Etsy Listing Optimization Checklist

Run this before you publish, and again when a listing is old enough to be in search. Each line is a rule from Etsy, not a score I invented. The two articles underneath it are the title guide and the tag guide.

Title

Source: How to Create a Listing and New Guidance for Listing Titles.

• At most 140 characters.
• Consider fewer than 15 words.
• Say what the item is, once.
• Keep objective details: color, material, size, and the detail that sets it apart.
• Remove subjective words such as “perfect”.
• Remove price and shipping language.
• Mention a holiday, occasion, or recipient only when it is essential to the item.
• The listing URL is set from the title the first time you publish. Later edits do not change it. If the product changed, Etsy says to consider a new listing.

Tags

Source: How to Use Tags to Get Found in Search and Keywords 101.

• Up to 13 tags.
• Each tag up to 20 characters, including spaces.
• Letters, numbers, and spaces are allowed. ' and - are allowed inside a word or phrase, not at the start.
• Prefer multi-word phrases. “Custom bracelet” beats “custom” plus “bracelet”.
• Vary the tags. Do not paste the title into all 13.
• Put buyer-minded language here when no attribute exists for it, such as “gift for her”.

Category, attributes, photos

How Etsy Search Works says search looks across the title, tags, attributes, description, first photo, and reviews, and that exact matches can rank higher. The same handbook tells you to use a specific category and to fill in attributes.

From the create-a-listing article:

• Up to 20 photos. The first photo is one of the fields search uses, so it has to show the item.
• Up to two videos, each 5 to 15 seconds.
• Digital listings: up to five files, and variations are unavailable. Keyword notes for that case are in the digital products guide.

Before you decide it “isn’t ranking”

Etsy says a new listing can take up to 48 hours to appear in search. Checking rank an hour after publish does not test the checklist. Editing a listing does not charge another $0.20 listing fee; that fee is for publishing or renewing, and an Etsy.com listing expires after four months. Fee detail is in Etsy fees explained.

NicheKite’s audit on Listings checks the title and tag rules in the first two sections. It does not grade photos, and it does not push the edit to your shop.