How to start an Etsy Ads campaign
This guide walks through launching Etsy Ads: setting a starting budget, choosing which listings to promote, organizing them into ad groups, and reading your first 30 days of results.
An Etsy Ads campaign is shop-wide. You set one daily budget, choose which listings are advertised, and Etsy handles the bidding. There are no keywords to choose. Etsy matches your ads to searches using your listing titles and tags.
Etsy recommends giving a new campaign at least 30 days before judging it. The first weeks work as a learning period, and Etsy says changes during that time can extend it.
Start the campaign
Go to Shop Manager, then Marketing, then Etsy Ads, and select Get started. Enter your daily budget and select Start advertising. In the Etsy Seller app the path is More, Marketing, Etsy Ads.
The minimum daily budget is $1. Etsy’s Seller Handbook suggests $3 to $5 a day for testing, and its help center notes that a higher starting budget can help ads learn.
Review which listings are advertised
When you start, all current listings are advertised by default. Listings you create after the campaign starts are not added automatically, so you choose whether to add them.
Etsy’s handbook suggests promoting all active listings at first so the system gets accurate engagement data. If some items have margins too thin to support ad costs, consider leaving them out from the start.
Turn listings on or off
Open Manage advertised listings. Use the Ad on/off control for a single listing. To change several at once, check their boxes, choose On or Off under Turn Listings:, then select Update.
Turning a listing off stops it from appearing as an ad without affecting the rest of the campaign.
Organize listings into ad groups
Ad groups let you compare sets of listings, such as best sellers, new items, or seasonal products. On the Listings tab, select Create ad group, then Add a group, enter a name, and select Save.
You can create up to 20 groups, and each listing can be in only one group at a time. Assign listings with Add to ad group or the Ad group: dropdown, and turn on Totals row to see a group’s totals.
Choose a listing strategy if available
If your budget is at least $25, you can set a strategy per listing under Optimizing for. Greater visibility spends more for reach, Efficient spending balances visibility and cost, and Lower click cost pays less per click but shows less often.
Listings without their own strategy use the Default listing strategy in the Settings tab. Below $25, every listing uses Efficient spending. Etsy recommends running a strategy for at least 30 days.
Leave the campaign alone for the learning period
Etsy describes the first phase as ads beginning to reach shoppers, and advises avoiding changes for at least 30 days, since changes may extend the learning period. Clicks can take a few weeks to build.
An order counts toward the campaign when a shopper clicks an ad and buys from your shop within 30 days, so early results lag behind spend.
Read your results
The Etsy Ads page shows Ad views, Ad clicks, Click rate, Orders from ads, Revenue from ads, Budget Spent, and ROAS. Views are free, and you pay for clicks. Etsy recommends looking at a time frame of at least 30 days.
Divide a listing’s Budget Spent by its clicks to get its average cost per click. On your Orders page, orders that came from ads show a small megaphone icon.
Use search terms to improve listings
Under each advertised listing, select Search terms to see the words shoppers used to find your ad over the last 30 days. Listings with little ad traffic may not show data.
Terms that bring clicks and orders tell you how buyers describe your product. Terms that bring clicks but no orders can point to a title, photo, or price that does not match what the shopper expected.
Pause or stop when needed
To stop specific listings, uncheck them in Manage advertised listings and select Update. To stop everything, select Pause your ads on the Etsy Ads page, then Turn off ads. The page then shows Restart your campaign for when you are ready to resume.
Before you move on
- Your daily budget is set and saved
- The advertised listings are the ones you intend to promote
- Ad groups are named so you can compare them
- Strategy settings match your budget level
- You have a date 30 days out to review results
Official resources
- How to set up and manage an Etsy Ads campaign
- How to review the performance of your Etsy Ads
- Getting started with Etsy Ads
- How ads are placed in Etsy search
Ad platforms update their tools often. This guide was last reviewed against the official documentation above in October 2026. If your screen looks different, the official help pages have the latest steps.
At a glance
- Level
- Beginner
- Time
- About 25 minutes
- What you need
- A shop past the 15-day waiting period
- Listings with strong photos, titles, and tags
- A daily budget you can sustain for at least 30 days
- Your margin per listing after Etsy fees
Rather have it done for you?
Active Digital Marketing builds and manages Etsy Ads for businesses doing $25,000+ a month in revenue.
Apply to work with usOr get an ad account auditWhere DIY setups go wrong
The most common problems with self-built Etsy Ads setups, and what they cost.
Changing settings every few days
Etsy says changes may extend the learning period. Frequent edits leave you judging a campaign that never settled.
Judging on clicks alone
Clicks cost money. Orders and revenue from ads, compared with your margin after fees, decide whether a listing should stay on.
Advertising every listing indefinitely
Starting broad helps Etsy learn, but after 30 days some listings will have spent without producing orders. Review them and turn off the ones that are not earning their spend.
Ignoring search terms
The search terms view is one of the few places Etsy shows what buyers typed. Skipping it means missing title and tag fixes that can help both ads and organic search.
Forgetting new listings
Listings created after the campaign starts are not added automatically, so a new collection can sit unadvertised.
What this guide doesn't cover
A running campaign is a starting point, not a strategy. Results come from deciding which listings deserve spend, feeding search term data back into titles and tags, and measuring ad revenue against your real margin after Etsy fees and Offsite Ads.
ADM works with brands that sell on Etsy alongside their own store to keep Etsy spend in proportion to what it returns.
- Listing selection based on margin and conversion
- Ad group tests for new products and seasonal lines
- Search term analysis feeding titles and tags
- Strategy testing at the listing level
- Separating Etsy Ads results from Offsite Ads and organic sales
Common questions
Can I choose keywords for Etsy Ads?
No. Etsy matches ads to searches using your listing titles and tags and sets bids automatically. You can see which search terms led shoppers to your ads.
How long should I run Etsy Ads before deciding?
Etsy recommends at least 30 days and advises against changes during that period, because they may extend the learning period.
Do I pay when my ad is shown?
No. Ad views are free. You pay when a shopper clicks the ad.
How does Etsy know a sale came from an ad?
An order counts as an ad order when a shopper clicks your ad and buys any item from your shop within 30 days.
Keep learning
How to Set Up Etsy Ads
Get your shop ready for Etsy Ads: the 15-day wait, where ads live in Shop Manager, how charges are billed, and how Offsite Ads enrollment and fees work.
Read the guideHow to Set an Etsy Ads Budget
How Etsy Ads budgets work: the $1 minimum, your maximum daily budget, how Etsy bids for you, how charges post, and what Offsite Ads fees cost.
Read the guideHow to Create a Meta Ads Campaign
Build your first Facebook and Instagram campaign in Ads Manager: objective, Advantage+ settings, audience, placements, the ad itself, and launch.
Read the guideHow to Create a Google Ads Campaign
Build your first Google Ads Search campaign: objective, networks, locations, AI Max, keywords, responsive search ads, budget, and publishing.
Read the guideHow to Create a TikTok Ads Campaign
Build your first TikTok campaign: pick an objective, choose manual or Smart+, set targeting and placements, upload your ad, and submit it for review.
Read the guideRather have it built right the first time?
If your business does $25,000+ a month in revenue, apply and Mitch will review your accounts personally. Earlier than that? An ad account audit gives you a senior-level fix list you can work through yourself.