Etsy Vacation mode explained

If you are thinking of taking a little break, Here is what you should consider before putting your Etsy shop on Vacation Mode.

Hey friend! We all need a little break sometimes, right? Especially around the holidays or when the sun is hot and we want to be out living our best lives. BUT.. have you considered what could happen after you get back from putting your Etsy shop on vacation mode? Let me give you a quick little breakdown to help you make the best choice for you and your Etsy business. 

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive a small commission if qualifying purchases are made, at no extra cost to you.

What happens when you put your Etsy shop on Vacation Mode?

Your products will no longer appear in Etsy search.

While your shop is on vacation mode, you won’t be showing up in Etsy auto-suggestion. The only way someone can find you is if they search your shop by name. Safe to say, no new shoppers will be coming across your shop while you’re away. Many shoppers also favourite listings while they are browsing, then come back later when they are ready to shop. So not only are they not buying from you now, but you could also be losing out on future sales too.

Etsy isn’t collecting data on how customers are searching and interacting with your listings. 

If your listings are no longer coming up in search, Etsy algorithms won’t be collecting info on your listings. (which is basically how the entire platform works!) All the hard work you’ve put in towards ranking on Etsy will quickly be slipping away. Etsy vacation mode will affect your ranking without a doubt. If you aren’t showing up and ranking in search during this time, other shops will be taking your place. No algorithm spot saving here. If you want to know more about ranking on Etsy, check out my post Etsy SEO for beginners where I break down all the factors that go into ranking on Etsy!

Many shops struggle to re-grain their momentum 

Since the algorithms won’t be holding your spot waiting for you to be back, It could take 4 days, 4 weeks or 4 months to regain your traction & placement on Etsy. Nothing is certain. Some people have said the longer you are away the longer this can take. If you’re only gone for a few days you could get lucky and bounce right back. But you also could not. Other shops have reported that a few weeks to over 30 days can be like starting from ground zero. I’m sure you remember when you first launched.. nobody likes crickets! 

Etsy might not come right out and say that putting your shop on vacation mode will negatively impact your shop, but there are definitely a few things to consider before you hit vacation mode ON. 

The truth is that we all eventually need a break. Your Etsy shop should never get in the way if you have more pressing matters, whatever they are for you.

If you really just hadn’t given much thought to the outcome, and you are a little worried about losing sales on Etsy and your placement on the platform, consider doing this instead.

alternatives to going on vacation mode on etsy

Extend your processing & shipment times

This is the best option to avoid vacation mode. This way your customers won’t be expecting something to be shipped out while you are away. 

Mark some listings as Inactive

If you have certain items that take longer to process, consider removing those items for the time being. This way it isn’t your entire shop that won’t be seen. Your presence will still exist on the platform. 

Message your customers

If you have extended your processing times, it would be a good idea to follow up (if you are able) to confirm your extended time. This is also good to do if you have repeat customers that might be used to faster turnaround times.

Update your shop announcement section

Note you are away/have extended processing times in your shop.  Put this up as soon as you know you will be away. You can also add a note to be sent automaically after purchase including this information. Not everyone will read your shop sections or listing details so it’s best to take action everywhere you can. 

Share on Socials & Emails

If you are on Instagram, Facebook, etc., you can post about your shop’s processing times if it makes sense for your following there.  If you have an email list for your Etsy shop you could also send a brief email for potential shoppers to keep them in the loop.

If it’s only a few days, consider turning on an Etsy auto-reply.

This works better for digital sellers, I do this often if I will be away even for one day because I do not want my response rate to drop. However, it may be good to auto-reply that you are away, for how long, and when you’ll be back regardless of what you sell because there are shoppers who do reach out prior to shopping and this will take care of those situations.

If you were going to go on Etsy vacation mode just to regroup and lounge around the house for a few days (which we all need sometimes), then I would definitely consider trying to use some of the above methods while also spending some time each day to message your customers. 

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Sometimes we won’t be able to keep in contact with our shoppers and do need to be away from our Etsy shops. and that's okay.

here’s a quick list of a few things to do when you get back to help you get things moving again.

Renew some listings. Give them that momentary boost that Etsy gives a little extra love to.

Add new listings. Again, get that boost in the Etsy algorithms. This will also send shoppers a notification who have your shop in their favourites, reminding them you are back and to come check out what’s new. 

Try new tags. Duplicate some listings that aren’t doing so well, and try adding some new tags and titles to them. (Remember to never just go in and change tags, always make a duplicate!) 

Run a sale. This isn’t always the best solution if you sell physical products because you don’t want to sell yourself short. The sale isn’t worth it if you are working for free, so use your best judgement. If you have repeat customers, an email list, or a loyal following on a social platform, you could offer a coupon code just to those people. It doesn’t have to be for everyone that lands on your shop. 

