While I don not have the time now that I did earlier this summer to devote to my Crafty Princess Etsy Shop, I have been trying to keep up with it so that it does not turn into the shop with 3 things in it like it was earlier this summer! I sell an item now and then and do my best to relist and add new items. I also keep an eye on the Etsy forums and read helpful articles over there as well.

One issue that I see often popping up is the use of tags when listing an item in a shop. The Etsy forums have a “critique” folder, and while it is so busy that it may be impossible to get seen at times in that folder, I try to help out when I can. I’m not an expert, mind you, but I feel I know more than the average newbie. Tags seems to be one of the major things I see that newbies are not very savvy about.

To make a comparison to writing on the web, “tags” are like the key words or meta information. They help get the attention of those who are using a search tool to find a product. For example, if I list a pair of earrings in my shop, then I want to be sure to not only use the word “earrings” in the title, but I want to make sure that word is listed in my tags as well. There are 14 tags, and it is very important to use them all. When a potential buyer is looking for something, she will go to the search box on Etsy and type in words like “gold earrings.” If you don’t have these key words listed in your tags, she won’t find you.

So tag, tag, tag, and try to use words that properly describe your products. To help break down this important topic even more, I suggest reading this article in the Storque area of Etsy, Seller How-To: Tag-o-rama With Descriptive Keywords. Another thing I have found helpful to get the brain thinking about tags is to cruise around the Etsy network and look at other shops and the tags they use, especially shops that have high sales numbers.