Monday, December 12, 2016

SEO: 2016 admin update - does social media help?

We have been encouraged to use social media to promote our Etsy shops. Not everyone is on board with this idea. Do I have enough time and energy? Which form of social media is best? Will I enjoy promoting my shop via social media?


Brooklyn NY near Etsy HQ
Does social media drive traffic to our listings?
A fundamental issue, though, is whether social media for our shops will even have any effect. For an answer to that question, let's consider Etsy admin's answer to a question asked during an Etsy SEO seminar in late 2016:
Q: I heard that relevancy on the search is based on the amounts of views/favorites/sales an item gets after is searched. Am I right?  
Now, I understand that because teams where playing some favorite games, the direct "favoriting" items won't affect his rank. My question is: I share a lot of my listings in social media, and I know for my views that many people are clicking on those links and favoriting some of them. Will this improve in what page my items are shown on the search, or it only gets affected by favoriting through Etsy search engine? 
Can we get some extra tips on how to make it work better for us (ones that aren't on the seller handbook)... 
Facebook Twitter Tumblr InstagramAdmin: Yes you are correct, any external likes or shares outside of Etsy will not affect your visibility on Etsy.com. On the other hand, Google has said that while there isn’t a direct correlation between social and SEO rankings, studies have shown there is correlation between SEO rankings and social signals.
You are also correct in saying favoriting listings or click farming won’t have an effect on your rankings. On the contrary I would think of it as, the more buyers engage with your listing, the more positive signals your listing will send that factor into your visibility on Etsy search.
As for extra tips, we would recommend adding as much relevant content on your listing and shop page as possible. Attributes such as color, size, material and gender would be examples of more descriptive content.

So admin is saying here that Social Media helps with SEO, which is getting traffic into our shops from outside of Etsy. Not directly, but "studies have shown" that it helps... Is that enough assurance to commit to social media?

Each shop owner must decide for themselves.

2 comments:

  1. SM does raise SEO, so they say, and sometimes buyers can see our items in places like Pinterest or Instagram and buy them. I recently had a sale from IG, for instance. I never did think that SM raised relevance within Etsy. NOT to do SM is to possibly miss out on a sale. But yes, it is time consuming!

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  2. As far as ranking in Etsy search is concerned, the only traffic that matters is traffic from search results. You get a rank boost when you're clicked on, then a bit more if they heart you and a bit more if they buy it.

    Traffic from anywhere else on Etsy doesn't count as rank BUT it's still good traffic, and likely to be better targeted (this is traffic from recommended shops/items, similar listings and your home page).

    I *think* what google means is if you have great social media (and your keywords/SEO align) you are likely to rank better in their search results. It gives your shop credibility that it's being linked to from outside Etsy.

    Traffic from social media to your etsy shop is even better traffic than Etsy search traffic for another reason - the customer is much more likely to be someone who'll buy from you and they will also stick around, following your account.

    Etsy search has so many other factors aside from tags/titles that you can't 'guarantee' where you'll rank, even just considering that Etsy tailor each browser's search result based on their previous behaviour. BUT tags/titles are still important to rank at all in the search AND they are the main factor (as far as I know) in your listing showing up in a shopper's related/suggested areas.

    Social media done well is more than just posting your latest listings though, and this is where you need to have a brand, know who you're talking to and have an affinity with your customer so you can keep them wanting to know you and your shop. But yes, it takes time - some have estimated at least 50% of your work week as an online shop should be social media. I'm working on a system that gets me the same results for 2 hours a day.

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