Remember it isn’t the end of the world. If you had to take a break from Etsy, you had to take a break. Things will pick up again!

Need some help with your etsy seo?

You can grab my Etsy SEO cheat sheets from the free library that are perfect for beginners, or anyone that needs a little help with setting their Etsy shop up for success.

Have been feeling tied down to your Etsy shop? Selling digital designs or other digital products should definitely be something you consider starting in the new year! It makes situations like this a lot more flexible. Having a digital business can allow you to deactivate the physical products (you might still want to sell), while still having income rolling in without the worry of being away and catching up😉 If you want to learn more about running a digital business, join me here!

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Have you played around in Canva yet?

I use Canva Pro for just about everything in my small business. 

From social media posts, Etsy shop banners and graphics, blog posts and more.

Want to give the pro version it a try?

Start your free 30 day trial here! 

ETSY SEO FOR BEGINNERS - BREAKING DOWN HOW TO RANK ON ETSY

Hey Creative, you must be ready to get serious with your Etsy SEO. I’m glad you’re here because I’m about to break down Etsy SEO for beginners in a way that’s easy to understand so you can start ranking on Etsy. It’s time to increase your traffic, start ranking on Etsy and start hearing that lovely little Etsy “Cha-ching”.

This is a long one, but it’s jam-packed with what you need to know!

If you are serious about your shop, you need a good understanding of Etsy SEO, trust me when I say it makes ALL the difference in your sales game!

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive a small commission if qualifying purchases are made, at no extra cost to you.

Here are my proven Etsy SEO tips and tricks that will help you get noticed on Etsy and increase your shop sales!

Etsy SEO for beginners, where do I start?

What does Etsy SEO mean and why is it so important?

SEO – Search Engine Optimization – Simply put, it is the optimizing of your shop, listings, website etc. that makes you rank higher in search engine results. When done right, this process can greatly improve the visibility of your shop listings coming up in search engine results.

Etsy SEO Is how the Etsy platform knows what shoppers are looking for when they are searching keywords and sentences in the search bar.

As the seller, it’s a way of writing about your product so that it will get the attention from the search engine and ideally put you in front of your soon-to-be buyer. (That’s where Etsy SEO for beginners is really going to help you shine!)

When done right, proper Etsy SEO will help your shop pop up on the first few pages of the Etsy platform. Proper SEO will go beyond the Etsy platform and also cause your shop to generate in search results on sites like Google.

You can dive deep into learning all about Etsy SEO, really deep. But honestly, as a beginner, it just doesn’t have to be that complicated. Yes, SEO plays a major role in online business, but you don’t want to get stuck in an SEO research spiral, overwhelm yourself, and avoid it altogether.

I WAS just LIKE YOU

I wanted to make money on Etsy, actual money. I didn’t have a former marketing or SEO background, and I wondered if it was even possible. Was I just too late to the game? (Spoiler alert, I wasn’t too late and that’s why I’m able to share what really works with you now!)

WHAT PROPER ETSY SEO DID FOR MY SHOP 

  • Drove lot’s of traffic right from within Etsy
  • Shows my listings (multiple) on the first pages of Etsy search for my focus keywords
  • Appear in google search
  • Made sales within a week of opening my shop
  • Make multiple sales a day (consistently)
  • Made 1000 sales in just over 4 months
  • Made over 5000 sales in my first year
  • Multiple best sellers
  • Steadily increased views, visits, and sales
  • Generating over $3000 in a 30 day period at the one year open mark
ETSY STATS RANKING FOR SEO

WHY “WINGING IT” WON’T HELP YOU RANK ON ETSY

With a better understanding that you need to use SEO so that Etsy can put your listings in front of the people who are looking for what you offer.. let’s quickly go over why it’s important that you don’t just “wing it” when it comes to choosing keywords.

There are over 80 million buyers on Etsy.

In the first quarter of 2021, there were over 4.6 million sellers on Etsy. That’s a big number. I’m not trying to scare you. It’s just to let you know that ya, there are a lot of people selling on Etsy so you need to take things seriously if you want to be seen. Writing a listing description and filling out your tags and title without doing any research, is going to leave you with the sounds of crickets, and not happy little cha-chings.

The good news is, there are a lot of people on the platform that treat their shop as a hobby and lots of sellers don’t take the time to figure out the importance of Etsy SEO. You’re already ahead of many just for taking the time to read this and show initiative.

I’ve put as much time into being found on Etsy as working on my products themselves. But because of that, I know it’s possible to be a new shop and get found. That’s why I can speak to the importance of Etsy SEO for beginners.

how do I start ranking on Etsy?

The whole purpose of the Etsy platform is to match buyers with the right sellers to make it a good customer experience so they return to Etsy time and time again. Like any business, right? Etsy SEO isn’t designed to be a big tricky secret. They want happy shoppers which takes educated sellers and they are pretty good at sharing how their algorithms and SEO works in addition to lots of other helpful information that they shares with us.

