How to Write Etsy Titles, Tags and Descriptions Without Keyword Stuffing

Photos make shoppers stop. Words are what let them find you in the first place, and then what help them decide. Every listing has three main pieces of text, the title, the tags and the description, and new sellers tend to get them wrong in the same direction: a title crammed with every word that might possibly be searched, tags that repeat the title, and a description that describes the seller's process when the buyer wanted to know the size.

There is a simpler way to write all three, and it starts with the same idea each time: use the words your buyers use, in the order they would use them. Etsy sets limits on title length, the number of tags and the length of each tag, and it updates its advice on how search works, so check the current numbers in the Seller Handbook before you write. The method below does not change when the limits do.

How shoppers find listings

When someone types a search, Etsy looks at many things to decide which listings to show and in what order. The words in your title, tags, categories and attributes are among them. Etsy explains its current approach in the Seller Handbook, and it is worth reading because the details change.

The part that does not change is this: you are matched on the words shoppers type. So the research you did before choosing your product, the search phrases, the autocomplete suggestions, the words in the reviews of similar items, is not finished with. It is the raw material for everything in this post. If you skipped that step, go back and spend an evening on it; the words you collect there are worth more than any clever title.

A title that reads like a sentence

A good title tells a shopper at a glance what the item is. The most important words go first, because on a phone screen the start of the title is often all that shows in search results.

A pattern that works for almost everything:

What it is + key detail + who or what it is for

Two titles from Willow & Thread, the fictional shop in the guide:

• Wildflower embroidery hoop, hand-stitched floral wall art, small cottage decor gift
• Beginner embroidery pattern PDF, wildflower design, printable stitch guide

Notice that each reads as a description a person might say out loud, with the main phrase up front and commas doing the work of separating ideas. Now the rules:

• Lead with the phrase a shopper would type. Not the phrase you would use as a maker.
• Read it aloud. If it sounds like a list of words rather than a thing, rewrite it. Stuffing every possible term into the title makes it hard to read and does not help you be found.
• Do not repeat words. Once is enough. Repetition looks like spam, to shoppers and to search.
• No brand names, character names or trademarks you do not own.
• Be accurate. If the title says hand-painted, it was painted by hand.

Choosing tags: build them from seven questions

Tags are short phrases that give Etsy more words to match against searches. Use every tag slot Etsy allows; an empty one is a missed chance. The mistake is to fill them with the title again. Tags should cover the other ways someone might search for the same item.

Good tags are phrases, not single words. "Ring dish" is a tag; "ring" and "dish" are two wasted slots. Good tags are varied, and good tags are accurate: only tag what the item truly is.

The fastest way to a varied list is to answer seven questions from your research notes:

1. What is it? Two or three ways of saying it.
2. What style? Cottage, minimalist, boho, Scandinavian, whatever your buyers say.
3. What material?
4. What color?
5. What use or room? Kitchen, nursery, desk, entryway.
6. What occasion? Birthday, wedding, housewarming, new job.
7. Who is it for? For her, for a gardener, for a new teacher.

One answer per question gives you seven tags that reach seven different searches. The remaining slots go to the strongest second answers.

Categories and attributes

When you create a listing, Etsy asks for a category and, depending on the category, attributes such as color, material or occasion. Shoppers use these to filter results, so a listing with empty attributes vanishes the moment someone clicks a filter. Fill them in fully and accurately. The Seller Handbook explains how Etsy currently uses them.

A description that answers the buyer's questions, in order

The description is where a shopper goes when the photos have caught them and they want to know more. Most read only the first few lines, especially on a phone, so the most important information goes at the top, and the most important information is almost never your story.

Think of the questions a buyer would ask if they could pick the item up and talk to you:

• What is it, and what is it like?
• How big is it?
• What is it made of?
• What is included, and what is not?
• How do I use it or look after it?
• Can I personalize it or choose options?
• How long until it arrives?
• Would it make a good gift?

Answer them in roughly that order. Open with one or two sentences that say what it is and what it is for. Then a short list: size in the units your buyers use plus a comparison ("about the size of a saucer"), materials, colors with a note that screens vary, what is in the box, and, importantly, what is not, meaning any props from the photos. Then a sentence or two on how it is made, which is where your story belongs, after the facts. Then options, care, shipping in general terms with a pointer to your policy, a gift note, and an invitation to message you.

For digital products, swap in file types, page sizes, how the download works, what software or printer is needed, a clear line that nothing physical will be shipped, and your terms of use.

Write in plain, friendly sentences, short paragraphs, short lists. A block of text is unreadable on a phone and most of your buyers are on one.

Before and after

Here is the method in use, for Copper Fern Studio's ring dish, another of the guide's fictional shops. The before is what a first attempt tends to look like; the after follows the order above.

Before: "Ring dish ceramic ring dish handmade pottery sage green jewelry dish trinket dish gift for her. I love making pottery and started three years ago in my garage. Each piece is made with love. Glazed and fired twice."

After: "A small ceramic ring dish in soft sage green, made to keep your everyday rings and earrings in one safe place by the sink or on your dresser.

Size: about the width of a palm, with a shallow rim. Materials: stoneware clay, food-safe glaze. Color: sage green with a natural speckle; each dish varies a little. Included: one dish, wrapped in tissue in a recycled box. Not included: the rings and greenery in the photos.

I throw each dish by hand on the wheel, trim it, and glaze it in small batches, so no two are quite the same. Care: wipe clean with a damp cloth; not for the oven or microwave. I pack every order carefully; see my shipping policy for processing and delivery. Buying as a gift? Add a note at checkout and I will handwrite it on a card. Questions? Send me a message."

The after is not longer. It is in the right order, and every line answers something a buyer wanted to know.

One caution from that example: it says "food-safe glaze" only because, in the fiction, the maker has checked what that claim requires where she sells. Never describe an item as food-safe, child-safe, non-toxic or similar unless you have checked the rules for that claim.

Checking your work

Before you publish, read the title, tags and description on a phone, and ask four questions:

• Would a shopper know what this is from the title alone?
• Do the tags cover different ways of searching, not the title again?
• Does the first part of the description answer the most important question?
• Is every claim true?

Do this today

Take your first product and write its title using the pattern: what it is, key detail, who it is for. Read it aloud. Then answer the seven tag questions on one line each. That is a title and seven tags in about fifteen minutes, and it is better than most of what is already in search.