Tired of the "know-it-alls". . .

I find it rather rude when trying to have a discussion about different aspects of online selling and someone decides they are the end-all know-it-all.  Seriously, this morning I have been informed that "You must not understand how business works though."  "also you clearly don’t understand SEO."


Well allllright-y then smarty-pants please by all means go on. . . 

First, let me start with this is not my first business, I have had another previously. Second, etsy is not my first attempt at selling online I had a stand alone website for 10 years.  Finally, the concept that every thing you need to know is in the etsy handbook and works perfectly for every shop is asinine or a joke.  😕

If you go to the etsy search and type "chainmaille bracelet" in and hit search you get over 12,000 results, so lets's start with not everyone can be near the front of search when there are that many results, period.  I don't give a shit what you do. 

Now if one looks at those listings on the first page you will find many do not at all follow the guidelines in the handbook. 

Then consider that the articles that came out last year completely contradicted everything previously touted as being the "right" way.  
The old fashioned keyword stuffed etsy titles, where they encouraged you to use every available space in the title line for keywords and repeating yourself was a good idea, go ahead use the word bracelet 5 times.  A couple of years ago they admitted they were moving towards more of a google standard and google hates repeats and prefers shorter titles. So now keep it short but be descriptive but only the first few words matter.  Okay

Etsy used to encourage sellers to "tell a story" about what makes your item or your process special in the description, basically write a book, the longer the better.  Now my descriptions are "too long"  because they don't fit in the smaller allocated space but they do include full item details of materials, sizes, color options, etc. 

"Attributes" which have changed greatly through the years, many of the things that we are now supposed to set/select either didn't previously exist or were optional and not counted in search.  Now apparently attributes are important and if you don't set them you don't count.  really!?

Use all 13 tags, but single word tags are bad long tail keywords are better. Be specific in your categories. Fill out your about section and policies, blah blah blah. 

So since I have adjusted my listings repeatedly over my years on etsy trying to keep up with what they say "now" I have my about section and policies and I've had sales and gotten nothing but 5 star reviews, never had a case or complaint, I have to ask why the first pages of the "chainmaille bracelet" search are filled with listings that don't use all their tags, that have repetitive repeat words in the titles and tags, that have no attributes set, that are from shops that have no policies, and/or no reviews. ???

Why do I fight to keep trying to comply with these ridiculous and contradictory guidelines when nothing on the first page is in compliance?  Why should I keep trying to dig out of the massive piles when I will likely never be found because I won't offer free shipping and I have a small budget for promoted listings?  Nothing I have ever done to be in compliance with this insanity has ever changed my crappy search placement, brand new shops open and post listings that do not fit any of the guidelines and they get the new bump any way.

But don't mind me I'm just "ignorant" and have no idea what I'm doing.  😶  And this annoyance and incident is brought to you by a "seller support" group with some super "supportive" members. 😒

etsy stats are worthless. . .

Seriously, in the years I've been on Etsy they have "updated" "upgraded" "improved" stats multiple times, however in my opinion none of their changes have actually been improvements or upgrades.  😐  They have changed the display page, they have changed somewhat how they categorize certain views/visits, they have reduced the amount of information they provide, they still run many hours behind most of the time and I seriously question the accuracy.  

I noticed this morning when looking at yesterday's stats it shows 8 visits 8 views (yes single digit sadness, I know) but if I change the time-frame and look at the last 7 days it shows August 6 as having 6 views and 6 visits, however I got 9 favorites yesterday.  😏  I know people can favorite from search pages without actually visiting the listing/page but really?!

When I look at "today" it shows nothing literally zero zero, the graph is blank stats have not updated in 4 hours (well it says 3 on my screen but 6am-10am is 4).  But under the main graph it shows I've been billed for a promoted listing click already this morning.  Also if I go back to the "7 days" time-frame it is showing August 7 with 2 visits and 3 views.  😕

It makes me nutty that etsy's numbers never match, never add up. 😐  Irreconcilable like a checkbook that just won't balance, it's bad math and very frustrating.