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.
Reading time: 13 minutes
September’s Top 20 most searched keywords on Etsy in the US
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1. halloween |
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2. wall art |
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3. adult halloween costume |
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4. stickers |
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5. christmas |
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6. halloween shirts |
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7. halloween home decor |
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8. rings |
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9. personalized trick or treat bags |
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10. shirt |
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11. tshirt |
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12. womens clothing |
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13. keychain |
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14. home decor |
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15. sweater |
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16. wedding |
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17. cat |
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18. earrings |
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19. fall hosting decor |
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20. jewelry |
These top Etsy searches climbed highest the fastest this September
“Climbers” are what we call current Top 20 keywords that didn’t make the previous month’s Top 20 list. We like to focus on these because they’re the hottest of the top keywords on Etsy now. After a bumpy ride back in July, in August we had eight climbers and no “screamers.” (So-called because they seem to scream into the Top 20 out of nowhere.) And eight climbers is just right: enough to keep things fresh.
For September though we have 10 new Month on Month; half the Top 20! That’s high for Etsy, which already has the highest turnover rate of our top marketplaces. And four of those climbers are screamers. But all four relate to Halloween. We expect to have holiday-related screamers.
Oh, and speaking of holidays, look at what else has entered the Top 20. Can you guess what this is?
Yes, it’s “christmas.” And that bright-green banner tells us it’s been popular on Etsy this past week (through Oct. 3). With Halloween still weeks away: yikes! Nevertheless, that callout is shouting we sellers need to activate our Christmas-related tags and SEO now!
September’s climbers
Quickly then, let’s get to the rest, shall we? Here are September’s 10 climbers and screamers, listed in order with their current rank first.
#3 adult halloween costume (screamer: didn’t make August’s Top 1000)
#5 christmas, up from #39
#6 halloween shirts (didn’t make August’s Top 1000)
#7 halloween home decor (didn’t make August’s Top 1000)
#9 personalized trick or treat bags (didn’t make August’s Top 1000)
#13 keychain, up from #47
#14 home decor, up from #26
#15 sweater, up from #282
#16 wedding, up from #44
#19 fall hosting decor, up from #269
Now, given that there are 10 and that you must be mad busy, we won’t do all these. So let’s start with the Halloween screamers. We’ll look them up in Keyword Tool for you and see what we can see.
Ranking 3rd: adult halloween costume
Huh. No green “trending now” banner here.
And “adult halloween costume” is down by quite a lot Year on Year. Further, see that Average CTR stat? (For those of you on a small screen, it’s 87%.) For Etsy, which also has the most high click-through rates of our top marketplaces, 87% is low. In fact, this keyword has the second-lowest CTR in our Top 20.
The lowest? It’s #12 womens clothing. And we data geeks here at eRank have been watching that one. We think it ranks so high because Etsy promotes it on its homepage. Which is good! But those attractive Calls to Action get shoppers to click even though they’re shopping for something else entirely. And that lowers the click-through rate. Because those shoppers that day have less purchase intent for women’s clothing.
Quick tutorial: “purchase intent”
New to online selling? Click-through rates (CTRs) reflect how many times shoppers clicked listings in their search results. We care about these stats because CTR signal purchase intent. That is, a shopper who’s searching with the intention to purchase (as opposed to one just browsing).
New! In our Amazon and eBay trend reports all year, we’ve been doing roundups of high CTR keywords. Stick with us to the end here; we’ll finish up with one for you guys too. Let us know if it helps you!
Ranking 6th: halloween shirts
Now this one looks a bit better.
This keyword is way higher Year on Year – but! One reason is because this data reflects only the plural form, “halloween shirts.” And yes, way more people searched this year for “halloween shirts” plural than they did last year. Now though, let’s compare it with “include near matches” selected, which is the default for this tool.
And we see that actually, plenty were shopping for this product last year. So does it matter which you use? Often, it doesn’t. Not when it’s just the singular and plural forms. Because Etsy and search engines treat those the same. That’s why the default in Keyword Tool is to include near matches.
That said, every once and awhile there are buried treasures to find.
Finding buried treasure in the Near Matches table
Scroll down the Keyword Tool page to the table. Select the tab along the top that says, “Near Matches.”
There are eight! Now, admittedly, most of the search volume goes to the top two: halloween shirts and halloween shirt. All the rest are long-tail keywords. And a few of them are worth a look. See the Google Searches column? These four average an estimated 27,100 searches per month:
- halloween shirts
- halloween shirt
- shirts halloween
- shirt halloween
And two more average 12,100/mo: “shirts for halloween” and “shirt for halloween.”
This Google data is not just useful if you have a website. It can also help you understand broader shopper interest levels, keywords and products. If you are here to research what to sell on Etsy, add these to a Keyword List. Let that keep track of them for you.
Ranking 7th: halloween home decor
Wow: nice spike!
Year on Year, “halloween home decor” is up a very fancy 224%. While this keyword is a screamer (i.e., didn’t make last month’s Top 1000), “halloween decor” did, ranking 75th. So if this niche appeals to you, be sure to get your Halloween decor items listed early. By June even. In fact, given how popular Halloween is year round on Etsy, maybe just leave them up all year.
And now, our final Halloween screamer of the month.
Ranking 9th: personalized trick or treat bags
Bet this is Spike of the Month!
Only a few months with 10 searches, most had none. Then boom! Up to nearly 50,000 in a month. Weirdly, when we searched September’s Top 1000 list for “trick or treat,” this was the only one. We expected to see more. Nothing else with “treat” either. August did have one, “trick or treat bag,” ranking #308.
