Etsy keyword research, from the words buyers actually type
Etsy says its search “scans keywords across titles, attributes (e.g. color), categories, and tags” to build its first set of results. So keyword research on Etsy comes down to one job: find the phrases buyers type, keep the ones with more searches than competition, and put each one where Etsy reads it. This page shows how to do that with Etsy’s own tools, and what no keyword tool can tell you.
Not affiliated with Etsy, Inc. Quotes are Etsy’s wording, linked to the page they come from. If Etsy changes a page and ours goes stale, tell us at hello@growtsy.com.
Where Etsy reads your keywords
Three places decide whether you are in the results at all. Only two of them cost characters.
Title
“A listing's title can be up to 140 characters long.” Etsy’s guidance for writing it: “Clearly state what the item is and any key details. Avoid repetition as well as subjective words (for example, ‘perfect’).”
Tags
“You can use up to 13 tags per listing.” “Each tag can contain up to 20 characters.” And Etsy says “A single tag can be a short descriptive phrase (for example, ‘silver earrings’ or ‘minimalist jewelry’).”
Attributes and categories
Etsy search scans these too: colour and the other attribute fields Etsy offers for your category, plus the category you choose. They cost no title characters and no tag slots, so leaving one blank is reach you gave away for nothing.
Keywords get you into the results; they don’t decide your place in them. After the first set, Etsy’s ranking policy names relevancy, listing engagement (“clicks, views, favorites, and purchases”), recency, listing and shop quality, customer service, shipping price and method, and results customised to each buyer. For relevancy it counts descriptions as well: “how proximate keywords in a listings' tags, titles, descriptions, or attributes are relative to the search query”.
Keyword research in six steps
Do these for each listing. Most of the work is deciding which phrases to drop.
- Write down the buyer’s words. Not what you call the item — what someone would type to find it. Add the recipient, the occasion, the material and the style: “gift for gardener”, “linen apron”, “boho wall art”. Aim for ten to twenty candidates.
- Look each one up in Marketplace Insights. Shop Manager → Stats → Marketplace Insights. Etsy says you can “view related data such as the number of searches and listings on Etsy from the last 30 days”. Free sellers get up to 15 keyword searches a week, so spend them on your best candidates.
- Keep the phrases with interest but room. Etsy’s own description of what to look for is terms with “high buyer interest but a lower number of listings across Etsy.” The related terms it shows for each lookup are new candidates; the trending searches cover your categories “over the past 30 days”.
- Check page one for every phrase you keep. Search it on Etsy. If page one for “linen apron” is children’s aprons and yours is a chef’s apron, it is the wrong phrase for you, however good its numbers look. A phrase is only yours if page one is selling your kind of item.
- Put each phrase where Etsy reads it. Your strongest phrase goes at the start of the title, written so a person can read it. Thirteen phrases become tags — each one different, each within 20 characters. Then fill every attribute and the most specific category that fits.
- Don’t spend a slot twice. Five tags that all contain “necklace” chase much the same searches. Each slot should carry a different angle: an occasion, a recipient, a material, a style. Look again in a month; Marketplace Insights covers the last 30 days, so the numbers move.
What each keyword number can tell you
Every number answers one narrow question. Most keyword mistakes come from asking it a different one.
| Number | Where you see it | What it tells you | The trap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Searches, last 30 days | Marketplace Insights | How often buyers typed that exact phrase, straight from Etsy | Searches are not purchases. A phrase can be searched a lot and bought rarely. |
| Listings for the phrase | Marketplace Insights, Etsy search | How crowded the shelf is | Most listings never reach page one. A big count matters less if page one is weak. |
| Related terms | Marketplace Insights | Phrases Etsy connects to yours | Related is not the same item. Check page one before you use one. |
| Trending searches | Marketplace Insights | What is rising in your categories over 30 days | A trend can peak before your listing goes live. |
| Words in page-one titles | Etsy search | The vocabulary that already ranks | Copying it puts you in the same crowd, not ahead of it. |
| A search number in a third-party tool | That tool | Whatever that tool measures or models | Ask where it comes from. Etsy’s own search counts live in Marketplace Insights. |
Etsy’s wording on this page was read on 21 September 2026 from its Help Center (Marketplace Insights, creating a listing, tags) and its search ranking disclosures (last updated 16 October 2025).
Or check a phrase in about a minute
Growtsy’s Scout pulls the live Etsy search results for your phrase — how many listings compete, where prices sit, how alike page one is, and the underused tags that high-favorite listings carry — then tells you whether it is worth building a listing around, and what to do next. It never estimates sales.
Free account: 1 Scout verdict + 1 full listing + 3 AI photos — no card. Your phrase is waiting in Scout when you sign in. How Scout decides →
Common questions
How do I do Etsy keyword research for free?
Use Marketplace Insights in Shop Manager → Stats. It shows searches and listings for a phrase over the last 30 days, and free sellers get up to 15 keyword searches a week. Then check page one of Etsy search for each phrase you keep. Both are free.
How many keywords can I use on an Etsy listing?
Up to 13 tags of up to 20 characters each, and a title of up to 140 characters. Etsy search also scans the attributes and category you choose, which cost neither characters nor tag slots.
Where should keywords go in an Etsy listing?
In the title, the tags, the attributes and the category: Etsy says its search scans those four to build the first set of results. For relevancy it also looks at the description, so describe the item in the words a buyer would use there too.
Should I repeat keywords in my tags and title?
In the title, Etsy’s own guidance is to “Avoid repetition”. In tags, a repeated word adds no new phrase to match, so give each of the 13 slots a different phrase.
Where do keyword tools get their search numbers?
Ask each tool. Etsy’s own search counts are in Marketplace Insights, inside Shop Manager. A number from a third-party tool is whatever that tool measures or models, so compare phrases with it rather than treating it as a count of buyers.