Print-on-demand is Etsy's most crowded subcategory with over 10 million POD listings. The product itself is identical across sellers — your listing copy is the ONLY ranking differentiator.
POD keyword strategy is fundamentally about NICHE DEPTH. 'Funny t-shirt' has 2 million competing listings. 'Funny cat dad retirement shirt' has 50. Go 3-4 levels deep into micro-niches.
Title formula: [Niche/Theme] [Product Type] | [Recipient] | [Occasion] | [Style] | [Brand/Blank].
Each listing should target a DIFFERENT keyword combination. Don't create 50 listings all targeting 'funny cat shirt' — create 50 listings targeting 50 different micro-niches.