In order to best serve artists, we need to satisfy critical collector needs. One important aspect of doing this well is making sure we are always surfacing high-quality, relevant artworks across our platform.
MakersPlace operates both as a gallery — where the best artists and artworks are promoted and sold through our exhibitions including online drops and inclusion in art fairs and live activations — and as a marketplace platform — where artworks from thousands of artists are represented and available for sale.
There are many places where artwork from our marketplace is displayed across our platform — on any Search Results, when displaying Related Artworks, in our Discover Artworks carousel on our homepage and in our Explore Artworks page that shows trending artworks and provides a method of filtering all artworks in our marketplace based on what a collector is interested in.
It is impossible to hand curate results in these areas across thousands of artists’ artworks so there has to be a well-balanced algorithm for surfacing the best, most relevant artworks.
Today we are announcing a major upgrade to our Search and Discovery Results Algorithm that vastly improves how high-quality, relevant art is surfaced across our platform.
How Does the Improved Algorithm Work?
Before this improved algorithm launch, the only factor that was considered when results were displayed in the areas of our platform noted in the above section was Artwork Relevance.
Artwork Relevance
MakersPlace uses sophisticated machine learning to determine Artwork Relevance. For example, if a collector is searching for 3D artworks, they only want to see relevant artworks.
The machine learning algorithm did a very good job of determining this kind of relevance, but this alone does not meet collector needs. By only using relevance, the highest-quality artworks or works from the best artists may or may not be prioritized, so often what gets displayed, while relevant, could appear to be quite random.
Our new algorithm now takes many more factors into consideration to be able to substantially improve our ability to surface high-quality, relevant artwork across our platform.
These are the new factors integrated into our improved algorithm:
MakersPlace Sales Metrics
Artists who consistently generate sales through our platform will naturally receive a boost in their placement because their popularity with our collector base is evident. This not only rewards their hard work but also ensures that their creations reach a wider audience.
MakersPlace Engagement Metrics
In an effort to highlight up-and-coming talent, we also take into account various forms of engagement, including likes, comments, and follows. When an artist actively engages with our community and evokes positive responses, we recognize that as a signal of dedication to craft and career.
Overall Art Market Metrics
Beyond Artwork Relevance and MakersPlace Metrics, we have also integrated metrics that represent the artist’s position, success, and overall impact in the broader art world.
We understand that a great artist cannot be limited just to their activity and success on MakersPlace — a broader view of the artist’s career and success must be taken strongly into consideration when working to surface the most relevant, high-quality artwork.
If an artist with major success in the art world mints their first works on MakersPlace, they will have no historical MakersPlace metrics, but that should not limit their artworks for algorithmic display across our platform.
Putting It All Together
Our improved Search & Discovery Algorithm now takes all of the above factors into weighted consideration to deliver results in the search and browse functions on MakersPlace. These improvements have greatly improved our ability to surface high-quality, relevant artwork across the platform. We will continue to improve the algorithm over time by adjusting the weighting factors and integrating additional elements into the algorithm so both artists and collectors have the best possible experience.
We hope you agree that these efforts improve your experience of our platform.
