Do Etsy Ads Work - Common Questions + Tips to Increase Sales

Are you wondering: How do Etsy ads work?

Have you been freaking out because you think it is complex? Are you frustrated with your Etsy shop’s poor traffic and wondering what to do?

Well, fret not! You are in the right place! In this article, I will be diving in to show you exactly how do Etsy ads work.

Etsy is one of the most popular international marketplaces where people can buy and sell unique handmade items, vintage pieces, antiques and so much more. Of course, all this traffic brings great opportunities for sellers as well.

Unfortunately, not all sellers enjoy this high traffic to their stores. Advertising on Etsy can be one way to address this. So sit back and be ready to learn!

How Do Etsy Ads Work – Best Tips For The Etsy Seller!

Start With Volume, Then Adjust Based On Quality
Analyze Your Return On Advertising Spend
Analyze your Click Through Rate
Look At The Trends And Seasons
Look At Your Funnel

DISCLOSURE

Some of the links on here are affiliate links and I may earn if you click on them, AT NO EXTRA cost to you. Hope you find the information here useful! Thanks.

This free Etsy Ebook will share a list of best-selling products by month and teach you how to capitalize on seasonal trends to skyrocket your Etsy sales.

Related Posts on Etsy:

How Do Etsy Ads Work?

Many online shops advertise on different platforms. Some of these shops manage to gain significant popularity, while others fail.

Advertising on Etsy is pretty straightforward, unlike Facebook Advertising.

All you need to do is:

Go to your Shop Manager
Click Marketing
Click Advertising
Write your daily budget which is the maximum amount you are comfortable spending each day.
Press Start Advertising.

Voila! Do you realize that you just learned the basics of how to promote your shop on Etsy?

There was no need for you to create any special posters or videos to promote your product? You are paying to advertise your listed items without having to do anything extra.

This makes it much easier to use than Facebook Advertising which requires additional captions and media for your advertisements.

What happens then? Well, the listed products that you are advertising will be prioritized in the Etsy search results. Similar to Google Advertisements, where those with the word Ad placed beside it, means they are paid advertisements.

Mosy importantly, your ads will only be visible to buyers who are in the countries that you will ship to.

As you keep reading, you will learn that setting up your Etsy ads will not guarantee success alone. There are still best practices to follow to see how to do Etsy ads, which will be covered.

Where Are Etsy Ads Displayed?

Etsy ads are displayed in the Etsy search results. Etsy ads go through an auction where they are placed according to how likely a buyer is to click on them and how relevant it is to the shopper’s search.

Some users choose to pay a little extra for featured spots at the top of the page, which might help their product stand out to more potential buyers.

Advertisements that have been boosted by Promoted Listings will also appear at the top of your shop’s list of recently listed items. If you have ads, they will also appear in the Banner directory.

How Do You Adjust Etsy Ads?

Unlike other forms of advertisements where you adjust the media creatives or captions for the sponsored posts, Etsy ads work differently.

You can adjust your advertised listings to adjust your Etsy ads. This means you can improve your photos, add a better product description, insert more relevant keywords, include more product tags, and more.

This means that the listed product is more detailed than before and may entice more buyers once someone sees it in the search results due to your Etsy Ads.

As mentioned above, Etsy ads are placed according to how relevant it is to the search. This is why placing the right keywords and product tags are so crucial to your Etsy ad’s performance.

How Much Do Etsy Ads Cost?

This depends on how much you are willing to spend on your Etsy advertising budget. You are not charged for how many views your ad gets. But rather, on how many clicks your ad gets.

Therefore, the more clicks you get, the more Etsy advertising cost you will be charged. The charge will be capped at your maximum daily budget. Once your clicks have hit the ceiling, your ad will stop appearing for that day.

Are Etsy Ads Worth It?

The success criteria for Etsy ads depend on several factors.

Firstly, if you are choosing to run ads for competitive keywords, you can rank higher than those who are choosing to rank organically.

Do remember that your ad budget is not affected by your selling price. The price that you are charged by Etsy for customers who click your ads does not differ according to how much your product is

As such, Etsy ads are worth it if you are selling high-ticket items such as jewelry or crystal gifts. This is because the purchase of 1 or 2 products will easily offset your ad expense.

Another way that Etsy ads are worth it is if new shops wish to get quick visibility and have some cash to spare.

