Etsy tags: the rules, and how to fill all 13 without guessing

Etsy matches tags with what shoppers type. Each tag you leave empty is a search your listing cannot be matched to. Most shops have dozens of empty slots and never notice.

The rules Etsy enforces

• Up to 13 tags per listing.
• Up to 20 characters per tag, spaces included.
• Letters, numbers and spaces only, plus ' and - inside a word. A tag cannot start with either of those two.
• Accented letters such as é, ñ and ü are allowed.

Etsy's form rejects a tag that breaks these rules, so the common problem is not a broken tag. It is a missing one. Paste a listing's tags into the tag checker to see which rule a tag breaks and how many slots are empty.

What makes a good tag

Etsy's help puts it simply: a tag is a word or short phrase that describes the item, and each one is a chance to match a shopper's search. From that, four habits follow.

1. Write phrases buyers type. "Silver hoop earrings" is a search. "Luna" is not, unless buyers already know your collection's name.
2. Use the whole 20 characters when a phrase fits. "gift for sister" (15) says more than "gift".
3. Split phrases that do not fit. "personalized necklace for mom" is 29 characters. Use "personalized gift" and "necklace for mom" instead.
4. Vary them. Etsy asks for "a diverse array of tags". Thirteen versions of one phrase match one search thirteen times. They do not match thirteen searches.

Tags also cover what attributes cannot. Etsy says tags are "great for aspirational or buyer-minded search terms", such as "gift for her", when no attribute describes the item that way.

Where to find the missing tags

Guessing is slow. Two sources give you tags that already work.

Your own shop

Your best tags are often sitting on your other listings. A necklace listing with 8 tags may share a style, a material or an occasion with a necklace that has all 13. Download your listings CSV from Shop Manager (Settings, Options, Download Data). Then look for tags used on similar listings that this one lacks. The bulk edit guide shows how to count tags per listing in a spreadsheet.

The listings that rank

Search the keyword you want the listing found for and open the first few organic results, skipping the ones marked "Ad". The tags that several of them share describe what Etsy is matching for that search. Add the ones that are true of your item, and skip the ones that are not.

How many to change at once

Fill empty slots first, since they cost nothing to fill. Replace an existing tag only when you have a clearly better phrase. Then give Etsy a few days and check the listing's rank for its keyword. Change one listing's tags and watch it before rewriting the whole shop the same way.

How Listrank helps

On any listing page, the Listrank panel shows the listing's tags with a copy button. It also compares the listing with the top ten results for your keyword. The next version adds Audit my shop, which reads the listings CSV you download from Etsy. It lists every listing with empty tag slots and suggests tags from your own similar listings, ready to paste. The file never leaves your browser.