Price and ranking on otto.de: what a price change does to your visibility

What we know about price and ranking, and what we don't

Otto does not publish how the search on otto.de sorts. What is certain is only what can be observed: results are not ordered by price, and a cheap product does not automatically sit at the front. Just as certain is that products with many sales are found at the top for matching search terms.

From this follows the plausible link: price works through demand. A price that makes shoppers click and buy improves the signals Otto considers when sorting. A price that puts shoppers off worsens them.

Three kinds of price, three effects

• Standard price: it determines how your product looks next to competitors on the results page. Shoppers compare the 120 tiles of a page by eye; a price clearly above similar offers costs clicks.
• Promotional price: a crossed-out price makes the tile stand out and raises the click rate while the promotion runs. After it ends the click rate falls back, and the position follows with a delay.
• Unit price: for products with a mandatory unit price, shoppers see the price per litre or kilogram. An unfavourable unit price works like a high price, even if the pack price looks low.

Why the position does not react immediately

A price change is visible on otto.de within minutes. The ranking takes longer because it rests on shopper behaviour: enough shoppers first have to see, click and buy at the new price. For a product with many views a day, first movements show after a few days; for a niche product it can take weeks.

Anyone who checks the position the day after a price cut and sees no change therefore draws the wrong conclusion.

Measuring the effect cleanly

1. Baseline: record the positions of three to five generic search terms of the product for one week before you change the price.
2. One change only: during that time change neither title nor images nor ad budget, or you will not know what worked.
3. Watch for three weeks: check daily or weekly and compare the average of the third week with the baseline.
4. Put revenue next to it: a better position at a lower margin is only a success if the total contribution rises.

Typical mistakes

Measuring too briefly: two days after the change the position says nothing. Measuring with the brand name: in a brand search the price does not change the position; use generic terms. Forgetting the competition: if a competitor cuts harder in the same period, your position can fall despite your price cut. So note the prices of the products ahead of you as well.

What a rank tracker contributes

A tracker delivers the series of numbers you need for this comparison: the position of every search term on every check day, with the day you changed the price marked. In MarktRank you set the product's checks to daily for three weeks, read the history in the "since change" comparison, and download the report as a PDF when you want to discuss the result with your team.

Frequently asked questions