Last updated on October 31st, 2024 at 03:31 pm
It’s common for Etsy sellers, especially new ones, to run short of product ideas. A couple of years ago, I found myself in the same situation when I began selling on Etsy and had no idea how to perform niche research. I extensively researched ways to identify emerging trends on Etsy and came across a tool called eRank. Without a doubt, this tool really helped me during my Etsy journey. It not only helped me validate my product ideas but also generated new product ideas to consider. Eventually, this tool became my go-to for doing my niche research.
1. Understand popular product categories on Etsy
The first step is to understand what sells well on Etsy. Popular categories include digital products, clothing, art, home decor, jewelry, weddings, and accessories. Understanding popular product categories on Etsy is the first step in identifying profitable niches.
2. Identify product categories that require minimal investment
Not everyone has a big budget to start an online business. The majority of sellers are looking for a budget-friendly business model. Therefore, it is important to identify product categories that are easy to start with and do not require significant investment. Based on my experience, the two most popular product categories to sell on Etsy with minimal investment are as below:
- Digital products: Planners, invitations, and social media templates.
- Print-on-demand products: T-shirts, sweatshirts, stickers, mugs, and phone cases.
Please note that the products mentioned above are not exhaustive; they are provided as examples. As you explore the Etsy Marketplace, you will realize that there is a diverse range of products that you can sell within the digital and print-on-demand categories.
3. Identify profitable niches
Concept of a niche and sub-niche
Before I delve into the details of performing niche research using eRank, we should first understand the concept of a niche and sub-niche. A niche is a specialized category within a broader product category. For instance, if you plan to sell digital templates on Etsy, a niche could be as follows:
- Birthday Invitations
- Wedding Invitations
- Graduation Party Invitations
A sub-niche is an even more specialized and focused product category within a niche. For instance, a niche “Birthday Invitations” can have various sub-niches, such as the following:
- Dinosaur Birthday Invitation
- Unicorn Birthday Invitation
- Mermaid Birthday Invitation
- Panda Birthday Invitation
- Racing Car Birthday Invitation and many more.
Strategy to identify profitable niches and sub-niches in eRank
- Find common keyword ideas for broader categories. For instance, if you plan to sell digital products, brainstorm terms frequently used in Etsy listings for those products. You can also quickly scan Etsy listings to identify common terms for your chosen category. In the case of digital products, some common listing terms are “template”, “digital”, “card”, and “party invitation”. To point out specifically, this list is not exhaustive, and there could be more relevant terms.
- Once you have identified relevant keywords, search them in eRank to find niches that have a high search volume and lower competition.
- For popular keywords that have high competition, you can always drill down further to identify any popular sub-niches that have low competition.
By following these strategies, you can definitely find many profitable niches or sub-niches within a niche.
Digital product example:
Search using terms like “template” and “digital”
Suppose you are planning to sell digital products on Etsy. If you notice Etsy listings for digital products, you will often find the term “template” in their listing names. To explore potential niches, you can enter the term “template” in the search bar of eRank’s Keyword Explorer to generate a list of related keywords. The two most important metrics that should be considered for assessing a niche are as follows:
- Average searches (indicating monthly search volume) and
- Etsy competition (indicating the number of competing listings)
Basically, we are trying to identify niches that have a high search volume and low Etsy competition.
As can be seen from the above screenshot, the keywords “wix template” and “invoice template” have low competition and high search volume (as indicated by green color). Therefore, these digital products offer potential profitable niches for selling on Etsy.
Another way to find profitable niches within the digital products category is by searching the term “digital”. When you enter this term in the eRank search bar, it will display a list of related keywords containing the term “digital”.
As seen in the above screenshot, all keywords have high competition (as indicated by the red color). In these cases, you need to further drill down into these keywords by clicking on them to identify profitable sub-niches.
