piece of the jewellery pie France has got: a lot!

Another that’s not hot? Storage ranked No. 10 a month ago in the UK’s top shopper searches. This month? As a single-word search, it’s dropped completely out of the Top 1000. This month there are just two storage-related terms on the list, vinyl storage ranking #581, and storage cabinet down at #762.

What’s up? Candles!

On the UK Top 20 there are two candle searches, ranking #16 and 17. Frankly, we were just hoping to see they’d moved away from Yankee Candle, which we were distressed to find trending there a year ago. Sigh.

But check it out: things are looking up! Here are the stats on yankee candle.

As you can see on the pie chart, the UK currently has the lion’s share of shoppers by country for “yankee candle.” But at least enthusiasm’s way down Year on Year (YoY). That’s a mercy. We hate to see shoppers come to Etsy for mass-manufactured goods. Especially another country’s shoppers being diverted from their own handmakers by US mass-manufactured goods. So, this sharp drop from December’s 2,250 searches to zilch is good news. Phew!

And here’s 16^th-ranked candles:

Yay: even higher than the 2022 holidays, when candles usually peak. And if we combine this with “candle” (singular) search volume, that adds another 22,800 searches. And would put search volume up to sixth place overall: congrats, UK candlemakers!

The UK leads the world for Mother’s Day!

That is to say, Mother’s Day is celebrated far earlier in the UK than the other three countries which are our focus here. Australia, Canada and the US all celebrate Mother’s Day on May 14^th this year. The UK? It’s a full two months earlier! Why should this interest Etsy sellers elsewhere? Because we can gather insights into what’s trending this year, well ahead of our local competition.

Maybe UK mums are getting candles? Altogether, Etsy UK has eight candle-related searches in their Top 1000. Candles aren’t nearly as hot in our other countries. US has two searches, Canada three (none in the Top 50); and Australia does have four, but none make even the Top 100 there. Will those numbers climb? In the US last year in April, they did. For Mother’s Day gifts? In Canada also, searches for candle perked up quite a bit in April. And in Australia, that keyword is currently climbing, as it did last year in both March and May.

What other top-trending searches could be Mother’s Day gifts in the UK? (Apart from #1 gift for her, #6 mothers day gift, and #35 mothers day card.) Wall art, home decor, embroidery, custom portrait, mug, earrings, necklace, prints, personalised jewellery, art, painting, gift box, birthstone jewelry, self-care are all in the Top 50.

Only in the UK!

Well, almost only. This is leaving gift.

It is unusual when a country dominates a search term like this. And while it lacked the search volume to crack the UK Top 1000, you can see “leaving gift” is climbing. It’s got pretty stellar keyword stats for click through rate (102%) and comparatively low competition. As well, lots of things could qualify as a leaving gift. Its most popular listing categories are mugs, ornaments, wall decor, digital prints, and keychains.

UK Trendspotting

Here are some keywords that stood out in our daily keyword reviews of the UK lists here at eRank. Teal (currently at a 15mo high). All things Viking and Norse (true for Germany too). And personalised is still very big. The other day, there were six search terms featuring “personalised” in their Trend Buzz 30 Day Top 100. Since they also use “personalized” (the US-English spelling, with a “z”), total search volume is even higher.

One last UK thing to mention just in case those outside of the UK (and Australia) weren’t aware. They don’t use the term “bachelorette party” in these two countries. Instead, they’re called hen parties, or hen do’s. Related searches aren’t that high right now, but! Let’s check out the bars on the little Search Trend graphs, last column on the right.

Chart showing data on Most Popular and Related Searches for the keyword “hen” in the UK.

Note how the highest bars for several of these keywords are around May and June? That’s when most of these parties happen in the UK. Which means you should get your listings up now. Or add these keywords to existing listings. That highest bar for “hen party” signifies 10,750 searches! Enough to place in the UK Top 100 searches, so it’s worth researching. And take note: due to Australia being in the Southern Hemisphere, many of their related searches are peaking now. More about Australia in a bit, but first, let’s go on to Canada.

February’s Top 20 Etsy searches in Canada

1. gift for him
2. valentines gifts for him
3. furniture and decor
4. stickers
5. valentine
6. handmade jewelry
7. minimalist
8. gift for her
9. valentines gifts
10. wall art
11. handmade furniture
12. painting
13. valentines gifts for her
14. hoodies and sweaters
15. handmade gift
16. tshirt
17. do it yourself
18. tote bag
19. planner
20. digital prints

What’s hot and what’s not in Canada?

Uh oh, it looks like Canada’s even worse than the US for procrastinating! Back in January, they had not one Valentine-related search in their Top 20. And generally, their mail is even slower than that of the US. But this month, they had four in their Top 20, and 13 altogether in their Top 1000. So, clearly Valentine’s Day is a big card- and/or gift-giving holiday in Canada. They just left it to the last minute. Or rather, they did this year. Because, huh: last year in January, three Valentine searches made Canada’s Top 20. Are we more distracted this year? (Quite possibly.)

Of the four countries we write about every month, the US and Canada always track the closest to each other. Unsurprising given that we are also the closest geographically. So, it’s more useful to spot the ways Canada’s Top 20 Etsy searches are different than in the US. This month, there were four: handmade gift; do it yourself; tote bag; and digital prints.

But handmade gift was in the US Top 50; do it yourself ranked #60; tote bag was #72; and digital prints ranked #26. So, nothing all that different really. (As for the four keywords on the US Top 20 that didn’t make Canada’s? All four are in Canada’s Top 50.)

Here’s a keyword trending in Canada and the US but not in the UK or Australia: outdoor.

That’s quite a spike: 13,350 searches in February. And curiously, last year “outdoor” didn’t begin to climb in Canada until May. And it was flat as can be all the other months. Seems odd, right? Let’s check the US data.

