🎧 Listen to this blog post as a Podcast instead #81 - Why Your Etsy Listings Aren’t Selling (and What’s Really Going On)

You’ve uploaded your products, polished your shop, and maybe even racked up a few favourites…

But the sales? Still not coming in.

First things first: you are not doing anything wrong. 

But something is likely missing and today we’re going to figure out what that is 👇

💥 Spoiler alert: it’s not just the algorithm.

I hear this all the time:

 “I think the algorithm just hates me!”

But here’s the truth…

Etsy is constantly sending people your way. The issue is that when they land on your listing, something’s breaking the journey.

Your product is showing up but, it’s not converting.

There are 3 layers to a listing that sells:

🔍 Getting found (traffic)

👀 Getting clicked (appeal)

🛒 Getting purchased (conversion)

Let’s break those down…

🔍 Getting found (traffic)

If Etsy can’t match your listing with a buyer’s search, it won’t show up.

That’s it. That’s the rule.

Etsy is a matching engine, not a guessing game.

If your title says:

 “Handmade candle”

…it’s too vague.

Buyers are searching for things like:

🕯️ “Vanilla soy candle gift”

🎁 “Eco-friendly Christmas candle”

🛍️ “Wax melt gift set for mum”

Quick win: 

Go to the Etsy search bar and start typing your product.

Those auto-suggestions? 👏 They’re exactly what buyers are typing in.

Use them - naturally - in your title and tags.

👀 Getting clicked (appeal)

Showing up in search is great, but now you’re in a grid with 40+ other products.

You’ve got two seconds to stop the scroll.

If your first photo is dark, cluttered or overly styled? You’ll be skipped. 💨

I once coached a jewellery seller with gorgeous model photos - but buyers kept scrolling.

Why? They couldn’t see the product properly.

Quick win: 

Your first photo should be clear, bright, and focused on the product.

Save the styled lifestyle shots for image two or three.

🛒 Getting purchased (conversion)

This is where most listings fall flat.

People are landing on your page… and then leaving.

Here’s why that might be happening:

🚫 There’s no urgency

📄 The description feels vague or boring

🙅‍♀️ There’s a lack of trust signals (reviews, policies, info)

💔 The buyer doesn’t feel like it’s for them 

Quick win: 

Add one line in your description like:

 “This is the perfect gift for your sister who loves cosy nights in with a book.”

Be specific. Be warm. Make your buyer feel seen. 👀💖

Let me introduce you to Sam and Lydia.

🌀 Sam keeps uploading new products, changing tags, and blaming the algorithm.

She’s overwhelmed and burnt out.

💡 Lydia picked 3 of her listings and made small but mighty changes:

✅ Swapped in buyer keywords

✅ Brightened her first photo

✅ Added urgency to her copy

Her conversion rate jumped from 1% to 3%.

She tripled her sales - without adding anything new to her shop.

✏️ Your Homework (Yep, There’s Homework!)

Pick one of your listings and give this a go:

🛍️ Rewrite the title using a buyer keyword

📸 Swap out the main photo for something brighter and clearer

🎯 Add one “this is the perfect gift for…” line in the description

Small tweaks. Big impact. You’ve got this 💪

If this blog hit home, you’re going to love what’s coming…

🎉 The Listathon Challenge is kicking off soon!

It’s a free challenge designed to help you:

🔧 Fix your listings

📈 Boost visibility

🎁 And start making actual sales 

There’s coaching, prompts, AND you’ll be entered into prize draws when you take action.

👉 Click here to join the free challenge

Let’s turn your “why isn’t this working?” into

“OMG, it’s finally clicking!” 🙌

See you inside the challenge?

🫶 Steph x