Is the WA Ranking Really Important?
After reading some of the more recent blogs posted commenting on the WA ranking I felt I should share my experience concerning the ranking system. This is by no means meant to bash the current ranking system but to establish that the current system has a major flaw and it should be noted. This exposure can possibly help in the creation of a better system which can be designed or created to better represent the most helpful and knowledgeable members within the platform.
After the first 2 weeks here on the WA platform, and getting to know the platform, I normally spent an hour a day making comments on blogs and posts throughout the many discussion threads in the community I like doing this because it makes me feel like I am making a difference in the community, even if it is just one comment at a time.
Now you may be asking how this is relevant to this blog, I am working to that point. When I log onto my computer what I do while I am on it, when I log on to websites and what I do when I am on them, I log it all. How else can you track efficiency and ROI if time is involved and little to no money? (Journals)
MY OPINION
On September 28th upon logon on the platform in the morning, I found, a copy of a comment that I post (various versions of and make slight daily changes to) often in a discussion board throughout the platform, posted on my profile page discussion thread.
I felt this to be rather odd, so I contacted the induvial that posted my comment to my profile thread, to see if I was doing something wrong or against the rules. I have been warned by a couple of the older members to steer clear of this individual because they are known to be a bit of a spam reporter. So I tread with caution in my PM to this member.
I sent this message to them:
“Not understanding why did you send me a post that I made in one of the discussion boards?”
The reply I received roughly 2 hours later:
“That’s great advice my Friend.
Do You send it to everyone on the goals post?
It will, as you know boost your rankings hare at WA.”
My final reply, and stated to make sure I did not get reported as a spammer from this individual was:
“I try to send it to many of the goals setters I do make various versions of it so that I am not posting the same material daily.
Is there a problem with doing this is, it against any of the rules?
As far as raising my ranking as far as I am concerned that is a popularity contest! The algorithm only goes by posting and not value of post you could also submit a daily blog of four line each that get no comments and it will increase your creator ranking again popularity contest.
I am sorry ****** I am pretty busy so if there is not something important you wish to discuss with me I’d like to kindly end this discussion.
I do not see the purpose of it or how I am going to benefit from it.
Good day,”
(******name withheld, I am not trying to embarrass this individual - I am a professional)
Regardless, since this conversation has taken place I have increased my time spent on the WA platform but yet for some odd reason my ranking has gone from 39th on September 30th to decreasing to rank 46 this morning. Now I know there are many variables that change the ranking I understand algorithms. But over the past two months as I spent roughly the same amount time and made roughly the same amount of posts my rank has increased accordingly.
But now it seems to be on a bit of a controlled slow decrease as if manipulated by an outside force, and this has been a very emotional discouragement (but I have been taught to get around those types of negative distractions so I continue to truck forward). Remember numbers don’t lie, so I know how many comments I made and where I made those comments (that does make a ranking difference as well, read insert form Kyle below).
My involvement has increased (I have spent 2.5 hours making comments the last 5 mornings just to see how it would affect my ranking and on Friday I spent 1.5 hours also making comments in the afternoon) but my ranking is still decreasing it did flutter from 46 to 45 but then it dropped right back to 46.
So yes I feel very strongly that the ranking system is a popularity contest and since my conversation with this member has happened my ranking has pretty much decreased and I am not doing anything different but actually doing much more and my rank is showing the opposite.
Equally important, I feel that the system needs an overhaul if it is to really help members find suitable members to ask questions to, because to me at least I see the ranking system here as a mere popularity content. The system does not portray the more knowledgeable or helpful members as being the highest ranked.
I think you might what to re/read this blog to get a better idea of the ranking concept here at WA:
https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/kyle/blog/be-an-ambassador-a...
KYLE’S INPUT (INSERTED FROM BLOG)
Here is an insert from Kyle's blog (link posted above) on the ranking system here on the WA platform:
"These are the sorts of things that we look for when determining your WA rank:
Helper - How much you help and how timely it is within the community
Creator - Do you blog, do you create discussions, do you create training
Activity - How active are you within the community, do you leave comments, do you interact with new members
Overall Member Rank - Based on a combination of the above
If you go to the Ambassador page, you can see your ranking and see your "points" graphs within those 4 categories."
When Kyle refers to "Do you blog" under the creator category I am under the impression that he is talking about blog posting on the WA platform and not those blogs posted to your website. Also the activity category how much bearing does this number have on the current ranking algorithm determines how much of a popularity contest the ranking system really is.
