If you’ve been stressing about keeping up with social media trends, and asking, “Do you need social media to grow on Etsy?” This blog is for you!
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I know it can feel like you’re missing out if you’re not posting on Instagram, TikTok, or whatever social platform is trending right now. And while social media can definitely help, it’s not the only way to grow.
So let me just answer this question for you right off the bat. Do you need social media to grow on Etsy? The answer is a big fat NO!
Boost Etsy Sales: Master SEO
So what does matter when growing your Etsy shop? SEO – search engine optimization. Have you heard of it?
If not, tet’s break it down. SEO, or search engine optimization, is how Etsy decides which products to show when someone searches for something specific—like ‘wedding planners’ or ‘home organization printables.
When you use the right keywords, titles, and tags in your listings, Etsy pushes your products to the top of those search results. That means buyers already looking for what you offer will find you; no social media post is required. For example, let’s say you sell baby shower games. When someone types ‘baby shower game printables’ into the Etsy search bar, Etsy will look for listings that match those keywords. The closer your titles, tags, and descriptions match that search, the higher up you’ll show in the results.
Imagine someone finding your product at the top of their search without you ever needing to post on Instagram—that’s the power of SEO.
When you master SEO, you can reach thousands of buyers who are already searching for exactly what you’re offering—without having to post daily or grow a huge following.
Steps to Improve Your SEO
So how do you improve your SEO? Let’s talk about three simple steps:
- Do your keyword research – Find out what keywords people are using to search for printables in your niche. Tools like Marmalead or Etsy’s own search bar can give you ideas. I personally teach my students to do their keyword research in two tools -erank and everbee. Both linked below.
- Optimize your titles and tags – Use those keywords in your product titles and tags, but make sure they’re naturally incorporated. Think about how a customer would search for your product.
- Refine your descriptions – Etsy’s algorithm also takes into account the quality of your descriptions. Make them clear, helpful, and include a few keywords naturally.
Optimize Printables, Boost Sales
Let me give you a quick example from one of my students who started a printables shop. When my student, Becky first started selling printables, she wasn’t paying much attention to SEO, and she barely made any sales. But once we worked together to see what keywords she was using in her titles, descriptions and tags, she learned how to optimize her listings with the right keywords, and her shop took off. And the most exciting thing? She didn’t have to spend hours on social media, and still – she saw a huge increase in traffic—just from search results alone.
SEO Over Social Media
So then this begs the question, should you even use social media to grow your shop? The answer is… maybe. I personally used social media quite a bit to grow my Etsy shop and brought in a lot of buyers that way. However, the truth is that Etsy search brings in about 70% of my traffic to my Etsy shop. Meaning that SEO is responsible for most of my traffic. While the other 30% is brought in by my efforts off the platform.
So, yes, I love the idea of eventually expanding your marketing efforts to include social media. However, not necessarily in the beginning. Because, friend, let’s face it, you don’t have a lot of time, amiright? So why spend so much of your efforts on social media when you could be spending more time on your SEO and getting better results? Now, if you build your shop and you start getting buyers from your SEO efforts, then by all means, start expanding. However, in the beginning, it’s absolutely okay to rely solely on SEO for your Etsy traffic.
Thanks for Reading Does Social Media Make You Money on Etsy?
I hope you enjoyed reading about Does Social Media Make You Money on Etsy? If you’re ready to dive deeper into Etsy SEO, check it out here for my free guide to optimizing your Etsy listings, as well as 4 Simple Steps to Uncover Your First Profitable Printable Idea.
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