Breaking News: Another Upgrade to the Etsy Search

Guest Blogger AmbientLights.etsy.com:

As per this previous blog article, we let you know about Etsy’s awesome new search functions. Etsy told us that there would be even more coming soon and some of it is here already!

Now, when you do a search from the regular search bar or in the Advanced Search, once you get your search results, underneath the price filter on the top left there is a drop down box that allows you to filter the results by “Ship to Country”.

Once you select the “Ship to Country” it will only show you the results for items that will ship to the selected country, and it will also include items with “Everywhere Else” shipping. You can change the country at any time or click the red “remove” under the selected country to show all item results again. The selected country will clear itself when you leave the Etsy site.

And there's more!! The much awaited, desired, asked for, sought after feature… Sort your search results by “Most Relevant”! (Are you doing the Happy Dance, too?!)

You can use the drop down box (“Sort By”) on the top right of your search results page to select “Most Relevant”, “Price High to Low”, “Low to High”, etc or use “Most Relevant” as a option in the Advanced Search. It's seems to save your chosen method of “Sort By” similarly to the “Ship to Country”. Unless you change it, your results for each search will be listed in your chosen method of sorting until you change it or leave the Etsy site.

In my opinion, “Most Relevant” returns more accurate results than the previous method of searching. I’ve played around a bit with it and now if you search for “Scrabble Tile Pendant” you don’t get the collage sheets for Scrabble tile pendants so much. So it works!!

Etsy says this is just the beginning! They will continue to fine tune both of these search functions as time goes on. One other thing you may be interested in knowing is that the “Most Relevant” search will be improved in the future by altering the listing process some, although there is currently no change to the listing process.

Both of their search functions have been long awaited by many Etsians and will most definitely be an invaluable tool to many buyers and artisans alike.

We'll be sure to keep you posted on new Etsy search functions and features as they roll them out. These are some exciting times in Etsy Land!

Official Etsy Article: Filter by Ship to Country

Official Etsy Article: Filter by Most Relevant (There's a few more juicy details there, be sure to check it out!)

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Thanks, Becki, for a great post!
~Vickie

New Search Features on Etsy

Guest Blogger AmbientLights.etsy.com:

Some updates to the Etsy search functions have been implemented!!

Etsy has simplified the basic search drop down menu. The menu now nicely and simply reads “Handmade, Vintage, Supplies, All Items” and “Sellers”. By default, when searching in any one of these (Handmade, Vintage, etc) it will use the criteria words you have typed and search the titles and tags of item listings.

To customize your search, you can click "Advanced Search" that is to the right of the basic search form. Again by default it will automatically select “Item Tags and Titles” but the Advanced Search gives you lots of options.

From top to bottom in Advanced Search:

➢ Type in your criteria words.

➢ Select “Handmade”, “Vintage”, “Supplies” or “All Items”.

➢ Select subcategories such as “Bags and Purses”, “Art", “Jewelry”, “Bath and Body”, etc.

➢ Select what you want to search within; “Tags”, “Titles”, “Descriptions” or “Materials”. You can select one, two, three or all four of these.

➢ Filter by price

➢ Select to sort your results by “Most Recently Listed”, “Least Recently Listed”, “Price High to Low” or “Price Low to High”

➢ Select to view results as “Gallery” or “List” mode

➢ Click Search!


Selecting different options and using different key words will yield different results. By doing a little tweaking to your search options you're sure to get the results that you're looking for!

Etsy plans to add a few more options in the future to the Advanced Search such as searching by Seller, Location, Most Relevant (default results will still be Most Recently Listed), as well as “more intuitive ways to refine your search.”

The search results page has also been redesigned. The Search Tools, Search Tips and Matching Sellers boxes have migrated from the right side of the page to the left (they say this is following a standard in use on many ecommerce websites and search engines). The Matching Sellers are the sellers that have items listed on the particular search results page that you are on. Etsy has added a price filter on all item search results pages and they (Etsy) say that additional filters will eventually be incorporated into this area on the left.

