Most keyword advice starts with search volume: find the phrases people search most, then use them. On Etsy that advice hits a wall, because Etsy does not publish how many times a phrase is searched. Any monthly search figure you see for an Etsy keyword is an estimate built from something else.
You do not need that number. You need to know whether buyers want a product described a certain way, whether a shop like yours can get seen for the phrase, and whether it honestly describes what you sell. The listings that already rank answer all three: how often they are viewed, favorited and bought, how many shops compete, and what buyers pay.
This guide gives you a repeatable process, a worked example for a print-on-demand sweatshirt, and the mistakes that waste the most time. You finish with a short list of phrases sorted into a title lead and supporting tags.
Why Etsy keyword research works differently
Google keyword tools can lean on data the search engine shares with advertisers. Etsy has no public equivalent. Your Stats page in Shop Manager shows some search terms that brought visitors to your existing listings, but nothing about phrases you do not rank for yet, which are the only ones that matter for a new design.
So instead of asking how many people search a phrase, ask three questions the marketplace can answer:
- Demand: do the listings for this phrase get looked at, saved and bought?
- Competition: how many listings and shops chase the phrase, and how strong are the ones on top?
- Fit: would a buyer who typed this phrase be happy to land on your listing?
Sellers skip the third question. A phrase with strong demand and low competition is worthless if it describes a product you do not make.
The signals that stand in for search volume
None of these is a search count, and none needs to be. Together they tell you whether a phrase deserves a place in your listing.
| Signal | What it tells you | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Listing views | How much attention the listings for a phrase get | Rank phrases against each other; never read it as a number of searches |
| Sales of the top listings | Whether that attention turns into orders | Views with few sales can mean browsers, not buyers |
| Competition (0 to 100) | How many listings and shops chase the phrase | Lower is easier; scores in the 80s and 90s usually mean established shops hold the top spots |
| Opportunity (0 to 100) | Demand that supply has not caught up with | Higher is better; the most useful tie-breaker between close phrases |
| Price range | What buyers pay on listings that sell | Check that your price and margin fit inside it |
| Trend direction | Whether interest is building, steady or fading | Decides when to list, not only what to list |
The Etsy keyword research tool puts most of these in one report: demand measured from the views, favorites and sales of ranking listings, competition and opportunity scores, the price range, the top 10 listings and shops with their 30-day sales, and the categories where the phrase sells, over 7, 14 or 30 days. Sales figures are estimates from Etsy marketplace data that eMarketInsight tracks, so use them to compare phrases, not to forecast your own orders.
A 7-step Etsy keyword research process
Run this for each new design. Write the numbers into a note or spreadsheet as you go, so you can compare phrases at the end.
- Write seed phrases the way a buyer would. Start with what the item is, then add one detail a shopper might type: a recipient (for mom), a style (retro), an occasion (birthday) or a theme (plant lady). Aim for three to five seeds, and leave out your own internal names for the design.
- Run each seed through a keyword report. In the keyword research tool, note listing views, competition, opportunity and price range for each. Start with the 30-day window, which smooths out single busy days.
- Expand into long-tail phrases. Run your best seed through the Etsy long-tail keyword finder. It lists the longer phrases ranking listings use in their titles and tags, with a count of how many use each. Keep the ones that describe your product accurately.
- Put the finalists side by side. Pick up to five promising phrases and compare Etsy keywords in one view. The winner on each metric is marked, which makes trade-offs plain: one phrase often wins on demand while another wins on opportunity.
- Check the timing. Chart your top two or three phrases in Etsy Search Trends over 90 days. A climbing line says list soon, a line falling after a clear peak says the season may be over, and a flat, healthy line points to a year-round product.
- Look at who already ranks. Run your lead candidate through the Etsy search ranking checker and sort by 30-day sales. If a few shops with large sales hold most spots, a newer shop will struggle; if sales are spread across many shops, there is room. Note which words the top titles lead with and what they charge.
- Give every phrase a job. Choose one lead phrase for the start of your title, one or two supporting phrases for the rest of it, and up to 13 phrases for tags. Our checklist for Etsy titles and tags covers how to write them so they stay readable.
The research tools are free. Lookups have a daily allowance of 10 without an account, and running the same phrase again within an hour does not count against it.
How to read competition and opportunity
Both scores run from 0 to 100, in opposite directions. Lower competition is better: fewer strong listings stand between you and the buyer. Higher opportunity is better: it rewards demand the current listings are not fully meeting. For reference, the niche finder on eMarketInsight only shortlists phrases with opportunity of 55 or more and competition of 45 or less. Not every phrase needs to clear that bar, but it shows what an open phrase looks like.
Match the phrase to your shop
A shop with a handful of reviews should usually lead with the phrase that wins on opportunity, even if another has more demand. A shop with years of sales and many reviews can afford busier phrases, because it brings a track record.
