Hello, friends! This is Victoria Zhydok, and you are on the Western Bid website. Western Bid opens the world of international sales for you, accepts payments from your own websites, delivers your goods anywhere in the world, and offers pre-center and fulfillment-center services in the USA.
And today, as usual, we talk about Etsy, and I want to raise an important question that my fellow sellers have been asking quite often lately. Is it worth launching advertising on Etsy? This article will be useful to everyone — both beginners and experienced sellers. We will discuss how Etsy’s internal advertising works, what has changed in 2025, how to avoid wasting your budget, and how to generate sales from advertising rather than just clicks.
How does advertising on Etsy work
Let me remind everyone that Etsy advertising operates on the CPC (cost per click) model — when I pay for each click, not for impressions. For example, someone searches for Personalised Pet Bowl, Etsy decides to display my product higher in organic results, the buyer clicks, and I pay regardless of whether a sale occurred or not. Etsy’s algorithms decide themselves when and to whom to show these ads. But where and how often your advertised ads appear in search results depends on the following factors.
Factors that influence ad display
1. Advertising budget
And the most important of these is your advertising budget, of course. Mostly, your budget determines how often the algorithm displays your ad. Perhaps a year ago, I was not a fan of large advertising budgets. However, it is safe to say that in 2025, the situation has changed dramatically. This is primarily due to increasing competition. I have also reviewed my advertising budget and increased it. Well, I can’t draw firm conclusions yet — it’s too early, I’m still observing. But I will definitely share the results of my experiment with you.
But it’s worth remembering: even if you increase your budget, it does not guarantee that sales or traffic will automatically rise. Many think that spending more money on advertising always results in more outcomes, but it’s a bit more complicated. If your product doesn’t fall into a hot or highly competitive niche, attracting the audience’s attention can be challenging — and often requires additional testing, time, and of course, funds.
Here, it’s important not just to “pour” more money in but to understand how your advertising actually works. Is the right audience chosen? Do the creatives evoke emotions? Does the text truly speak the language of the buyer? Without these, even a large budget won’t help.
And one more thing — always monitor the ratio of profit to expenses. Ads should be an investment, not a loss-making article. There’s a conditional indicator: if the profit from advertising exceeds expenses threefold, then everything is working well. But don’t treat this as a rule — everything depends on your product, niche, and strategy. The main thing is to understand that each hryvnia should bring tangible benefit.
2. Listing quality score
Next, the number of impressions of your ad will be influenced by the listing quality score. Oh, this secret indicator that Etsy doesn’t disclose to us. It is calculated using various factors.
We know that these include: click-through rate for the ad, its addition to favorites, completion of a purchase. That is, interaction with potential buyers.
How to check listing quality
You can easily check this. If your listing has good organic search metrics, it likely has a high quality score. Please analyze your shop statistics, for example, over the past year, to understand which listings are in highest demand, and then you can easily select products suitable for advertising.
Also review the total visits for this listing and the total sales for it. To efficiently use your advertising budget, I recommend starting with your most effective listings and products in your shop.
3. Competition level
Another important factor influencing the number of ad impressions is the level of competition. If there are many sellers in your niche also actively promoting similar products, it can be difficult to reach your audience. In such cases, advertising does not always show stable results, as the system distributes impressions among all competing for the attention of the same buyers.
This especially applies to new shops. Often, beginners think that just launching advertising will immediately generate sales. But in reality, advertising is not a magic “buy now” button. You need to test various ad options, understand which audience responds best, and only then can you expect stable results. Advertising works when there is a clear understanding of who you are selling to and why your product deserves attention.
In fact, Etsy Ads only increase the visibility of your listing in search. However, if the photos of your product are unattractive, the price is not competitive, the description is unclear, or the language is not understandable, people simply won’t buy from you. They will click, you will pay for it — and that’s it.
Before launching advertising, be sure to perform a listing audit: look at it from the buyer’s perspective — is everything clear, are all sizes and materials included; compare the price considering the actual shipping cost.
Should you turn on advertising immediately after opening a shop?
Many ask whether it’s worth enabling advertising right after opening a shop. My answer — most likely no, or at least do it very cautiously. Without reviews, without order history, Etsy will display your listings much worse. It’s better to get the first 10-20 sales organically, and only then set up advertising.
As for experienced sellers, Etsy Ads primarily serve as a scaling tool. It’s, by the way, an answer to the question: why connect bestsellers to advertising? Exactly to increase turnover.
Here are some examples when advertising justifies itself. It’s better for shops that already have 100-200 sales. Which listings should you connect to advertising if your shop already has a sales history? First, when a product has a good conversion rate — for example, around 2% or higher. Second, when you’ve tested various listing covers — then you can connect to advertising the version that has the highest engagement with potential buyers. Third, connect listings that already have several positive reviews. And when you have seasonal sales growth — for example, before Christmas or Mother’s Day.
Alternative sources of traffic
But we must not forget that Etsy Ads are not the only way to attract traffic. For example, developing social media can bring additional, stable, and even free traffic. By the way, I recommend everyone check out this episode of the WesternBit podcast, dedicated to promotion through social networks as an additional traffic source that increases sales and conversion.
Three rules of effective advertising
And personally, I have three rules, following which your internal advertising on Etsy can become an effective tool.
Rule 1
Your product has good demand and is popular. And you understand your niche.
Rule 2
Don’t expect instant sales — consider advertising expenses as an investment in promoting and growing your business.
Rule 3
Start by analyzing, testing, changing — and only then increase your advertising budget.