One more tidbit to add to the new features is that if your search yields no results (which I don't think happens too often as there are so many diverse wonderful items on Etsy), you will now be shown suggestions for searching and also see recently listed items on the site.

It is good that Etsy is listening to site users about the search functions. Many suggestions are finally coming to fruition. I’m excited to see the additional changes they will be making with the search function in the coming months.

Guest Blogger: Firebird House

Kristen, from Firebird House and Still Heart Studios on Etsy, lets us in on her secrets for a fantastic personal presence in your Etsy shop. Follow her on Twitter @stillheartart. This will be a weekly series!

That Personal Touch

Have you ever gone into a new shop and been greeted with a big smile, or a friendly comment about the color of your raincoat or the state of the crazy weather outside? It probably made you feel good to chat a little, and along the way you probably got a better feel for both the physical items in the store as well as the people who worked there.

Chances are good that you remembered the smile and the warmth the next time you went shopping and it might even have encouraged you to visit again.

In Gatlinburg last year, I went into a tiny import shop crammed full of wonderful and unusual things. The owner was there and she and I chatted about how she got into opening the store, and about the items, many of which had stories. I learned a lot of fascinating things that day, and left with gifts for family that had additional meaning thanks to the owner’s willingness to share her knowledge and enthusiasm for her treasures.

The bad news is that this human connection is missing when people shop online. The good news is that there are some great, easy ways to create that connection. Online shopping already has ease, speed and convenience built into it, and in an increasingly time-and- money-crunched marketplace, those are advantages you can build on by putting a little of yourself into your shop to draw in customers once, and encourage repeat business.

So, let’s start with the Etsy Basics…the Shop Announcement and Bio/Profile.

1. Shop Announcements –Think of your shop announcement as the virtual front door to your store. What kind of welcome would you like to give customers? What kind of feeling? Elegant? Heart Warming? Come Right In and Pull Up a Chair? Or more of an exclusive, make an appointment and we’ll pamper you to death kind of atmosphere? Here is where you start creating that, in the shop announcement.

Use words that are descriptive and appeal to the senses. As an example, if you are selling candles, you might talk about warmth, romance, wonderful aromas, and creating a sanctuary. If you are selling vintage items, you might talk about how much you love the feel of a satin pillowcase, or a beautiful piece of china, or about the history and connections in your items. Put your passion into your announcement. How did you get into making/creating/selling this product? Why do you want to share it with others? What do you love about it? You don’t have to say a lot, but enthusiasm is catching and draws people in, and that is what you want to capture in your shop announcement.

2. Bio/Profile – This can be as long or as short as you like, but a few things should be included. Your name, at least your first, and your location. People like to know where and who they are dealing with - it’s that human connection again. Things that are personal to you, such as children, lifestyle, pets, hobbies, are all things which impact a bio and provide a clearer picture of you the person, and by extension, your items. For example, if a person has 3 children and sews handcrafted children’s clothing, its likely that she also has a good idea what kinds of things are important to both mom AND child (i.e. washing ability, style, fit, etc). This builds confidence in the buyer. When there is not a lot of money to spend, this can be invaluable. Ask yourself what kinds of things you would like to know about someone, then come up with ways you can tell customers the same things about yourself.

3. General – if your craft or art has a history (i.e. pine needle basket weaving, silk painting, beading, glass blowing, pottery, etc) as so many do, be sure to include a little bit about the history and techniques. If you’re not sure, now might be a good time to do a little research and use what you learn to help people connect with you and your work.

So, now I want you to head over to your shop and take a virtual “visit” as if you were a stranger, just seeing your work for the first time. What do you notice? Notice what’s good, and what you think isn’t really having the effect you intended. Have a friend or teammate take a look as well, and compare notes. Do some window shopping on Etsy and see what you like and don’t like about shop announcements and profiles, then add (or subtract) from yours to get the look you want. When you are finished, have your friends pay a second virtual visit and see what they think.

If you run into something you are not sure what to do with, or have questions, leave a comment or post to the group, and we can help!

See You Next Week….

Kristen