Zazzle Marketplace is Data Driven Not Favoritism

[Susang6]

Zazzle's marketplace rankings are driven by algorithms that prioritize data such as sales, traffic, and customer engagement. This means that designers who consistently generate high activity are more likely to appear at the top. While this process is not designed to show favoritism, it can create the perception that certain designers are being promoted more frequently.

The way Zazzle works, Many designers often end up promoting elite designers' products, hoping to earn from referrals. This promotion drives significant customer traffic and boosts sales for the elite designers, keeping them at the top of the marketplace. Zazzle’s algorithm doesn’t intentionally show favoritism—it simply tracks data like sales and engagement. But because so many designers are promoting these elite creators, the algorithm interprets them as the best. 

[CrazyMermaid]

I mostly agree with you, but EP's  are not always data driven. Several of my EP's have 1 or 2 views and no sales. They were designated EP's after they were put in a marketing display. I have very few, so I may not be a valid example. This might be a valid analysis, because they believe it will sell well. 

[Susang6]

it's possible that some designers use external services (Fiverr) to drive traffic to their products. If this traffic results in increased sales and engagement, it could influence the algorithm and boost those products' visibility in the marketplace.

Of course Zazzle algorithms could constantly promote the elite designers in other advertisements this would drive continued traffic to the top tier designers in the marketplace.  But again, it’s not favoritism because the system is data-driven.

The bottom line is that the Zazzle system is data-driven, but external factors like paid traffic and advertisement  can play a role in shaping marketplace dynamics as to the designers that are always on top. 

[klstock]

If it was "data driven" then my invitation that has sold thousands, has many "likes", great cover photo and is very highly rated by happy customers would not have been bumped several pages back to make room for newly created invites. That is just one example.

Can you link to where you are getting this info about the inner workings of the algorithm? Are you an employee? You are asserting a lot of things as though they are facts rather than opinion.

[Susang6]

Products with more data—such as higher sales, views, frequent customer interactions, and optimized keywords—are more likely to gain visibility and rise to the top. The Zazzle platform uses algorithms to analyze performance data and prioritize products that demonstrate strong demand or customer engagement.

For sellers, it's all about creating attractive designs, using effective titles and tags, and responding to market trends to boost their product's performance data. That way, their items have a better chance of standing out in searches and collections.

 Zazzle's marketplace algorithms are data-driven. Tools like Zazzlytics and Lyn Analytics, designed for Zazzle sellers, highlight how data plays a role in optimizing product visibility and performance. These tools provide insights into product performance metrics, keyword optimization, and competition analysis, enabling sellers to make informed decisions based on data.

I think organic reach through Zazzlers and affiliates promoting products on social media / blogs marketing is a great way to boost sales and increase data. Organic traffic can create a more personal connection with potential buyers and may lead to long-term customer loyalty.

Both strategies have their strengths. Data-driven tools offer precision and efficiency, while organic reach builds trust and authenticity. Combining both could be an effective way to be successful on Zazzle.

[Susang6]

It is my understanding that Zazzle's algorithm prioritizes recent or monthly data over long-term performance when determining marketplace visibility. Algorithms often focus on current trends, engagement, and sales metrics to ensure the marketplace stays dynamic and relevant. If your invitation had a surge in popularity earlier but hasn't maintained consistent activity recently, it might not be prioritized in search results.

Like you I have many invitations that had tremendous views, likes and sales…but these invitations did not hold their position in the marketplace due to not enough monthly data or sales…

[klstock]

It wasn't a surge, it had been/is consistently a good seller - It alone has has over 163 separate orders. 

But in other cases I have had products appear in the first couple pages of search results for things that have sold far less than the other one I mentioned. So I don't know what rhyme or reason there is to it. 

[Susang6]

Off topic I love watercolor artwork and I think your product designs are lovely.   your artwork shows that you have a smile on your face when you are creating. I promoted a few of your coastal products to my pinterest boards. 

[klstock]

Thank you, I greatly appreciate that. And you are right, I do have a smile on my face while creating them 😁

[Susang6]

I have been working online since 2008, gaining extensive expertise in online research—a broad skill that involves gathering and analyzing information effectively. As a freelance writer for eHow.com and a studio writer for Demand Media, I developed a strong foundation in market research, SEO, and the ability to collect and synthesize information to support content creation, including articles and marketing materials.

To address your question, the insights I share are not merely personal opinions. Instead, they are based on thorough research and knowledge I’ve acquired through years of experience in the field.  I am currently researching to learn more about POD and algorithms .  You may find this article interesting https://spotintelligence.com/2024/07/26/ranking-algorithms/

[CrazyMermaid]

How do you know that "so many designers are promoting these elite creators?" Where have you found this data. How do you even know how many active Zazzlers there are and what they are doing?

[Susang6]

Elke Clarke has advised Zazzlers to promote top-selling products to earn referral income. Promoting popular items can be a strategic way to maximize earnings, as these products already have proven demand. Her guidance generally focuses on identifying products with strong demand and proven sales potential.  This approach allows Zazzlers to maximize their referral earnings by promoting items that are already popular with customers.

One did not have to take Elke class to realize that it was a good idea to promote Elite designers, they are successful and their product link may get the sale and the referral.   Not all associates at Zazzle have booming personal sales, but instead earn well from promoting other Designers.  As an example I have promoted hundreds if not thousands of wedding invitation designers and have earned well from referral sales.

Also elite designers have contacted me and shared with me their top selling products and new product designs in hopes that I would promote them.  They have told me it was a good way to earn well from the referral sale of their wedding invitations.

[klstock]

Elke Clarke has advised Zazzlers to promote top-selling products to earn referral income.

