To judge Etsy competition for a phrase, search it on Etsy and read the first page as a whole: the result count, the review histories of the shops at the top, the badges and ads, the price range, and how closely the top titles match your exact words. A phrase is worth targeting when that page shows gaps you can fill, such as loose matches, weak first photos or a price band you can beat on value, not simply when the result count is low.
This is for sellers choosing what to design next, especially new shops deciding where a first collection has a real chance. Keyword tools estimate demand, but the results page is what buyers actually see, and reading it takes a few minutes per phrase. How to find Etsy keywords from the search bar covers where the phrases come from, and this article covers how to judge them once you have a list.
What a results page shows, and what it does not
Etsy says "Search results are ordered by how relevant the items are to what you search for" (Etsy Help). It also says results differ from shopper to shopper (Etsy Help), and that placement for any keyword also depends on "keyword relevance and any search filters buyers may apply" (Etsy Community). The page you see is one view, not the ranking itself, so check a phrase more than once, on the app and on the website, before you decide.
Some of the page is paid. Etsy Ads appear in "Etsy search, Category pages, Market Pages" (Etsy Help), and "Ads use a different algorithm than results in regular Etsy search" (Etsy Help). When you read competition, skip the listings marked as ads and look at what ranks without them.
The five things to read on the first page
Result count
Etsy shows how many results match your search. A big number does not always mean hard competition, because it counts loose matches too. The count is most useful compared with related phrases: if "dog mom shirt" returns far more results than "corgi mom sweatshirt", the longer phrase is a smaller field. Long-tail keywords on Etsy: how specific is too specific? explains where narrowing stops helping.
Review histories of the top shops
Reviews build up slowly. Buyers have 100 days to leave one, and Etsy's review score is "a recency-weighted average" (Etsy Help). A first page made only of shops with long review histories is hard for a new shop to break into. A page that mixes established shops with newer ones suggests there is room. Read this for your own decision only, and never copy what those shops make.
Badges and ads
A Star Seller badge means the shop met Etsy's service bar: replies to 95% of first messages within 24 hours, 95% of orders shipped on time with tracking, an average rating of 4.8 or higher, and at least 5 orders and $300 in sales over the past 3 months (Etsy Help). A page full of badges means you will compete on service as well as on design. Many ads at the top tell you other sellers are paying to appear on that search, which suggests they expect buyers there, and the ads push the unpaid results further down the page.
Prices
Look at the spread, not the lowest price. Etsy's Marketplace Insights tool shows the price ranges of recently bought listings for search terms, and you can save up to 50 searches to come back to (Etsy Help). That tells you what buyers paid, which is more useful than what sellers ask. For US sellers, shipping is part of the picture too: Etsy says "US listings with domestic shipping prices lower than $6 will be prioritized in search" (Etsy Help). Does price affect where your listing appears on Etsy? goes further.
Title match and first photos
Count how many top results match your exact phrase. If you search "corgi mom sweatshirt" and the first page shows general dog shirts, buyers are not finding an exact match, and that is your opening. Then look at the first photos. Etsy's own checks ask for a clear, well-lit primary photo that shows one finished product, with no collages (Etsy Help). A page of dark, busy or collage photos is easier to stand out on than a page of clean mockups.
A quick scoring table
Run each phrase through the same six checks and note which column it lands in:
| Check | Easier to enter | Harder to enter |
|---|---|---|
| Result count against related phrases | Lower than its neighbours | Among the highest you checked |
| Review histories of the top shops | A mix of new and established shops | Almost all long histories |
| Star Seller badges and ads | Few badges, few ads | Badges on most results, many ads |
| Price range | Wide, with room for a clear value tier | Tight band at low prices |
| Exact-phrase match | Top results only loosely match | Top results all match exactly |
| First photos | Collages, dark or busy shots | Clean, consistent mockups |
Deciding: target, narrow or skip
If most checks land in the easier column, target the phrase as it is. If most land in the harder column, narrow it: add a recipient, a style, a product type or an occasion, then read the new results page. A mixed result usually means you can compete with a sharper design and a better first photo than the page shows. If every phrase in a niche lands in the harder column, how to tell if a design niche is saturated helps you decide whether to move on.
Two cautions. The page tells you about buyers' choices, not about a design you should copy: keep your work original and leave trademarks, characters and brand names alone. And remember that your own shop competes too. Reviews, policies and service sit behind every listing, as shop-level signals Etsy looks at explains.
Where Alomations fits after the decision
Research stays on Etsy search and keyword tools, and Alomations takes over once you have picked the phrase. A listing run writes a buyer-intent title within Etsy's 140 characters, all 13 tags and a description around the design, and SEO preferences let you set title length and tag style once for every run. Once listings are live, Aloma, the AI assistant, reads your own shop and answers questions like which listings score under 70, what sells best in your shop and what those listings share, and the listing score gives ten checks with the fix for each. More on the features page.
Frequently asked questions
Is a low result count always a good sign?
No. A very low count can mean few buyers search that phrase at all. Before you design for it, check that Etsy's search bar suggests the phrase or something close to it, and look up its recent price range in Marketplace Insights.
Should I avoid a phrase if page one is full of Star Sellers?
Not always. It means service matters for that phrase. If your processing time and replies can match theirs, a better design can still earn a place.
How many results pages should I read?
The first page carries most of the signal. Glance at the second to see whether the pattern holds, and recheck on another device, since results differ from shopper to shopper.
Can a keyword tool replace reading the results?
A tool estimates demand, while the results page shows what you are up against. Use both: the tool to find phrases, the page to judge them.
You can turn the phrases you choose into finished listings with Alomations on the free plan.
