Featured Listings - What's the secret/key?

Today I bought a Homepage Feature Listing (2899) for a pair of my GROWL Jeans. They are very popular in-world but I felt they could use more exposure on SLX. I was urged by a fellow creator to use the Featured enhancement.

I sell 56 variations of the style of jeans I have on SLX..some of the items haven't had sales but the jeans line overall doesn't do bad at all here one SLX. The jeans are high quality and have a beautiful texture and great listing copy, very thorough.

I picked my personal favorite pair of jeans and decided to promote it and in effect promote the entire line. But the only exposure it really gets is in the Homepage rotation. Support got back to me on it but I was under impression the Featured enhancement would actually cause me to be 'featured', push my item to the top of pages where say, 'jeans' was searched on. Instead I can't even find my listing, I gave up after going through page after page. Support basically told me that Featured would place me at top of pages where I would normally appear. Therefore if my listing is buried on page 46, buying Featured places me at the top of page 46 (what???).

The jeans are high quality and I was willing to pay a premium to get it more exposure on a search so people could see it more...they are no longer NEW so I can't get in that rotation so other than Homepage rotation am I to understand correctly that Featured Listing really doesn't do anything for you?

Search on Growl Cargo jeans to find the listing--I am not saying this as a cheap attempt to get hits or views but I want you to see what I am trying to promote and possibly benefit from any advice of those who have had experience in this area of selling on slx.

Here is my response to support:

"Today I bought a Hompage Featured Item Listing. I have jeans I am trying to promote and I thought by purchasing the listing I would be at the top of the search listings when someone searched on Jeans or even Men's jeans (the category where the jeans are located). But When I search on either I cannot even find my listing. I see multitiudes of featured and NON-featured listings that appear for pages and pages.

I received a response earlier but according to what was sent me I guess I needed to learn more about how items are displayed so that I can make a more intelligent purchasing decision for this kind of listing. I thought when someone searched on 'Jeans' my listing would have been pushed to the top of the pages. I am now told that if my listing is buried on say, page 20, it wil be placed on the top of THAT page, essentially it is still buried. Other than home page rotation I don't know what paying all this money really does for you.

I'd like to know if you could cancel this for me and refund me until I can figure out the best way of using this feature. I have hundreds of products on SLX and they sell fairly successfully... I have variations of some products that haven't sold any product but their associated products have, this is why I was promoting the others and to get general attention to my line of apparel. Paying 2899 may have not been the best way to do this on an item that doesn't have a high popularity rating and to be honest this is wrong I feel. If it is popular then it doesn't need a featured listing. I purchased the advertising to try to push it up and get that EXPOSURE. As I found out I am still buried."


Danno

Homepage featured listings appear in rotation here:

https://xstreetsl.com/

Those six items rotate and when people load the page, at some point, your ad will appear. Your traffic for your item will show you how often it has appeared.

I'm not sure how featured listings appear in general search, such as men's jeans, I mean everything in the men's jeans category is going to be a pair of jeans and lots of people pay for features.

More than one person has complained that Homepage Featured items only appear at the top page of whatever page in search your product lands on in the results. So, if your product is #234 in the search results, your listing will show up highlighted at the top of page 23. If you want to be at the top of the category listings, that is a different product called Featured Item (for $999L.) If someone where searching specifically in the category, your listing would pop up in the first section.

Homepage Featured items are a tougher nut, especially because Top Tier sellers get twice as many views on the Home Page as lower tier sellers, which I frankly think is unfair since both pay the same price.

Thanks - the info they give you on both of these type of listings is shamefully inadequate then. All I am getting for my 3K commitment per month is a spot in the home page rotation, fwiw. I am not sure how many people browse from that area.

So if I am getting this straight, if I buy a Featured Item Listing (for 999) they still have to be searching in the Category? This won't help at all for general search then would it? I think the behaviour of most shoppers is simply to go the Popular Items (and if its popular then they have good search rank anyway so what is the value of purchasing more advertising for that?) or they type in the search box from the home page what they aer seeking. If they type in 'jeans' at th ehome page, the search presents them with listings across all categories. If you type in 'jeans' there now there are some very mediocre listings for mediocre looking stuff, using mediocre models on very mediocre textures that appear at the top of the results, not featured...just there for whatever reason. My understanding was that featured items would show first, and not just in category searches.

