For successful SEO on Etsy, it is necessary to move away from broad queries with high competition in favor of niche long-tail keywords. They better match buyer intent, have lower competition, and provide higher conversion rates. Use tools like eRank to analyze trends and CTR, and logically break long phrases (over 20 characters) into several tags for effective ranking.
Online trading is a sphere where SEO plays a key role. Without proper search optimization, your product will just get lost among thousands of others, and potential buyers won’t find it. And the foundation of SEO is keywords. Today, we will talk about them.
The mechanism is simple: a buyer visits Etsy, types a few words describing the needed item into the search. We, sellers, choose words that characterize our products. When these two sets of words match — bingo, the system shows our listing to the buyer.
Looks simple, right? But there’s a nuance. Competition on Etsy is now crazy. Guessing the right words is not enough — you truly need to work on selection so that the algorithm picks your product and shows it to someone searching for it.
Next, I will detail how to find those keywords that will bring your listings to the top.
Hello friends, my name is Victoria Zhidok. I represent the company Western Bid in Chernihiv. Our company opens for you the world of international sales. We accept payments from your own websites, deliver your products anywhere in the world, and offer fulfillment and prep-center services in the USA.
How does search work on Etsy?
The search algorithm gathers all listings containing keywords matching the buyer’s query, then ranks them so that buyers see the most relevant products.
Thus, the keywords used in your titles, descriptions, tags, categories, and attributes are very important. Using long keywords (long tail), as Etsy says, is the key to ensuring your products appear in search results.
So, how and where to search for these long keywords?
That’s why I want to share my own experience working with keywords, and then, using an example, show how I do it with the help of eRank tools. The main rule here is — move from a broad keyword to choosing long, niche-specific keywords that attract the right buyers. That’s my main secret.
Broad keywords vs long-tail keywords
Let’s discuss this in detail.
Broad keywords are very general terms consisting of one or two words. I’ll share a good example I found in eRank.
Suppose you sell jewelry. A broad keyword here is simply “bracelet.” It’s searched often, but competition is huge — nearly impossible to rank at the top.
A completely different case is long phrases with several words. For example, “silver bead bracelet.” This is searched less frequently, but your chances of success are much higher. First, the competition is lower. Second, the person entering such a query knows exactly what they want — which means a higher likelihood of purchase.
Useful info for those working with jewelry: this summer, I noticed a sharp increase in demand for “silver bead bracelet.” It seems to be trending — worth noting.
Tags vs keywords: the important difference
You might claim that we are limited to 20 characters per tag, and we can add up to 13 tags in a listing on Etsy.
But let’s not confuse things here.
A tag is not exactly a keyword, more precisely, if your keyword fits within 20 characters, it becomes a tag itself. If a long tail keyword exceeds this length — as often happens — then you just need to split this phrase into multiple tags.
For example, if you find a long keyword like “wall mounted jewelry organizer,” which has 22 characters. It’s a good statistic, but yes, the familiar problem. How do we split this keyword into tags?
I could split it into “Wall” and “jewelry organizer,” but that’s not ideal, because first, I don’t sell walls (Wall), and second, Etsy doesn’t favor single-word tags.
It would be better to split it into “wall mounted” (attached to the wall) and “jewelry organizer,” making key phrases: “wall mounted” and “jewelry organizer.” This way, Etsy will read your words in different combinations and find an exact match if you write in the title exactly “Wall jewelry organizer.”
Broad queries vs Long-tail keywords
Working strategy with tags (limit 20 characters)
Practical example: keyword selection with eRank
Now I want to show you how to practically use eRank tools to find and select long-tail keywords, starting from a broad keyword. This example, by the way, was suggested by eRank experts. I personally use it and recommend you try as well.
Let’s start: Suppose I sell wall clocks.
Step 1: Find a broad keyword
First, go to the option called Monthly Trends. Here, we see that we have “Wall Art,” and our wall clocks will correspond to the broad keyword “Wall Art,” because this product truly relates to this category.
Click on it to go into the keyword selection tool.
Immediately, we see that this is a decent search query with enough search volume. But competition here is very high — this is a very general keyword, suitable for many products.
If you use this keyword without supporting it with more niche-specific ones, it will be very hard to rank at the top. So, it’s not the best choice for SEO of this listing on Etsy.
Step 2: Narrowing the niche through filters
Next, we see related keywords, often grouped in a cluster. These keywords are within the same niche or sub-niche.
To narrow down this niche to better suit your product, you can sort columns to display the desired info. Choose default matches, specific phrases (exact match), or broad matches.
You can also specify words that your target keyword should contain, or exclude them if needed. For example, I want to see related keywords containing “clock.” I type “clock,” add it, and search.
And look at the interesting results. We see a limited set of keywords, and then we start analyzing each one for potential use with good results.
