T. Ryan Rogers - Etsy "Ad goals" don't do anything. -- Etsy

2023-11-01

Etsy "Ad goals" don't do anything. -- Etsy

There's a lot of discussion floating around online (like this, this, this, this, and this) about the effect of Etsy's so-called "ad goals" on your Etsy ad budget. The "ad goals" don't affect anything, and I've got the proof straight from Etsy. At the time of writing, I couldn't find anything in the official Seller Handbook that explained this. (Etsy, if you're reading this, that's the logical place to put this infomation.)

The question: What are "Ad goals"?

If you're an Etsy seller, you should be familiar with the "Shop Manager" tab, which contains the "Marketing" option, which reveals the "Etsy Ads" option when clicked:

Then, near the very bottom of your Etsy Ads page (assuming you're currently running some ads), there's this enticing section, which reads:

Tell us about your ad goals

We get it. Goals change. Update yours at any time.

Update your goal

Clicking the "Update your goal" button leads finally to these five infamous options with mysterious meanings:

How would Etsy Ads best serve you?

Tell us your top shop goal right now. Don't worry, you can update your goal at any time.

Increase visibility and awareness
Drive orders short-term
Promote specific items
Take my sales up a notch
Maximize my exposure to help compete against similar shops

But if you thought that these options have anything to do with how Etsy spends your ad budget, or who they market your product(s) to, or what keywords are allowed to trigger your listings, or your behind-the-scenes "bid" on a specific search term... or any other rational interpretation/assumption/guess based on your marketing experience/knowledge from other platforms/arenas... you'd be wrong.

The answer (directly from Etsy): What the "Ad goals" do

The ad goals don't do anything. Nope. Nothing. Etsy doesn't use your selection in any way that affects the way your money is spent or which shoppers will be shown your products. I heard it straight from the horse's mouth.

Here's a copy of my recent chat transcript with Etsy Support:

Etsy: Hello there! This is... the Etsy Seller Support Team, Thank you for getting in touch! ... I understand that you have some questions about the Etsy ads program! Let me see how we can help you out with this!

Me: My question is, can you tell me the implication of the different "ad goal" options? When I click "update your goal" in the button shown in that screenshot, here are the options I receive:

I attached the above screenshot of the 5 "radio" buttons

Me: What effect does each the different options actually have, behind the scenes?

Etsy: Please allow me a moment to get some information about this for you!

Me: That would be great! FYI, I've already searched the Etsy Seller's Handbook, but could not find any information that actually answers that question.

Etsy: Thank you for waiting! I'm back with you now! In this case these ads goals are just for your guidance on how you want to manage the focus of your Etsy ads campaign. [T]his is for your personal use only regarding why you're using Etsy Ads and your "goals" to get out of your Etsy Ads campaign. You can update it as often as you'd like. None of these options you see will make a change for the Etsy ads campaign on the back-end. For example, you may be using Etsy Ads to boost your sales, you would choose "Take my sales up a notch". Or if you use Etsy Ads to promote one of your listings that is underperforming in normal search, you would choose "promote a specific item"

Me: Are you confirming that Etsy does not change its behavior at all based on my selection? That is to say, the selection does not matter?

Etsy: Correct. [T]he goals are for you to guide on how you want to manage the campaign and what you expect to do with it!

Me: May I make a suggestion?

Etsy: Sure!

Me: Etsy should remove that button. If you google it, you will find that there are numerous blogs, chat rooms, and even Etsy seller questions asking this same question, and no affirmative answer from Etsy. If it doesn't affect anything, remove it. In my own head, I know what I hope to happen when I use ads. But if Etsy is not using that intention to guide how it spends my ad budget, then just remove it.

Etsy: Thanks for your feedback. We really value input from members, and we often take it into consideration when we make changes to the site. I will surely add your comments into my notes so the team in charge of the Etsy ads can know how this has been affecting you and other sellers. Thank you for your honesty in this situation!

Me: Thank you for listening to my concern! I strongly suggest that your team pretend you are an Etsy seller, and try to google the answer to my question. Then you will see how people are discussing this topic.

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