In the ever-evolving world of Etsy, staying competitive and optimizing your store's performance is crucial to be successful. As an Etsy seller, one powerful tool to achieve this is duplicating listings. Although it may seem redundant at first glance, duplicated listings can serve multiple strategic purposes. In this article we explore the various benefits and applications of duplicated listings on Etsy, providing you with insights and practical tips to leverage this strategy effectively.
Every once in while we are receive customer requests and questions about the process of duplicating specific listings, why we should be doing this, what can be changed and what is the purpose of it.
But first..
How to duplicate/copy a listing on Etsy?
Duplicating a listing on Etsy is a simple process that all sellers on the platform should familiarize themselves with. By duplicating a listing, you create an exact copy of existing or drafted listing that allows you to make changes and test different strategies without starting from scratch. To duplicate a listing, follow these easy steps:
- Access your Shop Manager on Etsy.
- Go to the Listings tab.
- Locate the listing you want to copy/duplicate.
- Click on the settings wheel next to the listing.
- Choose the option to copy from the drop-down menu.
- You now have a copy of the listing that you can edit and modify according to your needs.
- Make the necessary changes and adjustments.
- Once you are satisfied, click on "Publish Copy" to publish the duplicated listing.
Does Etsy allow duplicate listings?
The Etsy duplicate listing policy allows multiple listings for the same product as long as you’re able to fulfill those orders.
Under this policy, you can’t create duplicate listings for one-of-a-kind items that can’t be reproduced.
Etsy policy does ban duplicate shops. See that policy in section 1.C of Etsy’s TOS here.
Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should, right?
What are the benefits and reasons to duplicate listings on Etsy?
The duplicating of Etsy listings can be used for different purposes according to your shop's strategy, seasonality, popular trends, low volume of items, A/B testing and many more events and reasons.
Now let's explore the reasons why it is a beneficial strategy for all sellers.
There are few strategies that you want to implement on your shop that duplicated listings can help significantly
1) An easy way of creating similar products
Duplicating listings offers a straightforward convenience. When your listings include various detailed components, like color charts or font charts, duplicating saves you time and effort. Instead of creating a new listing from scratch, you duplicate an existing one and make minor adjustments based on the product specifics. This approach streamlines the listing creation process, allowing you to focus more on other essential aspects of your business.
2) A/B testing
Testing plays a crucial role in any successful Etsy strategy. By duplicating listings, you can experiment and test different tactics to determine what works best for your shop. This strategy allows you to make small changes to a duplicated listing and monitor its performance. Analyzing the data and comparing results afterwards provides valuable insights into what resonates with your target audience, enabling you to optimize your listings accordingly.
3) Testing different thumbnails/pictures of the same product
Thumbnails or the first picture of the listing attract potential buyers to your listing. By duplicating a listing and changing the thumbnail images, you can observe which visuals generate higher click-through rates and conversions. If you want to know more about how to increase your shop's conversion rate you can click here.
Experimenting with different angles, backgrounds, double thumbnails or styling helps you see which thumbnail grabs your target audience's attention and which listing is receiving better exposure. You can then apply this information to your future photo shoots and improving the overall visual appeal of your Etsy shop.
Example:
4) Targeting different keywords or niches
Keyword enrichment and your SEO ensure your listings appear in relevant search results on Etsy, helping potential buyers find your products among millions of listings. If you want be a part of our Etsy Success Program you can click here.
By duplicating a listing and modifying the keywords, you can gauge how different keyword choices affect visibility and sales. Test variations of keywords, focus on long-tail keywords, or examine the performance of specific search terms. This experimentation provides valuable insights into what resonates with your audience and informs your keyword optimization strategy. One of the most used techniques is to target different niches as we can see from this example below
In this case by performing an duplication not only do we change the first picture, but we are targeting the bathroom niche since we observed a huge amount of traffic into the bathroom related keywords.
In the top listing we used general and long tail keywords that described the product while on the bottom listing we enhance the presence of the bathroom related tags
If you are looking ways of how to increase your store's SEO performance you can check our Ultimate SEO Guide for 2024 .
5) Changing the categories
When changing categories in duplicated listings, there are a few best practices to keep in mind to ensure you are making the most of this strategy. Always ensure that the categories you choose are relevant to your product. Misleading categories can frustrate buyers and result in poor reviews or lower conversion rates.
While it's beneficial to place your listings in multiple categories, avoid excessive overlap that might confuse shoppers or make your shop seem disorganized. Each category change should have a clear purpose, and target a specific segment of your future buyers.
6) Adding more listings into the store
Etsy's algorithms promote listings that generate sales. By duplicating your listings and offering more options within your shop, you increase your chances of appearing frequently in search results. This strategy leverages the algorithm's preference for your store, enhancing your visibility and leading to increased conversions. Although the exact workings of the algorithm are not publicly disclosed, having multiple listings has proven to positively impact your shop's performance, especially if you have just a few designs on your portfolio.
7) Testing the price variations
Pricing is another variable that can significantly impact your sales. By duplicating listings and adjusting prices, you can test different pricing strategies to see which ones drive more sales. For example, you might experiment with a slightly higher price on one listing and a lower price on another to find the optimal price point that maximizes your revenue
Conclusion
Duplicating listings on Etsy significantly impacts your sales and overall success on the platform. By using this technique, you save time, test different strategies, and increase your visibility in the algorithm. Whether for convenience, testing, or expanding your product range, duplicating listings offers numerous benefits that contribute to your Etsy business's growth. Remember, duplicating listings is just one of many strategies that can use in for your Etsy store to reach new heights
