Hi all,
We have recently updated the Hub rankings, which allows us to list Hubs in the search page based on the quality of service, reliability and how complete a Hub profile page is.
The new Hub ranking is meant to reward Hubs willing to go that extra mile. By increasing their rank, these Hubs appear higher in the search results, which increases the likelihood of receiving orders. An important thing to note is that as a Hub you can control the factors that influence your ranking, giving you an additional level of control over your Hub. Here’s a quick breakdown of each of these factors, together with some practical tips on boosting your ranking:
Quality of service
Simply put, customer reviews are crucial for your Hub ranking. As you probably remember from your first Marvin review, users will be asked to rate your service by print quality, service, speed and communication. A good average will have a major impact on your ranking. Protip_:_ Encourage customers to leave a review, especially the happy ones 
Good quality of services often leads to customer satisfaction and long term loyalty, which is why returning customers are a great boost to your ranking. Protip: Build a personal relation with your customers to ensure they will come back.
Reliability
1. Response time matters for your Hub ranking. Letting customers know, through a comment on the order page, that you’ve received the order and that you’re “on it” is vital for a good customer experience. The response time is also included on your Hub page. Protip_:_ Be quick in replying to an order, even if just to say that you’ll be assessing the print at a later time.
2. Declined orders also influence your ranking. Not all decline reasons are created equal though. The impact depends on the reason for declining, which will always be checked and confirmed by the support team. If outside your zone of control, rest assured it won’t impact your ranking. Protip_:_ Below are some ideas for keeping the number of declined orders low:
- Put your printer offline when busy or out of town, by using the printer status feature.
- Test your pricing to avoid declines - here’s how.
- Keep your material listings up-to-date, to make sure you have them in stock.
- Leave a comment when declining an order, explain the reasoning behind it
- Help customers find another hub, by pointing them in the right direction - like for example when the model would benefit from a different technology
3. Canceled Orders. This one comes to no surprise, as nobody likes cancellations after something has been paid for. Cancelled orders have a negative impact on the ranking. Protip_:_ Your ranking will improve as long as you don’t make further cancellations with a high frequency, so do make sure:
- You can take an order before accepting
- Your machines are running in good condition
- You can make the deadline
Hub Page Completeness
There is a direct correlation in between how complete your Hub page is and how you rank in the search results. This is particularly important for new Hubs, as it can help you push higher in the search listing. The ranking also takes Hub page updates into consideration, so make sure to keep your Hub page with recent prints/ projects whenever you add new printers/ materials. Here’s a quick checklist to be sure you’ve got the basics covered:
- Upload pictures of your prints on your Hub page
- Display a header image
- Add a description to your Hub
Protip_:_ If you want to take your Hub page to the next level, find the nitty gritty details here on Talk. On a final note, it’s important to mention that there are other factors at play that influence the search listing. Namely:
- The distance from the customer, to create a mix of the best local & remote Hubs
- Additional filters used by customers (materials, deadline, etc)
Also keep in mind that we’re constantly working on improving the search ranking to better identify and reward the best Hubs on the platform, so these factors we use and how we use them can change over time. If you have any questions, comments or general feedback, feel free to let us know in the comments below.
That’s it!
