SEO for Your Etsy shop or Web site for Google, Yahoo, MSN Searches

Most searches on the Internet begin with keywords or search terms. Many of these are used over and over again. For example, when someone is looking for handmade jewelry, all or part of the search term is usually "handmade jewelry."

When you look at my shop, seowebdesign.etsy.com , you will see the following words just below my shop banner: "SEO Web Design Custom Web Designs Web Design Templates." This describes what I am selling in my Etsy shop.

You can test this by searching on these words, "SEO Web Design Custom Web Designs Web Design Templates" in Google (or Yahoo or MSN). On Google, you will see this exact phrase with a link to my shop at the top of page 2 of the search results.

No one is likely to search on all of those words at the same time - the keywords I have many competing web sites using those same keywords and I have more optimizing to do to get to the top of the search results just for the keywords, "seo web design."

If your shop has your shop name or something cute in the title, then you are missing on an opportunity to get visitors who are looking for what you are selling if you do not use keywords in your Etsy shop title that can be used on Google to search for what you are selling.

The title that you use is placed into the title of your Web page - something you cannot see unless you look at the progam code.

Search engines such as Google and Yahoo read the Web page title to see what your Web page is about and then add your Web page to all the Web sites that use to those same keywords.

This is also true of your section names in your Etsy shop. Click on any section in your own shop and look at how the title changes to whatever words you are using in your section names. This title that you see is also placed into the Web page title (that you do not see) and this is where the search engines like Google and Yahoo look to see what each section of your Etsy shop is about.

How do you know what to use in your shop titles or section names? Use a keyword research tool such as the really good free tool supplied by Google and find keywords that are relevant to the products you are selling. Google's keyword research tool will tell you how much Internat traffic was looking for each keyword phrase in the past 30 days.

Googles Keyword Tool can be found here: https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal

Find keyword phrases that are very relevant to your products or services. Do no use single words like "jewelry." Words like this are so competitive on the Internet that your shop would disappear somewhere on page 500 for that word and no-one would ever find it on Google or Yahoo.

If you choose keywords that are very competitive, be prepared to use more SEO work to bring your shop or Web site up in the rankings.

Try these changes and test them with a search on Google in about 5 -7 days - you will find your shop somewhere on the search results. The less competition there is for your keywords, the higher up you will be on the search results.

I wrote this as a forum thread on Etsy in early December, 2009: http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6370763


Mary
Small Business Web Design and SEO
Affordable SEO Web Design Packages

Free Book -The BuyerSphere Project: How Business Buys from Business

It is not enough to put up a Web site and expect it to become a success without some idea of how to make it a success. I like research reports of any kind but especially those that teach me more about buyers behavior on the Internet. Everyone who has a Web site, especially one that has been created by the Web site owner, would be wise to learn as much as possible about all aspects of creating a successful Web site.

Normally $29.00, the PDF version of the book, BuyerSphere Project is available for a free download from Enquiro, the researchers and writers. The print version of BuyerSphere Project is currently available at Amazon.com for about the same price.

I have downloaded my copy and plan to curl up with this ebook tonight.

Mary
Small Business Web Design and SEO
Affordable SEO Web Design Packages