Product ranking in Elevate determines the order in which products are shown across your site. It is automatically calculated and continuously updated based on customer behavior, product data, and your business strategy.
You do not manually set ranking in Elevate — instead, you influence it through different tools and configurations.
What is product ranking?
Product ranking is the process Elevate uses to decide:
- Which products appear first
- Which products appear lower in the list
- Which products are more likely to be shown to customers
This applies to all product lists, including:
- Search results
- Category and landing pages
- Recommendation lists
How ranking works
Elevate continuously calculates a score for each product based on multiple signals. These signals reflect both what customers are interested in and what products are most likely to be purchased.
Product ranking is calculated continuously at variant level and aggregated to product level. This ensures that ranking reflects actual purchasing behaviour, even when products have multiple sizes, colors, or configurations.
The ranking model evaluates:
Customer interactions
We analyse clicks, add-to-cart actions, and completed purchases. Products that perform well move higher in listings. Products with low engagement gradually move down.
Trend sensitivity
Recent activity is weighted differently from historical activity. A product that suddenly gains attention can rise quickly, even if it has not historically been a bestseller. This prevents older high-volume products from permanently dominating the top positions.
Variant-based scoring
Ranking is calculated at variant level. If a popular variant goes out of stock, its contribution is removed from the product’s overall score. If multiple important variants are unavailable, the product’s ranking decreases gradually. If the product comes back in stock, its historical performance is remembered and recalculated accordingly.
Stock handling
Out-of-stock products are automatically pushed to the bottom of listings. Products that return to stock regain their calculated position based on adjusted performance.
Price changes
If the selling price differs from the list price, this signals a promotion or discount. Discounted products receive a temporary boost to reflect increased sales intent.
Product lifecycle logic
New products can be automatically boosted for a configurable period. This ensures visibility while they accumulate interaction data. You control how strong the boost is and how long it remains active.
Relevance and ranking
In search results, Product ranking is combined with relevance scoring. A product must first match the search intent. Among relevant results, ranking determines the order based on performance and lifecycle factors.
This ensures that customers see products that both match their query and are likely to convert.
How to influence Product ranking
You don’t control ranking directly, but you can influence it through different merchandising actions.
Product selection (Primary Lists)
Which products are included in a list determines what can be ranked
Boost and Bury
- Boost increases a product’s visibility
- Bury decreases a product’s visibility
These adjustments modify the product’s ranking without replacing Elevate’s logic.
Pinning
Pinning guarantees a fixed position in a list. Unlike Boost, pinning overrides ranking calculations and locks products into specific positions.
Newness settings
You can configure how aggressively new products are promoted and for how long.
Campaign management
By combining keywords, lifecycle settings, and Boost, you can align ranking with campaign priorities.
Best practice
Accurate and consistent data improves ranking precision. To optimize product ranking from a technical point of view, follow these guidelines:
- Send stock levels for all variants.
- Provide both list price and selling price.
- Include release dates when available.
- Ensure tracking of customer interactions such as clicks, add-to-cart events, and purchases.
From a merchandising perspective - let Elevate handle ranking by default. Overriding ranking too much can reduce the effectiveness of Elevate’s optimization.
Only adjust ranking when you have a clear purpose, such as:
- Promoting a campaign
- Highlighting new products
- Managing specific business priorities