Publication date: June 9th, 2023
Reading time: 4 minutes
When it comes to growing your Etsy shop, why base decisions on data? Because it takes out the guesswork! And as Etsy sellers, we have so many decisions to make. What products to offer, how to price them, where to attract buyers – it gets exhausting! And then there’s choosing whose advice fits our business. Who to trust? This is where data-driven decision-making comes to the rescue.
“Data-driven decision-making” means letting data and data analysis guide your choices. Data drawn from your own shop, other Etsy shops, and Etsy search results will always beat intuition, opinions, and rumors. Here’s how to start using data to grow your Etsy business.
Define your goals
First, define what you want to achieve with your Etsy shop. Increase sales, expand your product line, improve customer satisfaction? Whatever your goals, the first step toward achieving them is identifying them. They should be clear, specific, and measurable. (That way you can see progress!)
In order to know where to look for the data you need, first choose your goal. For example, let’s say you have a product that does okay, but you’d love to sell more of them. So, that’s your goal: sell more of this particular product on Etsy. Now you know where to start. Keyword Tool shows you what search terms Etsy shoppers are using now to find products like yours. Then, “optimize your listing” by adding these relevant keywords to your title and tags.
Collect data
Etsy itself offers good data for its sellers. Read Etsy’s guidance on using its stats here; it’s excellent.
Google Analytics is a powerful (and free!) way to track website traffic and behavior. We have three beginner-friendly eRank blog posts about how to set Google Analytics up and use it. We’ll link them here at the end under Resources.
And of course, eRank was created specifically to do one thing: equip Etsy sellers with the data they need to succeed!
Analyze your data
Once you have your data, it’s time to analyze it. How? Look for patterns, trends, and insights to help you make decisions. Say your goal today is troubleshooting why your jewelry item, waist beads, isn’t selling as well as it did. Go to the Monthly Trend report, then select Jewelry from the category list on the left. Enter your product’s superstar keyword.
Mousing over the bars of the Trend Graph, you discover that search volume has dropped for this keyword. And that it’s also well down compared with this month a year ago. Last May there were 12,790 searches; this May only 6,530. It’s dropped by nearly half. Might be time to find another product! Or perhaps a Trend Graph might show you that a product only sells well during certain times of year.
Another useful avenue to pursue is whether there’s a “sweet spot” price point in your product line. Do your items under $30 do best? Or use Keyword Tool’s Price Range graph to discover which price points perform well for others selling the same product you do.
Test and improve
Data-driven decision-making isn’t a once-and-done task. Rather, it’s an ongoing process of testing and improving. Use your data to inform your choices, then monitor the results and adjust as needed. For instance, if you try a new pricing strategy and see an increase in sales, yay! But keep an eye on it. If tweaking price stops working, review your data and see what other way you can optimize your product to reach your sales goal.
Use data with customers
You can even make use of data when interacting with your customers. Customers appreciate transparency, and data helps build trust. Use data you glean from customer feedback (yours and your competitors’) to improve your business.
Consider highlighting popular products in your social media posts. Have you discovered a trend while doing your research? If you think it’s something your customers would enjoy learning about, share it with them. This helps establish you and your business as an authority in your niche.
Ready to start?
Just jump in! Then, don’t be afraid to change course if the data is telling you there’s a better way. Armed with the right tools and clearly-defined goals, you can make a lot of progress in growing your shop simply by following the data.
RESOURCES
Best Four Google Analytics Reports for your Etsy Shop