Visibility in a crowded online marketplace is already a tough thing to crack. Lakhs of sellers are fighting for the same spot, for the same customers. And with more people discovering ecommerce, it’s going to get even more cramped.
But this is something that most seasoned sellers are aware of and have taken necessary measures to stand out. What’s puzzling online sellers is the sudden decrease in product listing visibility on popular ecommerce sites like Flipkart.
Close to 80-90% people don’t go past first page of Google’s search results. That’s why the ‘first page’ is the most coveted place and brands work hard towards improving their Google Ranking. After all, Google is the top internet company in world.
But the search giant is in the middle of ‘antitrust’ allegations. European Union regulators are claiming that Google is abusing its dominant position by tweaking results in its own favour and restricting rivals.
It is probably why Flipkart and other Indian etailers bowed out of Google’s annual Great Online Shopping Festival in India, and focused on their own sales and apps instead.
Wondering how diminishing visibility is connected to what’s happening with European Union and Google? Here’s how.
The analogy fits because sellers feel that the Indian ecommerce giant is doing exactly what Google has been accused of – abusing its dominant position by tweaking product listings. It is done to make way for:
There’s a definite correlation between visibility and marketplace seller services such as product listing ads, fulfilment services as spelled out by Browntape Technologies’ category manager in this article.
But instead of ‘marketplace’ being the core of Flipkart’s business model, other segments like advertising, logistics, and inventory management has taken centre stage. Remember Flipkart’s zero commissions pilot project to focus on ad income?
Online Seller Kush Agarwal elucidates how Flipkart’s business model overhaul is affecting sellers.
“When PLA was started in 2014, I made a killing out of it. The product was shown on front page as a sponsored listing, and the ad cost would be 1-2% of sales. I did huge volumes, which increased the ranking of my products, and without advertisement now reached top of the category, hence I would reduce PLA,” shares Agarwal while speaking to IOS about the time when PLA service was newly launched by Flipkart.
This period lasted until Flipkart decided to set up its own advertising firm and focus on ad revenue. From an add-on seller service it transitioned into a full-fledged profitable arm of Flipkart. From a solution to sellers’ problem it became a solution to etailers’ problem of dwindling revenue. From an exclusive helpful service for selected few it has become an open-to-all-but-benefits-none service.
“I was forced to do PLA during festive seasons, spike sales, BigBillion Day, etc for a product which would normally be ranked at number 1. The reason for the same was that during such times, my product would become number 401, and top 400 products would be of WS Retail, Vector Ecommerce,” says Agarwal.
He adds,
“This would mean I had to unnecessary do ads to increase my visibility of available products, just so that I get sales. This was also deteriorating my ROI. The competition here was not for product, or price, but for visibility, and that too with someone who had an undue advantage (WS Retail) and never uses PLA.”
Concern over sudden drop in visibility isn’t figment of sellers’ imagination. The fear originates from Flipkart’s recent anti-seller moves. It has convinced vendors that the etailer is looking to replace all those who disagree with the company.
Here’s a quick recap:
The harsh honest truth is that the concept of fair or level-field in ecommerce doesn’t exist as of now. He, who owns the business, call the shots. In this case, it’s Flipkart who is calling the shots.
So think over the below two points:
If PLAs are simply burning hole in your pocket without giving visibility, then you can invest in social media ads to direct traffic. There are ways to increase organic search visibility on ecommerce sites like collect positive reviews, maintain 4-star rating, and optimize content.
Focus on building your own brand on marketplaces or open your own online store. Indian Online Seller (IOS) has shared in-depth guidelines and tips to increase visibility like ways to drive traffic to online marketplace store and ideal keywords for products.
Kush Agarwal shares,
“In the end, I stopped concentrating on ecommerce as a revenue source, and diverted to newer areas. At the same time, I tweaked my ecommerce model in such a way, that all the above factors don’t affect me anymore, and my sales have increased.”
By tweaking he means making use of geotagging technology to increase availability and visibility on marketplaces. You can do the same.
Adapt, expand and innovate. Flipkart and other marketplaces are concentrating on their business; you focus on yours. It’s important to guard your own interests and be selfish as putting yourself first is not a negative thing.
If your product and service is unique/good, ratings are favourable and pricing is reasonable, sales will follow.
Editor team is specialized in introducing the marketplace content targeting the Indian online sellers. They plan and coordinate to bring the appealing content for the small businesses on how to partner with the e-commerce sites like Amazon and Flipkart and strategies for improving their online business.
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