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How to Research Competitor Keywords on Etsy Without Any Tools

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Store Score Team

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You don’t need a $20-a-month subscription to see what’s working for the shops outranking you. Etsy already shows you almost everything, if you know where to look.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Paid Etsy SEO tools are useful, but they’re mostly repackaging data that’s already sitting in front of you: Etsy’s own search bar, its sort filters, and the public listing pages of shops already ranking for the terms you want.

This guide walks through a repeatable method for pulling real competitor keyword data using nothing but a browser and Etsy’s own site. It won’t replace a paid tool’s historical search-volume charts, but for the actual question most sellers are trying to answer, which keywords is a top-ranking competitor using, it gets you most of the way there for free.

Why Free Competitor Research Actually Works

Etsy’s search results are themselves a live, constantly-updated dataset of what’s working. Every listing on the first page of results for a given search term is a data point: Etsy’s algorithm already decided that listing was relevant enough, and good enough at converting, to rank there.

You don’t need a third-party tool to read that signal. You need to know how to look at it systematically instead of just browsing it the way a shopper would.

Here’s the deal: the sellers who succeed at manual research aren’t smarter than the ones using paid tools. They’re just more consistent about recording what they find, instead of eyeballing a few listings and moving on.

What You Can and Can’t See Without a Tool

Before starting, it helps to know exactly what’s publicly visible on Etsy versus what requires either a paid tool or the seller’s own Shop Manager access.

Visible to anyone, free:

  • Listing titles, in full
  • Category and the attributes shown on the listing page (color, material, size, etc.)
  • Price, shipping cost, and whether free shipping is offered
  • Review count and average rating
  • Shop’s lifetime sales count and “shop since” date
  • Bestseller and “Etsy’s Pick” badges, when present

Not shown on the visible page, but still findable for free:

  • Listing tags. Etsy stopped displaying a listing’s 13 tags directly on the page years ago, but many listings still expose their tags inside the page’s raw HTML, in structured data Etsy embeds for search engines. Right-click any listing → “View Page Source” (or Ctrl+U) and search the page text for tag-related fields to see them.

Not visible at all, free or paid:

  • Exact unit sales for a specific listing (only the shop-wide lifetime total is public)
  • The competitor’s own internal Etsy Search Analytics data
  • Etsy’s actual relevance scoring for that listing

Step-by-Step: The Free Competitor Keyword Method

Step 1: Search your actual product term and read the autocomplete list

What: Type the plainest, most obvious term for your product into Etsy’s search bar, and don’t press enter yet.
Why: Etsy’s autocomplete suggestions are generated from real shopper search behavior, not guesses, so the list itself is a free keyword source.
How: Note every suggestion, then repeat with a one-word variation (plural vs. singular, a material added, a style word added) to see how the suggestion list shifts.
Example: Typing “candle” surfaces suggestions like “candle gift set” and “soy candle,” which tells you material and gifting are active search modifiers in that category.

Step 2: Sort results by “Best Selling Items” for that term

What: Run the actual search, then use Etsy’s Sort filter to switch from the default relevance sort to Best Selling.
Why: This reorders results toward listings with the strongest sales-and-engagement history for that specific search, which is a much more useful competitor set than whatever loads by default.
How: Open the first 8-10 listings in new tabs so you can compare them side by side.
Example: For “birthday candle gift,” Best Selling sort often surfaces a different, more specific set of listings than the default relevance sort, because it weights proven performance more heavily.

Step 3: Title-mine every listing in your competitor set

What: Read each of the 8-10 titles word by word and log every distinct keyword phrase you see, not just the ones that stand out.
Why: A title is the single strongest keyword signal a seller controls, and Etsy’s Seller Handbook advises front-loading the most important terms since only the first portion of a title shows in search results (The Ultimate Guide to Etsy Search – Etsy Seller Handbook).
How: Build a simple spreadsheet with one row per competitor listing and one column per keyword phrase found, so patterns across multiple shops become visible instead of anecdotal.
Example: If 6 of 10 top listings use some version of “soy candle” and only 2 use “wax candle,” that’s a real signal about which material term buyers are actually typing.

Step 4: Check the page source for tags on your strongest 3-4 competitors

What: For the listings with the most reviews and the highest apparent Best Selling rank, view the page source and search for embedded tag data.
Why: Tags carry keyword variants a seller chose not to put in the title, often because of character limits, which makes them a useful supplement to title-mining alone.
How: Not every listing exposes tags this way reliably, so treat this as a bonus signal on your top few competitors, not a required step for every listing.

