How To Drive Traffic To Your Etsy Shop: 9 Proven Strategies

Do you have an Etsy shop, but are struggling to drive traffic to it? This is a common challenge faced by many Etsy sellers, so you’re not alone. Some might think it’s because Etsy is already so oversaturated, but this isn’t necessarily the case. 

If you have the right strategies to put your best foot forward and make your shop stand out, you can indeed drive more customers to your Etsy store. 

So what are these magical strategies? This list is all about how to drive traffic to your Etsy shop, using 9 proven (by me) strategies.

You might also like:

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• How to Increase Sales On Etsy 2022 (Without Paying for Ads): 18 Simple Ways
• Managing Two Etsy Shops: Can You Have More Than One Shop On Etsy?

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Etsy Is Perfect For Small Businesses

Etsy is a platform specifically designed to help small businesses and independent creators succeed. This makes it the perfect place for you to showcase your products, and even services, as Etsy provides a welcoming home for creatives from all walks of life. 

Oftentimes, small businesses don’t have the means to start a physical shop or an online space of their own, as there are too many costs associated with those options. Enter Etsy. You don’t need to pay rent, but you still get to benefit from the visibility and recognition that a platform like Etsy brings. 

By setting up an Etsy shop, you’re not only opening a virtual storefront, but also joining a community that appreciates and supports small business owners like yourself.

But, how can you harness the full power of Etsy for your store? It’s all about increasing traffic and maximising the potential for sales and revenue. Here’s a quick snapshot of how it can help your business:

• a welcoming platform specifically tailored for small businesses and independent creators
• lets you customise your storefront to reflect your brand’s personality
• drives traffic through Etsy’s vast user base, attracting shoppers who are searching for unique items
• connects you with potential customers from across the globe, increasing your audience and creating more opportunities for sales and revenue

Long story short: setting up your Etsy store is a fantastic opportunity to bring your small business to a wider audience and increase sales.

THINKING OF STARTING AN ETSY SHOP? GRAB MY FREE EBOOK

Challenge of Getting Etsy Traffic

With over 7 million active sellers on Etsy, it can sometimes feel like an uphill battle to drive traffic to your shop amidst all the other talented competition. Here are some of the challenges in increasing Etsy traffic.

• The infinite ocean of sellers: There are a whole lot of creative minds already showcasing their work on Etsy, especially since the pandemic. While your products might be among the very best, if they’re not being seen by the right people, it’s going to be impossible to get Etsy sales.
• The fleeting attention span of buyers: Let’s face it, at times we all get decision fatigue from all the products that are easily available to us. That’s why it is important to make sure your shop stands out and quickly communicates your brand voice so buyers know exactly what you offer, how great it is, and how they should buy it.
• Maintaining momentum & staying relevant: It’s all well and good to increase traffic during certain periods, but it’s just as important to keep the momentum going. Keeping an eye on popular trends and incorporating them into your product offerings is a great way to stay relevant and keep customers coming back for more.

How To Drive Traffic To Your Etsy Shop

1. Understand Your Target Audience

There’s nothing more important than understanding your target audience. After all, how can you drive traffic to your Etsy shop without knowing who you’re trying to attract?

So, who are these lovely customers you aim to entice? Take a minute to think about what your Etsy shop offers.

Are you selling handmade jewellery, vintage clothing, or unique home decorations? What sort of people might be drawn to your Etsy products in particular? Young professionals, parents, eco-conscious individuals? Recognising your customers’ preferences, needs, and desires is key. 

Now, consider the following aspects to help paint a more detailed picture of your target audience:

• Demographics: What’s the age range, gender, and location of your potential clients?
• Interests and hobbies: What activities do they enjoy? Where do they get their inspiration from?
• Online habits: Which platforms do they frequent? How do they use social media? Are they avid blog readers or newsletter subscribers?

Knowing your target audience will boost your marketing efforts, and in turn drive traffic to your Etsy shop. 

2. Optimise Listings For SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

When it comes to driving traffic to your online store, keyword research will be your best friend! You want to make it easy for a potential buyer to find your products, not have to scour the internet for items.

So, where do you begin?

Start by researching popular search terms and phrases related to your products. You can do this by typing something into the Etsy search bar and seeing what comes up. You can also do the same in Google. 

Another effective way of doing keyword research for Etsy is to invest in a keyword research tool, such as Alura. Alura will give you  an overview of the most popular keywords in your niche, their search volume, and how competitive they are. Using these keywords throughout your product titles and descriptions will make sure that shoppers can find your listings. 

Include your researched keywords in a natural and relevant way into your product titles and tags. Avoid keyword stuffing – nobody likes a spammy-sounding title. Keep it straightforward and descriptive to increase the chances of being found by your target audience.

For example:

Don’t: Fab Blue Sparkly Unicorn Hoodie Girly Kids Clothing Special Offer

Do: Blue Sparkly Unicorn Hoodie for Girls – Children’s Unicorn Clothing

Notice how the revised title is clearer and more focused on the keywords?

Moving on to your product descriptions – make them compelling! Here’s a checklist for you:

1. Include relevant keywords (again, tastefully)
2. Address common customer queries
3. Highlight the product’s unique features, materials, and benefits
4. Use bullet points to break up text (like I’m doing here!)

A well curated description can turn a curious browser into a confident buyers. You don’t want to give them any reason to leave your shop. 

3. Develop A Social Media Strategy

A great social media marketing strategy can go a long way in gaining Etsy shop traffic. Through your social media accounts, you can easily attract new customers and engage with your current ones. Here are some tips to effectively build a presence on social media:

First and foremost, choose the right social media platform for your brand. Focus on the networks where your target audience spends their time, to make the most impact.

