Two sellers list the same type of product — say, a hand-poured soy candle in a ceramic vessel. Seller A gets 3 views a day. Seller B gets 80. Their prices are similar. Their tags are comparable. The difference, when you actually look, is staring you in the face: Seller B's listing is just better. Better first photo. More thorough description. Every attribute filled out. A video that shows the candle flickering.
Listing optimization is one of those subjects where everyone nods along — "yeah, I know, good photos matter" — and then posts a slightly blurry shot taken on a kitchen counter with a cereal box in the background. The gap between knowing and doing is wide, and it's where a lot of potential sales go to die.
This guide is the doing part. Specific, practical, no fluff.
Photos: Your Listing Lives or Dies Here
Etsy gives you 10 photo slots per listing plus a video slot. Most sellers use 4-5 photos and skip the video. That's leaving half your real estate empty in the most competitive marketplace for handmade and vintage goods.
Your first photo is everything. In search results, it's the only thing a buyer sees before deciding whether to click. A scroll through Etsy search on mobile takes about 1.5 seconds per listing. Your thumbnail either stops that thumb or it doesn't.
The 10-Photo Strategy
Not every listing needs all 10, but most benefit from at least 7. Here's a framework:
- Photo 1: The hero shot. Clean background, good lighting, product clearly visible. This is your search thumbnail — make it count.
- Photo 2: Lifestyle/context shot. Product in use or in its intended setting. A mug on a desk with a book. A necklace on a model. This helps buyers imagine owning it.
- Photos 3-4: Detail shots. Close-ups of texture, hardware, labels, stitching. Whatever makes your product special should be visible up close.
- Photo 5: Scale reference. Product next to a common object (hand, ruler, coin) or with dimensions overlaid. Size is the #1 source of returns and bad reviews.
- Photos 6-7: Variation/color options. Show all available variants even if they're separate listings. Buyers want to see the full range.
- Photo 8: Packaging shot (if your packaging is part of the experience). Especially relevant for gifts.
- Photos 9-10: Informational graphics. Size charts, care instructions, what's included, or comparison charts. These reduce questions and returns.
Shrink your first photo to the size of a postage stamp. Can you still tell what the product is? If not, it won't work as a search thumbnail. Clean backgrounds, tight cropping, and strong contrast matter more at thumbnail size than any fancy styling.
Technical Requirements
Etsy recommends images at least 2000 pixels on the shortest side. The aspect ratio is 4:3 for optimal display. JPG or PNG format. File sizes under 20MB.
You do not need professional equipment. A recent smartphone with natural window light and a clean background produces better results than a DSLR with bad lighting. Light is what makes or breaks product photos. Not the camera.
Consistency across your shop matters too. If every listing uses a slightly different background, angle, and lighting style, your shop page looks chaotic. Pick a look and stick with it. White background, natural wood surface, colored backdrop — whatever fits your brand. Just be consistent.
The Video Slot
Etsy allows one video per listing, 5-15 seconds, silent (no audio playback), up to 100MB. These auto-play on mobile, which means your listing literally moves while everything else sits static. It's an unfair advantage that most sellers ignore.
Keep the video simple. Slow rotation of the product. Hands holding the item to show scale. The product in use (a candle being lit, a bag being opened, a piece of jewelry catching light). 10 seconds of thoughtful video beats 10 photos for showing texture, movement, and quality.
Since nearly half of Etsy's sales happen through mobile, and video listings get priority in mobile search feeds, adding a video is one of the highest-ROI optimizations available. Record one on your phone. It takes two minutes.
Descriptions That Convert
Etsy's algorithm now reads your descriptions for keyword relevance, but mostly just the first few sentences. Beyond SEO, your description serves one purpose: answer every question a buyer might have so they feel confident clicking "Add to Cart" instead of messaging you or, worse, bouncing to another shop.
The First 160 Characters
Etsy shows the first 160 characters of your description on listing cards in some views and in Google previews. This is your elevator pitch. Lead with what the product IS and why it matters.
Compare these two openings:
- Weak: "Welcome to my shop! Thank you for stopping by. I'm so excited to share this beautiful handmade item with you..."
- Strong: "Hand-thrown stoneware mug in speckled sage, 12oz capacity. Microwave and dishwasher safe. Made to order in 3-5 business days."
The first one wastes 160 characters saying nothing. The second one tells the buyer everything they need in one breath. Save the personality for your shop bio. Descriptions are for information.
