Author Topic: Why my photos never shown on search on istock ?? (Read 10939 times)

arapix · « **on:** September 30, 2015, 07:33 »

Hello All,

I am new

, I started few months ago , I keep hearing that Istock is no. 2 , but I never get any sale from it yet, however I do well on SS !

I thought to try searching for my photos myself , and I was shocked because my photos never displayed even when I write the whole title of the photo !

Example :

Photo Title : Happy New Year on a yellow sticky note
I search for this : Happy New Year on a yellow sticky note
Istock merge some words together (Happy New Year) (yellow sticky) (note)
There are 3 pages of results , and my photo is not there at all

Please advice me , what is the mistake that I do with title or keywords ... ?
the photo of this example :
http://www.istockphoto.com/photo/happy-new-year-on-a-yellow-sticky-note-54319558

there are other examples too if you wish

I really appreciate your advice

ShadySue · « **Reply #1 on:** September 30, 2015, 07:45 »

Your keywords for that file are:
2015, Bulletin Board, Cork, Happiness, Sticky, Year, Personal Organizer, Wood - Material, Paper, Red, Yellow, Note Pad, Pinning, Note
I'd say Happiness, 2015, year, personal organiser, wood, red, notepad and pinning are inappropriate to, or marginal for this file. Probably also sticky - if it's a sticky note, why would you pin it?
The relevant keywords you have missing are 'Happy New Year', 'pin board' and 'note'
(I see that that sort of file has few sales, BTW.)

As you don't have "Happy New Year" in your keywords already, it won't show up in a search. You have to work with iStock's Controlled Vocabulary and disambiguate appropriately. I appreciate that's very difficult if you don't speak any of the iStock languages natively.

It is very difficult to get credit sales on post Sept-2012 files on iStock. Older files yes, newer files mostly only subs sales.

arapix · « **Reply #2 on:** September 30, 2015, 08:46 »

Hello ShadySue,

Thanks a lot for your reply.

I think I am confused with keywording system of IStock , which is different of all other stock agencies

When I add new keyword such as : "Happy New Year" , it suggest the keyword to be "New Year's Eve (Holiday)"

and I must choose this suggestion, otherwise this keyword will not be displayed at all !

What should I do if I want this keyword : "Happy New Year" as it is ?

Thanks

tickstock · « **Reply #3 on:** September 30, 2015, 08:55 »

Quote from: arapix on September 30, 2015, 08:46

Hello ShadySue,

Thanks a lot for your reply.

I think I am confused with keywording system of IStock , which is different of all other stock agencies

When I add new keyword such as : "Happy New Year" , it suggest the keyword to be "New Year's Eve (Holiday)"

and I must choose this suggestion, otherwise this keyword will not be displayed at all !

What should I do if I want this keyword : "Happy New Year" as it is ?

Thanks

They are the same thing as far as the search is concerned.

ShadySue · « **Reply #4 on:** September 30, 2015, 08:56 »

Quote from: arapix on September 30, 2015, 08:46

When I add new keyword such as : "Happy New Year" , it suggest the keyword to be "New Year's Eve (Holiday)"
and I must choose this suggestion, otherwise this keyword will not be displayed at all !
What should I do if I want this keyword : "Happy New Year" as it is ?

Yes, the system is quite irritating at times, although I'm a big fan of the principle.
You will need to accept "New Year's Eve (Holiday)" (which is a totally bizarre DA, as New Year's Eve is Hogmanay, d'uh, not New Year), if you want your file to show up in a search for Happy New Year.

tickstock · « **Reply #5 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:04 »

Quote from: ShadySue on September 30, 2015, 08:56

Quote from: arapix on September 30, 2015, 08:46
When I add new keyword such as : "Happy New Year" , it suggest the keyword to be "New Year's Eve (Holiday)"
and I must choose this suggestion, otherwise this keyword will not be displayed at all !
What should I do if I want this keyword : "Happy New Year" as it is ?
Yes, the system is quite irritating at times, although I'm a big fan of the principle.
You will need to accept "New Year's Eve (Holiday)" (which is a totally bizarre DA, as New Year's Eve is Hogmanay, d'uh, not New Year), if you want your file to show up in a search for Happy New Year.

It's not that bizarre, look at the most popular search results for both at Shutterstock. They are nearly identical.

ShadySue · « **Reply #6 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:16 »

Quote from: tickstock on September 30, 2015, 09:04

Quote from: ShadySue on September 30, 2015, 08:56
Quote from: arapix on September 30, 2015, 08:46
When I add new keyword such as : "Happy New Year" , it suggest the keyword to be "New Year's Eve (Holiday)"
and I must choose this suggestion, otherwise this keyword will not be displayed at all !
What should I do if I want this keyword : "Happy New Year" as it is ?
Yes, the system is quite irritating at times, although I'm a big fan of the principle.
You will need to accept "New Year's Eve (Holiday)" (which is a totally bizarre DA, as New Year's Eve is Hogmanay, d'uh, not New Year), if you want your file to show up in a search for Happy New Year.
It's not that bizarre, look at the most popular search results for both at Shutterstock. They are nearly identical.

