Taobao Responds to Seller Backlash on Paid Ranking Service

Sohu IT, 5/19/10

A spokesperson for Chinese B2C and C2C e-commerce site Taobao responded to small sellers' opposition to the site's Zhitongche paid search ranking service, explaining that Taobao's search results are "naturally ordered," while products featured as part of its Zhitongche results are displayed in a separate advertising spot, and do not overlap with the natural search results. The spokesperson said that results displayed through Zhitongche are not simply ordered by price paid for the listing, but also take into account factors such as the seller's credit.

To use Zhitongche, Taobao vendors must have an account on the site and prepay RMB 500, to be used for seller promotional fees. Zhitongche bills sellers based on clickthroughs, and displays products according to keyword searches.

Editor's Note: Zhitongche ads appear to the right and the bottom of the search results page.

Keywords: online advertising e-commerce Taobao Internet B2C C2C online search

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