THE MOST SCOIALABLE
The concept of the highest ranked individuals here at WA being the most knowledgeable is utter nonsense. Most of the higher ranking individuals are most likely the most knowledgeable here at WA but not all are, the reason is because:
A. The system does not detect whether the post is:
1. Strictly conversational
2. Information adding to the blogs message
3. A simple comment or a question to the poster of the blog
4. A compliment to the blog poster
5. A simple post just to improve ranking or help sustain it.
In other words if you were to post "Very nice and informative blog" on every blog created for the WA platform your ranking will drastically raise.
B. There are many members within the top 200 that have not even completed the training (there are even a couple within the ambassador rankings).
C. Some are in the higher rankings, simply because they are sociable with other members, while other members wish to only contribute when they feel they can add value to the discussion at hand.
Since I have been a member I have seen an ambassador go into chat and spend hours chatting with fellow members and not even offering help to other members (not because they didn't know the answers but because no one was asking questions at that particular time). So they had causal conversations with other members about personal events and other topics. Those posts to me, should not have been counted toward their ranking.
This same ambassador, on a different day, asked how to find a list of affiliate programs within their niche. I think someone with knowledge of the training should know how to create such a list for their own private use or at least know they can go to the search box in the tool bar at the top of the WA platform and find out how to do this; but to ask in chat, when I seen this I asked myself, “How did this person get to become an ambassador?”
Then there have been times that I have watched chat and there were so many questions being answered that four or five members were answering different questions almost on a constant basis for well over 30 minutes. I didn’t chime in to help because it was rolling so fast I could not even keep up with the conversations and I was just watching – LOL To me, I fell all of those posts should have counted toward the ranking.
I have personally had a conversation with one member about them replacing a fence, of course we were answering questions that other members asked but between responding to the inquires we were able to continue our conversation but the point is the system does not recognize the difference.
Therefore the algorithm only detected that the posts were being made, the amount of content within the post/comment and not the relevancy of the actual posts made by that individual. Sometimes those algorithm detected posts, were concerning WA or website oriented information, but often times are not, many of the posts were members asking personal questions about their families and what not.
THE MOST KNOWLEDGABLE
So the ranking system unfortunately it not a reliable system to fall back on when looking for someone to ask an advanced question about the training, the platform, your website, or the plan you have in place to market your website.
So prior to asking someone those kinds of questions check to see how long they have been a member of WA if not a long time, check there profile page see what badges they have earned, see if they have finished the training, if they post blogs on the platform, made training courses or tutorials, or if they mention having prior experience in there profile’s introduction section, on the topic you are wanting to get an answer to.
Do your research just like you did prior to coming here (not everyone did, :-P well at least most of us did) and it helped us to find what it was we were looking for. The same applies within the platform; you don’t want to ask someone that has no internet experience to look at your website (they are not sure themselves on what to do with their own website so how can they help you?).
Just like you should not ask someone how to best market on Instagram if they don’t have an Instagram link on their profile page, chances are since they don’t have an account on that social media platform most likely they are not using it or they don’t know how to use it either. Unless they do not have any links at all posted on their profile page which is a matter of personal preference to post our links on your profile page or not.
IN CONCLUSION
So to answer the man question of the title to this blog, the answer is yes the ranking system is important here at WA if you are worried as to how popular you are within the platform. However if you are concerned about how respected you are within this community as an authoritative figure on any given topic, then no the ranking system is pretty irrelevant to that factor. Additionally, can the ranking system help members to find a knowledgeable member to ask questions to, unfortunately no. Again, it falls short of distinguishing helpful and informational comments from other non-relevant ones so how could that determine if the person helps other members or is simply being very sociable.
The ranking system has no influence on your money making abilities, your knowledge on topics concerning your blog. Nor will your WA ranking help you make more money, it certainly will not help you make money faster, or increase traffic to your website. Don’t fall for the shiny object syndrome that little trophy next to your profile name will not improve your search engine ranking therefore it does not affect your overall blogs authoritative influence of your audience.
I know I have read a couple of blogs on here disagreeing with my opinion of this, and stating how important or influential being an ambassador is, but until the ranking system can distinguish the difference between quality comments and bs it is not that reliable reviewing a members profile and seeing their accomplishments will tell you more than the ranking system currently does.