How does that stop it from being bizarre?
SS search results can be very strange nowadays - they were much cleaner there a year or two back.

arapix · « **Reply #7 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:20 »

Hello tickstock ,

Quote from: tickstock on September 30, 2015, 09:04

It's not that bizarre, look at the most popular search results for both at Shutterstock. They are nearly identical.

Yes I am new , but I can say you are wrong , sorry

When I add any keyword on Shutterstock even it's not English word , they just make notification , and give you the opportunity to correct the word, or to submit without any changes , and they will accept it .

This is very very easier system

This is not my problem anyway , I want to understand how IStock works

Thanks

tickstock · « **Reply #8 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:22 »

Quote from: ShadySue on September 30, 2015, 09:16

Quote from: tickstock on September 30, 2015, 09:04
Quote from: ShadySue on September 30, 2015, 08:56
Quote from: arapix on September 30, 2015, 08:46
When I add new keyword such as : "Happy New Year" , it suggest the keyword to be "New Year's Eve (Holiday)"
and I must choose this suggestion, otherwise this keyword will not be displayed at all !
What should I do if I want this keyword : "Happy New Year" as it is ?
Yes, the system is quite irritating at times, although I'm a big fan of the principle.
You will need to accept "New Year's Eve (Holiday)" (which is a totally bizarre DA, as New Year's Eve is Hogmanay, d'uh, not New Year), if you want your file to show up in a search for Happy New Year.
It's not that bizarre, look at the most popular search results for both at Shutterstock. They are nearly identical.
How does that stop it from being bizarre?
SS search results can be very strange nowadays - they were much cleaner there a year or two back.

Because if there were two separate keywords you get nearly identical search results so it's not too crazy to combine them. Sure there are cases when both keywords don't work but as shown by the SS results many times they do. Bizarre would be "New Year's Eve" and "Halloween" being the same.

tickstock · « **Reply #9 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:25 »

Quote from: arapix on September 30, 2015, 09:20

Hello tickstock ,

Quote from: tickstock on September 30, 2015, 09:04
It's not that bizarre, look at the most popular search results for both at Shutterstock. They are nearly identical.

Yes I am new , but I can say you are wrong , sorry

When I add any keyword on Shutterstock even it's not English word , they just make notification , and give you the opportunity to correct the word, or to submit without any changes , and they will accept it .

This is very very easier system

This is not my problem anyway , I want to understand how IStock works

Thanks

I'm not sure I understand what you are saying. At iStock both keywords go to the same exact search so if you put "New Year's Eve" and a buyer searches for "Happy New Year" they will find it. The point I was making was that if you count them as one keyword (like iStock) you get identical results and at SS where they are two different words you get nearly identical results, either way the search results come out about the same.

ShadySue · « **Reply #10 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:29 »

Quote from: arapix on September 30, 2015, 09:20

I want to understand how IStock works

http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=1638
and the CV/DA system in more detail:
http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=105

john_woodcock · « **Reply #11 on:** September 30, 2015, 09:56 »

"and I was shocked because my photos never displayed even when I write the whole title of the photo !"

You can't search by title on iStock.

arapix · « **Reply #12 on:** September 30, 2015, 10:12 »

Quote from: tickstock on September 30, 2015, 09:25

.... so if you put "New Year's Eve" and a buyer searches for "Happy New Year" they will find it....

This is great , I understand now
I thought they forced me to replace it

I will try to adjust my keywords again to be more accurate.

Thanks all for your help

Gigì · « **Reply #13 on:** October 27, 2015, 13:49 »

I have the same problem!!! I am on ISP since last year and I have noticed that :
1) my images don't show up even under a precise research from title
2) zero visualizations on all files ( I don't have many files , around 100, but having zero visualizations looks bit odd to me)
3) my images don't show up even under "new" filter research ( for example files that were accepted three days ago, it only shows older files)

Am I doing something wrong? I don't know. Never happened on any other sites! Can someone explain ?

ShadySue · « **Reply #14 on:** October 27, 2015, 13:55 »

1. Titles aren't searchable, only keywords are searchable as John mentioned above).
2. They have changed the way they record views, which they haven't made transparent. I have some sales with 0 views, especially subs.
3. New files doesn't always mean 'new' like you or I would understand it. Sometimes 'New' is exactly the same as 'Best Match', but it varies, e.g. on which browser you're in, or whether you're in 'new' or 'classic' view.
iS like obfuscating things.

