M.Chapman Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 Searches by image ref# have disappeared for me too. Not statistically significant in my case alone, but combined with all the other reports, looks like something else has "broken". Not only did I find searches by image ref# to be a useful indication of a forthcoming sale, it also helped me to find usages closer to the time of publication, which I could then monitor and check for subsequent sale or potential infringement. I'd like them back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDP Posted November 20, 2015 Author Share Posted November 20, 2015 Although, I started this thread, it was as an observation and not a complaint. Ultimately, I don't think it's a particularly important change and, if anything, it probably makes the CTR data more accurate. It just piqued my interest! Regarding when ref numbers stopped appearing, that does seem to be on 9th October, as Kumar pointed out. Since then, nothing has appeared in My Measures or AoA. Initially, it seemed as if it was appearing in the latter but a closer look shows that any ref nos are either part of a longer search or are not actual references (incorrect refs, wrong number of characters, full stop after the ref etc.) I imagine, there's a simple exclusion in Measures of any valid number in the Alamy Ref field. As I said earlier, it's probably been done to make the data more accurate and to prevent abuse and gaming of the system. As to whether or not CTR is important, Alamy still maintain that it's a constituent element in ranking - so, yes, it could well be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlbertSnapper Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 I for one am more than happy to NOT have the Alamy Ref numbers show up. Far too often they lead you up the garden path to a false hope, for there to be never a sale further down the path ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 When I first started with Alamy I would look at those AOA ref searches to see what had sold, in addition to spotting images in the papers etc. Useful for a beginner. My first thought was that maybe those involved didn't want that information made public, but the Images Found thread has never, to my knowledge, attracted adverse criticism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiskerke Posted November 20, 2015 Share Posted November 20, 2015 For one it masks specific images that are being zoomed and/or bought. So it counters copycat behavior somewhat. And the fact clients do not use the site as expected. Which the management may want to know, but not show the outside world too much. Any other possible reasons, besides keeping CTR tidy? wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Yates Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Ironically I had a search by Alamy ref number in thursday's data so they are still happening. Regards Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Ironically I had a search by Alamy ref number in thursday's data so they are still happening. Regards Craig HI Craig - that would seem to go very much against what seems to have been happening - was it only the number, or some words as well? Kumar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Robinson Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Has anyone found one of their images yet with a six letter Alamy reference that spells a real word? It must happen sometimes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Yates Posted November 21, 2015 Share Posted November 21, 2015 Ironically I had a search by Alamy ref number in thursday's data so they are still happening. Regards Craig HI Craig - that would seem to go very much against what seems to have been happening - was it only the number, or some words as well? Kumar It was part of a multiple search (an0j1x OR an0j4w OR bt1f42 OR c3t8hp OR c4e221 OR cxw2cb OR dwr65y OR e1magw OR er1mrg OR eyhmne) so yes it had the odd word or two. Regards Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryan Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 I had one yesterday, but there were additional search terms, not just the reference number. I do like to see them, shows me what customers are interested in, even if a sale does not transpire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Interestingly enough I had a search yesterday show up for just the Image number, nothing else - first one for ages - anyone else had the same? Kumar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
losdemas Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Nope. Last zoom by ref # for me was October 8th. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 I've had a weird search translate into a zoom. Search term: v[WOP] Seems to me v (anything and everything that starts with a v?) doesn't say much, but one of my Virgin Island images was zoomed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiskerke Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 I've had a weird search translate into a zoom. Search term: v[WOP] Seems to me v (anything and everything that starts with a v?) doesn't say much, but one of my Virgin Island images was zoomed. Someone here explained that it's probably Ctrl-V without the Ctrl. wim edit: Ctrl-V = paste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Ah. Wouldn't that be the same as searching by reference number? I know I used v[WOP] in searches out of curiosity and none of them turned up any of my images. Not in Creative, not in New. Or the third one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDP Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 Interestingly enough I had a search yesterday show up for just the Image number, nothing else - first one for ages - anyone else had the same? Kumar Very strange, Kumar. Apart from my own images, I've done the occasional check on AoA over the past couple of months and haven't seen a single occurrence since the beginning of October. There are often searches with the ref no. and other search words (not what you've cited) and quite a few where the ref no. is invalid - so no images returned. In the latter case, you wouldn't see it in My Alamy because no images were found. The only other explanation is that there's some form of punctuation after the ref no. (usually a full stop) which is often hard to see. The search engine doesn't seem to recognise this as a valid reference and so doesn't exclude it - however it does return the searched for image. Otherwise, it would seem to be an odd quirk! Ian D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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