Etsy SEO: how unique tags and the new Marmalead algorithm are changing listing promotion

Previously, we used to create titles approximately like this. All trainers, all coaches always taught to create a title based on the search query. That is, how does the buyer search? Pink heart pillow. Colour black pillow. Good vibes pillow. Look at how many times the word pillow is repeated here. One, two, three, four, five, six. Pillow-pillow-pillow-pillow. Now, because these words are repeated so often, the ranking has significantly dropped — it has become C-. The same is visible in the tags. Look, we also tried to create such “correct” phrases that would match search queries. Colourful pillow, throw pillow — meaning each of these two- or three-word combinations for tags, around 20 characters, had meaningful content.

New Approach

Now let’s look at a listing that, say, I improved to A+. These words no longer need to be repeated, and they don’t even necessarily have to carry semantic meaning. Of course, for a title — yes, but for tags, I mean, it’s no longer critical. See: Butterfly purple throw pillow. We only repeat the word pillow once. Bright and colourful cushion. Cushion — that’s also a pillow. So, we took two synonyms, and these are now our keywords. By the way, keywords also serve as attributes and categories. Essentially, all this is already a repetition because we already have a category pillow. So even repeating the word pillow in the title the second time is unnecessary — it’s already included in the category. Look how many new possibilities now open up for new words! Now we have tags — all of them are unique. Thanks to this, Marmalead, of course, gives a very high and good ranking for this listing — A+. Actually, that’s exactly what this material was about — explaining how this new system and algorithm work.

Examples of Tags Without Semantic Load

Look: Decor Butterflies. Does this phrase make sense? No. Or, for example, Couch Living Room. So, that’s a cushion for the sofa. But we don’t write “cushion for the sofa” — we just write “sofa, living room.” Or Modern Minimalist. What does that mean? On one hand, our pillow fits the style of modern, on the other — minimalist. These words can be used by the buyer in their search query, but by themselves, the tags should no longer have such a direct meaning. Look at how many new words have been added here. If earlier it was all repeated, now at least, probably, 30 new words have been added to the tags — because now they shouldn’t repeat. Therefore, our reach to the target audience has become much broader.

KeywordNet in Marmalade

Now I’ll explain a bit more in detail. Look, Marmalade has a feature — KeywordNet, this network. I added a bunch of different words, and the AI itself put together wonderful phrases from them. For example: Nature, Lavender, Decor Butterflies. That is, individual words make sense, but their combination — isn’t entirely logical. They themselves created all these phrases and generated 500 different variations of search queries based on my words. So, theoretically, it looks very impressive.

Thoughts on Impressions Budget

Let’s now explore how this looks in practice. I’ll make a few assumptions, and I’m curious about your thoughts. Not just your opinion, but based on your experience — if you’ve already tried this new system, how does it work for you? I have this assumption — again, just an assumption, I don’t know if it’s true — that Etsy might provide each seller with a certain free impressions budget. Like when you purchase advertising — you have a certain budget, and that budget purchases a certain number of impressions for your keywords, your niches. Even before launching paid ads — meaning, not paying anything — simply listing your products, your new listings, gives you a certain free impressions budget. And let’s suppose, this budget is for a thousand impressions.

How Are Impressions Distributed?

Then, naturally, the question on Etsy arises: where and how to distribute these thousand impressions? Who should see them? Suppose you don’t use any keywords at all. That is, you have a short title of two or three words, only attributes and categories are open — no tags, nothing at all, only categories and attributes. Then, the assumption is that these thousand impressions will be distributed only within these attributes and categories. And this, of course, isn’t very good, because usually these attributes and categories belong to highly competitive niches. All sellers in your niche select similar categories and attributes. These are very similar words. And since you’re a new seller and don’t have reviews or sales history, you’ll be shown on those niches somewhere on pages 5 or 10. That’s the purpose of tags — to distinguish you from competitors, to make sure you’re shown for other queries. And from this perspective, it seems that the more unique, individual words you use in your tags, the better.

But Is It Really True?

A question arises: is this really the case? I know, a few people already told me — repeating words, although now it’s not recommended, still helps. That is, if we have these thousand impressions per day provided in the free budget, and we use, for example, 6 words, then these thousand impressions for those 6 words — exactly for those 6 words — will be shown about 170 times a day, right? 170 multiplied by 6. And if you use 40 words, then for these 40 words, you’ll get only about 25 impressions per word. Do you understand? The number of impressions will be divided by the number of words because Etsy thinks: “Who should I show this listing to? They use these, these, these words in the tags. So many words! Therefore, we’ll display a certain number here and there.”

Problem of Audience Expansion

If there is some limited budget for these free impressions, your listing, in this case, will be shown equally for the query daughter present and splash trendy cute, and also for pillow. But people who are genuinely interested in this pillow — those searching for throw pillow or butterfly pillow — are the ones who are really likely to buy this pillow. And those searching for general colour rich bedroom are just browsing whether they like this pillow — perhaps they meant a completely different idea. So, it’s not a narrow target audience anymore. By increasing the number of tags, we significantly broaden the target audience who may not be interested in our product at all.