Curious now, we dug out last year’s September Top 1000. And there were none! No shopper searches with the word “treat” at all. So we wondered: could it be that trick or treat bags are called something else these days?
And aha! We proudly present unto you “halloween tote bag.”
Only 1,730 searches in September; however, it did do better in August with 3,730, a 15-mo high. And check out that Average CTR: 122%. Now, this one has got a lot more competition from your fellow US Etsy sellers. But if you made your product personalized Halloween tote bags, you could use both keywords! Too late for this year, but two keywords to watch for next year.
As for the rest of September’s highest climbers, three are “frequent flyers:” keychain; home decor; wedding. These nearly always chart high. Which leaves just two, both seasonal.
Ranking 15th: sweater, up from #282
Now this is what we like to see! Currently at its 15-mo high, and that green Trend Alert telling us it’s still popular this week.
Yes, everything looks fantastic– except that dang Competition stat: over a million listings are using this keyword. But don’t lose heart! If you’re looking for what to sell on Etsy, here’s a way eRank can help even new sellers compete!
Niche down: a quick demo
Are you new to eRank? “Niche down” means identifying products you can rank for high enough in search for yours to be found. Here’s how to niche down.
We scrolled down to sweater’s Keyword Ideas table and employed some helpful filters.
“Broad” (circled in yellow) will show us all related keywords that have the word “sweater.” Lots of dog sweaters came up, so next we used the “Exclude Keywords” (circled in lime green) to remove those. Finally, to see which keywords are trending now, we sorted by the Search Trend column. Especially with seasonal items like sweaters, that’s a vital step! Just click that header circled here in orange.
Assessing the results, yes the first five do have high competition. But check out the next five: all have quite low competition! And two of those also have amazing Average CTRs. (All the more amazing when you consider that stat is a 12-mo average for a seasonal item.)
One is “baby name sweater” with a sky-high CTR of 149% and only 6,569 listings for competition. The other is “icelandic sweater” with 1,420 searches in September; 129% CTR; and only 1,732 competing listings.
Of course, you could go even more niche and filter for only dog sweaters. Or baby sweaters. Or sweater patterns. (Both of those sell better year round.) Or ugly sweaters! Those are an annual fav. For now though, let’s move on to our final climber.
Ranking 19th: fall hosting decor, up from #269
We were pretty sure we hadn’t seen that keyword in any Top 20 before. And sure enough, have a look.
Once you’ve reviewed as many shoppers searches as we have, you can spot what isn’t one. A shopper search, that is. Seriously: “fall hosting decor”? That has to be Etsy. So we checked.
But wait! Check out that 106% Average CTR. That tells us shoppers are liking this Etsy prompt. They are clicking listings Etsy shows them – and remember, that indicates purchase intent.
Decor is a huge trend year round on Etsy. Last year, a decor-related keyword made 18 appearances on our monthly US Top 20 lists. And “home decor” ranked 19th on 2023’s Annual Top 20. Given how expansive a category decor is, there is room for all of you. Just use that procedure outlined above to niche down.
And now, as we mentioned up top, we’ll end with our insider’s roundup of the most promising keywords now. That is, a list showing which of the most-searched keywords on Etsy have the highest CTRs.
Roundup! Top Etsy searches with 125%+ CTRs now
Here to find out what’s selling best on Etsy? Then this lightning round is for you! Note that even on Etsy, CTRs above 125% are rare. Note too, we did these calculations based on their search volume and clicks in September. Which means that regardless of what their 12-mo CTRs may be, these keywords should be hot right now. We hope some prove to be profitable leads for you.
Highest CTRs in the Top 250 most-searched keywords on Etsy
One more thing before we begin. Some of these popular search terms could certainly cause an Etsy seller problems. Whether it be prohibited by Etsy or protected by intellectual property rights, please look before you leap!
Ranking between 1-50 (which range from 239,040 searches to 24,830)
Our Top 20 has four, two of them with 150% CTRs, which is as high as our CTR data goes. In order to keep this as clean as we can, we’ll only shout out specific CTRs when they are that high. So, in the Top 20: stickers has 150%; rings; shirt (150%) and keychain. Next, ranking #22 ring (singular) has 150%; then coasters; fallout; and at #43 hat which has 150%.
Ranking 51-100 (24,830 – 17,730 searches)
Starting this section strong, we have two in a row with 150% CTRs: coaster and sticker. Next is vtuber model, and then another three with 150%: cosplay; crystals; belt. At #76 we’ve got harry potter. And finishing out our Top 100, three more with 150%: dice; flower; and garnet.
Ranking 101-150 (16,800 – 14,740 searches)
At #102 we have engagement ring, then kamala harris; digital planner; pumpkin; and then red which has 150%. Next, at #123 rug; then custom; and then two more with 150% CTRs: stl and ornaments. Finishing this section in 150th place is neon sign.
Ranking 151-200 (14,740 – 11,780 searches)
Another strong start! Three with CTRs of 150%: amigurumi; wood; nails. At #177 tshirt; then two more in a row with 150%: twitch overlay and christmas shirt. Next, mens bracelet; pins (150%!); and warhammer.
Ranking 201-250 (11,780 – 10,740 searches)
At #207 there’s xenomorph, then two more in a row with 150% CTRs: love and deepspace and patches. Next are engagement rings; green (150%); and watch. And then five in a row with 150% CTRs: gold, philodendron, sunflower, calendar, and hello kitty. Ranked #225 is dungeon meshi, then two more in row with 150%: yugioh and omori.
At #229 we have chain; then frieren (150%); lord of the rings; backpack (150%); and cat collar. The last of these in the Top 250 is #247 book embosser with a 150% CTR.
And 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.