For Etsy sellers, the most popular channels include:

• Instagram: Instagram is a visual platform, making it a great choice for creative brands. 
• Facebook: Share your story, engage with shoppers, and even create a dedicated group for loyal customers. If you’re selling patters, the group could be for people who share their finished creations or have questions about the process.
• Pinterest:  Pinterest is another visual platform that allows you to show off your products and designs. Use boards and pins to share tutorials, before-and-afters, or style inspiration for shoppers.

Once you’ve chosen your channels, keep your content fresh and engaging. If you’re not sure what to post on social media, here’s a few ideas:

1. Photos of your products, in different settings and angles
2. Behind-the-scenes peeks, production process, workspace, life as an Etsy seller
3. Customer testimonials and reviews (it’s time to show off those glowing accolades!)
4. Sales, promotions, and new product launches 
5. Relevant industry news or trends 

If you do choose to post on social media, it’s important to be consistent with your schedule. Avoid going radio silent for weeks on end, and don’t just post pictures of your products, as it comes across as too salesy. Find a perfect balance that works for you and your audience.

Don’t forget to interact with your followers. Engaging with your audience helps foster a strong sense of community and trust. Respond to comments and questions so your followers and customers know you value their input.

4. Build An Email List

Email marketing is underutilised by so many Etsy shop owners, If you collect email addresses through opt-in forms and giveaways, you can then send out newsletters or updates on new products, discounts, promotions and more to your customers. This way you can stay connected to the people who are most interested in what you have to offer.

I use Convertkit (free up to 1000 subscribers) to collect email addresses.

So, how can you build your email list. 

1. Sign-up forms if you have a blog or website
2. Linked on your social media
3. In-person sign-ups (craft fair, exhibition, etc) 
4. Etsy descriptions

NB: It’s against Etsy’s terms to contact customers directly through their messaging system, unless related to an order or responding to questions. 

5. Use Professional Images

Whether we like to admit it or now, we all tend to judge a book its cover. And that’s what Etsy shoppers are doing with your products. 

In order to get those customers to click into your shop when your product photos show up in the search results, they need to be enticed by high-quality images. Professional images of your products will make them look much more desirable and authentic. 

Here’s a little list to keep in mind when preparing your images:

1. High-resolution, crisp photos
2. Natural, bright lighting
3. Clean and simple backgrounds
4. Multiple angles and detailed shots
5. Scale and context for the items

Etsy allows you to upload up to ten photos per listing, so, take advantage of this feature, and showcase your items from various angles and in different settings. This helps buyers feel confident while making their purchase.

6. Run Sales & Promotions

Everyone loves a good deal, so let’s take a look at how you can use this to your advantage.

• Limited-time offers: Create a sense of urgency by offering discounts or special deals for a short period. This could be a weekend sale or a holiday promotion. Buyers tend to panic when there’s a limited time to buy something. 
• Volume discounts: You could also reward any customers who buy more items. You can offer a bulk discount on a specific item or a discounted price for a bundle of products. For example, if you’re selling stickers on Etsy, you could sell one sticker for $2 or offer a discounted price of $8 for 5 stickers. 
• Free shipping: Customers love incentives like free shipping. You could either set a minimum order threshold to qualify for free shipping or offer it as a limited-time promotion. 
• Coupons: Keep your customers coming back by sending them coupon codes after they buy from you. You can create specific coupons for loyal and repeat customers or a unique discount code to welcome first-time buyers. 
• Seasonal promotions: Theme your promotions to match the changing seasons, holidays, and popular events. Pro tip: Plan seasonal promotions well in advance and let your customers know about them through email newsletters, social media, and shop announcements.
• Flash sales: Announce a surprise flash sale to your social media followers or email subscribers. 

7. Adapt To Trends & Update Product Listings

It’s all well and good coming up with a strategy and sticking to it, but not adapting to the trends is a sure way to limit your success. Regularly check out what’s new in the market and what other Etsy sellers are doing, research keywords and optimise your descriptions. By staying in tune with what’s popular, you can attract more customers to your store. 

Keeping your shop updated is also important to ensure a smooth customer experience and boost your ranking in the Etsy search engine. Follow these steps to achieve this:

1. Regularly review and refresh your Etsy listings based on their performance or seasonal trends.
2. Optimise your shop sections by grouping similar items and using clear section names that follow the latest keywords and search terms.
3. Track customer behaviour and preferences, so you can better cater to your target audience’s interests.

8. Start A Blog

If you’re eager to drive traffic to your Etsy shop, a blog might just be the answer.

For example, if you’re a DIY crafter who sells craft supplies on Etsy, you could write about crafting and incorporate links to your products within blog posts. It also gives you the opportunity to tackle Google SEO – if you rank on Google for articles, this will bring readers to your blog, and eventually to your Etsy shop. 

If you’re interested in starting a blog, take my free email course (sign up using the above form) which takes you step by step through all the basics of setting up your own blog (including all the nitty gritty technical parts) in just 5 days. 

9. Collaborate With Influencers

The last method of sending traffic to your Etsy store, is to collaborate with influencers. Influencer marketing is becoming more and more popular, and it’s a great way to get your products in front of a larger audience. 

One way to do this is to reach out to an influencer on Instagram or TikTok and ask them if they’d be interested in collaborating. You’ll likely have to pay them a fee (nobody likes to work for free, remember!) but they can post a video wearing your product or using your product and share it with their following. This will then send potential customers flocking to your shop!

By following these strategies, you can start driving a steady stream of traffic to your Etsy store and start growing your business online! It’ll take time and hard work, but if you commit yourself to taking consistent action on these methods, you’ll be able to see results soon enough. 

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Frequently Asked Questions