Step 3: Analyzing specific keywords
For example, this keyword: “Art Deco Clock.” Art Deco is a style in decor, interior design, and if you can make your clock in that style, that’s worth considering because the statistic is quite good for this tag.
Although the search volume is still modest, the CTR (click-through rate) is very high, with low competition. It’s an ideal fit, containing within 20 characters. You can confidently add it as a tag if relevant and your clock matches the Art Deco style.
Another interesting tag for clock makers: “unique wall clock,” which also shows good results, even with some competition. Every handmade clock is unique, so this tag works well for all your listings.
Another example: “oversized wall clock,” with a small competition, can be a good keyword if you make large clocks. In fact, earlier we saw that “large” can describe the size. Using synonyms like “oversized” can boost attribution and attract additional target audiences looking specifically for “oversized wall clock.”
Conclusions
Thus, using long-tail keywords:
Firstly, helps optimize your listing and store for SEO.
Secondly, attracts potential buyers who know exactly what they want.
Thirdly, increases conversions and helps you compete better with other sellers using more general phrases.
- Why do long, niche-specific keywords work better on Etsy than broad queries?
Because they better match buyer intent, have lower competition, and help show your listing to people who already know what they want to buy. - What’s the difference between tags and keywords on Etsy, and how to use them correctly?
Keywords can be longer than 20 characters, but tags cannot, so long phrases need to be logically split into multiple tags for Etsy to interpret correctly in different combinations. - How to use eRank to go from broad queries to effective niche keywords?
Start with a general term, gradually narrow the niche through filters, analyze competition, search volume, and CTR, and select the keywords that truly match your product.
Let’s take a look at the statistics. The yellow line represents the demand for various types of miniatures over the past five years. And the green line shows engagement, that is, clicks on the word “miniatures” on Etsy over the past year. Look: practically every month it exceeds by two or three times.
You might say: oh, but there are 1.7 million competitors here. Understandable, but this is not about any specific niche right now. We took the very general word “miniatures.” Miniatures can be in paintings, dollhouses, and more. By the way, we will now discuss what miniatures can generally be — there are a huge number of niches.
If we extend the search queries a little, for example, “things for storing miniatures,” mini storage — here we have 2 thousand searches per month, and competition immediately drops to 18 thousand. Almost all niches here are amazing: great engagement, solid searches, and naturally, very little competition for each specific niche.
TOP 5 promising niches in the miniature sphere
Niche #1: Miniature Glasses and Vases
Let’s watch a YouTube video showing how to make small, wonderful glasses from regular straws and beads. The video is called “I used plastic drinking straws to make this“.
You can see how she makes these wonderful items, and they turn out to be such tiny glasses. So adorable! So interesting and beautiful. Look, even the caps are made for them.
If we go to Etsy — vases and some glass-made items. Such vases, such glasses. And you’ll say: Mash, what’s the point of this for $4.99?
Look, let’s take a bestseller, for example, priced at $2.60. Choose a color, and such a tiny item costs $2.60. Add it to cart. Note that shipping here costs $9. In the end, it totals $11.60.
I think it’s not very good for them — because some people will see the $2.60 price and realize that the actual price is $11. They should better write that it’s sold for $9.75 and charge a little less for shipping — $3 or $4.
Niche #2: Miniature Food
Next miniature topic — miniature food. Tiny sushi, sandwiches, hot dogs, pizzas. Let’s see how to make a miniature pizza.
Watch how she paints it, how she makes it, creating the right color. So fun to watch! Imagine how much easier it will be for you to promote such a shop through social networks. When you can shoot videos showing how you make this work, how you make this tiny pizza.
Now let’s see how this item is sold on Etsy. I searched “Miniature food.” The best way to check how products are sold in a specific niche is by the number of popular and bestseller items on the first page. A niche that sells poorly won’t have so many bestsellers or popular items, as you see here.
And secondly, just look at the number of reviews and sales. We don’t know the exact sales figures, but we can see the number of reviews in these shops. Notice: three thousand, eleven thousand, six thousand, one and a half thousand. How can you pass by this? Plus, twenty-plus items are small jars with tiny fruits. I don’t know how people come up with this, but it just looks super cute to me.
Small eggs, a tiny cake, or such cute earrings. I don’t know why they show earrings — they’re not miniature earrings, but just because I wrote “food,” because these are bestsellers, selling beautifully, just because these fruits look like they’re meant to be eaten. I highly recommend you consider making such items — this applies to jewelry as well. Such small jars with cookies — glass jars with chocolate cookies. Miniature pictures also with food, various jars, plates, eggs, bread, cakes. Look at these peaches — I just want to eat these peaches. Don’t you want to? I do. This niche about miniature products is simply a super cool niche.