This is very interesting info

[CrazyMermaid]

LOL I have taken Elke's courses starting in 2017 to last year. FYI I have never promoted a top seller or anyone but me. So your assumption that all of her students are busy doing this is wrong. Her course is massive that is a very small part. You hear and see what you want to, we all do. 

[klstock]

I think it is safe to assume that if that is what she advises, that at least some to many of her students are or have done it - they've paid for her advice after all. And if even a portion are doing it, that presents a bit of a stacked deck for everyone else. 

Because if that is what at least some are doing and I am sure it is, all those auto-editor's picks that are auto-launched to the first page is what these students are being advised to promote. And of course if a lot of people are promoting it, they will naturally get more sales. Sounds like a profitable racket for some, at the expense of others. 

[Jadendreamer13]

This sounds like a very long sales pitch to me (with a resume attached for good measure). And, if you haven’t taken one or more of Elke’s courses, you are only speculating, as it seems that you are doing for many of your discussions here.

I have looked into LynAnalytics several times. My online research did not find a lot of positive information on that product, mostly due to the fact that it was new to the market at the time of my research. I don’t know anything about the other research tool you mentioned.

All that said, I do find this discussion informative, and I appreciate the information you are sharing.

[Susang6]

No referral links shared in any of my posts, just links to what I have read.  I am not selling anything.   I have not taken Elke course.  My statement aligns with Elke Clarke's advice. Where she emphasizes the importance of promoting products with proven demand to maximize referral income. Through the Zazzle Promoter Program 2.0, she encourage Zazzlers to focus on items that are already popular, as these have a higher likelihood of generating sales and, consequently, referral earnings. This strategy is part of her broader guidance on leveraging Zazzle's platform effectively.

Elkeclark.com

[SimplyDesigned]

I want to add an example to this. YouTube. People decide to make videos, upload them, and when they get low or 0 views they say "oh YouTube has me shadowbanned". There is no such thing, if you're doing something bad they just terminate your account. They say "the algorithm isn't picking me up and pushing me out, this must be on purpose".

Replace Algorithm with Audience. YouTube's ONLY goal is to show people what it thinks will be another video they will stay on the platform at watch. Their only goal is to keep people on their site, it's how they make money from advertisers. YouTube NOT pushing your video means it's not something they know without a doubt people will watch so they don't take the chance. There are people that have millions of subscribers and have been on YouTube for over a decade and close to 20 years, seems like they can make a video about anything and they get millions of views. Meanwhile if "you" started right now and uploaded the same kind of video it obviously won't preform. BUT a few dozen videos in, something in it might go viral and get lots of views but it's still an outlier compared to the rest of what you have been posting.

At the end of the day I have to agree that its NOT favoritism, its data, EP's aside. I have never had an EP before so I have no experience with that. Between your title/description/tags, what the design actually is, and what item its on, its sales info and i'm assuming your Z rank as well; there is no real way to compare why one newly designed invitation is higher up in the market place than an older tried and true invitation. You're half of the algorithm, the customer is the other half. Trends and themes change with the wind, especially true in the paper products for parties and occasions. There's so many moving parts and just like Z rank, Zazzle doesn't have to give us a lick of info as to how it works. Zazzle paying for ads and creators doing paid/free advertising throws yet another wrench into trying to figure things out.

Its hard to say and this is pure speculation on my part but, what if the newly created invitation was made by a designer that has their own followers? If they did, it would not be hard to enlist followers to share your stuffs around a lot. So despite being new, getting views/sales right out the gate of creation in my opinion could bump another older well-sold invitation down onto lower pages. But again its more data we'll never have to look at lol

[BevStuff]

While algorithm plays a part, Zazzle explicitly says in their own stuff that what Pro level your are and what your zRank is also effect your placement in the market.  According to "How Zazzle's Pro Program Works": it states members with Gold & Platinum (and above I assume) receive, "Priority Marketing Campaign Consideration." That represents an active choice on Zazzle's part to promote them to a certain degree. (certainly because they garner more sales, but I find a random basic Pro designer product on the first marketing page mixed with the silver, gold, platinum, etc and that's algorithm.) https://help.zazzle.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002536588-How-the-Pro-Program-Works 
Getting editors pick or select or whatever they're calling it now also results in promotion preference on the marketing pages, but isn't related to sales or zRank or pro level. It may be worked into the algorithm to do so. But is is given preference. 
Also store zRank plays a role in over-all promotion, so " the closer to zRank 10 the better" and zRank is not gauged on earnings or sales. (so the article says) It's about optimization.  ( https://help.zazzle.com/hc/en-us/articles/222927048-How-zRank-Works 

[ElkeClarke]

@klstok Thanks for sharing that your product "SHOULD" be "RANKED" higher and your frustration that it is not.

I also find irregularities and discrepancies in terms of where a product of mine shows up in the ranking on a popular sort and it's actual sales data.

In terms of your accusations as to whether the data / Zazzle sort is skewed or influenced by my teaching / recommendation -  refrain from making false accusations.

[klstock]

Wasn't my accusation, I quoted the person who said it came from your course. If it is false, take it up with the source. 

[Susang6]

My statement aligns with Elke Clarke's advice. Where you emphasizes the importance of promoting products with proven demand to maximize referral income. Through the Zazzle Promoter Program 2.0, you encourage Zazzlers to focus on items that are already popular, as these have a higher likelihood of generating sales and, consequently, referral earnings. This strategy is part of your broader guidance on leveraging Zazzle's platform effectively.

Elkeclark.com

No referral links shared in any of my posts, just links to what I have read.  I am not selling anything.  

(I did not mean to accept your solution , however my cat did)  

[ElkeClarke]

Please stop spreading rumors and making false claims.