Etsy ranks product listings in two steps: Query matching and Ranking.

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Query matching is the first step. It chooses all the listings that are eligible to ranking for a certain keyword.

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Then the chosen listings are ranked based on a number of ranking factors.

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Let’s take a deeper look at the process:

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Query Matching

• Title
• Tags
• Categories
• Attributes
• Product Description

If a particular product listing has the search keyword in any one of the above places, it can be ranked on Etsy search.

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However, the placement of the listing, whether it’s page 1 or page 639, is yet to be determined.

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Ranking Factors Of Etsy Search

After Etsy has all the products that are eligible to rank for a query, Etsy algorithm uses these extra factors to determine the final search ranking.

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Relevancy

This is how well your listing's titles, tags, etc match what shopper searches for. Exact matching of keywords will improve the ranking.

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Listing Quality Score

This looks at how well a particular product sells/converts. Etsy takes into account the percentage of people clicking, favoriting and buying a product to determine the score. Etsy wants visitors to actually buy the products. The higher the conversion rate, the higher your Etsy ranking will be.

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Conversion rate is determined by how many people buy the product (conversion) versus how many people view it. 

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Let’s say two products have 100 people viewing them each, the one that sells 10 will have a higher conversion rate (10%) than the product selling only 2 (2%).

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Product Description

Etsy looks at your product description to further determine the ranking of your listing in Etsy search. Aim to write a short paragraph in the beginning of your listing description that includes 3-5 keywords and describe the benefits and features of the product.

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Recency

A new or just renewed product will get a small boost in ranking, but the effect is very small and short-term. So renewing all your products constantly will not be helpful, especially because it costs US$0.2 to renew each listing.

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Shop's Age

New Etsy store gets a boost in ranking for a period of time. This is one of the reasons I recommend performing SEO and other shop improvements as soon as possible to take advantage of the search ranking boost.

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Customer & Market Experience Score

Etsy also looks at your shop’s review, policy and more. Achieving these will improve your listing ranking:

• Good reviews for that product
• Good reviews for your shop
• Finished About page
• Completed shop policy
• No cases open against your shop

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These factors carry an even higher significance after the October 2024 search algorithm update.

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Shipping Price

Online shoppers care about shipping price. Studies show high shipping price scares them away and makes them more likely to abandon the shopping cart. That’s why Etsy makes shipping price a factor that can affect ranking.

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In the October 2024 Etsy update, one of the biggest changes is that Etsy will now prioritise listings with domestic U.S. shipping fees under $6. High shipping costs have always been a deterrent for buyers, but now, they could also hurt your search rankings. Etsy's data shows that U.S. shoppers are less likely to complete a purchase if shipping costs exceed $6.

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So if your shipping costs are higher than that, your listings would rank lower in search results, making it harder for buyers to find you.

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This could be a significant challenge for true handmade sellers trying to compete with factory-produced products, as the costs of labour, materials, and shipping often add up, making it hard to offer a competitive price.

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Etsy has introduced a new bulk pricing editing tool to speed up the process. The tool allows you to shift some of your shipping costs into the item price, which can help you stay competitive while still keeping your listings visible. For example, if you charge $10 for shipping, you could raise your item price by $4 and reduce the shipping fee to $6 or less, which helps you not get penalised by the search algorithm. This is what the bulk pricing tool looks like:

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Keep in mind that this update only affects domestic US to US sales. If you’re an international seller or selling to international customers, this change doesn’t affect you. This change also doesn’t apply to listings over $35 that already has a free shipping guarantee, digital products, or listings that use calculated shipping.

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Listing Photos Requirement

Listings with fewer than five high-quality images may see a dip in visibility. Etsy also flags images smaller than 2,000 pixels wide, so if your photos have a resolution lower than that, now’s the time to update them. Also, Etsy discourages using collages for the thumbnail photo (first photo).

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Translations And Language

Etsy automatically translate the content on your shop to the local language. Writing the product description and other parts of the shop in other languages manually will get a small boost. This is mostly because the content will likely to sound more natural than the automatic translation. However, this can be very time consuming and the improvement in ranking is small.

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Etsy Shop Return Policies

‍Etsy now requires all listings to have a clear return policy, even if you don’t accept returns. Listings without a return policy could see their search rankings drop, as transparency is becoming an even bigger factor in Etsy’s algorithm.

If you haven’t set a return policy, make sure to update it in your shop dashboard. Even if you don’t accept returns, having a policy in place that says so can improve trust with potential buyers and avoid penalties in the algorithm.

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Shoppers' Habits

Etsy looks into the searches, clicks, purchases and more of shoppers as a ranking factor for search. This is also known as context specific ranking (CSR) which ranks the listings based on a specific shopper’s behaviour. The Etsy algorithm will try to show a shopper something that they are more likely to purchase.

Therefore, good practices for this include:

• Having eye-catching photos so shoppers click
• Writing compelling titles and description for higher conversion
• Removing barriers that could make shopper thinks twice, like having no return policy
• Building good relationships with your customers so they come back

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Shop Location

In EU, Australia and Canada, the local shops will rank higher than non-local shops. Given that you are not moving your whole business to another country for a slight boost in search ranking, there’s not much you can do about this.