Setting up shop

Like many other of my fellow Etsy sellers, I have noticed a steep drop in the number of sales the past few months. I thought it was a bummer, sure, but chalked it up to "well it's after Christmas, the economy is crap, what can you do?". Turns out though, that I was wrong in assuming that the drop in sales had come from factors which could not be controlled.

It turns out that Etsy items no longer show up on Google searches. I ran a few checks today, searching for my EXACT item titles on Google, and the only way that Google would link me to them was if I clicked the "Shopping" link at the top of the page. Heh. No WONDER I've been seeing less and less new faces in my Etsy shops as of late- Google isn't pointing people in the direction of my shops!! I can't blame Google though, because as far as I am aware, Google still operates pretty much the same as it always has. Etsy, on the other hand, has been messing around with the way their site interacts with Google, and I believe this is what has caused my recent lack of new customers. (don't worry, old customers, I still love and appreciate each and every one of you, but I can't grow if new people aren't being added to your ranks!).

So, being the investigative person that I am, I went to Artfire, to see if their sellers were experiencing the same issues I am on Etsy. I found a few items from various sellers, Googled those EXACT items titles, as I had done for my items, and what do you know? These items turned up on the MAIN Google search results page, in the #1 or #2 positions! Go figure! I remember a day when my Etsy items popped up the same way, but apparently those days are over.

After seeing this this morning, and actually getting upset over it, I made a rash decision, and I'm now on Artfire. Here's a link to the new shop: ONEHANDWASHESTHEOTHER . I'm in the middle of setting up shop but hope to be fully functional there by the end of this weekend. I will STILL be selling on Etsy, as it is my first love, and always will be, but right now Etsy just isn't doing what I need it to do for me. I need to grow my customer base. My shop can't be self-sustaining without fresh faces coming by. I do everything I can to drive traffic to my shops, but if my Etsy items aren't showing up in Google search then there's really no point in me trying. So, check me out on Artfire! It's a pretty neat site, with GREAT seller features, and from what I've seen their forums are so much more pleasant than the Etsy ones, which are just chock full of sellers upset at Etsy for not doing anything to fix what's been broken for months now. Understandable, yes, but I've doing something to remedy the issue on my own instead of waiting for Etsy to do it for me. Hello, Artfire!

PS- if you need a "procode" invite lemme know, I can hook you up ;)