Matching clients with the best freelancers is one of the most important functions of the Freelancer.com platform. Today, we want to give our users some insight into one aspect of our matchmaking process, which is the algorithm that underpins how we rank freelancers’ bids on projects, and the ordering of their profiles in the freelancer directory.
At its core, this ranking algorithm rewards recent, good quality work that is completed and paid through the platform. It penalises poor quality work, and work that is not paid through the platform.
Broadly speaking, there are several factors we consider in calculating your ranking:
Rating: The number of stars given by the client. 5-star reviews are treated more favorably than 1-stars.
Value: Payments from the client to freelancer, such as milestone payments and hourly invoices. A $10 payment has at least 10 times the weighting of a $1 payment.
Skills: Payments on all projects affect your ranking. In addition, projects with similar skills have a stronger weighting. For example, a web design project with 5-star reviews will benefit future bids on web design projects more than bids on data entry projects.
Trustworthiness: Behaviour that contributes to a safe and healthy marketplace are encouraged. For example, responding to messaging quickly, and accepting projects that have been awarded to you.
What you can do to improve your rankings
Freelancers have many options at their disposal to improve their rankings.
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Do a great job and get paid for it: Clients are always looking for reliable freelancers that can produce high quality work. Make sure you get paid on the platform.
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Get reviewed: Reviews are crucial for improving your ranking. Remind your clients to leave a 5-star review on your project!
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Accept projects awarded to you: It is a poor experience for clients to select a freelancer who subsequently rejects the project. Only bid on projects that you are able to commit to delivering.
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Respond to messages quickly: Being responsive to clients messages ensures good communication, and a delightful work experience for everyone.
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Write good and relevant bids: Clients are impressed when they see bids that are relevant to their project brief, and they rate these bids highly through the bid rating feature. Clients are more likely to award the project as a result.
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Maintain a rich profile page: Profile pages are a key tool for freelancers to promote themselves. Adding content, portfolio items, and showcasing what you are capable of, are great ways to increase your earnings.
Factors that may adversely affect your rankings
On the other hand, there are a number of factors that may cause your rankings to drop.
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Writing spammy bids
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Losing disputes
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Losing violation reports
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Having sanctions placed upon your account for poor behaviour
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Not completing verification such as email, phone, identity, and payment verification
What is changing
From time to time, we update our algorithms to achieve the best results for clients and freelancers. In the upcoming weeks, we are updating the algorithm so that project value (i.e. payments) are given a stronger weighting than before, and that larger projects are now full credit being worth proportional to their project dollar value.
For more information about the Freelancer reputation system and its impact on your ranking, visibility and number of successful bids, please see the following links:
