Etsy Product Titles
Etsy titles serve so many purposes. They are absolutely vital to Etsy SEO, they tell the buyer what it is they are looking at and they are a buyer’s first look at your writing. First impressions are important so crafting the perfect Etsy title should be a priority for your Etsy shop.
Trying to create a title that fits the bill for all of these purposes can be really daunting. There’s a fine line between pleasing the search engine and your buyers. When I first started my Etsy store in April of 2016 my titles were so short and just horrible. I had no clue what I was doing and didn’t get many sales. Updating my titles (as well as tags) has been one of the most helpful things I’ve done to get the sales I needed to quit my corporate job and focus on my handmade shop full time.
Tip # 1: Use a variety of keyword phrases in your title
Etsy allows up to 140 characters for your title. As I mentioned in my Etsy SEO post you want to a variety of keyword phrases in your title. Etsy says that shorter titles convert into sales better because they are easier for the buyer to read and understand. But it’s still really valuable space because Etsy uses the title space along with the tags to determine which keywords you’ll appear for when a buyer searches on Etsy.
Keeping those two things in mind I recommend creating a title that is between 75 and 120 characters long. This gives you plenty of room to add in quite a few keyword phrases but ensures the title isn’t so long that it’s tough for buyers to read.
Tip # 2: Use keyword phrases and separate them for readability
Etsy SEO relies on your title to determine which keyword phrases you should rank for. This means you want to fill your title with as many keywords as possible. You want to make sure they are readable, though.
One way to do this is to separate keyword phrases with commas, dashes, slashes or the pipe symbol. I personally prefer dashes with a space before and after the dash. Here is an example of a title for a wood sign that says Uncork & Unwind:
Wine Wood Sign – Uncork and Unwind Wine Gift – Rustic Kitchen Decor – Bar Sign
Tip # 3: Use title case in your title for a professional look
I’ve seen a lot of Etsy titles written in all caps or all lowercase letters. You definitely can do that if you want but I don’t recommend it. Your titles won’t look as professional.
So instead, I recommend using title case. This means only using capital letters for the principal words. Articles, conjunctions, and prepositions do not get capital letters unless they start the title.
Tip # 4: Put the most relevant keyword phrase at the front of the title
When your listings are viewed from the search results only the first 20-40 characters will appear. The rest of the title will be truncated and will only be visible if the buyer clicks on your listing.
For this reason, the first few words need to be the most relevant words that accurately tell the buyer what it is they’re looking at. This will help the buyer know they’ve found what they’re looking for.
Takeaways for Etsy Titles:
- Use about 75-120 characters of your title and make sure it’s clear and easy to read
- Separate your keyword phrases for readability. I recommend commas or dashes.
- Use title case for a professional look
- Put the phrase that best describes your product at the front of the title
P.S. – I know all of this can seem overwhelming and overly complicated. Take it one step at a time and just work on a few listings per day. Also, check out this post where I explain why Etsy SEO is so complicated and the factors that impact the search ranking.
Ready to take your Etsy SEO to the next level?