We want shoppers to have a great experience when they make a purchase on Etsy. One way we do this: Shops that consistently follow our customer service standards are prioritized in search. We include factors like a shop’s average review rating, message response rate, and case rate from the past three months into search ranking.
Here’s a rundown of factors that go into our customer service standards, along with information about what you can do to boost your score and your search ranking. Keep in mind, your customer and market experience score is just one factor that goes into search ranking.Read How Etsy Search Works for more information about the other factors that go into search.
Average review rating
Good reviews let customers know what to expect when they shop with you and help give them confidence to purchase from your shop. Star ratings of 4 or 5 help attract new buyers and keep them coming back to your shop. For more tips, read How to Get 5-Star Reviews.
Note: New listings will still be shown in search even if they don’t have any reviews or ratings yet, as long as they don’t have any other listing or shop quality issues. For example, if a new listing is missing photos or a return policy, search visibility might be impacted immediately.
Message response rate
Responding to customers’ messages creates a better shopping experience and ensures your customers get answers they need to feel confident in making a purchase from your shop. That’s why responding to initial messages within 48 hours is one of our customer service standards. Similar to Star Seller, we only look at the first message within a thread and messages sent through your auto-responder. And we exclude any messages in your From Etsy inbox as well as spam.
On-time shipping & tracking
Shipping your orders on time helps give buyers peace of mind so that they know when to expect their orders. Check out our Shipping Checklist for more information.
Case rate
When something goes wrong with an order, we always encourage buyers to work with you first. If you can’t reach a resolution, buyers will sometimes ask Etsy to step in by opening a case. Not all cases will count against you or reflect negatively on your shop, as long as you're meeting our customer service standard. For this stat, we only count cases under $250 where a refund was taken from your Payment account. So if you meet Etsy Purchase Protection coverage then the cases won’t be counted here.
Bonus: Build buyer trust with a Star Seller badge
Consistently going above and beyond for your customers could also help you become a Star Seller, which serves as a further trust signal to buyers and can drive increased conversion for your shop. We'll let you know if your shop is meeting customer service standards on the first of every month, and how this impacts your visibility. You can also keep track of your daily progress on your customer service stats page.
Continue reading > Checklist: Optimizing Your Shop for Etsy Search
Go back > The Ultimate Guide to Etsy Search
Note: Etsy search is always changing and every shop is different. These are some of the current best practices we recommend and we’ll regularly update this content to keep you informed*.
*As of August 2025
Header photo of Armanda Colson, Armanda C Photography
Words by Etsy Staff