Step 5: Cross-reference against Etsy’s own Marketplace Insights

What: If you’re an active seller, check the Marketplace Insights tool inside Shop Manager’s Stats tab for the terms you’ve identified, using the same Search Analytics data explained here to confirm real traffic behind a term.
Why: This tool shows real Etsy search volume and competitiveness data pulled from Etsy’s own platform, not a third-party estimate, for a limited number of terms per week.
How: Prioritize checking the terms that showed up most consistently across your competitor set in Steps 3-4, since you have a limited weekly allowance.

Step 6: Look for the gap, not just the overlap

What: Identify which keyword phrases appeared across multiple top competitors but aren’t currently used anywhere in your own listings.
Why: A term that 6 of 10 top-ranking shops use, and you don’t, is the highest-confidence place to start editing.
How: Add the strongest 1-2 gap terms to your title and the remainder to tags, rather than trying to add everything you found at once.

Reading a Competitor’s Title Like Etsy Does

Not every word in a competitor’s title is a real keyword decision. Some are filler, some are brand-specific, and some are genuinely well-researched terms worth learning from. Etsy’s own search guidance for sellers checks for relevance signals across title, tags, category, and attributes together, not the title in isolation (The Ultimate Guide to Etsy Search – Etsy Seller Handbook), so reading a title well means separating three categories of word:

Head terms: the core product identity (“candle,” “necklace,” “tote bag”). These tell you almost nothing competitively; every listing in the category uses some version of them.

Modifiers: material, style, size, or occasion words layered onto the head term (“soy,” “minimalist,” “personalized,” “birthday gift”). This is where the real competitive signal lives, because modifiers reveal what specific buyer segment the seller is targeting.

Filler: subjective adjectives with no search value (“beautiful,” “amazing,” “unique,” “one of a kind”). If you see these repeated across your competitor set, it’s evidence those sellers are leaving keyword space unused, not a pattern worth copying.

If you’re not sure whether your own listings lean too heavily on filler versus real modifiers, a free Store Score audit flags exactly this pattern across your whole shop’s titles, alongside your shop’s pricing, presentation, and review signals.

This method gets you most of what a paid tool provides for a single keyword decision, but it’s worth being honest about where free research genuinely falls short.

Historical search volume trends. Free methods show you today’s competitive landscape, not whether a term has been growing or shrinking over months. If timing a seasonal keyword launch matters, a paid tool’s trend charts are hard to replicate manually.

Bulk analysis across hundreds of listings. Manually title-mining 8-10 listings per search term is manageable. Doing it across an entire shop’s 200-listing catalog is not, which is where paid tools’ automation genuinely saves time rather than just money.

Exact tag visibility at scale. The page-source method works listing by listing but isn’t reliable or fast enough to build a full competitor tag database the way a dedicated tool can.

For a seller doing occasional, targeted research on a handful of listings, the free method covers the gap well. For a shop managing hundreds of SKUs and running research constantly, a paid tool’s time savings likely justify the cost.

A Worked Example

Say you sell hand-poured candles and want to research the term “fall candle.”

  1. Typing “fall” into the search bar surfaces autocomplete suggestions like “fall candle scents” and “fall home decor candle,” telling you scent-naming and home-decor framing are both active.
  2. Sorting “fall candle” by Best Selling and opening the top 10 listings, title-mining shows 7 of 10 name a specific scent (“pumpkin spice,” “apple cider,” “cinnamon”), while only 3 use the generic word “autumn” instead of “fall.”
  3. Checking page source on the top 3 listings shows two of them also tag “cozy candle” and “housewarming gift,” terms not visible in any of the titles.
  4. Cross-checking “pumpkin spice candle” in Marketplace Insights shows real, verifiable search volume for that specific phrase.
  5. The gap: your own listing currently just says “Fall Candle,” missing both the specific scent name and the gift-occasion angle that top competitors are all using.

That’s a concrete, evidence-backed title rewrite, built entirely from data Etsy already made public.

Mistakes Sellers Make Doing This Manually

Only checking one or two competitor listings. A single listing’s title reflects one seller’s choice, not a pattern. Cross-referencing at least 8-10 listings is what turns anecdote into signal.

Copying a competitor’s exact title instead of the pattern behind it. The goal is identifying which keyword categories (material, style, occasion) top listings share, then applying those categories to your own product honestly, not duplicating someone else’s specific phrasing.

