SEO for Selling Handmade or Homemade Items Online
Last month I shared with you all my top 9 Simple Tips for Selling Homemade Goods and I want to follow that up with some more details on how you can easily implement SEO tips & tricks into your current marketing and business practices.
If you have an existing business selling homemade goods, then you likely already have some sort of online presence, whether that be a website, social media, or online selling platform. Your homemade goods company’s web-based presence can easily be categorized into two main segments:
- Where your sales are happening (Etsy, Amazon, your own site, etc)
- Where you engage with potential buyers and market your products (social media, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.)
These basic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) principles will work in both forms of your business’ online presence but you’ll shift them just slightly to get the best bang for your buck!If you do not already have a business selling your homemade or handmade items, well what’s stopping you?! Head to this link to read my initial 9 steps to help you get started selling whenever and wherever you are!
Here are my personal most impactful SEO tips to keep in mind:
Know your target market
We talked about your target market in my previous post, but I really need to reiterate how important your buyer persona is! Researching and paying attention to the people who purchase from you will help you create your ideal buyer persona. Think through who that buyer is and establish why they are drawn to your products. In terms of how you are going to use this for SEO, think about what key words they use to describe your products. Just take a step into the brain of your buyer persona and think about how THEY would describe your product if it is something they are looking for.
Let me share a little example of how someone in my creative art could easily fall into a trap, and how to better suit your key words: For the past few years I’ve been a quilter. I specialize in sewing baby quilts, embroidery, and a few other key things. Here’s an example of the same product with key words marketing to two vastly different groups of people.
- Cotton, fabric, quilting, walking foot quilting, baby quilt, homemade, quilter, Creative décor, Solid Fabric, Printed Fabric, Organic Fabric, Sulky Thread, Quilt Pattern, Quilting book, Modern Quilt, Modern quilt design
- Baby Quilt, Modern Quilt, Homemade Baby Quilt, Nursery Décor, Baby Shower Gift, Custom Baby Gift, Gift for new Mom, What to expect when you’re expecting, baby’s first baby blankie, monogrammed baby blanket, personalized cozy baby blankie, gender neutral nursery, gender neutral baby gift, first time mom
Do you see the difference? The first set of words may be all things directly related to the product you make but will more than likely attract other people making the same things! On the other hand, you’ll want to use words specific to your buyer persona for the products you are selling! What are you selling? What words do people in your target market call those items or what similar things may they be searching for?
Implement your Key Words
The ins and outs of how you implement your Key Words will work a little differently depending on your platform/site, but the basic principles remain the same. Use long chain key words that accurately describe what you are selling in the words your ideal buyer persona would use!
Here are some overarching themes for implementing key words for both Pinterest and Etsy. Please keep in mind that the platforms do differ and you may need to tweak just slightly to get the best results.
Pinterest is really an awesome tool to use to promote your homemade or handmade products. I love it particularly because follower count really does not matter too much in order to get your pins seen! You’ll want to of course have high quality images and post regularly, but most importantly you need to play up the fact that Pinterest is, at it’s core, a search engine! From a visual standpoint, you can definitely include your key words in the graphic but keep in mind those words are not searchable, so you’ll need to also include them in the description of the post as well. Make sure your hyperlink contains your keywords and fill your description box with the best ones you can think of.
Etsy
Etsy is where many people choose to sell their goods, along with a few other similar platforms such as Ebay, Facebook Marketplace, or Amazon. The principles of key words and tags work pretty similarly across any selling platform: use the verbiage your buyers would use. For Etsy in particular, you are allowed to use only a limited number of tags so you will want to use them wisely! You can also increase your chances of your items being seen by offering free shipping and encouraging people to review your shop.
Overall, algorithms and systems are changing constantly, so be sure to keep track of which key words you find the most impactful and pivot your strategies accordingly! I wish you the best of luck in selling your homemade items!
Did you enjoy this post? What other questions do you have about online marketing your creative business? Find me on Instagram @homemadeemilyjane to stay connected.
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