Free Etsy Keyword Tool
Free toolWhich keyword do you want to check?
See how often a keyword is searched on Etsy, how much competition it has, which way it is trending and similar keywords to try. 3 free searches a day, no account.
What Etsy keyword research is
Etsy keyword research means finding the words buyers actually type into Etsy search, then using those words in your listings. Etsy matches a search to listings mostly through titles, tags, categories and attributes. If your listing uses the words buyers use, it can show up. If it uses words only you use, it usually won't.
A good keyword has three things: enough searches to be worth it, competition you can handle, and a close match to what you sell. The tool above gives you the first two as numbers. The third is your judgment.
How to read the numbers
Etsy searches a month is Alura's estimate of how often the exact phrase is searched on Etsy, averaged over the last 12 months. It counts searches, not sales or visits. A keyword with 500 searches a month that fits your product closely can beat one with 50,000 that only half fits.
Google searches a month is a separate audience. People on Google are often earlier in their search, so a keyword can be big on Google and small on Etsy. For Etsy listings, weigh the Etsy number first.
Competition tells you how crowded the keyword is, from very low to very high, with the number of Etsy listings competing for it. Read it next to the searches:
| Searches | Competition | What it usually means |
|---|---|---|
| High | Low | A gap worth testing first |
| High | High | Big demand, hard to rank for. Go more specific |
| Low | Low | A small niche. Good as a supporting tag |
| Low | High | Usually skip it |
Trend compares the last 3 months with the 3 before, and with the same time last year. A rising keyword is gaining buyers. A falling one may be seasonal: check the year-over-year number before you drop a keyword that dips every January.
When a number says No data, Alura doesn't know it yet. Treat it as unknown, not as zero.
How to do Etsy keyword research, step by step
- Start with how a buyer would describe your product. Write down 5 to 10 plain phrases: what it is, who it is for, the occasion, the style, the material. Skip your brand words and internal names.
- Look up your main phrase. Check the searches, competition and trend above.
- Use the similar keywords. They show other ways buyers search for the same thing. Longer phrases like personalized coffee mug for dad often have fewer searches but much less competition, and the buyers using them know what they want.
- Pick a mix. One or two broader keywords that describe the product, plus several specific ones you have a real chance to rank for.
- Check them against Etsy itself. Type each keyword into Etsy search and look at the results. If they don't look like your product, the keyword is not for you, whatever the numbers say.
- Revisit every few months. Searches move with seasons and trends. Update listings before a busy season, not during it.
Where to put your keywords
- Title. Up to 140 characters. Put the clearest description of the product first, in words a buyer would use. Keep it readable: a title stuffed with repeated phrases puts buyers off.
- Tags. You get 13, each up to 20 characters. Use all of them, use multi-word phrases, and use them for the variations your title doesn't cover.
- Attributes and category. Color, material, occasion and the rest also help Etsy match your listing to searches, so fill in every one that applies.
- Description. Write it for the buyer. Mention the main keyword naturally in the first sentence or two, since that part can show up in Google results.
Keywords get you seen. Photos, price, reviews and shipping decide whether people click and buy, and Etsy also weighs listing quality and customer experience when it ranks results.