For those of you that normally just click on the "like" button at the beginning of the blog, I would actually love to hear your opinions instead of remaining silent on this one your opinions are just as important as those that comment often. Me I would rather here what your thoughts are on this matter and what you think of the current ranking system, than to receive a like!
Without knowing how everyone feels about it how can it ever be changed or improve for the better?
Recent Comments
144
Calvin, thanks for the thoughtful post. It is great to read about other people's accomplishments, but honestly, they can be a distraction to getting any work done. This is like any other social media, you have to limit your time and your effort. I could give 2 hoots about my ranking, but since I learned about it, I've been watching it climb. When I ask a question or post a blog, I would appreciate constructive feedback. An occasional "great post" is okay, but when I get the same comments on my website, it doesn't help me one bit. I think people will post what they want, no matter the incentive, but thanks for the heads up. I will watch who I ask advice from in the future.
HI Carol,
That is my point if we had a ranking that pointed to the more experienced and knowledgeable then we would know when we ask a question one it will be answered correctly and two if they don't know the answer most more experienced members will know in which direction to send you to get the answer you are seeking.
Thank you for your comment,
Calvin
Unfortunately my ranking has been going up just because I have been building my network, just replying to people following me and reading some posts and making comments {hoping to learn something) my rank continues to rise. I see your frustration because I am not in a position to help many people at all because I still have so much to learn. It would not surprise me if at least some of the people now following me decided to do so based on my rising rank, thinking I must know something. It would be nice if people that create training and helpful posts and answer important questions got the best rankings, maybe if they started to apply more points (weight) to those activities and or other more important activities it might make the rank more relevant.
Hi Brek,
I think now that I have read some of the other comments this might be an issue that weights heavy for mostly the new members but also should effect the older more seasoned and knowledgeable members willing to help as well.
I am not sure how it could happen but I feel with the membership growing like it has been that something should be done to showcase the more helpful knowledgeable members steering those with advanced questions in the right direct. Chat is nice for simply questions like how to do certain single actions within your website or different simple questions regarding the training.
Thank for your comment,
Calvin
Hi Calvin,
You really struck a chord with me. I have only been working at wealthy affiliate for about two months, (joined in 2016) and the ranking system has me baffled.
I originally thought the ranking system was also an indication of a members knowledge, but very quickly found that this is not so. I have not finished the training, I still have a lot of knowledge missing, and I would like a ranking system that was an indication of a members ability not their popularity.
When I first began the lessons I decided to follow the top ranked 50 as I felt they would have the knowledge that I needed to move ahead quickly and make money. This was not so.
I’d like a ranking system that somehow showed the ability of the member to make money. In probably 90% of the cases this is why we join wealthy affiliates.
Having worked at this for a whole two months, I understand this is a very difficult request, and to a certain extent, so it should be, as the income earned should be a private matter.
I don’t have the answer, but after your post Calvin, I am going to concentrate on building a website for profit, and not reply or answer to many of the posts. It is just too time-consuming when I could be spending that same time creating an income, rather than concentrating on getting a better ranking.
Rob & Michelle
Yes Rob and Michelle,
Yes a ranking system based on potential income could be a very sensitive ranking system and I don't think most would even allow them selves to be part of such a system. I think I would have to seriously think about that as well.
I think many members here are doing exactly what you are saying concentrating on their websites, as that is the reason they are here to begin with.
Maybe the ranking system should be eliminated then you would not have people trying to manipulate it? And people would going to profile pages to find out who to get quality answers from.
Thanks for the thought provoking comments,
Calvin
Maybe without a ranking system, members could promote their websites so others could SEE what they are doing. Not sure how this would work, but I’d like to see the websites, so I can compare them with what I am doing.
Looking at the sites can give you ideas.
Regardless of a current rank, there will be some really good sites that I would resonate with.
Maybe there are some pros & cons of a system like this.
I am like Loes.
If I have a question there are certain members I will PM for an answer because I will get a reply based on their own knowledge which will be based on their own experience.
This is simply because, and going by past experience there are certain members who just copy and paste other peoples replies.
They also do this on a regular basis and the WA algorithm works in their favour and gives them credit.
I also answer questions on Live Chat but a lot of the replies I see are useless simply because the person replying doesn't have a clue but again the Algorithm will work in their favour because they replied.
Most of the time the answers people get will do more harm than good.
Now I am going to sign off as its been a long day.
Onwards and upwards folks and have a great week when it comes.