How many shoppers actually CLICK ON the CATEGORY and then go shopping fromthere? 2 percent?

Probably this was one of the most asked questions in the old XStreet forum as well, as it simply is not right. 2899 per month should give you some more advantage then only a rotation on the homepage, on the other hand it is called Homepage Featured.

What I would prefer is a combination, where you get your homepage feature as well as getting first in line in the category you are in. Might even pay slightly more for that.

On the other hand, the 2899 is a great way of exposure, you can see traffic getting better overall. Generally I have 4 to 5 homepage features running, which is costing me between 42 and 52 US$. Regarding the exposure I get from it, I think it is worth it. And even though the HP features are for the animation packs (they earn back the investment easier), I see traffic scores and sales get better from furniture as well. Plus do not forget the number of people that search on XStreet during daytime, and when home visit your in-world store.

I have been looking at this also. I am paying quite a bit for several home page listings and been thinking it's a waste of money. There are just too many listings these days and the extra paid doesn't even put you near top of the catagory.

I am shocked that some get double the exposure for the same money, where is the fairness in that? Much like how most will shop on the most popular list, which of course makes those items even more popular making it hard for others to get there no matter how good an item they release.

I must admit I dont' put much on XStreet, concentrating more on my inworld stores, but made more of an effort for halloween ... though not sure I have made the right decisions in my expenses there.

Yet this is your mistake. Do put out as much as you can on XStreet, the more you have there the more your sales will grow (I have a lot of work to do in that regard as well).
People find 1 of your items, and if they like it, they might use the "all from this merchant" button. And the chance of them finding one of your items, is bigger when you have 200 items out there, then 20.

I tried out the featured listing thing on XSL once, and what I got (moved to the top of page 23, as you say) just blew my mind. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

XSL is a lose-lose situation. It sucks for both sellers AND customers. If you have to use traffic gaming tricks to show up, forget it.

You are right of course. I should have been using it from the start and not be in the position now where I look at a few hundered items filled with dread at having to do them all. I do well in world with a niche market that happens to coincide with halloween so have worked to build more 'commercial' halloween items and promote myself to a wider audience. Xstreet really isn't getting me very many views though even though spent quite a bit on advertising.


All my fault for being lazy in the past ... though don't consider myself lazy as work a lot ... just prefer the building and customer service

Argent I disagree with it being a lose-lose situation. Myself I use XStreet a lot, and my sales there still beat the price I pay for my featured listings. Plus it gives me extra exposure, and many people will buy in-world, as they want to see the merchandise first of course.

There is a lot that can be improved of course, but it can be a great addition to in-world presence. And most important: listing your stuff is free. So it does not hurt, apart from the work that you have to put in it.

The best advices I can think of right now, to make XStreet a success:
- list all your products if possible. The more listings, the more traffic, and people do use the "All from this merchant" feature.
- use more then 1 picture if possible, so people can see as much of what you sell as possible.
- If you can afford it, use a few homepage features. Improves your traffic, so more people see your listings. Don't expect to earn it back, see it as advertising budget.
- Put up a few free items. Again good for your traffic, and it gives people an idea of the quality of your items.
- Use good pictures that make it very easy to recognize what you sell. Most important for the image you use as HP feature, they must stimulate to click on it.
- Use clear item descriptions. Those are, together with the picture, the first impression for people. Descriptive is the keyword here.
- If possible, use the translations as well. Needs knowledge about the other languages of course, but gives a lot of extra exposure (have still to do that one myself).

You say - "If you want to be at the top of the category listings, that is a different product called Featured Item (for $999L.) "

But xStreet says this:

"The cream of the crop and the ultimate Enhancement! The Homepage Featured Enhancement is the best way to get the exposure you desire.

