How to Choose Your 13 Etsy Tags (Without Wasting Any)
How Etsy tags work, why you should use all 13, which phrases make good tags, and the repeats that waste a slot, from Etsy's own seller guidance.
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Every Etsy listing gets 13 tags, each up to 20 characters. Since Etsy started recommending shorter titles, tags carry even more of the work of matching your listing to what buyers type. This guide covers how to choose them, based on Etsy's own Keywords 101.
Use all 13
Etsy is explicit: "Do use all 13 tags." Each tag is another set of words your listing can be found by. An empty slot is a search you have opted out of.
Write phrases, not single words
A tag can be a phrase, and phrases usually work better. Etsy's example: custom bracelet is a stronger tag than the separate words custom and bracelet. A phrase says what someone is actually looking for.
Etsy's simplest test for a tag: if you cannot imagine someone typing it into a search box, it should not be a tag.
Good tags tend to be long tail: more specific phrases such as linen table runner rather than table runner, or dog mom mug rather than mug. Etsy notes these tend to convert better, because the person searching knows what they want.
Don't repeat your category or attributes
This is the tip that frees up the most slots. On Etsy, categories and attributes act like tags. If your listing is in the Mugs category and you set the Ceramic material attribute, a tag that only says mug or ceramic adds nothing.
Etsy's example: skip a standalone faux fur tag if that is already an attribute, but a longer phrase like faux fur accent rug is still a useful tag. Use phrases that build on the category and attributes instead of repeating them.
Other rules from Etsy
- Don't repeat tags. Make all 13 as different from each other as you can.
- Don't worry about plurals. Etsy matches root words, so diary and diaries are treated the same.
- Don't include misspellings.
- Do add synonyms and regional terms if your buyers use them: thong sandals and flip flops, jumper and sweater.
- Write tags in your shop's language, not in several languages at once.
- Stay within the characters Etsy allows: letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens and apostrophes.
A way to fill 13 slots
Think about the different ways someone might arrive at your item, and give each a few tags:
| What the buyer is thinking | Example tags for a hand-thrown ceramic mug |
|---|---|
| What it is | handmade coffee mug, stoneware mug |
| What it looks like | speckled glaze mug, rustic pottery mug |
| Who it is for | gift for potter, coffee lover gift |
| When or why they buy it | housewarming gift, birthday gift idea |
| How they would use it | large tea mug, latte mug |
| Style | farmhouse kitchen, minimalist mug |
Spread across those angles, 13 tags cover far more searches than 13 variations of ceramic mug.
A checklist before you publish
- All 13 tags are used.
- Most are multi-word phrases.
- None just repeats your category or an attribute.
- No two tags are near duplicates.
- Each is something a real buyer would type.
Where Holgo fits
Holgo's Etsy listing AI chooses tags the same way. It writes a longer shortlist of phrases first, then picks across the different ways buyers search, drops anything that repeats the category, the attributes or another tag, and keeps up to 13, each within Etsy's 20 character limit.
Let Holgo write the first draft
Upload photos of an item and Holgo writes the title, description and the details Etsy asks for. Free credits to start, no store connection and no card.
