---------------------------------------------------------------------
Etsy remains committed to Etsy teams. More team captains and leaders will be invited to join the Fellowship program [which is located on Facebook] this year.
Q. What effect do hearting games have on Etsy's search algorithms?
A. (The information provided by admin duplicates what was said during the public Q&A post on Etsy.) If a buyer clicks, favorites, or purchases an item found in search results, that has a positive effect on that items search ranking.
- If a product is clicked on or favorited outside of search results (for example, from social media), that has no impact on search ranking - neither a negative or positive effect.
- If an item receives a favorite, regardless of there it came from, that product will show up in the Recommended Items area on the front page - so there is a benefit there. But no benefit on the search algorithm.
- Better tags and titles can improve search ranking.
- Driving traffic to your shop via social media is still the best way to get exposure.
 |
| Lower conversion rates are better |
Q. Is a fee increase in the works for sellers?
A. No.
Q. Regarding the 10 photos per listing, if not all 10 photos are used, will this reduce search ranking?
A. No. The number of photos used has no impact on search placement.
Q. Why have sales have plummeted for sellers this year?
A. Etsy admin understand that fluctuations in sales are scary. Unfortunately, there are many causes. There is no general trend; it is SHOP specific.
Concerned shops that have decreasing sales may contact Etsy. A team of Etsy admin can do a 15 minute shop critique to increase sales. The link is in the Help pages. Shop owners should click on the contact button in that Help section to request a critique.
Q: (Re-questioned): you are saying that there is no Etsy trend that is affecting sales… It goes back to the individual shops? That the experimenting that seems to be affecting sales, is not having an effect on sales?
A: As part of the recent realignment, Etsy now has a dedicated group of admin (called Voice of the Consumer) who are listening to all channels to hear from sellers…
Q: Some feel that morale among sellers on Etsy is at an all-time low. Shop owners could use more timely information from Etsy.
A: We are currently working on better communication plans. We will communicate better with our sellers. This week there are lots of meetings going on at Etsy about being more transparent to sellers. We are working to be better at letting sellers know testing and experiments, ones that are working and not working.
Thanks so much for this unprecedented update from Etsy admin, Joanne! It's so gratifying to get more definitive answers. One can only hope that the promise to listen and communicate with sellers comes to fruition.
ReplyDeleteJoanne - I truly appreciate the information you shared here. My shop is doing well on Etsy. I do think what the seller does in terms of SEO, tags, photos, customer service, etc plays a huge role. Plus having a niche and products that people want to buy.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joanne, for this helpful article. I feel better. Nice to know, too, that not including all 10 photos does not affect my ranking. I like being able to include 10 if I want to but not feel that I have to.
ReplyDeleteYour posts are always so informative.
thank you Joanne for all you do. Great information.
ReplyDelete