My Stats – Analytics (Fallen Off a Cliff This Year)

[wlyonsatl]

The beta Analytics function on my My Stats page shows my profile views have dropped dramatically this year:

January 366
February 207
March 193
April 170
May 148

Not surprisingly, the same numbers for my invitations from potential new clients are down substantially:

January 41
February 23
March 28
April 31
May 18

Like the average connects required to submit proposals on new projects, these numbers are going in the wrong direction.

Does anyone else see these monthly numbers for their own profile views and invitations this year?

[yofazza]

The average number of connects required to submit proposals is moving in the right direction for Upwork. They successfully cover the cost to 'support' a large number of freelancers who used to be roaming freely, by getting "sales" amount that is much higher than the fees they might get on cheap projects. They might also solve the 'too many proposals' problem at the same time.

And, I have never had many profile views nor invites since the Elance times. Probably because my profile is incomplete. But, seems like everyone is being pulled to my level now 😂

[wlyonsatl]

You missed the main point of my post, Radia.

If other freelancers are seeing the same downward trend in profile views and invitations, where is Upwork's growth in revenue coming from? Revenue from connect sales will have been growing substantially since the introduction of much higher connect requirements to send proposals, but there is no reason to think Upwork's revenue is growing strongly if connects cost more but far fewer clients are opening new projects on Upwork.

[yofazza]

I understand what you meant, Will. I just have this feeling that most of us understand that Upwork is changing its business model to try to finally generate some net profit. The changes have affected most of us. For you and some other freelancers, I see the changes resulted in the reduction of the number of invites.

I don't think we can say about whether Upwork is not having a growth in revenue, yet. Their previous problem of a large portion of their freelancers taking up server resources are now solved, quite 'handsomly' if I might say, because on a $50 projects they can now get a 'connect sales' amount of more than that, plus the $5 fee. 

As for projects that are now seems so hard for me to get, I can't stop thinking that those projects are being taken by some low quality freelancers that won the project by spending connects. This is one important variable alright, because this will eventually make clients 'scared' of Upwork, but we don't know about that, yet, maybe I'm wrong. I also see there's not much increase in client complaints in the Client forum.

Only time will tell.

[wlyonsatl]

I doubt lower quality/lower skilled/lower experience freelancers using up their connects to boost their proposals are interfering significantly with new clients asking me to submit proposals on their new projects, based on the high quality of clients I used to get on Upwork and that now seem to have dried up.

There can be no doubt that selling substantially more connects to freelancers has become a money spinner for Upwork, but I do doubt that this higher connects revenue on all projects can be large enough to offset the loss of client and freelancer fees on the types of projects I work on. But only Upwork knows for sure...