What You Need To Know About The Etsy Algorithm - What You Can And Cannot Change
Feb 15, 2022The Etsy algorithm is something not a lot of Etsy sellers know about, but it's kind of a BIG DEAL!
This blog post will help you to make sure you're not ruining the algorithm for your shop, and will explain everything you can and cannot change for the Etsy algorithm
ONE: THE CLOCK
You may (or may not) know that it takes between 30-90 days for any changes that you make to your listing to be indexed on Etsy.
This means that if you make changes to your listings every 2 weeks, what you're actually doing is resetting the clock each time, and you're not going to be getting found in search results.
TWO: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU RESET THE CLOCK?
What actually happens when you reset the clock is that your listing moves down, and goes to a page right down deep in search (not page 1 or 2). The listing will not completely disappear, but it will go to a page where Etsy will see how people react to it organically.
When your listing is in its new position, then Etsy will analyse how people interact with your listing while it's there.
If you're getting a lot of sales, and your conversion rate is high, your listing will gradually start to climb, and move up towards the top pages.
BOSS! Do you want to make more sales on Etsy? Then you need to increase your conversion rate! DON'T PANIC! I'm going to explain exactly how to do that in my FREE 90 minute masterclass - The 3 Step System To Skyrocket Your Etsy Conversion Rate ππ»
Click the button below and save your seat!
THREE: SO WHAT CAN'T YOU CHANGE?
So, imagine a listing on Etsy. You have your:
- Title
- Pictures
- Attributes
- Descriptions
- Tags
Only titles and tags will reset the algorithm on Etsy.
FOUR: WHAT DOESN'T RESET THE ALGORITHM?
Changing your photos or description will NOT reset the Etsy algorithm - HOWEVER, I wouldn't change a listing unless it has expired.
After 4 months, your listing will expire if it doesn't get a sale.
I would not recommend to auto renew your listings, and this is because when your 4 months is up, your listings will go back into your active listings if you have them set to auto renew.
I would recommend that you set all of your listings to be manually renewed. This is so that if your listing doesn't get any sales, and it expires after 4 months, the listing will go to your expired listing category.
Once your listing is in the expired listings category, you can then go in and change them/ improve them.
FIVE: WHAT IF YOU WANT TO CHANGE OR TEST SOMETHING IN YOUR LISTING?
I mentioned that only tags and titles reset the Etsy algorithm, BUT, I still wouldn't recommend changing a listing that has not expired.
This is because what tends to happen within those 4 months is, if you get 2.5 months in and you change something (and reset the algorithm), but someone wanted to buy it a few days later, or the tag you're using starts to trend, or the right occasion comes along for people to purchase your item, you then miss out on that sale.
I would not recommend changing any active listing. Wait for it to expire instead.
Instead, if you do want to test or change something, I want you to COPY the listing.
I've made a video all about why I recommend doing this, and you can watch it HERE.
SIX: WORRIED YOUR SHOP MIGHT LOOK CLUTTERED?
If you're worried that there's going to be a ton of the same copied listings in your shop, then don't worry! You can rearrange the look of your shop, and move products around.
This is a feature that not many Etsy sellers know exists/ how to do, so let me explain a little...
- Go to your Etsy shop/sales channel.
- In your banner it will say 'edit shop', click this.
- Scroll down to where it says 'all items'.
- On the right hand side, it will say 'rearrange items', click this.
- Now you can move your listings to different pages, and organise your shop as you wish.
- Once you're done, you can click 'exit rearrange mode'.
Alternatively, you can harness the wonderful power of Etsy shop sections (sometimes known as categories) to be able to put your copied listings into different categories/ sections for different occasions/uses.
Also, there's nothing stopping you from changing your Etsy listing thumbnail picture on each copied listing too. This is great so it doesn't look like you've got 100's of the same item in your shop, and also a fantastic way to test your photos, and see which one performs best.
So there you have it. Now you know exactly what you can and cannot change to avoid resetting the Etsy algorithm.
If you'd prefer to watch me visually explain this blog post using my trusty whiteboard, then you can watch my YouTube video HERE.
π₯³ Do you want to learn more? π₯³
We’ve got loads of resources to help you scale your handmade business:
1οΈβ£ β¨Are you starting a new business? Here's my best resources:π Start here π
2οΈβ£ β¨Want to be visible and get more traffic? Here's my recommendations: πGet seenπ
3οΈβ£ β¨Ready to grow your business? Here's your to-do list: π Grow here π
ππ»ππ» Choose your own adventure with these resources ππ»ππ»
β¨ My book “how to be a handmade boss” is like a super intensive course on getting your first sales (plus, it’s a book/workbook hybrid!) π Find out more here
β¨ The Shop Doctor - Shop not doing so great? Getting views but no sales? No views at all? Overwhelmed with it all? Check out the shop doctor: π Join here
β¨ My FREE masterclass on how to increase your Etsy conversion rate. It's the KEY thing most Etsy sellers miss when trying to make more money and get more sales in 7 days. π Join here
β¨ Chart-topping podcast it's an unfiltered and honest view about what it takes to grow a handmade business π§ Whether you’re a complete beginner on Etsy, or want to scale your handmade business to multi-6 figures, the “How To Be A Handmade Boss” podcast gives you actionable advice and workshop style episodes to grow your handmade business on Etsy, your own website and beyond π Listen here
β¨ Our Monday Momentum Lives You'' find me in my Facebook group most Mondays for coffee chats & mini workshops to help you make more money from your handmade business! You can see our upcoming events here: π See future events here
β¨Our YouTube channel is full of hundreds of super informative videos, with help and advice you can put into action straight away .πΊ
β¨ More Blog Posts - Don't forget to check out more blog posts from Handmade Bosses π₯οΈ
β¨ Instagram is where you need to be for top tips, and behind the scenes sneak peeks into how I run my 6 figure business π Be sure to follow us for announcements of new videos, workshops, content and more.