Etsy views but no sales? It’s no joke. Etsy sales conversion rates differ a LOT from user views. We know the more people that see our products, the better. But actually getting these people to place an order is very, very tough. After all, there’s loads of competition. Even on a site like Etsy that specializes in unique one-offs.

As for Etsy views and queues … when you have the magic touch and get orders for customized items, waiting times can lead to order cancellations. You convert, then lose that conversion. Usually forever. The biggest fear of any seller is to find Etsy sales down from previous months. Today, we’ll look at how to improve the broad gap between Etsy views and sales. Whether you craft personalized products or sell prefab ones, plenty of ways exist to narrow that gap!

What’s Your Etsy Conversion Rate?

Before we start, check out your current conversion rate via the Etsy dashboard. Click on Listings, open Listings Options, and then Listing Stats. Listing Stats gives essential data on your views, visits, orders, and revenue. With this data, you can work out your conversion rate using the following formula:

(Orders ÷ Visits) x 100 = Conversion Rate %

For example, your Etsy shop gets 2000 visits. And 20 visitors place an order. 

(20 ÷ 2000) x 100 = 1%

If you sell speedboats (highly unlikely on Etsy), that’s not too bad a result. But for low-priced items, you might find your overheads only allow for a tiny gain … or even a loss.

What’s The Average Etsy Conversion Rate?

The short answer? 1.9%. But answering this question the long way round is tough. So many variables affect this crucial data. When we look at 2021 eCommerce averages in general – not specifically Etsy – we see the following results (source: IRP Commerce):

  • Arts and Crafts: 3.49%
  • Health and Wellbeing: 3.24%
  • Pet Care: 2.57%
  • Fashion and Accessories: 1.90%
  • Home Décor: 1.35%
  • Toys, Games and Collectibles: 1.46%
  • Baby and Child: 0.89%

Nothing to get really excited about, right? These results give a clue about the first way to increase your Etsy conversion rate.

More Etsy Conversions: Branch Out!

By adding more products to your catalog, you automatically get more views. But we don’t only want views … we want conversions. And we don’t want generic eCommerce ideas about where to branch out. We need Etsy-specific ones. So what about using the A – Z, 1 – 11 technique?

Without logging in to Etsy (and using a VPN that sets your IP address to each country you sell to), type the letter ‘a’ into the search bar. Note down the first and eleventh word that appears in the drop-down menu. Carry this on through the alphabet. Our first and eleventh results for the first 10 letters?

  • Art/Anklet
  • Bridesmaids gifts/Bridal shower gift
  • Caftan/Crochet patterns
  • Dog tag/Digital
  • Easter/Encanto
  • Frame TV art/Fidget ring
  • Gifts/Gift box
  • Home décor/Headband
  • Initial necklace/incense
  • Jewelry/Jordan 1

These top Etsy keyword results are what buyers are looking for right now. You’ll notice a few popular themes: jewelry, home décor, trending movies, fashion items, and holidays. And that’s a pretty exact breakdown of the top products Etsy buyers want.

Why the 11th listing?

Well, Etsy only shows the first 11 results 😉 ! But there’s more to it. When you only ever cater to the top keyword, you ALWAYS face top competition. So many Etsy sellers focus on that first keyword. As a result, they suffer from lower conversion rates. Because they’re competing at the top level for every product. To succeed, you need to be an Etsy pro-athlete in EVERY discipline (or category).

Check your geolocated A to Z every fortnight or month and add a couple of extra items to your catalog. Or find a way to add them to existing product listings. Don’t forget to include the keyword and category in the product listing!

National or International Buyers for Better Etsy Conversions?

Etsy is making waves in India. But that’s not good news if you own an Etsy shop. Because it’s not Indian buyers that are joining the site in droves, it’s sellers. Many of these new sellers are getting top conversion rates from overseas. Because these sellers are offering something DIFFERENT. On Etsy, that’s a highly-prized feature for buyers. That uniqueness won’t last long, but right now, these sellers have an edge. To keep current conversion rates, they’ll have to travel very deep into marketing territory. And implement most of the tips in this article.

