Etsy ranking system: the ranking funnel, thumbnails, listing diagnosis and pro tips

This whole document is from the "Etsy Ranking System and Pro Tips" class of Sir Zakria Afzal's Etsy course on YouTube, a separate course from the iSkills Etsy module.

The Etsy ranking funnel

The secret of ranking taught in this class is the Etsy ranking funnel. A buyer moves through it one step at a time:¹

1. Impression: the buyer sees your listing.
2. Click: the thumbnail and the title attract attention.
3. Favorite / Add to Cart: the buyer shows interest.
4. Purchase: the conversion happens.
5. Positive review
6. Better ranking potential

Poor and healthy funnels

A funnel can be poor or healthy, and SEO is not everything:

• SEO only brings impressions.
• If impressions come but clicks do not, nobody buys.
• If clicks are not even 10% of impressions, the funnel is poor.

So after SEO, clicks and the rest of the funnel matter for ranking too.¹

The thumbnail and first image

The first image should be so good that a buyer scrolling past stops on it. The best image:

• clearly shows the product, so the buyer is not confused by the first image;
• looks professional;
• is readable on mobile;
• stands out from the competition;
• matches what the buyer expects.

A bad thumbnail has:

• a busy collage;
• an unclear product;
• weak contrast;
• too much text;
• text that is hard to read on mobile;
• no focal point.

A good thumbnail gets more clicks, a bad one fewer.¹

The listing image plan

The images in a listing should cover:

1. The main hero image
2. A close-up preview
3. The file format
4. Sizing and resolution
5. How the product is used
6. How to download
7. An important disclaimer
8. Support information¹

Customer service and ranking

Customer service feeds ranking too:

• Reply to messages quickly.
• Maintain good reviews.
• Avoid cases.
• Deliver the correct files.
• Ship physical orders on time.
• Solve buyer problems professionally.¹

Diagnosing a listing problem

This is how the class diagnoses a listing problem.¹

Pro tips

Consistency, traffic and tracking

Consistency + Traffic + Tracking

Publish 2 or 3 quality listings daily, or 1 daily, or at minimum 1 every 2 to 3 days.¹

The 30-listing checkpoint

After 30 listings, track:

• Which listings got impressions?
• Which got clicks?
• Which got favorites?
• Which listing brought an order?
• Which keyword brought the traffic?

As taught in the class, you cannot be successful before 30 listings, so reaching this checkpoint is a must.¹

Getting reviews

To get reviews, give after-sales support. Later, ask the buyer how they found the product, and if they liked it, ask them for a review.¹

Bring relevant external traffic

Bring traffic from Pinterest as well, and keep your Pinterest posting consistent.¹

Never use fake orders

Selling digital products from your own website

The class also covered how to sell digital products from a website:

1. Build a website, and learn how to build it.
2. Bring 5,000 monthly traffic to your website, and sell there.
3. If you do not want to sell, earn through ads instead.
4. After 6 months, flip the website (sell it).¹

Class infographic

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Footnotes

1. Sir Zakria Afzal, Etsy course on YouTube, "Etsy Ranking System and Pro Tips" class. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²