Etsy Keyword Research for POD: Find Buyer Keywords Free

Etsy keyword research means finding the exact phrases shoppers type when they look for a design like yours, checking that those phrases have real demand, and putting the best ones in your title, tags and attributes. You can do all of it free. Etsy’s own Marketplace Insights tool shows how often a keyword was searched in the last 30 days and how many listings compete for it, and your search bar and Stats fill in the rest.

This guide gives you five free methods, a worked example for one print-on-demand (POD) niche, a map of where each keyword belongs in a listing, and an honest answer to when a paid research tool is worth it.

What makes a good Etsy keyword for print-on-demand?

A good keyword passes three tests: buyers actually search it, it describes your item truthfully, and you have a realistic chance of being seen for it. For POD listings, the phrases that pass all three usually share a shape: who or what it’s about + the product + one detail that narrows it.

Etsy’s own Keywords 101 guide makes the same point with a chart of search volume against conversion rate. Generic searches like “tote bag” are used more often, but specific “long tail” phrases like “canvas tote bag” tend to convert better because they describe exactly what the shopper wants. For a new POD shop without reviews, long-tail phrases are also where you can realistically reach the first pages. (Why that is comes down to how Etsy ranks listings, explained in how the Etsy algorithm works.)

Method 1: Etsy Marketplace Insights (free, from Etsy’s own data)

Marketplace Insights is Etsy’s built-in keyword tool, and the closest thing to real Etsy search data you can get without paying. To use it:

1. On Etsy.com (desktop or mobile browser; it isn’t in the app), go to Shop Manager → Stats → Marketplace Insights.
2. Type a keyword into the search bar.
3. Read the number of searches and the number of listings for that keyword over the last 30 days, then scan the related search terms and the trending searches in your categories.

At the time of writing you get 15 keyword lookups a week free, and each result stays available for 7 days; Etsy Plus subscribers get unlimited lookups (details in Etsy’s Marketplace Insights help article). With a budget of 15, don’t spend lookups on single words. Use them on your candidate phrases, and let the related terms point you to the next ones.

The most useful habit is comparing searches with listings. A phrase with steady searches and relatively few listings is an opening; a phrase with huge searches and a huge number of listings is a crowd. Etsy describes the related-terms view in the same spirit, as a way to spot areas “with high buyer interest but a lower number of listings”.

Method 2: Etsy’s search bar, filter suggestions and results count

Etsy’s search page gives away three more kinds of free keyword data:

• Autocomplete. Type your core phrase slowly and note the suggestions; they reflect what shoppers search, in their own words. Adding a letter after your phrase (“grandma sweatshirt a”, “… b”) surfaces long-tail ideas you wouldn’t think of.
• Filter suggestions. Above the results, Etsy suggests refinements for many searches. When we searched “grandma sweatshirt” in September 2026, they included Name, Grandkids Names, Mother’s Day, Birthday, Pregnancy Announcement, Embroidered and Crewneck. Each one hints at a sub-niche or a tag.
• The results count. Specific searches show an exact number (“retro cardinal birding sweatshirt” returned 776 results when we checked), while broad ones may just say 1,000+. It’s a rough competition check, not a precise one.

Search in a private browser window if you can, because Etsy personalizes results. Suggestions and counts also vary by country and change over time, so treat them as live signals rather than fixed numbers.

Method 3: The search terms in your own Stats

Once your listings get some traffic, your Stats become your best keyword source, because they show real searches that led real shoppers to you. In Shop Manager → Stats, the Etsy search traffic source lists the search terms people used to find your listings. Use them three ways:

• Fill gaps. A term that brings visits but isn’t in your tags is a candidate, if it truly describes the item.
• Spread winners. A phrase that brings visits to one design may work on related designs in the same niche.
• Spot mismatches. Terms that don’t describe your item mean you’re matching the wrong shoppers. Those views rarely convert, so tighten the tag or title that’s attracting them.

One limit: this data covers searches on Etsy.com, not in the Etsy app, so it’s a sample of your search traffic rather than all of it. Our guide to Etsy stats shows where to find each number and a weekly routine for reading them.

Methods 4 and 5: Google, Pinterest and competitor listings

Google and Pinterest suggestions

Shoppers bring their words to Etsy from everywhere else. Type your core phrase into Google and note the autocomplete suggestions and the related searches at the bottom of the results page. On Pinterest, do the same with the suggestions that appear as you type. Both are good at surfacing gift angles and styles (“cottagecore”, “minimalist”, “retro”) that Etsy shoppers use too.

Treat these as ideas, not evidence. A phrase can be popular on Google because people want a recipe, not a sweatshirt. Before you build a listing around one, confirm it in Marketplace Insights.

