Stopped getting any invites or profile views

[batesgen]

So, I've been an active freelancer here for almost 4 years. When I started out, I was given the Rising Talent badge, and as soon as I was eligeble for it, the Top Rated one. During these years, everytime I would mark myself available, I would get dozens of views and invites, including  from talent managers. Life was good.

Some 3/4 months ago, I had a big drop in both profile views and invites. Like I would get a couple here and then, but it was such a major change. And now, over the last month, it just stopped completely. I get 0 invites and no profile views. I'm puzzled as to why this is happening. Ever since I started out, I have all 5 star feedbacks, 100% client recommendation, 100% job score, long term clients and long term contract, etc. I can put a check on every bullet point Upwork says it's important for your profile visibility, but for some reason, I still fell to the dark side of the algorithm, and I can't find any help to reverse this situation.

I've contacted support about this, and all their suggestions are stuff that I already have maxed out on my stats!

Of course I can send proposals, and I have my long term clients who regularly reach for more work, but still, this was a major game change, as the fact that I got invites really made Upwork a worthy place to work on, despite the bigger fees. And I sure worked hard to keep that level of satisfaction among my clients!

Has anyone else experienced the same situation, and if so, anyone has some hints as to why all of a sudden all invites and profile views went to a halt, even though I kept all my stats intact? I even got an Upwork Skill Certification recently, so I figure it shouldn't be a problem with my profile /portfolio either.

Thanks,

João

[robin_hyman]

I wouldn't be so concerned about the invitations. As you mention, you can submit proposals. Focus on that and perhaps down the road as you get more work, you will also receive more invitations. 

[richard_wein · Accepted solution]

According to some forum gurus, you tend to be more visible when you've been making proposals, as this tells the search algorithm that you're available for new work. I can't confirm that from my own experience, but maybe you just have to get back into the groove by applying to some job posts.

I marked myself as available about 3 weeks ago after a long period of being unavailable, made half a dozen proposals, got one job, and now I'm getting a few invitations. I seem to be ranking very high when I search for myself. But maybe it's just my turn in the rotation. Who knows?

[batesgen]

Thanks a lot Richard. I've been sending proposals regularly and it might be helping a bit with the page views, but still such small numbers, compared to a few months ago before the abrupt fall. It is weird. And like no invite at all.

On the other hand, I get interviews from my proposals quite oftend and still able to get some jobs but the fact that I stopped getting invites really made my workflow drop a lot, as I didn't need to waste a lot of working time searching for work, which made Upwork so worthy for me.

But well, gotta play with the cards I've been dealt and see if it is still worth the time of constantly searching for work.

Thanks a lot once again!

[greysolomon]

Hi, Joao. 

I'm new here but I'm guessing it might be due to the recent influx of freelancers that have entered the platform. There is heavy competition now and more people with similar skill sets are joining the platform every day. 

Don't worry about it. You seem like you're doing a great job. Everything will be okay. 

Good luck!

[batesgen]

Hi Scarlet, thanks for your answer. Yeah, it might be that. But it was weird because it was a very sudden change, like one week to another. Still, thanks a lot for your input!

[bryanandrew]

Did you ever see the invites tick back up?  I am a top rated plus freelancer and just had the same thing happen to me.  For several months I received 5-10 invites a day.  Then suddenly zero invites for weeks.  Its too big of a drop off to attribute to anything other than an algorithm change.

[floriancom]

Same here. I'm a Media Buyer, Top Rated Plus, over $100k earned.
I used to receive about 3-5 Invites a day. In Q4 23 I've noticed a sudden decline in quality invites, shifted to mostly spams. Now it tanked to 16 invites in the last 30 days, most of which are not relevant.
Also applying to dozens of jobs, spending connects, writing tailored cover letters, but barely got any views by clients no matter if boosted or not.