When you click on the keyword “digital planner,” you will find a list of related keywords. As you can see in the above screenshot, the keywords “adhd digital planner,” “witchy digital planner,” and digital teacher planner” have a high monthly search volume and low competition (as indicated by the green color). Accordingly, you can make and sell products related to these sub-niches within the digital planner niche to rank your products higher in Etsy search results.
Search using terms like “invitation” and “party invitation”
Without a doubt, Etsy is a huge marketplace for party invitation templates, such as birthday party invitations, wedding invitations, Halloween party invitations, and more. Based on my experience, these digital listings frequently contain the terms “invitation” and “party invitation”.
When you enter the term “invitation” in the eRank search bar, it will generate a list of the most searched invitation types on Etsy.
As seen in the above screenshot, the keyword “housewarming invitation” has a high search volume and low competition, making it a profitable niche. Based on this niche research, you can design editable housewarming invitation templates on platforms like Canva to sell on Etsy.
Even if you see that a keyword has high competition, you can always drill down further into that keyword by clicking on it to identify any profitable sub-niches. For instance, in the above screenshot, you can see that the keyword “birthday invitation” has high competition (indicated by the red color). When you click on this keyword, you will see a list of related keywords and, consequently, potential sub-niches.
As can be seen in the above screenshot, there are various sub-niches for birthday invitations with high search volume and low competition, such as “mermaid birthday invitation”, “frozen birthday invitation”, “dinosaur birthday invitation”, and more. These niches definitely present profitable opportunities for digital products.
Let’s analyze the term “party invitation”. When you search the keyword “party invitation”, you will find that the keywords “tea party invitation”, “90s party invitation”, “pool party invitations”, and “nerf party invitations” have a high search volume and low competition, and therefore, these niches offer profitable opportunities for selling digital templates.
POD Example
Suppose you are planning to sell t-shirts on Etsy through print-on-demand. To find profitable niches for the t-shirt product category, you can enter the word “shirt” (as it is a more widely used term than the term “t-shirt”) in the eRank search bar to generate a list of related keywords.
As can be seen from the above screenshot, the term “strawberry shirt” has a high monthly search volume and low competition. Accordingly, you can design strawberry t-shirts for a higher chance of making a sale.
Weddings example
Another example can be wedding templates. Without a doubt, Etsy is a huge marketplace for digital wedding templates. You can start with the broader term “wedding” in order to identify profitable niches within this product category. When you enter the term “wedding” in the eRank search bar, it will provide a list of related keywords indicating various niches.
As can be seen from the above screenshot, the keywords “wedding checklist” and “wedding timeline” have a high search volume and low competition (as indicated by the green color). As a result, these two niches offer profitable opportunities to pursue on Etsy.
Stickers example
Another popular print-on-demand category on Etsy is stickers. Suppose you plan to sell stickers on Etsy. You can start with the broader term “sticker” to perform your niche research. When you enter the keyword “sticker” in the search bar of eRank Keyword Explorer, you will find related keywords indicating different sticker categories.
As can be seen from the above screenshot, the search term “sticker” generated a list of different categories. Further, you can see that specific keywords, such as “bee stickers” and “budget stickers”, have low competition. Thus, these keywords offer promising niches for selling in your Etsy shop.
Note: The eRank search results might show some trademarked terms; for instance, in the above screenshot, you can see Disney stickers. You do not have the right to sell Disney-related merchandise on any marketplace unless you have an agreement with the company. Avoid trademarked terms in your niche research at all costs.
You can use these strategies for any product type. If you are already an established seller of physical or digital products, it can assist you in generating new product ideas within your niche, enabling you to expand your business. The above products are merely examples, and Etsy is a huge marketplace with lots of niches that remain untapped. As you become more and more aware of various product types, you will definitely discover lots of keywords to perform your niche and sub-niche research in eRank.
Etsy is a dynamic marketplace where there are always new emerging niches, which become popular in a short span of time. You can proactively identify these emerging niches with the strategies discussed above and stay ahead of other Etsy sellers.
written by Kash C. The writer is an experienced Etsy seller.