Thank You Kara Buntin

It’s a little early to be celebrating but I can’t help it. I’ve got happy feet. I’m not quite ready to shout from the rooftops but I’m a happy camper so far.

The issue is I like to make bowls in my shop. I want to do that every day. I do not want to sit at the computer and write tags, titles, descriptions and take photos and now videos of everything I make so I can sell it.

In the early days I just needed a couple of pictures and a couple of sentences for each item. There were lots of shoppers and not many shops. In 2021, 11 years after I started my ETSY shop, I had my worst year ever. ETSY’s algorithm wasn’t looking for me anymore. ETSY was looking for shops with long product descriptions, long tail keywords, 13 tags, videos, 10 pictures, and more.

I tried to learn about ETSY SEO (search engine optimization) from different sources but I just didn’t get it. It was extremely frustrating. I’m a pretty smart guy but it just wasn’t sinking in.

I got over being mad at ETSY, mostly. I resolved to do whatever it took to compete more effectively for the customers I knew were out there. I needed to get found in their searches. I make good products, I ship quickly and I stand behind what I make. I have over 300 reviews and not one of them is lower than 5 stars (that’s 5 out of 5).

I spent a good bit of time scouring the internet for expertise in ETSY SEO. That’s how I found Kara Buntin. She has a lot of free stuff on the internet but I decided to take her eShop course. It’s a 12 week program but you can learn at your own pace. I’m only 20% of the way through it but I have learned so much. She is a very straight shooter, matter of fact and to the point. I’m finally learning SEO.

I took the time to completely revamp my ETSY shop including pictures, videos and new titles and tags. It took three weeks (I have 170 listings) and I used an app called Marmalead to help me find the best tags for search.

I’m in the process now of revamping my own website (this one). I hope to be finished by the end of the month.

The question is: Is it working? Year over year visits are up 64%, orders are up 175% and revenue is up 180%. It’s safe to say, so far it’s working.

Thank you Kara Buntin.