Poll: would you pay more than 50L for an ad with new search?

I have been studying the economics of SL only a short while now, and unless I have a product that everyone wants and needs then no mater what I pay for an ad, it would be money wasted. I plan on marketing my own 3D creations in the near future, but there are several factors I am considering before I do:

1) Which product(s) (women's shoes are hot sellers at the moment)
2) Key words for search engine
3) Low lag location (location doesn’t mater much if you have a good search where everyone can find you, it could even be on a remote island)
4) Include a TP link in the search ad, and locate it near the top of the description (something MANY vendors leave out)
5) Dependable vendors and vendor booths in high traffic areas throughout SL to help increase sales through distribution.
6) Good customer service and accessibility
7) Hiring a good scripter to animate the items without bugs and flaws.

I may have left out many factors, but the main one that would hinge on IF I pay a premium for a search ad, would be number 4) It would have to include a TP link in the body of the add near the top. I as well as many others seem to be missing the TP link below the ad, it is hidden by the console at the bottom of my screen...Peace.

I might pay more than L$50 if it had any effect, as the new search engine has obliterated me. Unless you are on the first couple of pages of any search engine which requires clicking "next", you might as well not bother; I am on page 4 for "steampunk" for goodness' sakes, and for anything more specific I do even worse.

It is a good job that many of my sales come from word of mouth, journal entries and so on, or I would be utterly stuffed.

Nooooooo!!!

Clever marketing seriously trumps actual quality or usefulness.

Why? Each ad contains a teleport link built in. It is a waste of useful description space. Especially considering that the body of search results do not guarantee that that will even be seen. For forum posting, yes - but inworld classifieds, which are the subject of this poll? It is a waste of space.

well Cristalle I may be one of the few who do not see the link in the ads anymore since the last upgrade; it could be I have a settings issue or something.
A link is essential to a successful ad. (so how do I retreive those links again?)

What you are asking for is sheer advertising, not a classified ad.

What?

People who pay for greater visibility get it in classifieds. They get bigger print, they get some kind of distinction to draw attention to their ad. In this medium, the way it is set up, that translates to being found earlier in the search. It wouldn't matter much if your ad was neon green if it's on page 67 out of 100, except to the most patient of shoppers.

So if I want to be seen sooner, I have to pony up. That is how it works. And I don't see it being structured otherwise, with the volume of people and information here.

Well, in the new search, there is a blue teleport button at the bottom of every ad. Plus, mousing over the region and parcel name will bring up the parcel's listing, which also has a blue teleport button. Is your teleport button missing?

not a chance.
i plan to pull my classifieds and apply the $ toward tier.

I posted an ad last night under "shopping" that I paid L$500 for. I showed up around the 3rd or 4th page.

This morning I posted a new ad under "new products" for L$50.

Immediately my ad now shows up on the first page, fourth item down. Very interesting. It does look like I'll have to do some playing around here and there to determine what's best, but it looks like having the highest price is definitely not the biggest factor anymore.

I hope that using new search you can find something different that the same old shops selling the same old things in every place you go paying thousand l$ to kill new contents creators using traffic and classified.

I built large portions of the new search system.

My primary motivation is to make it easier for new users to Second Life to find something interesting to look at initially. I also think that the old "All" search was essentially useless due to alphabetic sorting of some results and persistent titles with junk prefixes. I saw experienced SL users in user testing use the existing classifieds tab to find "higher quality" results, whatever that means.

So I decided to mix classifieds in with "all" search results, as well as list them in a sidebar.

This is totally counter to what most search engines do -- completely separate paid vs. non-paid content. Likewise it means we have two "classifieds" searchs, All + narrow classifieds vs. top-level classifieds tab.

I'm now considering taking classifieds out of the body of the search results. They would only appear in the sidebar, which would present them exactly in the order the old classified tab does. Users interested in exploring classifieds would use the old interface.

Thoughts?

James Linden

Personally I think it's good having them mixed into the general search results as well as having the seperate classifieds section. For people who don't want to or can't pay a bazillion bucks for a classified (which is pretty much everyone) it gives them more opportunity to be seen. The only thing I'd change is the way the 8 ads on the front page are chosen. Make them random, or auction them so if someone lays out the enormous amount of money it currently takes to get there they aren't bumped off five minutes later by someone who spent $1L more.