Primary buyer markets are:

  • The US
  • The UK
  • Canada
  • France
  • Australia
  • Norway
  • Hong Kong
  • Japan

Where you and your buyers are located makes a huge difference to Etsy views and sales figures. Many US sellers have watched European orders plunge recently. Why?

European VAT (Value Added Tax).

Forums mention how European buyers tend to return items when they have to cough up for an import premium in their home country. Forget about marking orders as ‘gifts’ to avoid that European VAT. It’s illegal. And it could get your shop closed down. 

Keeping up to date with new laws lets you tweak your international markets (and prices). Add an easy to explain paragraph in your (geolocated) product description that puts buyer minds at ease. And, of course, use the A – Z, 1 – 11 trick for the countries you CAN sell to (with a VPN).

Targeting Etsy Buyers

In principle, the better you target your views, the higher the sales conversion rate. Targeting is becoming easier thanks to an ever increasing list of Etsy subcategories. For example, in February 2022, Etsy subcategory ‘Cooking Utensils & Gadgets’ was split. It became a huge selection of new subcategories. These include:

  • Cookie cutters
  • Funnels
  • Graters
  • Kitchen Tongs
  • Ladles
  • Mashers & Pounders
  • Measuring Cups & Spoons
  • Mixer Attachments
  • Mixers & Whisks
  • Mixing Spoons
  • Muddlers (whatever they are!)
  • Paddles
  • Rolling Pins
  • Scoops
  • Spatulas
  • Strainers

But be warned! When Etsy adds new subcategories, it relocates existing product listings! ALWAYS check your listings’ categories whenever adjustments are made. It’s not unusual for Etsy to miscalculate the most appropriate heading. Categories and subcategories also count towards your ranking on Etsy SERPs. So it’s essential to get it right.

We’ve seen how important it is to get the right location. There’s another important tip if you sell overseas. Use MANUAL translations of keywords, titles, descriptions and shop info for non-English views (and conversions). Automated translations can miss crucial nuances.

By the way, translations won’t rank you as high as sellers offering the same products in the buyer’s own country. But they still substantially improve your Etsy visibility. Keyword targeting, again, increases the chances of conversion. And ALL targeting improves conversion rates.

Is Etsy Enough? What About Other Channels?

Attracting potential buyers through other channels provides a HUGE boost. An Etsy shop without a linked social media profile is a wasted opportunity. Your followers on social media have already proved they are interested in what you have to sell.

Especially when you sell higher end products, additional channels have the power to overcome pricing competition. YouTube how-to’s and in-depth specifications and comparisons on websites separate eCommerce professionals from amateurs. As an authority, you build that essential consumer trust relationship that creates loyalty. And continuous sales.

Would you buy a product for $180 from a seller that provides only a few short words of description? Or $200 to a seller who has taken the time to produce in-depth videos and specs? Images speak a thousand words. Videos speak about a million.

So add at least 1 social media channel to your Etsy strategy. And set up a website if you can.

Think Like Your Targeted Etsy Buyers

The best way to find the right marketing strategies for your Etsy shop is to think like a buyer. Let’s consider original artworks sold by the artist.

 

Paint incredible oil-on-canvas pictures, and your target buyer is likely to spend more and not balk over delivery costs. But this target expects certain privileges. In this example, higher-end buyers should enjoy options for commissioned work and guarantees against reproduction. Provide a certificate of authenticity – or a (registered) signature. This buyer wants to read about the artist’s experience and training in the product description. You’re not permitted to refer buyers to a website if this prevents an Etsy sale. But buyers of original artworks usually carry out a Google search of the artist’s name. This means an accompanying stunning, highly-visual artist website and portfolio is VITAL.

The next step is to expand this niche target group.