Robert
Hi Robert,
I agree I have seen plenty of members giving people poor answers to questions. The last couple of times I have been in chat I have seen people post answers to questions the where asked and answered over an hour ago the first time it happened I though it was me I though I missed someones questions.
You point out some valid points that I am trying to showcase so is there a way that the algorithm can detect such posts and ignore them for ranking purposes. I don't think it will because activity is one of the categories combined into the calculation to compute the ranking of each member.
So we remain the newer members are shooting in the dark when they ask questions in chat or PM a member based on their ranking.
Thanks for you comment,
Calvin
Hello Calvin, Monday morning for me and another day, another dollar as they say.
I have seen replies stating that the WA system should be looked at and I agree with that but I also think it will be a low priority so the abuse of the system will continue.
At the end of the day we are all supposed to be here to make money from the internet.
Unfortunately a lot of people wont because they are being mislead by the crap information that's been given by other members who should know better or don't have a damn clue anyway.
Still I have to say onwards and upwards.
Have a good one.
Robert
Hi Robert,
You bring up yet another valid point. the continued abuse of the system.
But see that being up a whole other topic of discussion all together. What some may think is abuse of the system, others may think it is being helpful.
I know I have done some tests on greeting new premium members I share a rather large amount of information my greeting , but since I have started using the longer format I have had almost 90-95% percent of the members I send it to thank me for share the information with them.
So am I abusing the system, or am I offering valuable information that will surely help newer members find and get answers to their questions while they are members here on the Platform.
There is a fine line between the two- do you allow sending duplicated posts as long as the members find it very useful or regardless of its value it should not be allowed because it is duplicated information?
Value you input Robert,
Thanks for your comments,
Calvin
There is a fine line between being helpful and abusing the system.
The point I was making was that members are blatantly abusing the system by copying/pasting other peoples replies/comments to increase their rank simply because they don't have an original thought or opinion of their own.
I have seen my comments/replies copied and pasted many times so I know it happens time and time again.
You will even see it on live chat as well.
Its ok to send an automatic message to new members and that is part of the WA system, but again I have seem my automatic welcome messages copied/pasted because people can't be bothered to create their own.
Only yesterday I inserted a deliberate error into my message and it wasn't noticed so I know I'm right about this.
As for duplicated posts.
I have published thousands of articles over the years and I have seen them copied as well and the people who have done it don't even bother to make them their own with some creative editing.
They just change my name to their own. (I have seen it within WA as well) and I report them to K & C and they are taken off.
Ok enough of this rant.
I had better get off uptown so maybe catch you another time.
Have a good one.
Robert
Thanks again for your continued discuss on this topic Robert.
I don't feel that was a rant, well maybe just a little bit :-).
But that's okay we can learn from them just as well!!
Calvin
No probs Calvin.
The abuse wont stop until its a foolproof system and where are you going to get one of those lol.
Have a good one.
Robert
I have been of the same opinion as you from the beginning of my training. I was always baffled by the way rankings are calculated. I'm so glad I'm not the only one who feels this way. To me, if I'm getting relevant comments on my website I couldn't give two hoots about how I'm ranked within WA. Don't get me wrong though. I love interacting with others on here but I also don't put much stock on rankings.
Hi Cheryl,
Yes I know I am by far not the smartest affiliate marketing on his platform, and I know there are smarter members ranked under me, and there are members above me that know far less then I do .
That is what I am attempting to address here can the system be revamped in a way that the more knowledgeable and experienced are show cased in the top of the ranking system or even the most helpful and not the most popular.
I fail to see how the popular could actually aide the community in efficiently answering questions within the platform. To me I think those are the members that should be the highest ranked. Don't get me wrong the most popular member here might also be the most motivational speaker in the group and that is how they could be equally important to the community (sometimes people just need a little human interaction to keep them on track).
Maybe run it as 3 separate ranking systems one for each of the categories.
Thanks for your comment,
Calvin
I think that you have to keep in mind that other people may also be doing stuff that may increase their ranking as well. So even if you might be doing more, your ranking will depend on what others are doing. For exampke, if it's a slow day of activities within the community when you are helping others, then most likely your rank will go up. But if lots of people are engaged in various activities, then you may not see that increase in rank.
Hi Vanessa,
The purpose of the blog was not about my individual ranking, but the ranking system and if it aids our newer novice members in finding knowledgeable and experienced individuals to help them in their time of need (seeking additional assistance or advice not offered in the training).
Thank you for your comments,
Calvin
Recently another member made the same question my answer I will comment it to you.