My MAIN suggestion: Take people out of "All." It's really frustrating to search for a product (e.g. "sari" and find that there are 50 people whose names start with "Sari." I know that this is counter the "all" idea, but argh. Drives me nuts.

Re: Classifieds. Make them like the Yellow Pages. Residents pay more money for higher placement and are guaranteed that placement for a week or 2 weeks or whatever.

I wouldn't take anything out at all. Just give us the ability to filter the results.

Maybe

I pay more than 50 now and I was not planning on changing my strategy. What I have seen from the new search so far has not made me very happy though. I have no clue what good the money I pay for a classified does in the new search, so I may have to change my strategy after all.

I like the idea of having three different ways to find things based on how much is paid, how "popular" the place is AND in alphabetical order. In other words, the existing "old" way isn't broke, it works fine.

Alphabetical order is a must for easier finding certain places plus it really helps out those that can't afford the high prices of the classified ads. I see some that pay in the tens of thousands a week which is impossible for most. I don't see the alphabetical order as being useless at all. If I know some place starts with a J it really helps to just scroll right to the J's.

The new ALL tab really sucks having only 10 places to look at at a time. No reason to have us clicking away to change pages to find what we are looking for.

In the ALL tab, there shouldn't be any avatars names in there at all because there is a tab for that and maybe there should be a tab just for groups too.

So to sum it all up, why fix what isn't broke, just add a group tab, and why not put those Linden computer skills into fixing something that is.

Please do that!

You cannot promise prominence for a classified ad in exchange for payment amount, and then not deliver on it. Users under the new system are being deliberately diverted away from the search results we are being asked to pay for. I don't even want to use the word, but I don't know what else to call it besides fraud.

Thank you, James, for coming in here and listening!

James, I first want to thank you first and foremost for coming here and engaging us directly. It is greatly, greatly appreciated.

I do not mind classifieds appearing in the body of a search of ALL categories. I think it is reasonable that someone searching any and every category would produce classifieds if someone is looking for something. But when searching only classifieds, people should get the visibility that they pay for and it should return in paid order. That is only fair to the purchaser of the ad.

I guess the fundamental question is, what purpose does search all serve? People who are shopping for something specific are going to be frustrated, and may just go straight to classifieds. At which point, those should return in paid order out of fairness to the purchaser of the ad.

People looking for places to go may be frustrated by having classifieds appear in the body, because it doesn't help them explore and see SL. Honestly, what frustrates me more is seeing a boatload of events associated with a parcel that are basically 24 hour sales.

I think it's a wonderful technology and I know you mean well. It is something that would lend itself well to land sales, groups, places and events. Search all by alpha - and no traffic - has its purposes, as was stated here. Search all by relevance is important if you're looking for places, especially.

But classifieds are a peculiarity that really do not lend themselves to this kind of "relevance" search, out of fairness to the people who spend tens of thousands of L each week for visibility - that is, when searching ONLY for classifieds. A weapons shop that puts the word "sex" in the ad should show up low on the relevance when looking for a search of ALL categories for sex. But if they paid 90k for the ad, they should get their visibility among other classifieds.

People will still use the classified section of search if they want to, and the default results there are still sorted by price paid. They just have more options now. Why shouldn't they? The way search works should not be hobbled in service of paid advertisements. People without a huge wad of cash to spend on a classified should be every bit as easy to find as those who do. Search should be about helping people find what they're looking for, not what the richest advertisers want them to see.

then completely do away with paid classifieds then. as it is, i am expected to front $ for classifieds AND work to rort the system.

That's spot on chip.

Classified ads in SL are sold based on the promise that the more you pay, the easier you will be to find. So you think someone who didn't pay as much should be just as easy to find? How does that not defraud the person whose money LL took for the ad?

Chip, you are obviously a kind-hearted person who prefers that the big guy doesn't always prevail, and I can identify with your feelings.

But if you offer a level of service for a price amount, you have to deliver on it or else it's a fraud.

I so agree. Search is meant for the "searcher" and who paid the most for their ad doesn't mean anything for me. I'm sorry for those who spend so much to be seen 1st, but what you are OFFERING is much more important to me than how much you paid for your ad. Of course if you can afford lots of $$$ for your ad it might tell me you are successful/have lots to offer but it doesn't truly help me find what I want.

I don't think it's a question of being kind-hearted. The question should be about who the "search" is meant for.
Of course, the OP was asking "would you pay 50L for your ad" so, I voted "no".

edit: didn't know how to spell "ad", lol