PART ONE IS QUERY MATCHING

Shoppers search and Etsy pairs. Query matching is based on specific factors in your listing that then boost your ranking towards a shoppers search query. SEO doing its job.

PART TWO IS RANKING

This is where everything you have added to your listing comes together in hopes to make your listing one that Etsy suggests to the buyer. Behind the scenes, Etsy gathers all the listings that match the shopper’s query, views the information they have about each listing and shop and then ranks them for the best fit. Which lets them be able to show the shopper the listings they think they are most likely to purchase.

WHAT ARE ETSY RANKING FACTORS?

Relevancy – Comes from your tags, titles, categories, and attributes matching up throughout your listing and to the shopper’s query. If your keywords are an exact match, then chances are you will rank higher and have the potential to show up in the search results. This is why you need to do your research to see what shoppers are actually searching, not just assume they have the same thoughts as you.

New Listings – Every time you publish a new listing, it gets a small temporary boost in the Etsy search results to help the platform gather its data. To see how buyers are interacting, and develop the listings quality score. This boost can be a few hours to a few days. It’s not really something that helps us have a good idea of how the listing is performing in such a short period of time.

Listing Quality Score – Etsy wants to show a buyer something that they think is right for them so they buy it and Etsy gets the overall sale. Etsy is a massive database that is constantly taking clues from how other shoppers interact with your listings. They know how many people are landing on your listing and how many are making a purchase. This is your conversion rate. These actions will determine if they think buyers are actually interested in your listing. If they are interested, this info will boost that listings place in the search results and the overall quality score. This is why you don’t want to use irrelevant or really broad keywords because it can do you more harm than good to your listing.

Shipping Costs $ – It’s all about FREE shipping. This was introduced in the last few years but any physical seller can do it. Shoppers love the term FREE and Etsy is going to boost those listings with free shipping and put them ahead of those without. If your item is $30.00 and $15 to ship, change your price to $45 and offer free shipping.

Customer Experience – Etsy is a buyers market. They want the customer to have a great experience and they reward the shops that take the time to align with this experience. Getting good reviews is a HUGE deal on Etsy. Positive reviews are also going to help get you another boost in the ranking. It is also crucial to fill out your shop policies, your FAQ section, and the about me section. The more pride you take in your shop is not only just helpful for the customers but also to show Etsy you’re trying to make your shop a good experience. Which can also have a positive impact on your ranking. You want to respond to customer inquiries in 24-48 hours. The sooner the better.

TIP: Make sure you have the sell on Etsy app on your phone and your notifications turned on. If they send a message to multiple shops, chances are they aren’t going to wait around to get all the answers before making their decision.

This Etsy SEO for beginners outline was written to give you a clear picture of how it all comes together. You see how SEO plays such a big role, so let’s talk about implementing it.


WHERE TO FOCUS

Titles – Most important place to add Long-tail keywords, focus keywords, additional keywords

Attributes – Colour, Occasion, Holiday, etc.

Categories – Kind of like tags, help optimize for SEO

Tags – Research, Use all 13, Crucial for SEO and should pair with your title

Shop Sections – Don’t do  T I T L E S  L I K E  T H I S your wasting SEO space, be strategic

Description – *Updated May 17, 2022* In the past, Etsy has mentioned that the product description section does not factor into ranking in search results. If this seems to ring a bell, this USED to be true. It has always been a good idea to use your focus keywords in your descriptions regardless though because it is something search engines like Google pay attention to.. so you might already be in luck. As of May 2022, Etsy has now confirmed they will be scanning listing descriptions as a part of the ranking process. I strongly suggest making sure that the first 155 characters of your description contain the most important keywords that you are trying to rank for. Then, sprinkle some additional tags throughout the remainder of your write up. Form good sentences here because this is a major opportunity to sell the shopper on your listing and turn them into your customer. You don’t want to keyword stuff and sound like a robot or have them wondering additional questions. 

Are you still with me? Great! I’m so excited that you want to learn more and get serious about your business.

KEYWORDS are the foundation of your entire shop and being found by shoppers that are going to convert into sales. Make sure to read Etsy Keywords Explained for ultimate exposure so you can optimize your entire Etsy shop and start getting excited about driving more traffic.

JOIN THE CLUB & GRAB THESE DETAILED CHECKLISTS FROM THE FREE RESOURCE LIBARY

*Always MAKE A COPY of your listings before you start changing anything. Some listings might be working and you don’t want to destroy that. Focus on ones that haven’t had any traction at all, or just make a copy, edit it, then monitor the changes in traffic.

I hope this got you thinking of some areas you could work on within your shop, or that maybe you’ve neglected altogether. If you learnt anything new I’d love to know down below.

Good luck!