Emphasizing the Highest Quality Listings

An effort to show you more relevant results.

As you may have seen, we recently gave our search experience a makeover. From richer cards to instant results, to better filters; we hope the new interface allows you to find what you want, faster.

But improving the design is only the beginning. When you perform a search, deciding which listings to show you, along with the order of those listings, is equally as important. 

So today, we are introducing a new sorting system to deliver the highest quality and most relevant results every time you search.

How it works

When you search on Flippa, results are sorted by Most Relevant by default. We’ve tweaked our relevancy rules to ensure the listings we show you more closely match what you searched for. 

In addition, we now emphasize and boost our best listings so they appear closer to the top of results. We do this by putting a focus on quality listings and trustworthy sellers. The purpose is to give higher quality listings more visibility.

How can buyers see better results?

As a buyer, there is nothing special you need to do.

When you sort by Most Relevant, you will see better quality results at the top. In fact, over time the system will get smarter. As buyers “vote” with their actions, the system will learn more about what constitutes quality, and better match specific buyers to listings suited for them.

Please note that while ‘Most Relevant’ sorting is subjective, other options (such as ‘Lowest Price’, ‘Ending Soonest’, or ‘Most Active’) are objective. This means that if you use these other sorting options, the results will be returned purely as an objective list, and will not have any special sorting applied.

Upgrades. While it’s not a surefire way to rise to the top, purchasing an upgrade will certainly help put your listing in front of more buyers.

How can sellers maximize listing views?

As a seller, you may be wondering how you can receive more exposure in search results. There are a number of factors we take into consideration when assessing the quality of a business. It will become critical that you put these practices in place in order to influence your priority in search results.

Factors include:

• Title & Category. How closely the listing’s title & categorization matches the buyer’s search intent. Having a good title is critical to getting noticed.
• Description. Buyers love rich, full descriptions. The more detail you provide, the better.
• Popularity. How popular your listing is. A listing with proportionally higher buyer activity is an indication of high buyer interest.
• Seller Responsiveness. Buyers get frustrated when their questions don’t get answered. Be sure to respond to messages & comments within 24 hours.
• Proof of Revenue. Provide detailed monthly financials, and back it up with evidence; Profit & loss statements, screenshots, walkthroughs, and other attachments.
• Proof of Traffic. Connect to Google Analytics – it takes just a few moments, and will greatly boost your visibility.
• Price. It’s important to price your asset competitively. Follow our guide pricing when possible, but most of all, be reasonable.
• Listing Image. Uploading a screenshot will help your listing stand out from the pack. And a good one can really grab buyers’ attention!
• Seller Verification. Verifying your phone number and government ID is one of the easiest ways to improve your visibility.
• Track record. Your track record as a seller. Includes transaction and feedback history.

For a more detailed list of factors, see our support article.

In a nutshell, we are emphasizing and rewarding our best listings. We are confident that these improvements will be extremely beneficial to both serious buyers and trustworthy, motivated sellers. 

We are always looking for ways to improve this feature. If you have feedback or questions, check out our detailed support article, or contact us at [email protected].

Regards, 

Stefan von Imhof
Head of Product, flippa.com