Contents
Introduction
With so many people looking at ecommerce to supplement their incomes, it is no wonder that there are numerous platforms coming up. One of the most popular ecommerce platforms is Etsy.com.Started in 2005, Etsy has grown in leaps and bounds as the go-to resource for handmade and vintage products in numerous categories. While Amazon is still a behemoth as far as online sales is concerned, Annie Pilon says that Etsy is the preferred market place to go for handmade items.
If you are keen on setting up an online shop dealing with handmade items, then Etsy is the place to be with over 39.5 million active buyers according to Statista. Not a bad number to work with huh?
So how does Etsy work and how can I make money from it? The following video aptly demonstrates what you need to know about this platform:
How To Get Started On Etsy
Keen on getting started on Etsy? This section will inform you about what you need to do get started on Etsy.To get started on Etsy is very simple and Lauren Weisenthal, has highlighted seven crucial steps you must follow.
In her first step, you must get together all the items you need and she has put them together in a convenient checklist. These are the bank routing number, photos and item list, just to mention a few. Having them in one place will make it convenient for you, thus saving time.
She highlights six other steps which will quickly skip over because most of them will be captured in the sections that will follow.
SEO Tips To Follow In Etsy
Once you have set up your shop, strategy and products in hand, you need to consider how you are going to undertake the process of SEO.You might have the most perfect product to sell but if you suck at selling it, you are in a lose-lose situation. You will fall in the category of one of the many companies that were let down by marketing as aptly captured by Charles in his post at Capital and Growth.
Let me explain: you lose out on money and your potential customers miss out on a product that will enrich their lives by offering them the value they were looking for.
SEO is just one of the many tools of marketing your product. It is focused on optimizing your website online for a better rank when users search for your products online.
This section highlights tips you can employ as you seek dominance on the SEO in Etsy front.
Develop A Strong Keyword Strategy
One of the major parts you will be dealing with in SEO is the development of a keyword strategy. If you have a product you are offering in Etsy shop that people might be interested in, it will be your job to figure out the potential words they will use for their search.This step, according to Morgan Nield, is crucial enough to impact your chances of success. Thus, you need to be very meticulous about how you go about it.
In developing your strategy, you need to have tools that will aid you in your keyword research. There are numerous tools you can use but the consensus among most Etsy shop gurus is that Marmalead is the tool you want to focus on according to Lynn S. Schwebach. It is a simple but yet powerful tool that will help you immensely in your SEO efforts in Etsy.
Get The First 40 Characters Right
This is vital because it ensures relevance and convenience for both people and search engines. Clarity and first impressions are vital in SEO just as in life. You have one shot at this and you must make it count.Track Performance and Course-correct When Needed
It can get rather exhausting trying to keep up with the growing number of changes taking place in SEO. Nonetheless, you still have to keep tabs on your efforts, measuring and analyzing them.You are entering a very competitive field that requires constant adaptation. Angel Ninofranco in her post on the need for adaptation closes with the call to all experts in SEO to be more fluid and adaptable in their jobs for greater returns.
Course-correction is needed only when you feel that your efforts in the arena are not working in the stipulated timelines. In Etsy, staying the course with a bad strategy will affect your relevance during searches which, as Elisa Carden puts it will be greatly affected by Etsy’s new policy on personalization of searches and queries.
Get Backlinks For Your Products
There is a lot of literature backing up the importance of having backlinks for your website in SEO. In Etsy, these links are even more powerful because they not only work to your benefit, but to the benefit of the site as well. Etsy loves new traffic to their sites according to Morgan Nield.Backlinks from influencers who have the audience base who you would like to tap into should be sought for. In this regard, you need to do your research and put your networking skills to work with a view of showing them the benefits that will accrue to them should they work with you.
Final Thoughts About SEO in Etsy
Selling is a fulltime affair that you need to be really good at when you are an entrepreneur. When you do it online, you need to keep in step with the growing changes in the internet landscape vis-à-vis SEO. Search engines and ecommerce platforms are constantly evolving to provide those who visit them with the most relevant information related to their query as highlighted by Richard Stubbings.It is your job to keep these changes in mind while you undertake marketing campaigns targeted for Etsy. By following the tips mentioned above you should be on course to getting to the top as you desire. To stay there, you still have to do the work because your competitors will be working twice as hard as you are so as to beat you.