By running ads and converting them into sales, these new Etsy shops can get some quick reviews that can improve their organic search results once they switch off their ads.

Related Posts on Etsy:

How Long Does It Take For Etsy Ads To Work?

There is no definitive answer to this question. The time it takes for you to see an increase in sales after running an Etsy ads campaign will depend on several factors, including the number of listings you have, how well they are optimized for keywords, and your location.

Etsy itself recommends setting your ads to run for at least 30 days to give it time for the algorithm to learn your keywords and place them in the right search requests.

If your product listing is detailed with all the right keywords and relevant to the search intent, it will be working much earlier than ads with poor descriptions.

How Much Should I Spend On Etsy Ads?

If you are wondering how to use Etsy ads, it is good to start low. The minimum budget for promoted listings on Etsy is USD $1 per day. However, it will be harder to assess your ad’s performance with that. As mentioned above, you are charged for the number of clicks to your ad.

So once your click-through rate has used up your budget for the day, your ad will not be visible anymore.

Ideally, you can start with USD $ 3 to $10 per day depending on your budget. This gives you enough leeway to track the performance of the ads.

If the money spent does not generate back at least twice as many views to your shop or sales within 2 weeks, then it’s probably not worth continuing the ad campaign.

How To Cancel Etsy Ads?

You can cancel your Etsy ads the same way that you made the ads.

Go to Shop Manager
Click marketing
Click Etsy Ads
Click Other Options
Click Turn Off Ads

There is no penalty for canceling your ads earlier and you will not be charged anything extra beyond what was used.

Am I Guaranteed To Make More Money After Using Etsy Ads?

Because there are so many factors that influence your Etsy ads campaign, it’s impossible to determine whether you will make more money after promoting on Etsy.

While it is likely that you will see an increase in sales or views to your shop if everything else is optimized for success, there is always a chance that something will go wrong and prevent results from occurring.

If you did the right keyword research, set up good product photos, wrote rich descriptions and clear tags, your chances of success are much higher.

Here is a guide by Etsy that shows you the factors that affect Etsy Search Results.

Can You Advertise On Etsy Without Paying Any Money?

This is a new feature that allows you to try out risk-free advertising on Etsy known as Offsite-Ads. Etsy will use its budget to promote your items on other platforms such as Pinterest, Google, Instagram, and Facebook.

You will only pay advertising fees IF a shopper clicks on your ad and makes a purchase through that link.

The advertising fees for sellers who have made more than USD $10,000 in sales for the past 1 year will be 10% of the order fee.

The advertising fees for sellers who have made less than USD $10,000 in sales for the past 1 year will be 15% of the order fee.

When Is It A Good Time To Use Etsy Ads?

There is no specific time of year or day of the week that will be perfect for using Etsy ads, but there are some factors to consider when you weigh your options.

For example, if you are new to selling on Etsy, it is best to give yourself some time to establish your business before using ads. This will provide more freedom in the future when you have more options for targeting specific terms and deciding which ones are worth paying for.

You may also want to avoid using ads during busy shopping seasons such as the holiday season when it’s easy for you and other sellers to get lost in the mix.

Look at your sales history and use that information to help you decide which terms were most successful and how much money they made you.

What Is Etsy Plus?

All Etsy sellers are automatically placed in Etsy Standard. If you wish to enjoy more features, you can sign up for Etsy plus at USD $10 per month.

This is a new service from Etsy that allows sellers to purchase credits for shop listings and running ads.

Additionally, you can get access to custom web address discounts through Hover. This means that you can register your shop name to a website domain to improve your brand visibility, rather than just being linked to an Etsy domain.

Another excellent feature of it is that your customers can request restocking and be alerted when you restock your items.

Finally, you can provide additional shipping discounts if you are based in the USA, Canada, the European Union, or the United Kingdom.

How Is My Etsy Ads Budget Used?

Your Etsy ads budget goes toward your specific ad campaign and how much you bid on each click.

You are only charged when a shopper clicks on your ad. Once the maximum number of buyers have clicked your ad depending on your budget, it will not be shown for the day.

Your Etsy ads budget is not charged for how many people see your ad.

What Does My Etsy Ad Look Like To The Viewer?

Unlike Facebook advertisements where products or services just appear while you are browsing on your home page, Etsy ads look different.

Etsy ads look like normal product listings. It is shown only to someone who searches for that particular product.

