Today, we rolled out some small improvements to the search experience on Etsy. In addition to explaining these improvements, we want to share with you more about our approach to improving Etsy’s search function. Improving search on Etsy is an ongoing, collaborative effort involving the entire Etsy community.

First, what’s launching today?

• Search dropdown menu choice has been made persistent. Previously, when performing a search under Vintage for example, the search dropdown menu would switch back to Handmade after clicking to view an item in the search results. Your dropdown menu choice is now persistent when searching under Handmade, Vintage, Supplies or All Items—until you change it. We’ve also made it easier to return to your search results from an item listing page—just look for the “Search Results” link in the breadcrumb navigation below the Etsy logo.
• Search result sort order has been made persistent. Similarly, if you like to sort search results by price for example, Etsy will remember your preference and allow you to keep sorting search results the way you want to for the length of your session on Etsy.com, until you decide to change it (or open a new browser window and start a new session). This is another small way to help make Etsy more searcher friendly. 
• A price filter has been added to search results for Materials. You can now set a price range for search results under Materials—look for the price filter under Search Tools on the right.

We’re working on a lot more that we want to tell you about.

Where We Are

Etsy’s search is faster and more active than ever. After replacing Etsy’s search technology with Solr—an industry-leading, open-source search system—we’ve seen significant increases in search speed and volume. Etsy engineer David aka davidgiffin led this work, which has led the way to all-time highs in the number of searches per day on Etsy.

Improving the speed of search on Etsy is part of a larger initiative aimed at making Etsy’s search simpler and more effective on the buyer side and more intelligent on the seller side. When we talk about the “buyer side of search,” we are generally referring to the search bar, dropdown menu and search results. When we talk about the “seller side of search,” we are referring to the item listing process, especially tagging. The listing process on the seller side directly impacts the search experience on the buyer side.

Here’s what we’re working on now:

Simplifying the Search Dropdown Menu
The current search dropdown menu is a confusing experience for many. For starters, there are too many options. In addition, we’re asking users to work too hard when we ask them to think about things like tags, titles or descriptions when they search. Most buyers or browsers don’t think in such a nuanced way when searching.

The default search option on Etsy is “Handmade Items: tags, titles.” The majority of searches are done with this setting, which excludes the description field for handmade items. The description field is also excluded from the search options for Vintage, Supplies and All Items. Many Vintage and Supplies sellers on Etsy have expressed concerns about this (there is an option to include the description field for Handmade items). We understand that concern and agree that the fields available to be searched should be consistent across Handmade, Vintage and Supplies.

We believe that including the option to search item descriptions will improve buyers’ chances of finding unique items that delight them. So we will be including an option to search descriptions for Handmade, Vintage, Supplies and All Items on search results pages, and making the search dropdown menu exactly that: Handmade, Vintage, Supplies, All Items. The other existing search dropdown options such as “Materials” and “Sellers: usernames” will still exist, as will the search dropdown options available from other areas of the site.

This is the first step in a gradual streamlining of Etsy’s contextual search dropdown menu.

Improving Accuracy
Currently, Etsy’s search results default to a reverse-chronological order display, with most recently listed items first. Item fields like tags and titles are weighted equally, which doesn’t always help buyers find what they’re looking for, particularly when item titles are written in a playful but non-descriptive way.

There will be no immediate changes to the way search results display on Etsy. Our goal is to give browsers and buyers an option to sort search results by relevancy, in addition to recency, to help them find items of interest.

Our current work on relevancy involves weighting some item fields more than others. What do we mean by weighting? We mean the importance attributed by the search engine to the types of fields being searched. For example, to return quality search results by relevancy, we may find we need to give item tags slightly more precedence than titles and significantly more precedence than descriptions. This would be due to the nature of the data: tags are usually more specific than titles, and descriptions need to be processed appropriately to determine relevancy. The recency of listings is also an important factor in returning quality search results on Etsy and will continue to be weighted highly.

We will continue to communicate our progress in this area. Improving search on Etsy is by its nature a collaborative community effort, as everything listed on the site comes from the community. Sellers need to understand how Etsy’s search function works in order to list items effectively and have their items be found.

Redesigning the Listing Process
That’s why we’re focused on redesigning the item listing process, which is really where it all begins when it comes to search on Etsy. Our search index is updated constantly by thousands of sellers around the world, all of whom have different ways of describing their items. We’re working to make this listing process more structured, intelligent, understandable and fun, and the steps we’re taking are all done with the search experience in mind.

We’re taking a thorough look at Etsy’s category structure and our current use of tags. Incorporating more structure here will ultimately enable category-specific filters on search results pages, allowing users to narrow down their search intuitively. It will enable multiple ways to shop: for example by category, by recipient, by material or by technique. Better data collection during the listing process could enable buyers to filter search results by location or by shipping preference. Making tag entry more intelligent and social will also help improve the Etsy search experience. We’re exploring a variety of ways to provide more direction and clarity during the listing process so that it’s easy for sellers to list items in such a way that the right people will find them.

As Etsy CEO Maria Thomas mentioned recently, we have Sep Kamvar, “one of the world’s brightest minds in personalized search,” working with us on this area in particular. Expect improvements throughout 2009. Details will be announced here on the Etsy Blog, in the Etsy Forums and to the Etsy News email list.

Come Try It Out
Improving search is an ongoing, iterative process involving continual testing and evaluation. We’ve been busy testing search adjustments with users here in Brooklyn at the Etsy Usability Lab as well as remotely, and we’re about to begin a series of Virtual Labs where we’ll give anyone interested access to a test area to try out different searches and discuss the future of Etsy search with us. The first of these sessions will take place this Friday, March 13 at 1:00 pm EDT (check when this is in your time zone). Save the date and join us!

Where We Want to Go

Search enhancements we’re actively exploring include things like links to related searches on search result pages, spell-checking functionality to suggest searches for misspelled words, advertising options for search result pages and many more features we’ll discuss as they near completion.

We’re excited to partner with you to make search on Etsy better. There’s nothing quite like the feeling you get when you find that perfect, one-of-a-kind item on Etsy and we want more people around the world to experience it.

We've closed commenting on this article; please join in this Forum thread to discuss your questions or comments about these improvements to search. Also, be sure to mark your calendar for the special Virtual Lab session on Friday, March 13 at 1:00 pm EDT.

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