Disclosure: This article on how to find profitable niches with eRank contains independent recommendations based on real-world experience and research. To support our work, we include partner links. If you make a purchase through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Aspiring Etsy sellers often struggle with finding profitable niches for digital products on Etsy. A couple of years ago, I found myself in the same situation: I wanted to sell on Etsy and had no idea how to conduct niche research. During my Etsy journey, I have used various Etsy research tools, including eRank. In this tutorial, I have shared beginner-friendly research methods that I personally discovered while using this research tool. The approaches discussed herein will not only help you validate your product ideas but can also generate new product ideas to consider.
1. Identify Popular Digital Products
Popular digital products on Etsy are invitations, social media templates, wall art, clipart, planners, posters, menus, mockups, and business document templates. You can read more about popular digital products on Etsy in the article 100+ Digital Product Ideas for Selling on Etsy in 2026.
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 are more products that you can sell within the digital space.
2. Identify Keywords with Low Competition and High Search Volume
What is a Niche?
A niche targets a specific buyer group. For instance, wedding templates, wall art prints, birthday templates, and graduation party templates are distinct niches that target specific buyer groups.
What is a Sub-Niche?
A sub-niche is a niche within a niche.
Examples:
Wedding invitation sub-niches include: minimalist, doodle, vintage, and retro.
Instagram template sub-niches: realtor, esthetician, and nutrition coach.
Why is a sub-niche important?
In the current Etsy market, you cannot win with generic products. This is because:
Big sellers and old established shops dominate generic keywords- you can’t.
A specific product is easier to rank because it faces less competition. For example, a ‘realtor Instagram templates’ listing is easier to rank than a generic Instagram templates listing.
Strategies to Identify Profitable Niches and Sub-Niches
Identify Common Listing Terms
- You can scan digital product listings on Etsy to identify common keywords used in their titles and tags.
Common listing terms for digital products: template, digital, card, invitation, printable, mockup.
This list is not exhaustive, and there could be additional relevant terms.
- Once you have identified relevant keywords, search them in eRank to find sub-niches with high search volume and low competition.
- For high-competition keywords, you may still be able to identify profitable sub-niches with low competition if you search them separately.
By following these strategies, you can definitely find many low-competition niches or sub-niches.
Examples
Search Terms ‘template’ and ‘digital’ in eRank
To explore high-potential, profitable niches and sub-niches, you can search the term ‘template’ in the eRank’s keyword explorer to generate a list of related keywords. The two 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, you are trying to identify specific products with high search volume and low competition.
Note: The screenshots in this tutorial do not represent current data. Please validate the current demand directly with eRank. While eRank’s current interface is different, the metrics and logic to find profitable keywords remain same.
As shown in the screenshot above, the keywords “wix template” and “invoice template” have low competition and high search volume (indicated by the green color). Therefore, these digital products are high-potential niches to consider selling on Etsy.
Another way to find profitable niches in the digital products space is to search for 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.’
Explore Competitive Keywords Further
As shown in the screenshot above, all keywords are highly competitive (indicated in red). In these cases, you need to individually explore these keywords by clicking them to identify any 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 screenshot above, the keywords ‘adhd digital planner,’ ‘witchy digital planner,’ and ‘digital teacher planner’ have high monthly search volume and low competition ( indicated by the green color). You can offer products related to these sub-niches to rank higher in Etsy search results and increase your chances of making a sale.
Search Terms ‘invitation’ and ‘party invitation’ in eRank
Without a doubt, Etsy is a huge marketplace for party invitation templates, including birthday, wedding, and Halloween party invitations. In my experience, these digital listings frequently include the terms ‘invitation’ and ‘party invitation’.
When you search the term ‘invitation in eRank, it will generate a list of the most searched invitation types on Etsy.
As shown in the screenshot above, the keyword ‘housewarming invitation’ has high search volume and low competition, making it an ideal niche.
Even if you see that a keyword has high competition, you should always look further into that keyword by clicking 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 that indicate potential sub-niches.
Ignore Trademarked Terms
As shown in the screenshot above, there are various keywords that contain trademarked terms, such as bluey, sonic, and frozen. You should stay away from these niches as pursuing them leads to shop suspension due to copyright infringement. While the rest sub-niches do not represent any trademark and can be analysed further.
In the screenshot above, keywords, such as ‘tea party invitation’, ’90s party invitation’, and ‘pool party invitations’ have high search volume and low competition and do not represent any trademark; therefore, these sub-niches are worth analyzing further.
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.
As shown in the screenshot above, the keywords ‘wedding checklist’ and ‘wedding timeline’ have high search volume and low competition (indicated by the green color). As a result, you can analyze these sub-niches further to check if they are ideal to sell on Etsy.
Similarly, you can search terms like printable, mockup, and poster to find low-competition niches with eRank.
3. Do Not Ignore Keywords with Low Search Volume in eRank
eRank underestimates search volume for keywords. For example, if you search for “realtor Instagram template,” you will notice that eRank shows a monthly search volume of <20. However, if you check another popular tool, Everbee, the monthly search volume for this keyword is much higher at 200+. If you check the ‘top realtor Instagram template listings’ on Etsy, they are making consistent sales. This proves that eRank is clearly underestimating the demand here. Therefore, you should check the demand for low search volume keywords in your niche directly on Etsy as well as Everbee. Furthermore, there can also be other reasons as to why a research tool shows search volume lower than the actual demand. You can read more about this in the article Etsy Product Research: 5 Reasons Not to Ignore Low Search Volume Keywords.
4. Validate Current Demand on Etsy
You should assess the current demand for identified niches and sub-niches directly on Etsy:
- Check for ‘Bestsellers’ and ‘Popular Now’ tags
- Check the Demand on the Listing Page
- Check Recent Review Dates
You can learn how to perform the above checks in the article Etsy Product Research: How to Spot Winning Products and Avoid Common Mistakes.
5. Check for Differentiation Opportunities
Before picking any product for your Etsy shop, you should think about the following:
- Can I offer a better design?
- Can I make better listing photos than competitors?
- Can I offer similar or even more customization options than competitors?
- Are competing sellers big with marketing budgets or small?
After ensuring that differentiation opportunities exist, you should only then pick a product to sell.
You can use these strategies for any product type. If you are already an established seller of physical or digital products, it can help you generate new product ideas in your niche, enabling you to expand your business. The above products are just examples, and Etsy is a huge marketplace with many niches that remain untapped. As you become more and more aware of various product types, you will definitely discover many keywords to conduct your niche research in eRank.
Etsy is a dynamic marketplace with constantly emerging niches that 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.
The author has firsthand experience using data-driven research tools to launch and manage an Etsy storefront.