Great Post about tagging on Etsy!!

This was found in the Etsy forums, it was written by etsy member squidart, love love love this and had to share it!

The Art of Tagging: Learn it, Love it, Master it.

For many, tagging is the bane of your Etsy existence. You have to choose your own tags, but only 14, and if you mistag, be prepared for the stoning and stake burning that is sure to follow.

Have no fear, worn-out taggers. I have laid out some tagging guidelines to help ease the pain.

1. Live by the Merchandising Desk monthly report. This is the report published by Etsy that clues you in to the upcoming trends. It foretells the holidays, color combinations, and trend words that will flood the Etsy scene in the next month or two. This is the holy grail of Etsy.

- You can find the current report here: http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/from-etsys-merchandising-desk-sprouting-up-in-march-6921/

- If you are looking for any other month, go to the Storque blog homepage, scroll down the left sidebar, click From Etsy’s Merchandising Desk under the Selling category.

- Then, CHANGE your TAGS according to the report. Include the color and trend words. I mix up my tags every month or two to keep things interesting and current.

- This is how people are found for Etsy emails, blog articles, and treasuries. Use it and abuse it!


2.Use color synonyms and genre keywords.

- Most people search through Etsy by color key words. Treasuries are designed around colors, the front page is often chosen this way, and customers are looking for colors that match their décor.

- If they are not searching by color, they are searching by genre. Use style and era words in your tags.

- Perfect tag resource: http://www.etsy.com/storque/how-to/seller-how-to-tag-o-rama-with-descriptive-keywords-5474/

- Try not to overuse everything on this list. Know that many other Etsians are using the same list, so use it as a guideline, and then come up with synonyms. (Try a google search or thesaurus to find synonyms.)


3. Don’t overuse team tags, your shop name tags, or your location tags.

- Using team, shop name, and location tags are an excellent way to help people find you, but you don’t need the same ones in every listing.

- I would use one of these three things in each listing. You must cherish those 14 tags, and not throw them away on repetition!

- I also use them as my back up tags when I can’t think of another keyword that feels right. I use these types of tags as place holders, and then go back and edit them when I think of better words.


4. Get more than 14 tags!!!!

- Now, if you sell OOAK items or are super stingy with your 20 cents, you will not like this idea.

- Create two or more separate listings for the same item. You automatically double you tag options.

- This works really well for photography because I can sell and list different sizes of the same print. It may not work well for all categories.


5. Other tips:
- Use common misspellings of your keywords.

- Look at other people’s tags who sell similar items for good ideas.

- Remember the British spelling for common words.

- Remember to use tags like OOAK and wholesale, but don’t overuse them.

- Always think about how YOU would shop for your items. What words would you put into the search bar?