The Secret to Getting "Etsy's Pick" and "Bestseller" Badges

You've seen them. The little orange "Bestseller" badge. The prestigious "Etsy's Pick" label.

These badges are more than just ego boosters. They are Trust Superpowers.

When a customer sees a badge, their brain instantly shortcuts: "This is safe. This is popular. I should buy this." Listings with these badges often see a massive spike in conversion rate, which leads to more sales, which locks in the badge. It’s a virtuous cycle.

But how do you actually get them?

Badge 1: The "Bestseller" (The Math Game)

The "Bestseller" badge is algorithmic. No human at Etsy decides to give this to you. It is purely based on data.

The Criteria:

1. Sales Volume: You need a high volume of sales over the past 6 months.
2. Category Specific: This is crucial. You aren't competing with everyone on Etsy. You are competing with other items in your specific sub-category (e.g., "Funny Cat Mugs").

The Strategy: Niche Down to Win It is incredibly hard to be a Bestseller for "T-Shirt." It is much easier to be a Bestseller for "Retro 90s Nurse T-Shirt."

By using specific long-tail keywords and categorizing your item correctly, you shrink the pool of competitors. If you can dominate sales in a small pond, the algorithm awards you the badge.

The Fuel: Conversion Rate You can't get high sales volume without a high conversion rate. If you drive 1,000 people to your listing but only 2 buy, the algorithm sees your listing as "low quality" and buries it. If 50 people buy, the algorithm sees it as "hot" and boosts it.

Badge 2: "Etsy's Pick" (The Style Game)

This badge is different. It is curated by humans. Etsy’s style editors browse the platform looking for items to feature in marketing emails and homepage collections.

The Criteria:

1. Visual Excellence: This is #1. The photo must look professional, trendy, and editorial. It needs to look like it belongs in a magazine.
2. Reliability: They rarely feature shops that aren't "Star Sellers." They need to know you will fulfill the orders if they send you thousands of visitors.
3. On-Trend: Your item matches current aesthetic trends (e.g., "Cottagecore," "Minimalist," "Y2K").

The Strategy: Look Expensive You cannot get an Etsy's Pick badge with a generic Placeit mockup. It looks too "stock photo."

Etsy's editors want texture, lighting, and genuine lifestyle context.

• Bad: A flat design on a white t-shirt.
• Good: A t-shirt worn by a model in a sunlit cafe, with a grain filter and editorial composition.

This is exactly why we built PODMocks. Our AI generates "editorial" style images that catch the eye of curators. We focus on the "vibe"—shadows, wrinkles, depth—that makes a photo look like art.

Summary: How to Win Both

1. For Bestseller: Focus on SEO (to get found) and Conversion Rate (to get sales). Niche down your keywords so you can dominate a specific category.
2. For Etsy's Pick: Focus on Aesthetics. Audit your shop. Do your photos look like a catalogue, or like a brand? If you want the badge, you need to look the part.

Create "Etsy's Pick" worthy photos in seconds with PODMocks →