Gigs not found in search - Gig duplicates may interfere with ranking

[janali]

Hey everyone,
not quite sure where to post this but perhaps it can help some of the sellers who keep posting threads in the forum saying they can’t find their gigs when actively searching for them.

The other day someone posted that their account was punished for having similar gigs and it got me thinking.

Last year we were told that we could specify what each gig was made for by using the categories. For translation gigs, you can e.g. choose technical translations, product description translations, etc.
So back then, I kept my generally held translation gig and created a gig specifically for translatig product descriptions. In my head, Fiverr’s changes were meant to encourage sellers to offer their services in different branches and so that’s what I did.

However, the product listing gig was always active yet I never received any orders for it, I didn’t even receive any requests regarding this gig. At the same time, I noticed I received less and less orders for the general translation gig which used to be my bestselling gig.

Some days ago I took the time to look through every single page of the search using different keywords and I couldn’t find either the general translation gig or the product description gig on any page, they were just not there, which is what a lot of sellers are noticing these days and contacting customer support for.

So, a few days ago I paused the product description gig and today I checked the search again and would you look at that - the general translation gig showed up on page 2 of the search. Not only that, my German proofreading gig that has been stuck on around page 14 for months is now on page 1.

Now, that could be partly because I improved my stats over time (everytime I get a cancellation or late delivery the amount of messages and orders I receive dips for a about 2 days which also influences the ranking I have no doubt) but my stats were up at 100% already when I couldn’t find any of my translation gigs, so I don’t know about that one. It could also be because the gig image I used for both translation gigs was exactly the same (though they both have different titles and such).

TL:DR / Conclusion:
If you can’t find your gigs through the search and you stop receiving orders for a specific type of gig, check if you have gigs that the algorithm could deem as unnecessary duplicates or multiples in the same category. Pause one and see if you can eventually find the other through the search. I’m not saying this is going to solve the issue for every single seller, but it worked for me and hopefully it works for others, too.

Also, be a good seller and keep your ratings up if you want to continue selling.

[imagination7413]

Huh, this is an interesting hypothesis, and I would love to see if anyone else could duplicate the test and get the same results.

[litorchidtarot]

Thank you! My BS gig was on the front page of my category for months and I was doing great business, all positive reviews and a very small percentage of cancellations. Then one day, gone and only searchable but nowhere to be found in the category results. I did have another gig in the same category that never had any messages or purchases. I’ve gone and paused that so I only now have one gig. I’ll let you know if that fixes anything over the next few days. Thanks again!

[janali]

Thank you! My BS gig was on the front page of my category for months and I was doing great business, all positive reviews and a very small percentage of cancellations. Then one day, gone and only searchable but nowhere to be found in the category results. I did have another gig in the same category that never had any messages or purchases. I’ve gone and paused that so I only now have one gig. I’ll let you know if that fixes anything over the next few days. Thanks again!

Please do keep us updated, I’m really curious to hear if this is simply a me-problem or whether it can help others as well! 😃 I find it so strange that for you as well as for me, one gig is doing well and the other one doesn’t get any recognition whatsoever.