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Policy Update: Labeling Items (discussion)
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Original Post
On Tuesday we changed the default search experience on Etsy to display results sorted by relevancy. This was a significant change for many sellers who were used to having items sorted by most recent. Understandably, many sellers reached out to us in the Forums and to our Support Team wondering how to optimize their listings for better placement in search results.
As members of our community pointed out, some of the improvements to search sorted by relevancy called into question our policy, on tagging and attributes specifically. As we’ve communicated in the Forums, improving the search experience on Etsy is a top priority and will be an ongoing process, evolving over time. Our site policy may also need to evolve, to complement how the site works. Over the past week, we have revisited our policy to make sure that it aligns with Etsy search sorted by relevancy, and we’ve made some revisions.
Without further ado, we invite you to check out our revised policy in the DOs and DON’Ts of Etsy. In a section called “Labeling your items” we have updated the rules as they pertain to the information that helps shoppers find items, such as: tags, titles, categories, attributes and materials. We hope it clears any confusion sellers were feeling around if and how to revise their listings.
You can read the policy here: www.etsy.com/policy/dosdonts#tagging
As always, we thank you, our community, for raising the important issues to us, and we appreciate your patience as we make these changes.
If you have questions or comments about Etsy’s updated policies, please join the discussion in this thread.
Posted at 11:05 am Aug 11, 2011 EDT
Highlighted Responses
Hi everyone. Thank you for such positive feedback. I am thrilled that you agree these changes are for the best. I noticed a few questions pop up already. So here are some answers.
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ThisCharmingCandy says on page 5
"Thanks for the update! Is it still 'illegal' to use tags for multiple holidays? I've seen some listings with e.g. "baby shower" and "bar mitzvah" as tags on items that seemed to have nothing to do with either."
Occasion is one of the recently-released attributes that you can specify for a listing. You can read more about attributes here: www.etsy.com/teams/7716/announcements/discuss/8760881/ (Eric answers your specific question about occasions in that post.)
You may also continue to tag your listing with occasions, but please keep the same standard in mind -- tags should be accurate and relevant to the specific item in that listing.
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AustinModern says on page 5
"QUESTION: Are we no longer supposed to use tags based on the monthly Marketing newsletter ie: Autum, Woodland, Orange, Harvest? For as long as I've been here (only since 2008) this has been a major part of tagging to be found for treasuries."
If the keywords suggested in the monthly Merchandising posts are relevant and accurate for your item, then by all means add those as tags to your item. However, do not put multiple words into a single tag field (per the policy) unless they are a descriptive phrase.
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uncljohn says on page 6
"You have Storque articles scattered all over the place that frankly contradict these rules and that needs to be addressed"
We are reviewing and updating all our past blogs posts, FAQs and other help content to ensure it accurately reflects the current policy. We'll have this done soon today.
Posted at 11:44 am Aug 11, 2011 EDT
Edited on Aug 11, 2011
The important thing to remember when titling and tagging your listings for search sorted by relevancy is to think like a shopper. What are the words or descriptive phrases that a shopper is most likely to use when trying to find your item? What are the *best* words or descriptive phrases for your item? You won't be able to use all the possibilities, since both your title and tags provide limited space. Optimize your choices for the words or descriptive phrases that are most successful based on your Shop Stats.
This thread is particularly about the changes to the rules, so my answers will be mostly to questions about the policy itself.
Q- Is it OK to use several variations of a term in a single tag? For example: "gray grey", "knit knitting knitted", "20s 1920s twenties", "jewelry jewellery"
A- No, this would be tag stuffing to put multiple words like these into a single tag. You should only put multiple words into a single tag if they comprise a descriptive phrase, such as a phrase a shopper might search to find your item.
Q- Are phrases like "silver earrings", "knit hat", "leather journal", "hammered hoop earrings", "felt scarf" acceptable multi-word tags, if they are relevant and accurately describe the item?
A- Yes! This is precisely they kind of multi-word descriptive phrase that is allowed under the updated rules.
Q- How will the policies be enforced?
A- In general, we are stepping up our efforts to ensure that sellers are meeting our marketplace criteria. The community can help us by reporting listings that violate these listing rules. We review those reports and contact sellers about making changes. We're also continually looking at ways to improve the site and our internal tools to help support the policies through technology.
Q- Do you plan to send an email stating the new policies?
A- We posted on the blog this morning with the same announcement. Additionally, we have implemented an on-site notice to sellers about the change to search sorted by relevancy, which we have updated to also include a notice about the policy changes.
Posted at 6:58 pm Aug 11, 2011 EDT
Still catching up on this thread today, but chiming in with a few more Q&A that popped up overnight.
Q- Is it OK to tag a listing with your shop name (username)?
A- Yes, this is acceptable, as it is relevant to your item. However, keep in mind that your tag space is limited. Ideally you want to optimize your tags for the word and phrases a shopper is most likely going to search when seeking your items. We have a separate search function for finding shops by name, so you can still be found that way if you don't tag your listings with your shop name.
Q- Do you have to tag vintage items as "vintage"?
A- If your item is in the Vintage category, you do not need to use an additional tag for the word "vintage". The category itself will make your item findable as vintage.
Posted at 1:03 pm Aug 12, 2011 EDT
Hi Everyone,
This is quite a thread you all have going on! As a friendly reminder, please stay focused on the forum topic and be nice and respectful to your fellow Etsians while posting in the thread.
Thanks!!
Marie
Posted at 12:49 pm Sep 7, 2011 EDT
Responses
Thank you. Off to double check my tags.
Posted at 11:10 am Aug 11, 2011 EDT
