The Categories revamp had ruined my Fiverr business!

[justinyoung]

Last year, before Fivver had the new Categories enhancement that it said will help in buyers search, I’ve usually 1 to 3 gig buyers in 3 to 5 days. Not many, but the buyers are always consistently buying my gigs. I’ve a ready stream of buyers of my gigs.



But after the new Categories and other tweaks done by Fiverr, my gigs have stagnated and I’ve no sales for 5 to 7 months. NOTHING! ZILT!



This is not normal and once, a few months ago, when I was told to visit Fiverr to keep my gigs alive, I saw that all my gigs were turned off, meaning they were suspended. I’ve to make them Active again. But the situation remains the same. No buyers after 3 to 5 months again, until now.



Well it is not normal for my gigs not to have any buyers for so long, as I was having buyers for the last 3 over years consistently, until Fiverr began to mess it up with its supposed search enhancements and other tweaks.



Please Fiverr, have a heart.



What did you guys do to bury my gigs from buyers’ search?



Justin Young

https://www.fiverr.com/justinyoung

[sincere18]

Why does your profile not say much? There is nothing about your training or experience. And almost all your gigs except for one don’t have a video? Much has also changed, and so what worked over the past years, marketing wise may need to change now. Plus 3 years ago there were much less sellers, now there are tons and tons.



I’d say maybe your gigs just need an overhaul in terms of write up and design (add videos), and be active on Fiverr in general.



Oh and why do you have a child for your profile photo? That is an odd choice. Why not a decent photo of yourself?

[justinyoung]

I’m a Level 2 seller and my rating is 99%.

I’ve completed hundreds of gigs with great reviews all round over the years.



I personally do not think it has to do with my gigs because my downturn is very abrupt and almost immediately after Fiverr introduced its enhancements.



My gigs do not need videos. Why is having a video a pre-requisite? Besides, the video feature was already there when I put up my gigs and I did not use it but I’ve consistent buyers over the years.



My avatar is my own choice. Why should it have to be a photo of myself? Does not make sense to insist this and saying this affects my traffic. My avatar has been like this since day one and I’m having good success with it. Why do I need to change something unless it really is the reason I’m not getting business now.



It’s like throwing a dart in the dark and expecting it to hit the target. I more or less know it’s something Fiverr did to the search criteria or something that essentially buried my gigs into oblivion.

[sincere18]

Reply to @justinyoung: it’s been talked about here in the forums, that having a video helps it in the search results, something to that effect. And buyers tend to be clicking on gigs that have videos. So no, it’s not required but other people have experienced changes for the positive once they have added them. Maybe search around on the forums for insight on that.



As for the avitar, Fiverr has grown tremendously in 3 years. And as Fiverr gets more and more flooded with sellers and gigs, buyers make judgment on who to buy from based on their profile write ups and photos and many other things nowadays that may be different from when it first started. It’s just one element added into the mix. And it’s like any other business selling anywhere else, you always have to keep things looking fresh and updating as the years go by with the new trends happening, whether it’s here on Fiverr or anywhere else.



just some other food for thought, that’s all.

[mgjohn78]

Reply to @sincere18:

Some have had increased sales after adding videos while others have done better after removing their videos.

[sincere18]

Reply to @mgjohn78: interesting…do you know what categories? I guess it’s also an assumption that all videos are equal in quality.

[mgjohn78]

Reply to @sincere18:

My 2 month test was done in illustration category and having just an illustration showing in search results had better results.



Another thing is that allot of the forum posts about videos improving sales are based on old posts from the times when “has video” was one of only 3 or 4 search criterias. Not sure if filter by video is an option in any category anymore.

[sincere18]

Reply to @mgjohn78: I can understand that maybe in the illustration category as you can see more clearly the design.



Yes, I am not sure about video search filters if that makes any difference.

[justinyoung]

Reply to @sincere18: I don’t agree with your motherhood statements. For clearly, I see an abrupt drop in my traffic and buyers just after Fiverr changes its search criteria. I should know, for I monitor my traffic regularly. Nothing to do with more seller and gigs over the years.



I also do not agree with your notion that buyers make judgment to buy based on whether a seller has a personal photo of himself or herself. They do however make decision to buy from a buyer based on how many years the seller has been on Fiverr and what his review ratings are and at what level the seller is.



Buyers also make decisions based on whether the gig is what they’re looking for and if they’re not sure of the descriptions of the gigs, they will ask the buyer personally through messaging and gauge the buyer’s response to their questions before committing to buy from him.



Profile write ups do little to enhance the seller’s credibility but gig descriptions do and my gig descriptions have always been clear, comprehensive and to the point and that’s why I’ve consistent orders across my various gigs, until Fiverr decided to tweak its search engine or incorporate some other criteria that apparently buried my gigs into oblivion. What these tweaks are frankly I do not know, but they’re affecting my gigs, as obviously my gigs are not showing up after that.



Just so to put it all in perspective, I’ve set my email to alert me on my mobile when I’ve an Order and any notifications that Fiverr sent to my inbox. So, for Fiverr to send me an email to say I’ve not come on the website for awhile is pretty presumptuous and that it will de-activate my gigs if I do not come to the site is also generalizing if it thinks I’m not active.



My delivery record and great reviews show clearly I perform my gigs very well and is always active. To make decisions on my activity or in-activity based on my requirement to come on the site is, in my opinion, flawed and this flawed presumption needs to be seriously addressed by Fiverr.

[mgjohn78]

Reply to @sincere18:

Im pretty sure the filter had a huge impact.

Used to be Rating - New - Has Video - Express gigs

That was all there was to sort searches back when allot of the guides were posted on the forums.

[sincere18]

That’s fine to have a different perspective. All I am saying as a buyer I do look at some of those things, that’s all.



That is interesting about that you have email alerts on your mobile. I wonder if Fiverr doesn’t then ever recognize you connecting to Fiverr.

[justinyoung]

Fiverr should learn this adage: Don’t mend something if it is not broken.

Another one: There is no need to re-invent the wheel.



All these misguided search filters or whatever tweaks that Fiverr incorporated are ruining my gigs’ original good exposure.