Oops sorry. I remember someone mentioning it as the dark side.
I just wondered that if E is hashtagged it might bring more publicity to folksy and opening up new customers. I have done this on one of mine to see what happens as an experiment.
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Not sure this comment will help Folksy at all [
I really do not recommend doing that it is far more likely to work the other way !
But that aside, individual promotion is not the issue here. It is the invisibility of Folksy on the search engines we are discussing 
fitfam_30](https://www.instagram.com/fitfam_30/)
Send pic on👉 @etsy__promotion 
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I was trying to google what that actually meant! I think it maybe a bot? Or maybe it asks people to post to pay for higher level of promotion?
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I use instagram a little and am trying to use it more although like you I’m not very clued up about it. My instagram page has my Et** shop linked and I can’t change that - but what I do try to do is promote my Folksy shop items much more often and always make sure there are prominent highlighted links to my Folksy shop.
If I am showcasing a Folksy item I don’t mention Et** in any way and make sure all my # are Folksy related and not Et**. Personally I think there is room for both platforms as they are very different to each other - but my heart is firmly with Folksy and trying to make Folksy bigger, better and more successful. (I also love the fact Folksy is a British company showcasing UK crafters and artists.)
Now let’s get back to the thread re ‘why Folksy items are not showing up on google searches?’.
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It is Spam and best deleted and the poster blocked.
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On my insta and fb i have a Linktr.ee link where both folksy and e*** are listed, i also include all my social media links as well - not sure if thats something you would want to do
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Thanks Jennie - I shall look into it as Linktree sounds very interesting and anything that raises profiles can’t be bad.
This is mine, i do get some views via this link, not loads as I’m not great at been present on social media
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Thanks for this - just set up a Linktree, been meaning to do it for ages!
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Absolutely. Mother’s Day is 4 weeks away. It is normally for me very busy but is unlikely to be this year as however nicely I talk to Google it will Not bring up Folksy in a general search for Mother’s or Mothers or however you spell it Day gifts. And I’m sure that lots and lots of people do search generally… for ideas.
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I know that the new shop stats are not a direct comparison with the old ones, however I used to see source as Google, Bing or Duck, duck go, now I don’t see that at all. The only views seem to come from Folksy or Facebook, this can’t be right. Also, if someone is aware of Folksy the internal search isn’t very helpful either. I have searched for both my own items and items I would be interested in buying and less relevant search items come up before my actual search term.
Why are Folksy not coming back to us with some answers, as it affects their revenue too?
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So I decided to try a slightly more targeted mothers day google search and glory be Folksy appeared last on the 10 page. Now as a new customer this has not helped me in my search at all as it didn’t land me anywhere near Mother’s day gifts … though I was offered Valentine gifts for men.
I have very little hope of my usual run up to Mother’s Day busy sales period this year.
PS the other platform I sell on was top of page 1 and oddly i sold a mothers day gift on there this morning.
PPS I have put my heart and soul and lots and lots of Joy into my Folksy shop but am beginning to give up.
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I’ve been following this thread with interest and I’m becoming very worried. My sales too have dropped off dramatically just recently.
Joy, @JOYSofGLASS I know what a prolific seller you are on this platform, and how hard you work at your social media promotion. I also know what an advocate you’ve always been for Folksy. If you yourself are seeing the same trend and are concerned about it, then I know it’s serious! I’ve tried a few similar generic searches to the ones you’ve mentioned, and come up with the same Folksy void.
Although I do craft fairs, and am a member of a few groups of crafters who organise themed Facebook online markets, Folksy has always been my only online shop. I’ve ploughed all my efforts into it, taking the view that to open a shop on another platform would just split my customer base and take double the effort. Over the years, my hard work has paid off and I’ve seen sales on here grow. Suddenly, it’s like someone has turned off the tap. I’m now wondering whether I need to take the plunge and try another option - although I really don’t want to. Realistically, the only platform that it makes sense for me to turn to is the one that I’ve always avoided like the plague. I see nothing good in them apart from visibility!
I really hope we get some answers soon because I desperately need to turn things around. This is my only job, and I hate that I’m no longer pulling my weight when it comes to contributing to the household income.
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This whole thread does seem to have highlighted a real concern - I think all we can do is give the Folksy team some time to find out what seems to be the cause (or causes) - hopefully they’ll be able find out why this is apparently happening and come up some solutions.
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It would be helpful if the ‘management’ gave an update on progress to resolve this issue. I have been a member for over a year- new boy- and have enjoyed the community, however my sales have been poor, my fault in a way as I do not use social media at all but hoped that Folksy would provide a platform to sell my wares. At £5 a month it was not a great loss but with the increase by 50% its essential to get some sales, to break even I need 1 sale a month. Never going to achieve that with current lack of coverage so will review membership next month and resort to craft fairs again.
Sad really
Les
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No reply from Folksy in over a week… I think it’s really important we get an update on this urgently, even if it’s just to confirm they’re working on this as I am very worried. As Helen said, if the likes of @JOYSofGLASS are starting to lose the Folksy faith this is really disheartening and concerning. I’m also seriously worried that it was sellers that raised the alarm on this and not Folksy - were they aware?