Example with a Green Painting

Let me give you an example. Suppose a buyer searches for green painting. He wants a green painting — maybe with a green wall, green sofa. And here he gets a certain painting. Why does it appear at the top? Because one of the words used is “green painting,” or because the word green is used multiple times: green golf, green Canada — used twice. How many times is “golf” used? Once, twice, thrice — in the title. I’m not even considering tags right now. We can assume that there are no tags at all — people are just using these words. Think: who would really want to buy such a painting? Someone interested in golf. On the other hand, someone who likes the green because it fits into their interior. And another user — looking for something modern, a modern painting. 3D, textured, green, modern, contemporary, painting, art — all of this. All other viewers who see this painting will most likely not buy it. Those searching for a red painting — won’t buy. Those looking for yellow — probably won’t buy, unless there’s a yellowish detail. Only those seeking a specific green painting or interested in golf will buy.

Adding Excess Words as a Problem

Then, a person takes these new rules and says: “But there are only 8 words — that’s so little! And I can add 13 tags, each up to 20 characters. I can add 40 words!” And begins to add: wall art, adds sport decor, palette knife. The painting has yellow, so let’s add yellow. Let’s add artwork, in case someone searches for that. Add unique, lovers, gift. And also bedroom décor, living room décor. Perhaps you have such words in your tags — maybe, yes. And Etsy’s algorithm starts “thinking.” It seems to consider: “How many impressions to give for green painting query? About ten. And ten more for unique lovers art.” But will a person searching for unique lovers art buy this painting? No. While increasing the number of words, we move further away from our target audience — those who are actually ready to buy this particular painting. Essentially, we’re fishing where the fish don’t bite our bait. Imagine a pond. Different fish live in it: red, yellow, green. These are all our target audiences. And we cast a line primarily for a green golf contemporary painting. But we catch them where the red fish are, where the yellow ones are, even in modern art zones. Everywhere. And as a result, the chances of catching our green contemporary fish become much lower. If my assumption is correct, and if there’s really this limited “fishing” impressions budget, then you should fish precisely where your clients are. That means directing all thousand impressions to words like green, golf, 3D art, painting. That will give the best results.

Key Question About Repeats

This assumption, essentially, states that using a large number of words is very bad. But my main question: do repeats of words influence enhancement? That is, if we repeat green, green, green, golf, golf — does it affect Etsy’s algorithm so that it shows us more often in these niches? Marmalead says no. But I have a suspicion that maybe yes. Now I’ll give an example where this theory doesn’t work at all, because it’s about a situation when you shouldn’t expand, not to add “empty” words in highly competitive niches. After all, you won’t be on the first pages anyway. So what’s the point of writing them and losing impressions on them?

Example: Window Pelmet

Let’s take an entirely non-saturated niche — Window Pelmet. Look at this listing. It’s very low competition. Words used: Natural Rattan woven Window Pelmet. Main words — Window Pelmet. It repeats twice more — Window Pelmet Rattan Valance (a synonym for Pelmet). You can also call it Valance Made from Rattan. Once, twice, thrice — five times Rattan. Natural Rattan Decoration. Natural Rattan Window Cover. Window Cover. According to new rules, theoretically, the word Window, used three times, should be removed. The word Pelmet, used twice, should be removed. Rattan, used five times, should be removed. I’m curious your opinion — should these be removed? Look, here’s a similar example: Rustic Farmhouse, Wood Valance, Cornice — another word. Wood Window, Valance, Customizable — a great new word, another one. Decorative, Curtain Box. See how many synonyms there are for this word. In principle, people might search with all these words, so it’s very important to use them. Cornice, Valance, Curtain Box, Farmhouse style, Rustic, Wood. All these words are very different, and we should appear in search results for all of them. Why? Because the competition for all these words — and for Curtain Box, Valance, Wood Valance, Cornice — is very low. So, yes, let’s get 25 impressions for each of these words. I’ll still go ahead. Where the competition is low, and you hit directly at your target audience with all these synonyms — of course, such words should be used and kept.

Conclusions

This is my hypothesis — that an excessive number of unique words harms niches with high competition. And I really want to hear your honest opinion, based on your actual experience. For example, we know that when someone invests money in advertising, they naturally expand their impressions budget. This can be harmful if the budget is too large. Then Etsy might start showing the item to the wrong audience — e.g., a green painting to those who love traditional classical art. Can it be possible to show this painting, but those people won’t buy it — neither for framing nor just like that? It won’t match their style or perception of art. If you give too much money and set a large ad budget, the impressions will be there, but conversions will be low — fewer visits, clicks, and sales. As a result, your shop’s ranking will drop because Etsy sees: “Item is shown, but no one is buying.” This negatively impacts your shop. I hope I’ve managed to convey this idea. My main goal is to share this concept, this theory. Thank you very much for your attention.