When a big phrase still earns a place
A crowded, broad phrase is rarely a good title lead for a small shop, but it can still earn a tag. It describes the product and costs nothing to include. Just do not build the listing around it.
When the data is thin
A phrase with little or no data is usually misspelled, too new or too rare. Low competition on a phrase nobody uses is an empty room, not an opportunity. Try a more common wording.
Worked example: a retro plant lady sweatshirt
This is an example. The shop, phrases and numbers below are made up to show the process, and your own results will differ.
A print-on-demand shop with about 40 sales has a new design: Plant Lady in a retro font with a monstera leaf, on a crewneck sweatshirt priced at $36. Four seeds and one long-tail phrase from the finder go into the comparison:
| Phrase | Listing views (30 days) | Competition | Opportunity | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| plant sweatshirt | 62,000 | 88 | 14 | $28 to $42 |
| gardening gift for women | 41,000 | 79 | 22 | $18 to $45 |
| plant lady sweatshirt | 18,500 | 46 | 51 | $32 to $40 |
| plant mom sweatshirt | 9,200 | 38 | 58 | $30 to $38 |
| retro plant shirt | 3,100 | 29 | 47 | $24 to $30 |
Plant sweatshirt wins on views but sits at 88 competition, far too crowded for a 40-sale shop to lead with. Plant mom sweatshirt wins on opportunity and competition, but the design says Plant Lady, so it fits better as a supporting phrase. Plant lady sweatshirt has solid demand, competition of 46, opportunity above 50 and a price range that holds $36, and it matches the design word for word.
The 90-day trend for plant lady sweatshirt is flat and steady, which points to an evergreen phrase. The ranking check shows sales spread across many shops, with the strongest listing selling about 60 a month and most top titles opening with the phrase itself. A newer shop can compete here.
The seller's decision:
- Title lead: Plant Lady Sweatshirt, followed by Retro Plant Mom Crewneck and Gardening Gift for Women.
- Tags: plant mom sweatshirt, retro plant shirt, gift for plant lover, monstera sweatshirt, crazy plant lady, gardening gift and more. Plant lady sweatshirt is 21 characters, one over Etsy's 20-character tag limit, so its tag version becomes plant lady crewneck.
- Kept as a tag only: plant sweatshirt. It describes the product but is too crowded to lead with.
Gardening gift for women ends up in the title because, at 24 characters, it is too long for a tag.
Mistakes that waste your research
- Treating estimates as exact counts. No tool sees Etsy's internal search numbers. Use demand figures to rank phrases against each other, not to plan inventory.
- Leading with the biggest phrase. The phrase with the most views is usually the hardest to rank for. A smaller phrase you can appear on beats a huge one where nobody sees you.
- Targeting phrases your product does not match. Shoppers who searched for a color, size or style you do not offer click and leave, so the views never turn into orders.
- Using trademarked names. Brand names, sports teams, film characters and song lyrics can bring takedowns. Etsy removes listings reported for intellectual property infringement, and repeated reports put a shop at risk. Sometimes a phrase looks open precisely because sellers avoid it for this reason.
- Copying a competitor's tag set. Studying what ranking listings use is research. Pasting their 13 tags onto your design is not, because their tags describe their product.
- Researching once and never again. Demand moves with seasons. Recheck your main phrases before each busy season and whenever a listing's views drop for no clear reason.
FAQ
Does Etsy show search volume for keywords?
No. Etsy does not publish search volume. Your Stats page shows some search terms that led visitors to your own listings, but there is no official count for phrases in general, so any Etsy volume figure is an estimate. eMarketInsight measures demand from the views, favorites and sales of the listings for each phrase, which is meant for comparing phrases, not for exact counts.
How many keywords should one Etsy listing target?
One lead phrase, one or two supporting phrases in the rest of the title, and up to 13 tags that cover other ways buyers describe the same item. A listing aimed at unrelated products usually ends up weak on all of them.
What is a long-tail keyword on Etsy?
A longer, more specific phrase, usually three words or more, such as retro plant lady sweatshirt instead of sweatshirt. Fewer people search it, but the people who do know what they want, and fewer listings compete for it. For new shops, long-tail phrases are often the most realistic place to start.
How often should I redo Etsy keyword research?
Research every new product before you list it, recheck your best sellers every few months, and review seasonal listings several weeks before their season. If a listing's views fall sharply, check whether the whole phrase dropped or only your listing did.
Is there a free Etsy keyword research tool?
Yes. The eMarketInsight keyword research tool is free, with 10 lookups a day without an account, and repeating a phrase within an hour does not use another lookup. Each report covers demand, competition, opportunity, price range and the top listings and shops.
