3 Reasons Your Etsy Views are Low & How To Fix It

Here's what you're thinking: I have low views, nobody likes me. Everybody hates me. I'm just going to close my shop now.

Listen, I feel you. My poor body can't take low views/sales days anymore. It's just how I operate. I know there are lulls at certain times of the day or during certain times of the year, but I still freak out and get a little crazy when it happens. I immediately feel like something is wrong with my shop.

• Did I forget to pay my bill for 5 months? No, it's set up for automatic payment.
• Did I accidentally deactivate every single listing? Don't be stupid, Kelly.
• Is this an April Fool's joke, Etsy? It's July, Kelly! Get it together.

And then I have this back and forth conversation in my brain where I talk myself off the ledge, take a deep breath, and start panicking all over again. I run to the forums. I start googling "low views on etsy". And basically I need sleep. 

Photo Cred: www.heatherreneeweddings.com

Now, if you have consistent low views, there are a few reason this could be. We'll tackle the three of what I consider to be the most important.

1. Your photos are not the best.

Listen. If you are serious about being successful on Etsy or any platform, you're going to need to cozy up to a photographer or two and get some amazing product shots. If you think that's impossible, it's not. Many photographers will trade products for images and many more would love to have those shots for their portfolio. You just need to do a little research. Turn to social media including Facebook and Instagram to help in your journey. Once you've found a few whose work you love and think you'd be a good match for, you'll need to compose an email. Compliment their work. Show that you're genuine.If nobody is returning your emails, you might just need to change your wording! Be prepared for many not to respond!

Maybe you're serious enough to learn photography! I did that! I invested in a nicer camera, and I practice EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.  And I use my own images in most of my product shots!

Why will a good picture increase my views? (Stop for a moment. Pretend like you're me reading this to you. I have a Southern accent, but I'm being serious and stern when I talk to you. Now read this aloud in my serious, stern, and Southern accented voice. Continue.) Because your picture is your first impression. It is everything. If you were to type in your keywords for your listing, and it pops up in a sea of similar items, your photos need to be the best. Not almost the best. But the best. If your item doesn't stand out, change it. People's eyeballs are programmed to find the most appealing item or the item that stands out the most. Be that item!

So, either learn photography or find a kick ass photographer. It will be the best thing you can do for yourself. 

2. You don't have a lot of products in your shop.

This seems like common sense, but the more items you have in your shop, obviously the more opportunities for views. If you are a shop selling digital items, what are you waiting for? You should be creating 'til no end! Physical items can be more challenging and end up costing a little more (try selling items you can duplicate easy), so you may want to try taking photos yourself, so that you're not constantly paying or trading items to have someone else do it. Set aside a little time out of each day to practice taking great photos. You'll get better and better every time! Just keep adding products. 

3. Your SEO is lacking.

What even is this foreign term?! If you've never heard of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), you're in for a real treat. This specific post will not tackle everything there is to know about SEO. In a nutshell, on Etsy, this refers to the keywords you use in your title and the keywords in your listing for better optimization (being at the top) in the search engines! Girlfriend, I could write a book about SEO, and I don't even know all there is to know.

Here are a few tips to get you started with getting your listings to the top of the page!

• Separate your keywords in your title by a comma.
• You need to keep your keywords separate and commas will take up less space to allow for more potential keywords.
• Bouncing off that, Capitalize your words for aesthetics. Keep it as clean and consistent as possible. This does not help with SEO, rather it's more appealing to viewers.
• Use every single character you're allowed in your titles and all 13 keywords
• Every keyword is another potential customer finding your listing
• Use phrases vs single words 
• funny coffee mug vs funny, coffee, mug
• Get creative
• This can be hard. You may need to ask friends what words they would use to find an item of yours. Join facebook groups specific to Etsy or even forums and have strangers help you out. You can even use sites like EtsyRank to give you a better idea of good keywords.
• Do not use keywords that vary by an 's' 
• These are seen as the same and will not bump you higher in a search rank because you used the same word twice. A completely different keyword phrase will provide that opportunity for more views.
• Make your keywords from your title and listing match as much as possible.
• These need to be as consistent as possible. You may have longer phrases in your title, and I have found that dropping small words in a longer phrase is ok for keywords
• i.e. Title: Mother of the Bride Gift // Matching keyword: Mother of bride gift

You don't have to master these three areas to increase your views. As long as you're spending a little time each day tackling these issues, your views will inevitably grow! 

Here are my views from January 2016 and October 2016 for comparison. By doing these three things, my views increased dramatically (along with my sales!)

What other ways have you found to increase your views? Share with me in the comments!