by Gail Oliver, Online Marketing Consultant

One of the biggest mistakes I see Etsy shops make again and again is focusing all of their marketing efforts on having their products get found by the Etsy search engine. Big, big mistake.

When I consult for an online business, whether they sell on Etsy, Amazon, Houzz, whatever the case may be, I always advise that their traffic has to be a balance of traffic from the marketplace’s search engine, but also from Google, from email marketing, from publicity, from advertising and from social media. If you focus your efforts just on Etsy SEO, and they make one little change to the search algorithm, your business can fall off substantially and immediately. I have seen it happen to many successful shops, and then they practically had to start all over.

Don’t get me wrong, SEO is important but it is just one component. Did you know that most major online retailers get the majority of their traffic and sales from their email marketing efforts, not SEO? I never understood why sellers spent so much time and effort trying to get new customers rather than trying to get repeat business from their current customer base. The big retailers have figured this out, so why haven’t the smaller ones?

In terms of publicity, I once watched an Etsy shop whose product was mentioned on a very popular blog, get over 1,000 orders in 24 hours. Granted publicity can be hit or miss, but when it hits, it can be big.

In terms of social media, I have consulted for many successful Etsy shops where the majority of their traffic comes from Facebook or Pinterest, and usually the result of doing weekly giveaways on social media.

In terms of advertising, it is still the most tried and true form of getting traffic and sales. If you haven’t tried the Etsy Promoted Listings yet, I highly recommend them. I have not seen a successful Etsy shop yet who is not running them. The key is to have the right strategy.

Want to be successful on Etsy? Then try my Etsy 30-Day Success Plan. This digital download has hundreds of my proven tips and tactics to do every day for 30 days that will drive more traffic and sales at your Etsy shop.

© 2018 Gail Oliver. All Rights Reserved.