Niche #3: Miniature Cups
Now let’s simply take cups. I searched how to make small miniature cups. There’s a video I liked. Actually, this video gave me the idea to create content about it, because it really looks like ceramic but is made from paper, from cardboard. And how the girl makes them — simply amazing. I watched the video, which is very short — 2 minutes 44 seconds. You can even speed it up. I was curious to see how easily it’s possible to make these tiny cups from cardboard with glue.
This tiny thing is made, covered, a bottom is made, then it’s cut out. She makes a handle precisely. Glues it, trims, clamps, and glues again. And here you have your cups. She paints them in the right colors — light, ceramic-like cups, light yellow. She aged them, then glued a tiny picture, aged again — to make it look like ceramic, then she uses gel.
In 2 seconds! Haha, well, not really 2 seconds, but these things are made very quickly.
Now let’s see the demand for these cups. 12,500 — such tumblers. Look at these miniature tumblers. Again, don’t pay attention to the price because it’s just the starting price, not including shipping — it’s from $10 to $15. Look, ceramic cups. All of this is made — they are so lightweight from cardboard.
Stores that profit from miniatures
Now I’d like to show you how they make money on this. A shop that has been on Etsy for 6 years, called Black Sparrow. They have 46,000 sales — not more, not less, over 6 years. You can count. And see what they focus on. I won’t say anything — it’s cheese, it’s tiny babies, tiny slippers, like miniatures, ducks. These are people earning on miniatures.
Niche #4: Miniature Books and Magazines
The last niche I really want to show you — also 45,000 sales. Although this shop has been on Etsy for 16 years. But look: they mainly focus on paper products. Tiny books or envelopes, letters, vintage books, bookshelves. Check out how many bestsellers they have: 12 in the selected, 10, 3. Here, the prices are not just a dollar or two — they start from $12 plus shipping. For example, $28. Here’s a whole set, several tiny books.
These are real shops with real sales on Etsy. Artisans show how they make such wonderful journals. How they assemble these papers — how a master makes these tiny notebooks. There are many similar videos on YouTube. Just go watch how to make a miniature journal.
Also pay attention to how many sales these shops have. You can do not only journals but also just write “miniature book.” It all relates to the same category. Look how many bestseller items and sales there are for miniature books and journals.
For example, a stunning shop. Isn’t it wonderful — $12. And by the way, it’s from the same shop I showed you before. I just feel like making something like this myself, my hands are itching.
Niche #5: Miniature Furniture
And the last topic I want to show you — is miniature furniture. Miniature furniture is most often used, again, usually for dollhouses. And you can also go to YouTube and see how it’s made. Check it out: when it comes to miniature furniture, it’s not just furniture. It can be a bathtub, a toilet, a kitchen, and various cool beds, for example. Not just a bed, but a real bed with real covers.
Select a small size bed, say, $2.79. Add to cart. Let’s look. Shipping — $16 for this dollhouse. Two bought in the last 24 hours. It’s just because this shipping kills their conversion rates.
Look at another shop: Hobby Mini, 8 years on Etsy. 56 thousand sales. They sell these cakes, flowers, vases. Or it’s just incredible — tiny fish. I don’t know what they’re for, how people are using them. Write if you know what all this can be used for.
What they offer: flowers, onions, happy birthday cakes. They just let their imagination run wild.
Let’s just take the last thing I want to show — about the price. For example, tulips at $12. Put them in the cart. They also charge $13 for shipping here. So, the tulips will cost you about $25 in total. Wow.
Let’s take this at $7, in over 20 selected items. I wonder what will happen if I put this in the cart. I’ll buy all four for $26. Let’s see how much they’ll charge me for shipping? $13 for shipping. That’s a bit better. Honestly, very few people offer such prices for these items or sell them. Mainly, everyone just wants to make some money.
Analysis of successful miniature shops
Conclusion
Friends, I hope this material was useful and interesting for you. There’s a lot you can come up with, room for imagination, your style, and your unique twist — add something to this. Wishing everyone success!
- Which miniatures sell best on Etsy?
Looking at the statistics and real shops on Etsy, the highest demand is for miniature food, small vases and glasses, miniature cups, books and magazines, and miniature furniture for dollhouses. These categories regularly appear among popular items and bestsellers. - Can you make money selling miniatures on Etsy?
Yes, there are many shops on Etsy proving this in practice. Some sellers specializing in miniature products have tens of thousands of sales. For example, shops with miniature items for collections or dollhouses can earn 40–50 thousand sales over several years. - Why is the miniature niche on Etsy considered promising?
The miniature niche on Etsy is interesting because it’s very broad and allows for many narrow directions. These can include miniature furniture, miniature food, small books, dishes, or decorative items. Although the general query “miniatures” has high competition, in narrow sub-niches it is much lower . By choosing the right keywords — for example, “miniature food,” “miniature books,” or “miniature dollhouse furniture” — you can find your audience and sell successfully on Etsy. That’s why miniatures remain one of the most interesting niches for creative artisans.