It includes all the benefits of the Highlighting and Featured Enhancements, with the added bonus of being included in the Rotation of Featured items on the Xstreet Homepage."

So from what THEY are saying...when you order the Homepage Featured enhancement to a listing you get all the benefits of the $999 deal PLUS hoempage rotation. Its not either/or but BOTH.

Where it gets very confusing is where it determines you are to receive Top of the Category placement (as opposed to top of your particular search results page). I drilled through the various Subcategories. I finally found my Hoempage Featured listing for my jeans on the first page of Men's Pants. The 'home' for my jeans is Men's Jeans, a subcategory 'neath the Subcategory of Men's Pants.

Stay with me - I then drilled directly into my 'home' of Men's Jeans. There I found my HF listing on the top of page 23.

OK so Apparel is super category to which Men's Pants belongs...why wasn't my listing found there AT ALL? Unless there was a mistake the category seemed to display everything in order of the price from highest to lowest and the list ended at 700 Lindens. Weird?

I am sure there is a well thought out reason for the way things are being done although I will say it could possibly be simplified much more...maybe make it like Google or Inworld classified placements.

You can choose from a drop-down the sort order. Price high to low, low to high, new to old, old to new. The other sorts are a bit more obscure in their use. So I have had this stuff up on xStreet for nearly a year. an dmy pricing is soemwhere in the middle. So none of these sorts works well.

I THINK THAT MAYBE IF ALL I WAS WANTING WAS EXPOSURE I SHOULD HAVE PUT A FEATURED FOR A FATPACK OF ONE OF MY JEANS AT 1699? My ad copy is good so if they liked what they saw then maybe then would do a 'searh of this sellers stuff' and found my other 'single' items.

Oh yes, the default "high to low by price" search order is bloody insane. Who EVER wants to search by "worst value first"?

I guess I should just bundle everything I make in a big "buy all my gadgets at once" super pack and game the listings that way.

Dare I say they make much more money when a higher priced listing sells. That's ok but I hope they are not basing their decisions on how they do all this on gaming the system for THEMSELVES.

Is that true about the 'Top Tier' sellers? I didn't know that?

Was that a content creator who is successful? I mean, really successful, and not just someone who says they are successful? I've found that by "successful", most mean they are making lunch money, or covering tier, or making enough to buy 55-cent dresses occasionally. They tell you you just have to do some marketing, but they are talking out their arse. They don't do any marketing themselves, and by marketing they are talking about keyword spamming search.

Then there are the folks who used to hang out in the SLX forums talking up how successful they are and how wonderful the listing enhancements are. Frankly, I think they're SLX shills. When LL bought SLX they probably also bought someone's alts astroturfing the SLX forum. I wonder if the former SLX owner still thinks it's necessary to do this to keep his LL job, or if LL knows about it or cares, or maybe even if it was a wink-wink-knod-knod part of the deal.

That, or maybe they've come from real-world multi-level marketing schemes and still think that talking up their downline and repeating the sales pitch is going to make them as rich as their charismatic leader.

Whoever the hell they are, they are the creepiest lot in all of SL. Maybe, just maybe, LL stomped all over that forum to shut them the hell up. Maybe LL is the whitehat, after all.

As others have pointed out, moving your listing to the top of page 23 is not at all helpful. That's another 999L down the crapper. The home page enhancement is the only one that will give you exposure, and there are so many of them and so few people who actually look at the home page that they, too, are kinda pointless unless you are a top-tier seller and get double the exposure for your money.

SLX never deletes anything, so the more stuff that gets sold there the less exposure any of it gets.

I find the high-to-low order quite useful. I know, for example, that a good weapon is going to cost more than the crappy knock-offs that fill page after page, so sorting the expensive stuff to the top often saves time.

And I can say from personal experience that selling expensive items is yet another strategy that doesn't work

Is this fact that certain people get double exposure for the same fee? I had noticed I often see the same items when I go on there but can sit watching for ages and not see my own.

My question to you is, what do you regard successful?

