How a personalized candle Etsy shop rebuilt momentum through seasonal SEO, smarter listing strategy, product prioritization, and more controlled Etsy Ads management.
+43% Revenue Growth YoY (Jan-May 2026)
$29.2K Revenue (Jan–May 2026)
+72% Revenue Growth YoY (April 2026)
+55% Revenue Growth YoY (May 2026)
11.9% Conversion Rate (December 2025)
The Client: A high-potential candle shop that needed renewed visibility
TheWhimsicalWicksCo is an Etsy shop selling funny, personalized, sports-themed, zodiac, birthday, wedding, and occasion-based candles. Customers typically buy the products for birthdays, hobbies, sports-related gifts, and special occasions. The shop already had strong production capacity, with made-to-order labels and a fulfillment setup built to handle high order volume.
The shop had already proven there was demand. In 2023, the launch of sports candles created major growth, and many of the listings became bestsellers. However, by mid-2025, the shop was no longer performing at the same level. The owner wanted to bring the shop back closer to its previous strength and rebuild consistent off-peak sales.
The Challenge: A shop with proven products, but declining momentum
When we began working with TheWhimsicalWicksCo in June 2025, the shop had experienced a major drop compared to previous years. Traffic and revenue in 2025 were down significantly, and Etsy Ads were no longer generating the same level of visibility. In June 2025, Etsy Ads generated only 321 clicks compared with 5,758 clicks in June 2024, a 94% decrease. Orders from Etsy Ads dropped from 231 in June 2024 to only 18 in June 2025.
There were also deeper shop-history challenges. Several top listings had previously been removed due to IP claims, and the owner shared that around 30 top listings were removed at once in 2024, putting the account at risk. One top listing had also lost traction after major title, description, and image changes.
The shop did not need a simple keyword refresh. It needed a recovery strategy: better listing structure, stronger seasonal planning, more careful ad decisions, improved shop sections, and a safer approach to products that had previously driven revenue.
The Strategy
1. Rebuilding search visibility around buyer intent
We focused on enriching titles and tags so the shop could be found through a wider variety of relevant search phrases. Instead of relying only on broad gift terms, the strategy included stronger product-related phrases, seasonal phrases, zodiac searches, sports-related demand, and exact wording from Etsy’s current landing pages. The initial analysis showed that “candle” was no longer among the shop’s top search terms, so improving product relevance became an important part of the SEO direction.
2. Using Etsy landing pages as a seasonal roadmap
Each month, we monitored Etsy’s active landing pages and used those signals to guide optimization. The shop was prepared for Valentine’s Day, Women’s Day, Easter, weddings, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Pride Month, graduation, zodiac birthdays, and other seasonal opportunities. For example, we optimized for phrases such as “Valentines Day Gift,” “Self Care Gifts,” “Candles and Home Fragrance,” “Anniversary Gifts,” “Easter Candles,” “Birthday Gifts,” “Graduation Gifts,” and “Gifts for Dad.”
3. Prioritizing the products with the strongest timing
The strategy was not only about optimizing existing listings. We also guided which products should receive attention based on demand windows. Sports candles, zodiac candles, wedding candles, Father’s Day candles, and personalized candles were prioritized at the right time. When the Dodgers candle started gaining traction, related baseball candles were optimized to capture increased interest.
4. Improving shop structure and merchandising
We adjusted shop sections to better match current demand and make the store easier to browse. Seasonal sections were added or removed when needed, including Valentine’s, Feminist Candles, Anniversary Gifts, Easter, Teacher Gifts, and Father’s Day. Personalized wedding versions of existing “Your Text Here” candles were also duplicated and optimized specifically for wedding buyers.
5. Managing Etsy Ads more carefully
Etsy Ads were monitored closely, with budgets adjusted based on ROAS trends. Listings with weak performance were removed from ads, while timely seasonal, zodiac, and sports listings were added when demand was rising. By May 2026, Etsy Ads were running with a $25 daily budget and a ROAS of 2.4. In June, the new listing-level Etsy Ads functionality was also identified as an opportunity to control spend more effectively by listing.
The Results: Momentum returned in the second half of 2025
After a difficult first half of 2025, the shop began showing a clear improvement from July onward. Revenue started increasing in August and turned positive year over year from August, with steady growth continuing through the rest of the year. The strongest results came in Q4, especially November at +30% YoY and December at +15% YoY. December finished at approximately $46.8K in revenue, with an 11.9% conversion rate, traffic up 12%, and orders up 28% compared to the previous year. Etsy Ads ROAS also increased to 3.2 in December.
Growth continued into 2026
The recovery continued into the new year. January 2026 revenue grew by 9% YoY, February grew by 22%, and March grew by 65%, with orders up 74% compared with March of the previous year.
April became one of the strongest signs of recovery. Revenue increased by 72% YoY, reaching $7,596.02, while the conversion rate exceeded 10%.
May continued the positive trend, with revenue increasing by 55% YoY and reaching $7,520.53. For January through May 2026, the shop generated $29,249.61 in revenue, with revenue up 43% compared with the same period last year.
Strategic Takeaways: What started as an SEO refresh became a recovery strategy.
TheWhimsicalWicksCo already had products people wanted. The opportunity was to rebuild the shop’s visibility, protect its strongest categories, and make decisions based on seasonal demand, search behavior, and listing performance.
The growth came from layering several improvements together: stronger keyword targeting, better seasonal timing, smarter product prioritization, cleaner shop sections, more controlled Etsy Ads, and faster reaction to what buyers were already searching for.
The result was a shop that moved from a major 2025 slowdown into consistent year-over-year growth across the first five months of 2026.
