Why This Module is Important:
- We combine available Etsy research tools, and their features, into one table.
- We see how the core features are used and why we focus on research features in subsequent modules.
1. Which Tools Offer What Features?
Having identified all the available third-party Etsy research tools, and the features each offers, I collated them into the table below.
But first, let me say there’s enormous variation in how tools address features. To get the following overview table, I’ve simply added a check mark for a tool if it contained anything at all supporting that particular feature. Many tools have multiple menu options for individual features (e.g. eRank has six options under keyword research). The table below takes no account of how comprehensive (or useful) any tool’s offering might be—it simply counts if they make the attempt!
(Updated Sept 22, 2024)
We can see from the table that all the tools offer keyword research. It’s the only feature that’s universal. At the other end of the scale, Makerwords and Keyword Tool Dominator only offer keyword research; while Roketfy is the only tool to offer customer reviews research (which is left out of my accuracy analysis as there’s nothing to compare their results to!).
It’s important to remember that the range of features a tool offers, is not a reliable gauge of how good a tool is. It’s possible (even probable) that a tool offering fewer features, but excelling at the important ones and providing a simpler interface, is a better choice. Being presented with a lot of features can easily leave us cluttered and confused.
I suggest using the table above just as a simple overview of the length and breadth of the offerings.
2. Understanding the Etsy Tool Features
We saw in the previous module that Etsy tools offer two broad types of features: Research and Operations.
They are used by Etsy shop owners to:
- Generate new listing ideas (Research).
- Optimize shop performance (Research & Operations).
RESEARCH Features
Research features are the backbone of Etsy tools, contributing to both new listing ideas and shop optimization. The four main research areas are:
Keyword Research
- The most common (and presumably the most sought-after) feature
- Useful for:
- Finding ideas for new listings
- Discovering tags for new or existing listings
Listing Research
- Evaluates competitor listings
- Useful for:
- Finding new listing ideas
- Refining existing products (pricing, images, titles, tags, descriptions)
Shop Research
- Evaluates competitor Etsy stores
- Useful for:
- Finding new listing or variation ideas
- Optimizing existing shops (market positioning, brand messaging, product range, pricing strategies, sales volumes, shop organization, reviews, marketing tactics)
Trend Research
- Evaluates emerging preferences in Etsy buyer demand
- Useful for:
- Finding new listing ideas
- Optimizing existing shops (market direction, seasonality)
OPERATIONS Features
Operations features focus on Etsy shop optimization. They aim to streamline shop operation by:
- Automating routine tasks (e.g. creating listings)
- Organizing and presenting shop data
- Optimizing operational tasks (e.g., creating listings, processing orders, emailing customers)
These features—many incorporating AI—fall into one of two categories:
- Qualitative – such as assistance with titles, descriptions, and recommendations—where accuracy isn’t able to be measured.
- Quantitative – involving actual shop data like the number of tags or images—which use real shop data, so accuracy isn’t in question.
Key Takeaways
For most Etsy shop owners, the main appeal of the paid Etsy tools will be their research features. These aim to provide insights into keywords, listings, competitors, and trends—and they could significantly impact a shop’s success. The operations features can make life a little smoother and easier for Etsy shop owners but will not be as influential in propelling a shop forward.
The next six modules in RealityCheck will focus on evaluating the accuracy and reliability of all the Etsy tools’ research features.
3. How Could We Measure These Research Features?
Each of the four research areas above (keywords, listings, shops and trends) has a key metric that, if we know it with precision, we can make decisions with more confidence (because we would know what is actually happening on Etsy).
| Research Focus | Key Metric |
|---|---|
| Keywords | How many times a keyword is searched for. |
| Listings | How many sales a listing has made. |
| Shops | How many sales a shop has made. |
| Trends | How fast a listing or category is growing. |
As we’ll see later, only one of these metrics is made available by Etsy. The rest need to be “estimated” by the tools.
The tools derive a wide range of their own metrics too but they’re incidental to the key metrics above (in other words, without the key metrics the other details wouldn’t take us very far).
So the key metrics will be our focus.
What We’ll Do in This Program
As we go through, we’ll examine all the Etsy research tools and analyze their results for our key metrics.
Remember that three of our four key metrics are estimated by the tools and nobody outside Etsy knows the real numbers—which means I don’t know the numbers either! The only way to evaluate the tools is by doing a side-by-side comparison across all of them in the hope that enough of the tools cluster around results to let us assess which are likely to be accurate.
So here we go…
Next Module
If you’re not into numbers and want a “too long; didn’t read” summary of my findings, the next module is for you. Read it before, after or instead of delving into the detailed research itself.