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Image Search Position - Price Paid


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Has anyone done a study on the relationship between image position in the search, and the price paid for the image?

 
It would seem logical that a client looking for one $10 image would only look at 1 or 2 pages of images. It would not be worth the time to wade through 30 pages of images for an unimportant usage.
 
However a client looking for a $500 image, for an important usage, should be willing to look much further. Even if their final selection turned out to be on the first page.
 
This would mean that Alamy’s advice, to only keyword well, could work for the photographer. Work for the photographer, because it would save the photographer valuable time. 
 
If the above is true, then concerning yourself with BHZ, checking the position of your images in the search, or even gaming the system, has a time cost that might be better spent on producing more and better images.
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I've never heard of such a study - although I could easily imagine this data being gathered by somebody at some agency somewhere - however, photo buyers tell me often enough that they begin their searches in the middle pages. That way, they're more likely to find something unique. Is it true? I have no idea. I'd rather make images or hang out in these forums than find out.

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Brian that is what got me thinking. 

 
I am not a photo buyer today, but when searching a subject on Alamy I often skip 5 pages at a time. I wish I could skip 20 at a time. It gives a better overview of what is in the collection, and I think it comes up with more unique work.
 
I have never trusted, either Artificial Intelligence or an editor, to determine my image preferences.
 
Maybe that is why Alamy seems to be adding more mix to the first couple of pages.
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Depends, I would say.

 

Large sales would certainly require some authority that $10 sales don't necessarily need. 

 

Get your minions to select images and create a lightbox. Then get someone with authority to select $500 images. 

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I just checked 20 sales I could trace back pretty reliably.

You may not like the outcome.

 

Total       Fee      Row
Views

 

100          5.24    2
200         10.27    4
121         15.96    1
100         19.19    3
100         25.21    ? (now out of sight)    
200         28.51    1
90          34.95    1
538         35.00    2
90          40.48    1
200         49.00    1    
53          49.00    1    
100         48.50    2 (now 5)    
100         50.40    3 (now 7)
540         61.64    2
180        119.00    1
100        150.00    3 (now out of sight)
874        177.17    1 (now 4)
180        138.35    1 (now 2)
8          199.99    1
500        199.99    1 (now 8)
180        450.00    5

 

wim

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I don't think the price helps (I used to think it did - but not anymore). One of my pseudos (if we still want to play the BHZ game) is near the top of page 4. On checking my mages of a particular natural history subject where a search shows 225 images, (34 of which are mine), one of the images, which sold for $600 a few months ago comes up at position 180 of the 225. So the big sale did nothing to help move that particular image up. Neither are the rest of my images in the order loaded. Many much older ones are appearing before newer ones.

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+1 Wim thats most useful.

 
In your figures.
 
Generally clients are buying low priced images from page 1 or 2.
 
They are buying higher priced images mainly from page 1 or 2 but are searching beyond the buying page and also bought the highest priced image from page 5.
 
For instance your image 874        177.17    1 (now 4) would have been seen by the client in his search even on page 4
 
500        199.99    1 (now 8) would not have been seen by the client at all, even though the client searched 5 pages.
 
Not here to like or dislike. Just get pointed in the right direction.
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Bill,

 

Row is row not page. All those were on page 1.

So yes they sometimes do look beyond page 1. However they tend to buy from those first rows.

To soften the blow a bit: these were traceable because the images have been or still are on those first rows.

I do have some data of where images have been beyond page 1, but not a whole lot, and they do have to coincide with the keywords that the client has used to buy the image.

Furthermore these are from my pseudo with not a whole lot of images per subject and with lots of images high up in searches. (Not anymore for some though.)

 

wim

 

edit: typo

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