Ignoring the Best Selling sort entirely. Etsy’s default relevance sort mixes in newer, unproven listings. Best Selling sort narrows the set to listings with an actual performance track record for that search term.

Treating filler words as keywords worth copying. As covered above, subjective adjectives repeated across a competitor set are a sign of unused keyword space, not evidence those words work.

Doing this once and never repeating it. Etsy’s search results and Best Selling rankings shift over time as new listings and seasonal terms enter the picture. A useful research process, even a free one, is repeated periodically, not treated as a one-time task.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I really see competitor keywords without paying for a tool?

Yes, for titles completely, and for tags on many (though not all) listings via the page source method. What free research can’t fully replicate is historical search-volume trend data across long time periods.

How many competitor listings should I look at per keyword?

At least 8-10, sorted by Best Selling rather than default relevance, so the pattern you find reflects proven performance rather than a single seller’s guess.

Are Etsy listing tags actually visible if I view page source?

On many listings, yes; Etsy stopped showing tags directly on the page but the underlying tag data is often still present in the page’s structured HTML, which any browser’s “View Page Source” feature can display.

What’s the fastest free way to find related keywords?

Etsy’s own search-bar autocomplete. Type your head term and read the suggested completions, which are generated from real shopper search behavior rather than a guess.

Is Marketplace Insights the same as a paid keyword tool?

It’s Etsy’s own built-in research tool, available in Shop Manager’s Stats tab, and it shows real Etsy search volume and competitiveness data. It’s limited to a set number of keyword lookups per week, unlike most paid tools.

Should I copy a competitor’s exact title?

No. Identify the keyword categories (material, style, occasion) that top-ranking listings share, then apply those categories honestly to your own specific product, rather than duplicating another seller’s exact phrasing.

How often should I redo this research?

Periodically, not once. Best Selling rankings and search suggestions shift as new listings enter a category and seasonal terms change, so a quarterly check is a reasonable minimum for an active shop.

Does the Best Selling filter show the same thing as relevance sort?

No. Relevance sort (Etsy’s default) blends newer, less-proven listings into results. Best Selling sort narrows the set toward listings with a real, established sales-and-engagement history for that specific search term.

What should I do with filler words I see in competitor titles?

Generally skip them. Repeated vague adjectives like “beautiful” or “unique” across a competitor set usually indicate unused keyword space in those listings, not language worth copying into yours.

Is this method different for a brand-new shop with no reviews yet?

The research method is identical, but a new shop should weight the gap-keyword step more heavily, since it has no existing sales history to lean on and needs every listing’s keywords doing full work from day one.

Can I use this same method for tag research, not just titles?

Yes, though tag visibility is less reliable than title visibility since not every listing exposes tags through page source. Treat any tags you do find as a useful supplement to title-mining, not a replacement for it.

Key Takeaways

  • Etsy’s own search bar, sort filters, and public listing pages are a free, constantly-updated competitor keyword dataset.
  • Sort by Best Selling, not default relevance, before title-mining a competitor set.
  • Separate head terms, real modifiers, and filler words when reading a competitor’s title.
  • Many listings still expose their 13 tags in the page’s raw HTML source, even though Etsy no longer displays them directly.
  • Marketplace Insights, in Shop Manager’s Stats tab, gives real Etsy search-volume data for a limited number of terms per week.
  • Paid tools mainly add value for historical trend data and bulk analysis across large catalogs, not single-keyword research.

The Bottom Line

Competitor keyword research on Etsy doesn’t require a subscription. It requires a repeatable process: search your term, sort by Best Selling, title-mine 8-10 listings, check page source on your strongest few, and cross-reference against Marketplace Insights before deciding what to add.

If you want a faster starting point than manual research, get a free Store Score audit. It checks your own shop’s SEO signals, including keyword coverage across your titles, alongside pricing, presentation, and reviews, so you know exactly where to focus before you start comparing against competitors.

Related Articles

For sellers researching a specific product category in more depth, Marketplace Hackers’ Etsy category guides cover keyword and niche research for individual product types.

About This Research

Store Score is a free shop-audit tool for Etsy sellers, built by StableCommerce. It scores a shop across four categories (SEO, pricing, presentation, and reviews/social proof) using only publicly visible shop data read through the Etsy Open API, and returns specific, ranked recommendations instead of generic advice.

This guide applies the SEO criteria from that audit framework to a manual, no-cost competitor research process, cross-checked against Etsy’s own Seller Handbook guidance on search relevance.

*Content reviewed and updated: 2026-02-24*

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