Now that I showed you ‘why‘ using proper tags and titles is important, let’s see ‘how’ you should tag your items….what words to use to describe your items.
Answer these questions to come up with words that you can use to describe your items as tags. Again, try to imagine yourself as a ‘buyer’ and not as a ‘seller’ to come up with terms that one might use to search for your items. If you have trouble doing that, ask your friend or a family member how they see your item and what words they would use to search for your items.
Ready? Here we go.
1. What is it? Ex. jewelry, painting, sweater, bowl, print
2. What is it specifically? Ex. hoop earrings, salad bowl, v-neck sweaters, long sleeved t-shirt,
3. What is the main material? Ex. Use the main material that you think a buyer might look for to find your item. Add minor materials or component materials to the “materials” box. Ex. organic cotton, leather, wool felt, 14K gold, ceramic, sterling silver, glass
4. What is the main color? Buyers are likely to look for major colors or important color combos! Ex. blue, red, carnation pink, navy blue, neutral, rainbow, black and white. FYI. If you use “periwinkle blue”, the words “periwinkle” and “blue” will be sufficient to find your tag “periwinkle blue” so don’t waste more space by adding “periwinkle” and “blue” again.
5. What method or technique or process was used to make it? Ex. Knitted, crocheted, handspun, hammered (for metal jewelry), burned (for woodworking), appliqued, embroidered (FYI. I see “handmade” as one of the tags often and I find this to be redundant on Etsy since everything Etsy should be handmade. So don’t waste that term as a tag. You can also use paper making, woodworking too.
6. Where will the item be used? Ex. living room, bedroom, bathroom, office, wedding, kitchen, hair, office, beach, garden, car, nursery
7. What size is it? Ex. XS, Small, XL, medium, oversized, one size, extra long, 10mm, 18in, 8″ x 10″ (print), 7.5 US (shoes)
8. What motifs are on the item? Ex. landscape, nature, plaid, geometric, floral, animal, geeky, tech,
9. Are there “other” describe your item? Any synonyms? Ex. Handbag (purses and clutches), kids (children), drink (coffee or tea), trousers (pants), toddler or infant (baby), chocolate (brown)
10. What is the scent or flavor? Ex. chocolate, fruit, sweet, spicy (for bath and beauty and food items).
11. What era is it from? Ex. Art Deco, 1970s, mod, Victorian (for vintage items),
12. What is your Shop Name? FYI – Add the name of your shop to a few items so that they appear even if someone searches for you without first selecting “Shops” from the drop-down menu. And once the buyer reaches your shop, she can access your other items.
13. “One of a Kind” According to Etsy’s “Dos and Don’ts”, if your items are one-of-a-kind or unique, you may describe your listing as “original,” “OOAK,” “one of a kind,” or other synonyms. However, if your item is a reproduction or in an edition of multiples, you must not describe it with these terms.
14. Short Description Ex. “sterling silver,” “messenger bag,” “steampunk cufflinks”
15. Don’t stuff words that don’t describe your item Ex. “beach water sunset,” “handbag purse clutch,” “green red blue black.”
16. State what the item is not what the item may become or has potential to be used. Ex. yarn should not be labeled as “sweater,” beads should not be labeled as “bracelet,” small gift items should not be labeled as “stocking stuffer”.
17. Mature Content If your listing contains mature content, then you must comply with Etsy’s mature content policies. This includes tagging and titling your listing with the word “mature.”
Style, occasion and “Who is it for” have been left out from this list because there are drop down menu to choose those separately so you don’t need to waste tags on them.
Just remember that it may take a few minutes before you can find your items with new tags. Also, make sure to clear your computer’s cache before checking.
Have fun!
Image by WestCoastChalker