Imagine your AliExpress store as a newborn baby, eager for attention and growth. To quickly gain traffic, some sellers resort to artificial manipulation. But is this approach truly a miracle solution? Today, we examine the practice of artificial manipulation on AliExpress, revealing both its potential benefits and significant risks.
Understanding the Objectives
Many sellers rush into manipulation without clear goals. Common objectives include:
- Breaking zero sales for new products: Generating initial sales to overcome the challenge of zero transactions.
- Building reviews and buyer showcases: Accumulating positive feedback to improve conversion rates.
- Improving store and product ratings: Enhancing overall store ranking and visibility.
Clear objectives enable targeted strategies. For instance, improving ratings requires calculating how many orders are needed to move from 3.8 to 4.8. Should focus be placed on a single product or distributed across multiple items? These decisions require careful planning.
Common Manipulation Tactics
Sellers employing artificial manipulation typically use these methods:
1. "Tagging" - Simulating genuine buyer behavior
This core tactic involves using controlled accounts to browse competitors' stores, adding items to carts or wishlists without purchasing. The next day, these "buyers" return to purchase from the target store.
The strategy works because AliExpress assigns user "tags" based on browsing history. By first visiting competitor stores, accounts establish relevant product associations, making subsequent purchases appear more legitimate. When users ultimately buy from the target store instead of competitors where they browsed, the platform may interpret this as superior product appeal.
Note: This labor-intensive approach typically requires self-managed accounts, as third-party services rarely offer such precision.
2. Leveraging existing customers
Some sellers direct wholesale or dropshipping clients to private channels, offering deep discounts (80-90% off) for new product purchases. Alternatively, they may process full-price transactions with subsequent rebates.
This method benefits from precise audience matching, as existing customers already align with product categories. Random buyer recruitment risks attracting mismatched audiences that could negatively impact store performance.
The Hidden Dangers
While artificial manipulation may yield short-term gains, it carries substantial risks:
- Platform detection: AliExpress actively monitors suspicious activity, with penalties ranging from restrictions to store closures.
- Irrelevant traffic: Poorly executed manipulation attracts unqualified visitors, harming conversion rates and organic reach.
- Dependency: Over-reliance on manipulation distracts from genuine product improvement and sustainable business practices.
Product Quality Remains Paramount
Ultimately, product excellence forms the foundation of successful e-commerce. Only superior products earn customer loyalty and platform recognition. Artificial manipulation should serve as supplementary at best, never replacing core business fundamentals.
Investing in product development, supply chain optimization, and customer service yields more sustainable competitive advantages than questionable shortcuts.
In conclusion, artificial manipulation presents a double-edged sword—potentially beneficial when used judiciously, but potentially catastrophic when misapplied. Sellers should approach such tactics with caution, remembering that sustainable success stems from authentic business practices rather than artificial enhancements.