Well, look at that. Same thing: in 2022, barely any activity for “outdoor” apart from May through July. Then the same spike (just not quite so high, relatively) in February this year. We all just itching for Spring here in North America?

However, scrolling down the Keyword Tool results and filtering for “Related Searches” in the Keyword Ideas chart, only two searches are up right now in Canada. Outdoor and door mat outdoor. So, for now, sure you should get your outdoor items listed right away – to get ready for the climb in May. Because these February spikes might be just that. Spikes.

Do It Yourself!

Here’s Canada’s 17^th-ranked search term, do it yourself.

What’s most inviting here is the Etsy Competition stat there on the left. That’s super low for Etsy! And then we look on the right and see “do it yourself” is currently at the highest it’s been in the past 15 months.

There does seem to be more interest in the UK and Canada currently for DIY. Australia doesn’t have one search for either “do it yourself” or “diy” anywhere in their Top 1000. The US just has the one, “do it yourself.” Whereas the UK has diy kit and diy crafts and do it yourself which ranks #32. And while Canada has just the one now, with 18,700 searches for do it yourself, it’s worth researching. If you already have DIY listings, maybe move “do it yourself” to the front of a title. (As long as it’s not performing well; remember eRank’s Golden Rule. Never change a listing that is selling well!)

Australia’s Top 20 Etsy searches in February 2023

1. home decor
2. tshirt
3. handmade jewelry
4. handmade clothing
5. personalized gifts
6. minimalist
7. handmade furniture
8. digital planner
9. wall art
10. stickers
11. poster
12. gifts
13. gift for women
14. personalised gift
15. ring
16. harry styles*
17. tapestry
18. earrings
19. gift for men
20. prints 

* Beware of trademarked terms! This is a list of Etsy shopper searches and may have keywords that are trademarked. USPTO Trademark Database.

What’s hot and what’s not in Australia

Something notable is that Australia has more typical turnover Month on Month. Six searches rose to the Top 20 in February and six dropped out.

Hot (current rank and keyword)

• 4^th handmade clothing
• 13^th gift for women
• 14^th personalised gift
• 15^th ring
• 16^th harry styles
• 17^th tapestry

Not so much (former rank and keyword)

• 10^th pokemon
• 12^th t shirt
• 17^th phone case
• 18^th crochet
• 19^th handmade furniture
• 20^th taylor swift

One to watch is handmade clothing. While it ranks fourth with over 17,000 searches, its click-through rate (CTR) is relatively low (3,719). Compare that with second-ranked tshirt which has 19,800 searches and over 29,000 CTR! Sixth-ranked minimalist also has a much higher CTR (45% more) than its very healthy search count. Conversely, gift for women is another with a worrying CTR that’s less than half its search volume.

Australia can be hard to figure. For instance, fathers day personalised football shirt ranks in their Top 1000 this month. But Australia doesn’t celebrate Father’s Day until September.

Another difference Down Under

Of the four countries we discuss here, only Australia shows their sense of humor in their Top Searches. And it’s a consistent thing. For instance, for over a month now in eRank’s Trend Buzz they’ve had all sorts of trending searches for Top G and Andrew Tate. “Taking the mickey, they are.” Which is to say,  Australian Etsy shoppers are highly amused by this Top G movement and one of its adherents, Andrew Tate, in particular.

Here is andrew top g, a search term currently spiking in Australia, with twice the search volume of the other countries with a piece of this pie.

The status of Top G (short for Top Gangster, “one who is feared and respected by all”) has been claimed by media celebs like Andrew Tate and Jeremy Fragrance, another Aussie fav to make fun of. It’s just funny to watch.

And watch is all we can do! Andrew Tate (tate is currently ranked #990 on the Aussie Top 1000) may be in a Romanian jail right now but all celebrities have “personality rights” which are protected intellectual property (IP). As is of course also the case with Australia’s 16^th-ranked harry styles by the way. In fact, Harry made the news recently for going after Etsy sellers abusing his IP, as he has every right to do.

Hot but cooling?

Crochet dropped down and out of Australia’s Top 20 this month. Only by a bit though, to #26. Here, take a look.

Three crochet-related searches made the Australian Top 1000, though: crochet, crochet patterns, and crochet necklaces. Also, in our daily keyword reviews we still see crochet searches regularly on the Australian lists. (Today, crochet car was trending, and crochet patterns is at a 15mo high right now.) And as you can see there on the right, crochet is largely divided between our top four countries. In the US, crochet search volume is about the same Month on Month. But in the UK, it’s also down. And way down in Canada. So, we’ll keep an eye on it for you.

March trend predictions!

These are always tricky to do. We like to be conservative about recommendations – to save you time and money! For predictions, we stick strictly to what we see in the data. Which is to say, Etsy shopper searches.

If you’d like to, we invite you to join us as we watch these. We start every day here at eRank by reviewing the data in Trend Buzz. It’s there that we’ve spotted these March trends. Here are four: one for each of our four top countries. We’ll start with Australia’s, and work east.

For Australia, it’s “garnet”!

 For the US, it’s “70s”!

For Canada, it’s “linen”!

And for the UK, it’s “wreath”!

Want to talk about it?

We’d love to hear your take on these or any other trends you’ve spotted. As ever, you’re welcome to join us in eRank’s private Facebook group. Start a discussion, exchange ideas, or ask questions. With over 24,000 members, someone friendly is always around to help! Here’s a link.

RESOURCES: eRank’s Trend Buzz and Keyword Tool have 15 months of historical Etsy search data to help you understand recent trends in what’s selling on Etsy now, what did well this time last year, and help you spot what’s new. Together, they are the best way to track what’s hot (and what’s not) on Etsy.