The Second Life Marketplace has undergone some changes compared to the past. Something has happened because while in the past it was easy to find items based on keyword searches, now everything has become much more complicated and the search results don’t seem to be relevant to the search terms used.
Both designers and customers are dissatisfied because designers are no longer able to sell as before and customers are unable to find the items they are looking for. This problem had already arisen a few months ago when some modifications were made to the Marketplace in the “beta version”. At that time, creators had noticed that something was wrong and sales had decreased. I have received several comments from dissatisfied creators who have asked me what happened to the Marketplace. Honestly, I couldn’t give an answer. The only idea that came to mind is that somehow the algorithm has been changed and that this change did not bring any improvements, but rather highlighted older items instead of more recent ones.
As I also have a store on the Marketplace, I tried to implement SEO on the items I sell. Somehow this seems to have helped, but I don’t have a benchmark as my Marketplace is recent and I have no idea how my store sales would have been before the algorithm change.
Currently, creators are wondering what to do to return to previous sales. I don’t have a solution to propose except to ask Linden Lab directly what happened. What is certain is that creators are no longer investing in the Marketplace’s advertising as before because they have noticed that the views are significantly reduced compared to the past. Therefore, sales have decreased and creators are complaining about this, as well as customers who are unable to find what they are looking for.
This is a problem of considerable importance and I believe it should be solved rather quickly considering the importance that commercial activity has in Second Life.
If you have this issue, one possible solution to the problem you’re facing with the Second Life Marketplace’s algorithm is to refine your search terms and use more specific keywords. Try using more detailed descriptions of what you’re looking for to narrow down the search results. Additionally, you may want to try using filters such as “category” or “best-selling products” to help you find more recent and relevant items. Finally, consider reaching out to the Second Life community or support team for further assistance in navigating the Marketplace’s search function.
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