Skillshare Help Center

How to Categorize, Merchandise, and Optimize Your Class on Skillshare

Taking time to accurately classify and optimize your Skillshare class helps match it to students’ interests and ensures it’s easily found on our platform.

In this article:

Class Details: Setting Your Class Up for the Right Audience

The Class Details page for each of your classes contains a number of key settings that you should adjust to ensure your class is reaching the right audience.

 

Class Language

We accept classes taught in English, French, German, Portuguese, or Spanish. Keep in mind the default language in Skillshare’s class uploader is English.

 

Class Level

Choose the skill level for your class to help students find content that is best suited for their existing knowledge and skills. This increases your likelihood of reaching the right audience and receiving positive class reviews. Keep these definitions in mind when selecting your level:

  • Beginner: No prerequisite knowledge or techniques are required to follow the class lessons or complete the project.
  • Intermediate: Some prerequisite knowledge is required or would be helpful for students to get the most out of the lessons.
  • Advanced: Significant prerequisite knowledge is required for students to follow and learn from the class.
  • All-level: Suitable for any level, either because the class is complete and comprehensive or the topic does not have a beginner, intermediate, or advanced level (e.g., productivity, journaling, travel, and wellness).

This level will appear to students on the About and Reviews tabs of your class. Keep in mind that once your class earns at least five student reviews, the level will recalibrate and display an average result based on all of the level selections from your students, as well as your own.

 

Categories, Subcategories & Topics

Each class must include One primary category and at least one subcategory

To increase the discoverability of your classes on Skillshare, you can:

  • Add up to 2 subcategories
  • Add a secondary category
  • Add up to 7 relevant topics

Accurate classification ensures your content is relevant to students and appears in the right browse and search experiences.

Note: For discoverability, it doesn’t matter whether a term is added as a subcategory or a relevant topic - as long as it’s tagged in one place, it will be weighted equally in browse pages.

 

Filters & Searchable Attributes

You can further refine how your class is discovered by adding filters and searchable attributes, such as:

  • Software taught or used
  • Materials required for the class or project

These attributes help students filter content and are also evaluated by Skillshare’s search algorithm.

 

How SEO and Merchandising Work Together

“If you think of merchandising like a retail store where your Skillshare profile is the store and classes are your products, then elements such as a compelling cover image, clear class title, and well-written class description can make a huge difference in making sure students find and take your class.”

– Audrey Ra, Illustration Teacher

 

Search engine optimization, or SEO, is a process of improving web-based content so that it ranks higher in search engines, such as Google.

Merchandising is what Skillshare calls all the publicly visible elements of a class: your class title, lesson titles, cover image, project description, categories, subcategories, and relevant topics. In addition to class quality and student engagement, most of these merchandising elements have an impact on SEO, which in turn impacts how students discover your class through Skillshare Search and Browse pages, as well as external search engines.

 

Optimize for Discoverability (SEO)

Skillshare’s search algorithm evaluates all searchable attributes together to determine how and where your class is surfaced.

 

Use Relevant Keywords

Keywords help search engines understand what your class is about and match it to student intent.

To identify strong keywords:

  • Think about your class topic, core skill, technique, or tool
  • Consider the project and key takeaways
  • Compare your ideas against Skillshare’s In-Demand Topics list

Best practices:

  • Craft your class title around one primary keyword
  • Use primary keywords naturally throughout your class description
  • If possible, include the primary keyword early in the title and description
  • Avoid keyword stuffing or unnatural phrasing - quality matters for SEO

You might notice not all relevant topics that you’ve added to a class show up on the class details page – tag anyway! They still impact class discoverability and SEO even if you’re not seeing them appear on the class details. For classes, you can add up to 7 relevant topics.

 

Start With the Most Important Information

Put essential details at the top of your class description. The first 2–3 sentences:

  • Are most visible to students
  • Are most likely to appear in Google search results and social previews

Make them clear, informative, and engaging.

 

Avoid Wordiness and Formatting Pitfalls

  • Class titles: 30–70 characters (including spaces)
  • Lesson titles: 35 characters or fewer
  • Long titles may be truncated in search results or the video player

 

Stick to Evergreen Titles

Choose titles that won’t need frequent updates. Changing a class title after publishing creates a new URL, which can negatively impact SEO and organic visibility.

For software-based classes:

  • Put the software version or year in the class description, not the title

 

Optimize for Quality 

SEO helps search engines evaluate your class - but students are evaluating it as well. A polished, well-organized class is more likely to attract, retain, and satisfy learners.

 

Create Clear, Accurate Lesson Titles

Lesson titles act as a table of contents, helping students quickly understand what they’ll learn and jump to relevant sections.

Titles should:

  • Clearly describe lesson content
  • Match your class outline
  • Avoid vague or generic wording
     

Use Proper Capitalization

Capitalize:

  • First and last words
  • Nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs

Avoid all-uppercase or all-lowercase titles. (If needed, use a Chicago-style capitalization tool.)

 

Remove Numbers and Symbols

Skillshare automatically numbers lessons, so avoid:

  • “Video #1”
  • Extra symbols or numbering in lesson titles

 

Format Descriptions for Readability

Make descriptions easy to skim by using:

  • Bullet or numbered lists
  • Short paragraphs
  • Hyperlinks where relevant

Reading your text aloud can help ensure it sounds natural and clear.

 

Check Grammar and Spelling

Proofread all written elements before publishing. Tools like spellcheckers or Grammarly can help catch errors and improve clarity.

 

Add Visuals and Helpful Links

While not required for SEO, visuals can make your class more engaging. Consider adding:

  • Project examples
  • Lesson stills

You may also include:

  • A link to your personal or business website (if relevant)
  • Links to your other Skillshare classes
  • A link to the primary category browse page (e.g., Fine Art, Photography)
     

Keeping Your Class Up to Date

Ensuring your class remains current is critical for student satisfaction and long-term performance.

 

Check for Content Currency

  • Software & Tools: Confirm lessons match the latest interfaces or versions; note updates or workarounds in the description or a supplemental lesson.
  • Industry Standards: Ensure techniques and examples reflect current best practices.
     

Monitor Student Feedback

Reviews and discussion threads often surface outdated information quickly. Treat this feedback as a prompt for timely updates.

 

Add a “Last Updated” Date

Including a last updated date in your class description signals transparency and reinforces your commitment to quality.



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