Ebay suggested selling recommendations and the algorithm question/topic

[rugerskick]

Was wondering how following the ebay generated selling recommendations in the monthly reports they generate for you, affect the algorithm in terms of impressions and rankings in the impressions.

I ask because they push doing promoted listings as a sales recommendation, and if you don't follow that recommendation, does the algortihm then start reducing your impressions, either for whatever category they recommended,  or could it even be on everything you're selling?

I know sellers in very competitive saturated areas use promoted listings as a way for more exposure and potential sales, but if you don't, has anyone noticed their impressions/top impressions falling off over time since they started recommending you use promoted listings, but decided not to?

[katzrul15]

@rugerskick 

It is a great question - doubtful though that e-Bay penalizes you for not following a "sales recommendation" by reducing your impressions.  If you have metric issues, etc - then yes, they may suppress your listings and they tell you that.

We used Promoted Listings (standard) and likely will continue to do so until 6/1, when we will need to re-assess based on the change to change the promoted percentage (%) on the item cost + shipping, vs just the item cost.  For us, this could be a pretty large fee impact, as it likely will be for other sellers.

Before I would try promoted listings, I would work to increase the number of listings and/or run a "sale" promotion with a percentage (%) off, first.  Good luck to you!

[my-cottage-books-and-antiques]

I don't think ebay's algo "punishes" you for not using Promoted Listings.  You may find that your impressions/views are down and your placement in search isn't that great,  not because you are being punished, but because your competitors are using PL, which gives them a competitive edge.