This seller would offer smaller canvas sizes and/or cheaper materials. Perhaps acrylics, or even pencil sketches. These cater to art lovers with smaller wallets. By selecting specific options, buyers can be offered the opportunity to waive certain rights (and lower the price). For example, permit the seller to use their commissioned painting to produce prints and save 30%. This strategy covers both sides of the mid-price buyer coin.

And how can this seller get more views and sales (and avoid Etsy customized order queues)?

Low-price wall art in the form of prints, greetings cards, fridge magnets, mugs, and even fabrics. Small-wallet buyers are fixated on value for money. They expect free shipping and lots of options, like different subjects, sizes and colors. One way to avoid time-consuming tasks is to set up downloadable options. There’s a thread that ties this example’s buyers together. The unique style of the artist. Even so, within that thread, products need to be marketed differently; most often, according to what buyers are willing to pay.

For items where ‘unique’ takes on a looser meaning, value for money ALWAYS takes priority. Like in the case of recently trending Etsy personalized dog tags.

Value for money DOESN’T mean cheap! At least it doesn’t for the majority of buyers. Value for money means an item will last or do the job it is supposed to do for a FAIR price. If dog tags are made of flimsy, easily misshaped material, they won’t win the seller many 5 star reviews. Because the value for money rule has been broken.

Up the price a little and provide sturdier materials, and this changes. It’s essential to list ALL specifications in the description. In this case, tag length, width and – very importantly in terms of product quality – thickness). Keep prices close to those of popular competitors, and the value for money criteria is met.

For low-cost items, free shipping is obligatory. Selling overseas is rarely worthwhile unless these are downloadable products. If you’re committed to selling low-cost items overseas, find a way to inject a uniqueness in the product that local sellers can’t reproduce. Color, shape, personalization, and value for money mean more low to mid-low priced sales. Because you’re targeting different wishes inside a larger target group.

So get into the head of your buyer. Then imagine this buyer has huge, average, and limited funds. That’s when you can go on to market your products right!

Get Etsy Marketing Right!

I could write pages about Etsy marketing and still only scratch the surface!

  • Where you rank on Etsy SERPs counts for product and shop visibility
  • What your listing looks like and says on the results page counts for visits
  • Visitors landing on your product description are conversion candidates
  • And your conversions count towards your Etsy SERP ranking

It’s a continuous circle you need to track and adjust regularly. For EVERY product. In fact, as you calculate your pricing overheads, don’t forget to add ‘time spent on marketing’ to those figures. Of course, you could ask Etsy Geeks to get the job done. We guarantee top visibility every time, so you can focus on conversions. Or we can help you get those conversions, too. So call an Etsy Geek today!

Guarantee Etsy Conversion Rate Success

Seller numbers are increasing at greater rates than Etsy buyers. Ready for a shock?

Between 2020 and 2021, buyer numbers increased from 81.8 million to 96.3 million. And sellers? They leapt from 4.3 million to 7.5 million. That means buyers have increased by 19%. But sellers by an incredible 80%!

So it’s no surprise most Etsy conversion rates simmer around the 0.5 – 2% point. Getting your Etsy shop conversion rate higher than 2% for every product requires commitment. And LOTS of research.

It’s the equivalent of treading a tightrope parcours strung between the monster skyscrapers of:

  • Product research
  • Etsy SEO
  • Imagery
  • Wordcraft
  • Target group insights
  • Additional channels optimization
  • Competitor research
  • Brand awareness
  • Reputation and feedback
  • Quality of service
  • Etsy updates and policy changes
  • The Etsy algorithm, and
  • Location

Phew! A huge list of overheads that seriously eat into your profits.

And while it’s tempting to up the prices to make up for all that extra time, this strategy doesn’t really work. Especially if you haven’t got a long, prosperous Etsy track record. After all, most Etsy buyers prioritize value for money, remember? Knowing more about how Etsy works is something every successful seller spends a lot of time researching.

Etsy Geek blogs are here to guide every seller to long-term Etsy conversions! I hope this one has given you plenty of ideas and insights.