We audit a lot of listings from Vietnamese sellers. The same mistakes show up over and over. Usually because the title is a literal translation of how the seller would describe the product in Vietnamese, not how a US buyer would search for it.
Here are five concrete fixes you can apply tonight.
1. Lead with the product type and primary use
US buyers search for what they want, not for what you make. "Handmade Ceramic Cup VN" describes the product from your point of view. "Handcrafted Vietnamese Ceramic Coffee Mug" describes it from the buyer's point of view.
Notice the difference:
- ❌
Handmade Ceramic Cup VN - ✅
Handcrafted Vietnamese Ceramic Coffee Mug for Morning Brew
The second version contains the product type (mug), the use case (coffee), and the moment (morning). Three things buyers actually type into search.
2. Front-load the highest-converting keyword
Etsy's search ranks early words higher. The first 40 characters matter the most. Don't waste them on filler like "Handmade" or "Beautiful" or "Unique". Those are everywhere.
Instead, put the most specific keyword first:
- ❌
Beautiful Unique Handmade Personalized Wedding Gift for Couple - ✅
Personalized Wedding Gift for Couple, Handmade Wooden Cake Topper
3. Use gift-and-occasion modifiers
A massive share of Etsy traffic is gift shopping. If your product can plausibly be a gift, say so. And name the occasion.
Strong gift modifiers:
gift for [her / him / mom / dad / sister / brother / friend][birthday / wedding / anniversary / housewarming / graduation] giftfor [coffee lovers / book lovers / plant moms / dog moms]
A title like Handcrafted Vietnamese Ceramic Coffee Mug, Minimalist Gift for Coffee Lovers, Housewarming Present covers three gift-shopping moments at once.
4. Add material, style, and color
Etsy uses your title for both search and attribute matching. Including the material (ceramic, wood, leather), style (minimalist, vintage, modern), and color helps with both.
Compare:
- ❌
Wall Print - ✅
Botanical Wall Print, Watercolor Plant Art, Boho Wall Decor in Sage Green
Material (watercolor), style (boho, botanical), color (sage green). Buyers searching for any of those find you.
5. Stop using "Vietnam" as a sales pitch
This one is counter-intuitive. A lot of VN sellers write titles like Handmade Bag from Vietnam thinking "from Vietnam" is a selling point. For most US buyers, it's not. They want to know what the bag is, not where it's from.
Use country only when it genuinely adds craft context:
- ✅
Hand-Embroidered Linen Tote Bag, Traditional Vietnamese Pattern, Slow Fashion
The word "Vietnamese" here is doing work. It qualifies the pattern. In Handmade Bag from Vietnam, "Vietnam" is just dead weight.
Bonus: test the same listing on Etsy search
Open Etsy in an incognito window. Type what you'd search for to find your product. If your listing doesn't appear in the first 3 pages, the title needs work. Repeat for 2–3 buyer personas.
The right title is often boring. It describes the product clearly, includes who it's for, and uses words real people type into Etsy search. Save the poetry for the description.
If this feels like a lot to optimize manually for every listing, that's exactly what we built HeySeller for. AI rewrites listings in the patterns above and explains the reasoning in Vietnamese. Join the beta →