I think you're in WA to make money. WA will teach you how to do it, how to achieve it.
You can improve your ranking this has no relation to making money.
Conclusion: Do not worry about the ranking, but focus on making money online.
Hi Claudio,
I think you are missing the point of this post. I feel the system is currently a popularity contest. It does not help members find the most knowledgeable members but the most popular ones.
If I have a question about how a certain plug in works I don't want to ask the most popular member here, I would want to ask the most knowledgeable members.
Do you see the difference as to what I am saying and what you said? I feel you may have misunderstood my purpose of the blog, its is not about me or my ranking personally.
Its about how the ranking system and how it effects the community as a whole.
Calvin
In my opinion Calvin, he is on point. As for your question, "Is ranking important." I would agree with him.
I see your point and I see his!
Thanks for the post-Calvin.
frank
OK my friend now to your point. Is my experience here;
The ranking does not guarantee that your question is answered correctly or solve your problem. In these cases I always respond with a thank you. Nor do I consider that the person has to be an expert in the subject.
Also many times I have passed that very well ranked people have answered my questions and solve my problem, I also always say thank you.
I must also tell you that there are many members out of the ranking answered my questions very well, and solved my problems.
Affiliate marketing is for me a very broad discipline that is very difficult to cover.
Hi Calvin,
I am no longer concerned about the ranking system. I am focusing more now on my websites and the quality of my sites rather than what I was previously doing; spending a lot of time in the comments area. My WA ranking was going up but my websites were going in the opposite direction.
I wouldn't worry about it The money is in the websites.
Cheers,
Brad
Thanks Brad,
I appreciate the comment, if you have a question about your website that is an advance question who so you turn to, to answer that question for you. And how did you figure that per son could answer that question for you.
If I only have 20 minutes to spare and I need a question answered that last thing i want to do is have to spend 19 of those minutes trying to figure out who can really answer my question and who is going to run me around in circles.
You are a member of this community as well and your time is just a valuable to you as mine time is to me.
Best wishes on getting those site profitable,
Calvin
Best wishes also Calvin.
I have had pretty good feedback and results when I have asked my questions in the top search bar. I have found this to be very reliable, well in my case anyway. I am not too sure about other WA members, but for me, all my questions have been answered and all my problems resolved. And I hope for the future this can happen for you.
Good luck my friend!
Brad
I will jump in although normally I feel that I can contribute little of value to a conversation and will stay away. There are many things on which I have no opinion and I don't feel compelled to share on everything. I do notice that there are people who do feel it necessary to comment on everything, and I also notice the number of comments that are not particularly relevant. I don't normally interact with the community, unless I see a post that I want to comment on, because I still work full time and have very little time to spend on WA. The time I do spend is working on the training and setting up my websites, which is the reason I joined WA. I see the value in community interaction, but I cannot do everything so I focus where I believe I must. I don't really pay attention to my ranking, but have noticed that it has changed since I joined WA about a month ago.
Hi Ellen,
Thank you so much for your input everyone's opinion is very important in this community that is what makes it so unique from other platforms. I agree with you many members are here to start a website and make money form it, and don't have time to do all the research involved to find someone to ask quality questions to.
This is the main reason for this blog to see if others feel the ranking system needs to be revamped to indicate the more knowledgeable individuals.
So that those that don't have time to be asking five people the same question just to finally get the answer that truly helps them.
If the system actually ranked members by experience or knowledge this could greatly increase the communities ability to answer effectively the questions asked to them.
It is just a thought,
Calvin
Well said. I didn't realize that there was no structure for ranking knowledge. How awesome would that be!
See more comments
Me personally I never really paid attention to the ranking system here at WA.
I am on and off here I mainly get on log into my sites write my content get off.
Now if I need help with something I look it up. If someone I see needs help I help the best way I can.
The community is awesome but my time is very limited like most of us.
So most of my feee time is doing things that help my business by making content. Plus helping others where I can if u see someone needs help.
So ranking in wa isn’t huge for me. I remember I was really active when I first started got up to rank top 200. Then I realized I was procrastinating on the social side and doing other things.
I eventually stopped dropped pretty far down the ladder in the rankings. It didn’t bother me because I knew the reason I was gone from being social was to help my business.
Now my rank has been going up mostly from being active and helping others where I can but in the end WA ranking isn’t huge in my books
I hope the best for you and everyone
Thank you for your comments
Calvin