In my opinion, successful in SL is different for people.
- Some feel they are successful when they manage to cover tier, so if they say they are successful, they are. In their own point of view.
- Some feel successful if they cover tier plus they can buy 55 cent dresses occasionally.
- Some feel, they are only successful if they can cash out at least 100 dollar or more each month.
- Some feel, they are only successful if they can make a living in SL.

Now which one does fall under your definition of successful?

Now for me, I am in category three. I want to be able to cash out at least 100 dollar per month, after tier is payed (though 100 would be a very bad month). Plus I spend quite some time in marketing. Both getting myself higher in search, as other ways of exposure.

So I am a valid person to give advice about XStreet homepage features, for example, in my own opinion. Because I use it, investigated the success, and I am successful in my opinion. And yes, on XStreet too, I am making a profit. Even while spending 12 to 15K on homepage features.

For the record: I do not know if a person falling in category 3 are successful in your view. But I would be happy to know whether I am talking out of my arse. *takes a breathe mint just to be safe*

That's NOT how you use a breath mint!

I had to dig deep for that info few years ago, but there was indeed something in the official pages about "Tier 1" sellers getting a break not only on commission fees but also getting more rotation spots on the Homepage Featured.

Many a content creator who has a Homepage Featured listing will tell you stories of looking for their product placement for 15 minutes of page flipping and seeing other ads two, three, and four times before theirs pops up.

She _actually_ is successful, a true craftsman who raved about what featured was doing for her. I think though it helped that:

A) her lowest priced items are 2500 Lidnens (so she bennies from the high to low price thingie) and...

B) She has a strong base of clients...actual content creators themselves (she makes original Layered PS templates of excellent quality)...so she has good popularity ratings built up.

Which brings me to the question of relevance when a search is done...popularity plays a big role in search, so how is Popularity determined? Sales? Views? Ratings?

With that said...I still do not see how the 999 Featured enhancement is really worth much ...if popularity and relevance bring yu to top anyway...that featured listing only brings you to the top of the top pages you are on already. Egads...its messed up.

Here is what LL sez in their sales pitch for Featured enhancement:

"Top of the Page positioning means your item will remain on whatever pages it would normally be on, but it will be at the top of that page and not buried farther down.
...

Why is this better than moving them to the front of the overall search results? If you search on Art, you will find over 700 listings, which means there could easily be pages and pages of "Featured" items. How does that make you stand out? It doesn't. But if your item is one of just a few "Featured" items on a page, the odds of it's being noticed are much greater."

O.o, uh okies if yu say so... They are saying that their searchers are going to actually go through 10+ pages to find your listing and when they do come to that page--YOU ARE AT THE TOP BUDDY! **pats you on your back as they take the L's from your hands**

Danno check your stats, they will tell you how many times the item has appeared on the homepage and how many times someone has then clicked on the item to take a look.

Yes, thanks...I know of that...getting about a 1 percent click-through right now on ad presented.

Yeah it's not usually a great clickthrough rate and it really doesn't help that if you follow the shopping link from the main SL homepage to the marketplace it bypasses the main Xstreet homepage where the featured homepage ads appear and takes you straight to popular items.

I also think they should try and incorporate the homepage featured listings into our account pages, currently the popular items list is there. Really, if people are paying for visibility, priority like that should be given to them.

Yes- I noticed that...you are taken straight to popular and again, what constitutes popular.

One thing--I do think LL listens and they honestly try to make the feature 'fair'.

Here are my suggestions with a system where everyone pays a set price for a featured enhancement:

1) Definitely place all featured ads in front of other search results. Randomize the rank of these featured listings..don't use any special algorithm or sort order. Everyone paid the same - so RANDOMIZE it.

2) Give a small link at bottom of each page of FEATURED results to skip the featured random rank order and go straight to relevance or other search orders. At the same time the paid-for Featured enhancement ads still show but on their respective pages and at the TOP of THOSE pages (as it is handled now).

3) By randomizing this process in the results from search you are giving everyone a chance to be listed equally in these results pages even if a customer by-passes this browsing method after the 1st , 2nd, 3rd, etc. , page. Same randomizing as is used on the Homepage rotation.