Gigì · « **Reply #15 on:** October 27, 2015, 15:56 »

Ok ok ... Well thanks a lot for explaining this...
I am in istock since last year but I had some difficulties in understanding the whole key wording and the interface is still quite odd to me.
It's very different from other micro stock sites I am in .. But basically if you could give me an advice what would you say? Improve keywords?
Sorry if I sound stupid I am just trying to figure out the whole thing

ShadySue · « **Reply #16 on:** October 27, 2015, 17:06 »

I would find it surprising if your main keywords weren't almost the same as the phrasing in your title, unless you are giving your files 'cutesy' titles rather than factual ones.
If you'd like to share your port here, we could take a look.
If not, you should only keyword the main things which are actually in your photo.
There is a keywording manual here:
http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=1638
and a longer one here:
http://www.istockphoto.com/article_view.php?ID=227
All that said, it seems to be very difficult to get newish files in front of buyers, especially credit buyers.

Gigì · « **Reply #17 on:** October 27, 2015, 18:29 »

Look, I basically copy/pasted the keywords from SS. Sometimes I deleted some of them because I was having the perception that copy and paste from SS IS Not the right move in ISP. ( am I right?)

Is there a reason why new files are less visible than older ones? This is a bit disappointing to me... I thought ISP was almost the best togheter with SS but it seems to have some serious issues with browsing the files : (

ShadySue · « **Reply #18 on:** October 27, 2015, 18:42 »

SS has a different keyword/search system from iStock. Sometimes that works to SS's benefit, sometimes to iStock's.
The two articles I linked to give an insight into how iS's system is supposed to work: in theory.

'Something' (nebulous) happened in September 2012 (confirmed by admin), and lots of us (presumably not everyone, but many) found that we're much more likely to sell files from before then than files uploaded since, at least as credits. It may be that subs buyers see a different Best Match mix, but I couldn't say - that's maybe too complicated for iS's techies.

iS used to be pretty good, but IME it's mostly subs now, so income has been slashed for many of us.

Gigì · « **Reply #19 on:** October 27, 2015, 19:41 »

Ok thank you so much and sorry for my many question.
Does anyone in ISP know about this issue? Should I contact them? I mean... If we are all aware of this problem , and this problem is giving less visibility to all of us, they miss more sales and so do us..
Does it make sense?
Why they don't fix it?

ShadySue · « **Reply #20 on:** October 27, 2015, 19:52 »

Quote from: Gigì on October 27, 2015, 19:41

Ok thank you so much and sorry for my many question.
Does anyone in ISP know about this issue? Should I contact them? I mean... If we are all aware of this problem , and this problem is giving less visibility to all of us, they miss more sales and so do us..
Does it make sense?
Why they don't fix it?

Like I said, the issue has been acknowledged by admin, so as with all matters iStock, is it incompetence or malice? They seem to be putting an incredible amount of time and money into the 'new view', which has been an ongoing project for months now, with all sorts of problems coming and going during that time.

To give you a clue how bad things can be there (although everyone's experience is different), this is almost the end of October, and my iS total earnings for the year to date are only just over 50% of last year's earnings.

As you are on differerent sites, you'll soon discover what works best for you.

Gigì · « **Reply #21 on:** October 28, 2015, 02:32 »

Thank you soooo much!!!
You've been very exhaustive ... And very kind.
I will read the links and ... I don't know, I will do everything as usual ...
My questions were just to understand ...

skyfish · « **Reply #22 on:** October 28, 2015, 06:40 »

For money they pay they want us to follow so different procedure. That's why they are the last in my list.

ShadySue · « **Reply #23 on:** October 28, 2015, 07:40 »

(Files uploaded after Sept 2012 issue)

Quote from: Gigì on October 27, 2015, 19:41

Ok thank you so much and sorry for my many question.
Does anyone in ISP know about this issue? Should I contact them? I mean... If we are all aware of this problem , and this problem is giving less visibility to all of us, they miss more sales and so do us..
Does it make sense?
Why they don't fix it?

Actually, they don't lose sales. If files uploaded after then are at the bottom of a huge search result, buyers will usually buy something from the first few results pages, iStock gets its sale nevertheless.
If your file is in a small search, it will be seen, so has the possibility of being bought.
iS don't care if you or I don't get sales, as long as they do.

Far more inexplicable was the 'curse of the download' problem which lasted a couple of years but may not apply now. That was where if you had a sale on a file it went to the bottom or nearly the bottom of a search. After it sold ten (?nine?, ?eleven?) times it would rise again; but in a big search, what were the chances?

Once you've been around for a while, you'll catch up, and no doubt there will be more 'interesting times' ahead.

Gigì · « **Reply #24 on:** October 28, 2015, 07:47 »

I hope so! I was so sure ISP was the best as SS , which works really nicely

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Author Topic: Why my photos never shown on search on istock ?? (Read 10939 times)

arapix

ShadySue

arapix

tickstock

ShadySue

tickstock

ShadySue

arapix

tickstock

tickstock

ShadySue

john_woodcock

arapix

Gigì

ShadySue

Gigì

ShadySue

Gigì

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Gigì

ShadySue

Gigì

skyfish

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