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It is a dilemma - like you I’ve been on Folksy for a year. I have covered my costs so I’m happy to renew my membership (annual £75). I think of Folksy as more than just a selling platform - the community keeps me focused on my work and is a great resource in terms of information and new ideas plus there’s trestle events etc. which are interesting. I am slowly getting more social media savvy - so important in online selling.
This general lack of visibility which Folksy seems to be experiencing does need attention but if they can sort it out then Folksy have a lot to offer. Since joining Folksy my sales have markedly improved all round on other platforms like ‘Ets*’ - I’m sure this is linked to putting into practice what I’ve learnt on Folksy. I also have a feeling that increasingly people will prefer to ‘shop UK’, ‘shop small’ and ‘shop Handmade’ - I think that more people are becoming disenchanted with the ‘shopping experience’ offered by the big three (Ama*, Eba* and Ets*) especially as ‘suspect shops’ and ‘poor quality items’ seem to find there way there. If Folksy can raise its profile and maintain a position as an alternative place to shop safely for genuine ‘UK handmade’ items it could be a very interesting place to be.
I think we’re all waiting now for ‘the management’ to put us in the picture re. ‘current lack of general views’ and hopefully find some fixes!
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Hi Joy
If you are noticing a big down fall in sales and are very concerned we do have a problems as sellers.
We are all paying for a service to help sell our products. It’s a business in it’s own right offering sellers a service which one would expect would include search engine optimisation.
Management must be aware seller’s are seriously discussing a lack of sales and a lack in getting views. We are now aware of little search engine visibility which is adding to the problem. You are showing indepth knowledge and research regarding the matter. Those of us involved in this forum discussion are very grateful for your time.
However, I noticed a progressive drop in sales when Google analytics was stopped. The link to has now disappeared in my shop. I had it activated all the time. I seem to recall an email from management informing us it was stopping but I can’t remember the reasons given.
I have found this link and wounder if our drop in sales and search engine visibility may have something to do with it! Your knowledge alongside other sellers is fare greater than mine regarding this subject.
I just googled ‘What is Google Analytics’ and this came up
What is Google Analytics and how does it work? - TechTarget
www.techtarget.com › definition › Googl…
](What is Google Analytics and how does it work?)
Google Analytics is a web analytics service that provides statistics and basic analytical tools for search engine optimization (SEO) and marketing purposes.
Management silence is now defining! They do know we are discussing this topic because a member of staff has added to this discussion asking for our help. I did reply, but have not had a response back from him yet!
I think the least they can do now is be open and transparent with us with some form of an explanation as to what has gone wrong since they made changes to their site which appears to be clearly affecting our sales. Or an explanation of what they are doing to resolve the issue before seller’s like yourself and me decide to say goodbye and move on to sites which do provide search engine visibility for their sellers. (I know you and others are selling on other sites very successfully).
The hype in selling fees are now comparable to other selling platforms. Jumping ship will no longer actually cost more in sellers and membership fees. I can’t afford loyalty for much longer and I will certainly miss the friendly selling community.
I am not currently making enough in sales to pay for my monthly busines outgoings and I am not covering the costs of raw materials on the odd sale i am currently making.
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I think they changed the stats because Google analytics are changing and I think will soon no longer work with Folksy. I use Google Analytics sometimes to see where sales are coming from and there is a big notice on the site about it going in its current form and havent had the time to work out what that means to me,
" On 1 July 2023, this property will stop processing data. Starting in March 2023, for continued website measurement, you should create a new Google Analytics 4 (GA4) property, or one will be created for you based on your original property and reusing existing site tags".
The problem with the new Folksy stats is that we now have no comparison data over past performance. I used to be able to view current month stats and then same month last year to compare but all we now have is a 7 day snapshot which is not useful if trying to see what is currently happening.
All I know is that my views and therefore sales are down and have been for several months. Probably since the new Folksy search was introduced.
I’m not a Google expert but I am an analyst and have read various articles which suggest that recently Google has changed its ranking of sites to be more selective which is maybe leaving Folksy, which is now quite an old build, dropped off the bottom of their ranking…
I am still getting sales. Had one just now. I’ve tried to track how new customers are getting to my listings and am concluding they are coming in directly from one of my own promotional links which I have spread across social media. Certainly the last two new customer sales were Not via any external search engine or via the internal Folksy search but landed directly on one of my listings…
I do have a Facebook / IG mother’s day promotion running at the moment, which I have paid for, and as Folksy is the most direct link from my FB business page that invariably leads to some sales here even if Folksy is not tagged in this particular promotion.
I note that last February which was a normal month (after the two previous Covid years) I sold 21 pieces on Folksy up to the 19th (I then went on holiday for three+ weeks).
This year up to the 22nd I have sold 13 pieces…(just 9 up to the comparable 19th).
That to me indicates a significant drop in sales.
Let’s hope that Folksy at some point will come back to us because it is getting very frustrating without any input from them.
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Same here @testwoodwoodcraft I am currently running at a loss, which in anybody’s book just isn’t good business sense.
I’m rapidly reconsidering if my Folksy shop is worth keeping, I love it here and I am totally on board with the whole Folksy ethos, but, when you are actually losing money them maybe it’s time to move on.
I keep saying I’ll give it another month ………
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