What to Include (In This Order)
- What it is and what makes it special (2-3 sentences)
- Exact dimensions and weight
- Materials used
- Color notes (mention if colors may vary due to screen differences)
- Care instructions
- What's included in the order (and what's NOT included)
- Customization options and how to request them
- Processing time and shipping details
- Return/exchange policy summary
People don't read descriptions top to bottom. They scan. Use line breaks, short paragraphs, and clear section labels. A wall of text gets scrolled past. Structured information gets read.
Keywords in Descriptions
Since 2022, Etsy factors description keywords into search relevancy. This doesn't mean stuffing your description with keywords like it's 2010. It means naturally incorporating relevant terms in the first few sentences.
Write for humans first, algorithm second. A description that reads naturally and includes phrases like "sterling silver hoop earrings" or "organic cotton baby romper" serves both purposes. A description that reads like "silver earrings hoop earrings sterling silver women earrings" serves neither.
Attributes: Free SEO You're Probably Ignoring
When you create a listing, Etsy offers category-specific attributes: color, material, size, occasion, style, and more. Many sellers skip the ones that aren't marked as required. This is a mistake.
Each attribute functions like an invisible extra tag. When a buyer applies a search filter — say, filtering mugs by color "green" — only listings with that attribute set to green appear. If you didn't fill out the color attribute, you're excluded from filtered results entirely. Gone.
Fill Out Everything
Every attribute Etsy offers for your category should be completed. Not just the required ones. All of them. This includes:
- Primary and secondary colors
- Material (be specific: "sterling silver" not just "metal")
- Dimensions and weight where available
- Occasion (gift-ready items should list relevant occasions)
- Style descriptors (minimalist, bohemian, vintage, etc.)
- Holiday if applicable
- Recipient (for gifts: "for her," "for kids," etc.)
Think of attributes as free bonus keywords that you don't have to waste a tag slot on. The "occasion: housewarming" attribute does the same work as a tag without using one of your 13 slots.
Category Precision
Etsy's category system goes several levels deep. "Jewelry" is a category. "Jewelry > Necklaces > Pendants > Gemstone Pendants" is the right category. The deeper you go, the more specific attributes become available, and the better Etsy understands what you sell.
The most common mistake: choosing a broad top-level category because it seems to have "more traffic." That traffic is also more competitive. A hyper-specific subcategory puts you in front of buyers who are looking for exactly your type of product.
Image Alt Text: The 30-Second Optimization Most Sellers Skip
Every listing image has an alt text field. This serves two purposes: accessibility (screen readers use it to describe images to visually impaired shoppers) and SEO (Google uses it to understand what's in the image for Google Shopping and image search results).
Write descriptive, natural alt text for at least your first 3-4 images. Not keyword-stuffed garbage. Genuine descriptions.
- Good: "Hand-thrown ceramic mug in sage green speckled glaze, 12oz, sitting on a wooden table next to an open book"
- Bad: "mug ceramic mug green mug handmade mug pottery mug coffee mug tea mug"
- Good: "Close-up of hammered sterling silver pendant showing texture detail against white background"
- Bad: "silver pendant necklace sterling silver jewelry pendant necklace"
This takes about 30 seconds per image. It helps visually impaired buyers shop your listings. It helps Google surface your products in image search. It's one of the easiest, lowest-effort optimizations that almost nobody does.
The Listing Quality Feedback Loop
All of this — photos, descriptions, attributes, alt text — feeds into what Etsy calls your listing quality score. This isn't a number you can see directly, but it determines where your listing ranks among all the others that matched a search query.
Better photos lead to higher click-through rates. Better descriptions lead to longer dwell time. Complete attributes mean you appear in more filtered searches. All of these increase your listing's performance signals, which tell Etsy to show you to more people, which creates more sales, which further boosts your signals. The flywheel spins.
The reverse is also true. Low-quality photos mean fewer clicks. Bad descriptions mean quick bounces. Missing attributes mean missing filtered searches. The flywheel stalls.
Where to Start
Don't try to overhaul your entire shop in a weekend. Pick your 5 best-selling listings. Reshoot the photos. Rewrite the descriptions with the structure above. Fill out every attribute. Add alt text. Add a video if you can.
Track the results over 2-3 weeks. Compare views, favorites, and conversion rate before and after. When you see improvement — and you will — apply the same treatment to the next batch. Ten listings at a time. Steady progress over perfectionism.
The sellers who thrive on Etsy aren't necessarily the most talented makers. They're the ones who present their work in a way that respects both the buyer's time and the platform's rules. Optimization isn't a creative compromise. It's how your work finds its audience.