Everything to check before you publish a listing — title, tags, description, attributes, and risky claims. Work through it by hand, or paste your listing into the free audit and let it find the gaps for you.
Five areas decide whether a listing gets found and converts. Cover all five before you hit publish.
Front-load the exact phrases buyers search. Lead with the most important terms, use real product words, and stay within 140 characters. Avoid a string of vague adjectives like 'cute unique special'.
Fill all 13. Use multi-word phrases, not single words, keep each under 20 characters, and don't repeat the same idea across slots. Each tag should target a different search.
Put the most important info in the first two lines — Etsy collapses the rest. Cover material, size, and what's included so buyers don't have to ask.
Fill every attribute Etsy offers (color, material, occasion, size). Attributes feed search and filters, and many sellers leave them blank.
Remove claims that can get a listing flagged — 'healing', 'hypoallergenic', 'organic', brand or character names you're not licensed for, and guaranteed-results language.
Lead with a clear main photo, and make sure every claim in your copy is backed by the real product. An invented spec is a return waiting to happen.
Handmade Gift Idea - Beautiful - Cute - Coffee Mug - Unique Present for Her
Ceramic Coffee Mug with Mountain Design, Handmade Pottery Mug, Nature Lover Gift
7 of 13 tags used: mug, cup, gift, coffee, ceramic, cute, handmade
13 distinct phrase tags covering material, design, recipient, size, and style
This soap heals eczema and is 100% organic and hypoallergenic
Cold-process soap with shea butter and a lavender scent (claims removed)
Etsy search rewards listings that clearly match what a buyer typed, and it quietly penalizes the ones that look thin, stuffed, or risky. Most sellers do not have a visibility problem because of one big mistake — it is usually three or four small ones stacked up: half the tags empty, a title built from adjectives, a description that opens with “welcome to my shop.” A checklist catches the stack.
Etsy reads your title and tags together. Front-load the title with the phrases buyers actually search, then use the 13 tags to cover the angles the title could not. Do not waste tags repeating a word that is already in the title — spend each on a different search. The title generator and tag generator build both from your product facts.
Getting found is half the job; the listing still has to convert. A clear opening line and a scannable spec block answer the questions that otherwise cost you a sale. Attributes are low-effort and high-value: they feed Etsy’s filters and search, yet many shops leave color, material, and occasion blank. Fill them in.
SEO advice rarely mentions the claims that get listings removed. Words like “healing,” “cures,” “hypoallergenic,” and “organic,” brand or character names you are not licensed to use, and “guaranteed results” language are all common reasons a listing gets flagged. Run a policy-risk check as part of every pre-publish pass.
Going line by line is fine, but the fastest way through this list is to paste your current title, description, and tags into the free listing audit. It scores the listing, flags wasted tags, thin copy, and risky claims, and shows you exactly what to fix before you publish.
Five things: a front-loaded title with real search phrases, all 13 tags used as distinct phrases, a description that leads with key info, every attribute filled in, and no policy-risk claims like 'healing' or unlicensed brand names.
All 13. Each tag can be up to 20 characters, and each should target a different search rather than repeating the same word.
Yes. Attributes (color, material, occasion, size) feed Etsy's search and filters, so leaving them blank costs visibility. Fill in every attribute Etsy offers for your category.
Avoid medical or results claims ('heals', 'cures', 'hypoallergenic'), unverifiable certifications ('organic' without proof), brand or character names you aren't licensed for, and guaranteed-results language. These are common reasons listings get flagged.
Yes — paste your listing and get a free audit against this checklist, no account and no card.
Paste your title, description, and tags into the free audit and see which checklist items you're missing — SEO gaps, wasted tags, and risky claims.
Audit my listing freeGuidance only — please review every draft before using it in your shop. CraftProof is not affiliated with Etsy, Inc.