However, it is placed at the top of the listings. If your product listing is well-optimized with the right keywords and product descriptions, the shopper is more likely to click on it.

What Determines My Cost Per Click For Etsy Ads?

The actual cost per click of an ad on Etsy will depend on several factors, but the biggest one is how competitive your chosen term or phrase is.

Etsy ads go through an auction process. This means, if more sellers are bidding to advertise for that particular keyword, your cost per click will be higher. But, it will not exceed your listed daily budget.

If the product you are listing is not being bid for heavily, meaningless advertisements are being placed for it, your cost per click will be cheaper too.

Check out this helpful guide on the best Etsy Keyword Research tools to find out which keywords to bid for. Hopefully, this would give some slight insight to your question: do Etsy ads work?

Who Sees My Etsy Ads?

Your ads are only visible to buyers who are located in countries that you will be shipping to.

If you do not ship to Sweden, no matter how many people in Sweden are searching for a product that fits all your search terms and keywords, they will not see it.

All advertisements on Etsy will go to people who are searching for something, in particular, that is related to your keyword and product tag.

This means that you may show up in search results when someone looks for a product similar to yours or just uses some of the same keywords as part of their search.

There’s also the possibility that your ad will reach people who have never heard of your business or your products before.

But Etsy algorithms will determine that they may be good potential customers for you because of their search terms being related to your keywords.

How Do Etsy Ads Affect Etsy Search?

Ads can affect your search ranking, but it’s important to remember that ads only show up when someone searches for something you have bid on. Meaning, advertised products will only appear in the Etsy search results.

You will not see these ads if someone goes directly to your shop. As long as you have an excellent product image, a good title, and thorough descriptions of your goods, you should still do well in organic results.

Can I See My Own Etsy Ad If I Search For It?

This is done on purpose by Etsy. You are not going to buy your product by clicking on your own Etsy ad right? Hence, it will not be visible to you.

Etsy calculates the likelihood of creating sales when determining who can see your Etsy ad. As you, the seller is least likely to buy from yourself, you will not see your Etsy ad.

Tips To Improve Etsy Ads Performance

Now that you know how do Etsy ads work, you must be excited to learn the best tips to improve your Etsy ads performance.

1. Start With Volume, Then Adjust Based On Quality

When you start your Etsy ads, you are advised to promote all your products first because you do not know which will do well.

Once you start analyzing the performance of your ads, you can select the high-performing listings to improve your return on investment.

2. Analyze Your Return On Advertising Spend

You want to make sure that you are promoting the products that give you the highest-performing listings. Prioritize products that cost the least amount of advertising expense compared to the income earned.

3. Analyze your Click Through Rate

If your ad is being seen by a lot of people, means it is displayed well in the search results.

However, if shoppers are not clicking it much, it may mean that your primary image or product title, or pricing is just not enticing enough. Consider adjusting it to create a better Click Through Rate.

4. Look At The Trends And Seasons

Certain products may do well during certain periods. Perhaps there was a viral video promoting all things pink. You may want to promote your pink items then.

5. Look At Your Funnel

Imagine your Etsy ads are going through a process:

Ad Views – how many people are seeing your ad?
Ad Clicks – how many people are clicking your ad?
Orders – how many people ordered your product from your ad?

If 100 people saw your ads but 10 people clicked it and then 5 people purchased your products. What does that mean?

It means that you had a click-through rate of 10% but a purchase rate of 50%. If you analyzed this, it means that your main ad itself is not attractive enough in the search results, that is why not enough people are visiting your store.

However, those who did visit are making the purchase. This means the detailed information within your page is converting them.

So you need to bring that same attractive description to the main product listing description to improve your click-through rate.

Conclusion

Congratulations! You have reached the end of this guide and are better placed to understand how does Etsy advertising work! I hope you have a better understanding of how do Etsy ads work.

It may seem like there is a lot of information here and a lot of things you need to adopt to make your Etsy ads successful. Please do not be overwhelmed.

Just imagine, it means there are so many ways that you can make your Etsy shop eventually successful. If one path does not work, you can always try something else.

Once it becomes better and you are more confident, come back to some of the other methods which you may implement better.

Wishing you good luck and lots of profits as you embark on your journey to try out Etsy ads.

Related Etsy posts:

Do Etsy Ads Work – Common Questions + Tips to Increase Sales