How Many Tags Can You Use on Etsy? 13 Tags, 20 Characters Each

Short answer: every Etsy listing can have 13 tags, and each tag can be up to 20 characters long, spaces included. A tag can be one word or a phrase of several words. Etsy uses your tags, together with your title, category and attributes, to decide which searches your listing can show up in, so every empty tag slot is a search you're missing.

Etsy tag rules at a glance

• 13 tags per listing, the most Etsy allows.
• Up to 20 characters per tag, counting spaces.
• Letters, numbers and spaces, plus a few characters like apostrophes, hyphens and ampersands. Other punctuation is rejected when you save.
• Tags can be phrases. “crochet market bag” is one tag, not three.

Should you use all 13 tags?

Yes. There's no penalty for using all 13, and each one gives your listing another chance to match a buyer's search. Most top-ranking listings fill every slot. If you can't think of 13 phrases, think about the different ways buyers describe the same item: what it is, what it's made of, its style, what it's used for, the occasion and who it's for.

Phrases beat single words

Buyers search in phrases, so a tag like “boho tote bag” matches the way people actually type, while a single word like “bag” is so broad that you compete with every bag on Etsy. Use the 20 characters to describe one specific thing. Multi-word phrases also help Etsy understand the combination, not just the words on their own.

A useful way to fill your 13 tags: 2-3 tags for what the item is (the main phrase and close variations), 2-3 for material and style, 2-3 for use or occasion, 2 for who it's for, and the rest for specific details a buyer might filter by, like colour or size.

Example: 13 tags for a crochet tote bag

1. crochet tote bag
2. crochet market bag
3. boho tote bag
4. cotton shoulder bag
5. handmade tote
6. beach bag
7. reusable grocery bag
8. summer tote
9. crochet purse
10. farmers market bag
11. gift for her
12. eco friendly bag
13. knit tote

Every tag is under 20 characters, none repeats another, and together they cover the item, its style, its uses and a gift angle.

What not to put in your tags

• Duplicates and near-duplicates. Etsy treats singular and plural much the same, so “tote bag” and “tote bags” waste a slot.
• Your category. If the item is listed under Tote Bags, a tag that just says “tote bag” adds less than a more specific phrase.
• Words your attributes already cover, like a colour or occasion you've set in the attributes.
• Other brands, characters or trademarks. They can get your listing taken down.
• Phrases that don't describe your product. A misleading tag may bring views, but it won't bring sales.

Do your tags need to match your title?

Using your most important phrase in both the title and a tag helps Etsy connect them, so it's worth doing for your main phrase. For the rest, use tags to add phrases your title doesn't have room for. Your title has 140 characters and your tags have 13 × 20, so between them you can cover a lot of buyer searches without repeating yourself.

How to find the best tags for your product

1. Type the main phrase for your product into Etsy search and look at the suggestions as you type. They come from what buyers search.
2. Look at the listings ranking on the first page for that phrase and note the phrases they share. The free tag finder does this for you by counting the tags of the top 100 results.
3. Keep only the phrases that truly describe your item.
4. Fill the remaining slots with your own specific details: material, style, use, occasion and recipient.
5. Check after a few weeks in Etsy Stats which searches bring visits, and swap tags that bring nothing for new phrases.

Can you change Etsy tags later?

Yes, you can edit tags at any time from the listing editor, and you don't pay a new listing fee for editing. Give a change a couple of weeks before you judge it, since search visits move from week to week anyway.