Competitor listings, for language, not copying

The top listings in your niche are a free lesson in buyer language, if you read the right parts:

• Reviews. Buyers describe what they bought and why, in their own words (“got this for my mom’s retirement party”). Those phrases often make better tags than anything a seller writes.
• Titles. Notice which product words (shirt, tee, sweatshirt, crewneck) and which descriptors keep recurring on page one.
• Gaps. If every top result for a phrase shows the same kind of design, a different style for the same buyer can stand out.

What not to do: copy a competitor’s title, tags or design. Their tags describe their item, their position comes from their reviews and sales history, and copying a design breaks Etsy’s rules and can be infringement.

Worked example: a keyword list for a sourdough-baker niche

Here’s the whole process on one niche. The numbers are made up to show the math, so run your own lookups: real figures change every month.

1. Seed. Start with the identity and the product: “sourdough shirt”.
2. Expand. Autocomplete, the filter suggestions and Marketplace Insights’ related terms add candidates such as “sourdough starter shirt”, “bread baker gift”, “sourdough sweatshirt” and “funny baker shirt”.
3. Compare demand with competition. Look up the most promising phrases and divide searches by listings.
4. Keep what fits the design. A design of a bubbly starter jar with a wooden spoon fits phrases like “sourdough starter shirt”. It doesn’t fit “cake decorating”, however many searches that gets.

The ratio isn’t magic, but it sorts a long list fast: higher means more searches for each competing listing. From this list, the starter-jar tee could launch with the title “Sourdough Starter Shirt, Retro Bread Baker Graphic Tee” (54 characters) and these 13 tags, each 20 characters or fewer: sourdough shirt, sourdough gift, sourdough lover, bread baker gift, bread lover gift, baking lover gift, gift for baker, home baker shirt, retro baking shirt, bread baking tee, sourdough bread tee, starter jar shirt and unisex baker tee.

Notice what’s missing. There’s no plain “sourdough starter” tag, because shoppers searching that phrase mostly want an actual starter, and those views wouldn’t convert. Colors and sizes are missing too, because the attributes and variations already cover them.

Where each keyword goes: title, tags, attributes and description

The details of each field are in our guides to Etsy titles that rank and choosing all 13 Etsy tags. The bigger picture, from photos to shipping price, is in our complete Etsy SEO guide.

When a paid keyword tool is worth it

Paid Etsy research tools such as eRank, Everbee and Alura estimate search volume, competition and sometimes sales for listings and shops. They earn their keep when you research several niches a week, want to scan a competitor’s shop in seconds, or track many keywords over time. Both eRank and Everbee also have free plans.

Keep two things in mind. Their numbers are estimates built from their own data, not Etsy’s, so two tools can disagree about the same phrase. And since Etsy added Marketplace Insights, you can check demand for your most important phrases with Etsy’s own figures. Many new POD sellers can start free and add a tool once the free lookups become the bottleneck. If you’re choosing one, our Everbee vs eRank comparison covers features and pricing.

Keyword research mistakes that cost POD sellers views

• Chasing the biggest number. High-volume phrases are usually vague and crowded. Specific phrases with fewer searches often bring more sales.
• Designing first, researching later. The phrase should shape the design. If nobody searches for what you made, no tag will fix it.
• Using words the design doesn’t support. A “funny” tag on a sincere design attracts clicks that don’t convert, and engagement is part of how Etsy ranks.
• One keyword set for every listing. Similar designs can share a core, but each listing needs phrases for what makes it different, or your own listings compete for the same searches.
• Researching seasons too late. Shoppers search for occasions weeks ahead. Our seasonal calendar shows when to start.
• Trusting any number as exact. Etsy’s counts cover a 30-day window and change constantly; third-party figures are estimates. Use them to compare, not to predict sales.

A 30-minute weekly keyword routine

If you only have a few hours a week for your shop, this keeps research from eating all of them:

1. 10 minutes: your Stats. Note new search terms that brought visits, and any that don’t fit your items.
2. 10 minutes: Marketplace Insights. Spend about five lookups on new ideas, five on upcoming seasons and keep five in reserve for the designs you make that week.
3. 10 minutes: update. Apply what you found to three to five listings, then log the changes so you can compare views in a few weeks.

Keep a simple keyword bank, one sheet per niche, with the phrase, where you found it, the searches and listings you saw, and which listings use it. It makes the keyword work for each new design a quick lookup instead of a fresh research project. When you’re ready to widen out, our guides to low-competition Etsy niches and what sells on Etsy are good next steps, and if you draft listings with AI, these ChatGPT prompts for Etsy listings take your keyword bank as input.