Directory placement and paid promotion

How the service directory ranks profiles, and the three paid promotion options for climbing those ranks (available to all services, with verified ranking on top).

How buyers actually find services

The service directory is where most bookings start. A buyer opens the Services tab, picks a category, and scrolls down a list of providers. Whoever's at the top of that list gets the most clicks.

This guide explains how the list is ranked, and the three paid promotion options for moving up.

Heads up — ads are open to all services. Paid promotions (Spotlight, Top in Category, Local Boost) work for verified AND unverified services. Verification still affects ranking: in any browse, verified services rank above unverified ones, and within each tier the paid services rank above the unpaid. So an unverified Spotlight buyer ranks above other unverified services but still below verified Spotlight buyers. This guide is tagged for verified services because that's where the strategy is most actionable, but unverified services can use the same playbook.

The directory, end to end

When a buyer opens the Services tab:

1. Category picker at the top. They tap one ("Salon" / "Mechanic" / etc.).
2. Sub-category picker narrows further if they want.
3. Filters sidebar — location, attributes, price tier, language, distance.
4. The list — a vertical column of service providers, shown as uniform compact rows: small logo, service name, category, location, first line of bio.

The list has two segments:

• Featured rail at the top — providers who paid for Spotlight. Shows up with a "Sponsored" pill.
• Organic results below — providers ranked by the algorithm.

Buyers don't always distinguish between the two — they just scroll. Being in either is good; being at the top of either is better.

How organic ranking works

The algorithm weighs many signals to decide who appears where in the organic results. The biggest factors:

1. Category + location match

A buyer in Bukoto looking for a salon sees Bukoto salons first, then nearby districts, then further out. Set your location correctly in your profile — and use service radius (for mobile services) to widen your effective area.

2. Profile completeness

Profiles with all the fields filled in (logo, bio, attributes, videos, showcase items, reviews) rank above bare-bones profiles. Take 30 minutes to fill in every field once and you've claimed a permanent ranking advantage.

3. Recent activity

Providers who post videos, add showcase items, and reply to reviews recently rank higher than dormant ones. The algorithm reads silence as "this provider may have stopped operating."

A weekly cadence of small updates (one new video, one new showcase item, one reply to a review) keeps you fresh in the rankings.

4. Engagement

How many people view your profile and tap the WhatsApp button. A profile that converts views to taps efficiently is shown to more buyers; a profile with high views but low taps is shown less.

This means your profile design matters — see Setting up your profile and Building your showcase for the profile-design fundamentals.

5. Review volume + recency

Recent positive reviews push you up. Old reviews (over a year) carry less weight. A steady drip of new reviews keeps you ranked.

6. Subscription tenure

Long-term subscribers get a small bump over brand-new ones. This is small — it doesn't override better profiles — but it's there.

7. Penalty tier

A clean penalty tier is the baseline. Slow or Hidden tiers drop you significantly. See the verified-seller version of the penalty tiers guide for the same model — it applies to services too.

The three paid promotion options

If you want to skip ahead of the organic ranking, three paid options are available. They stack — you can buy any combination.

1. Service Spotlight (Featured rail)

What it does: Puts you on the Featured rail at the top of your category list. Carries a "Sponsored" pill so buyers know it's paid, but the placement is still prime real estate.

How it's priced: A daily / weekly / monthly fee per category. Higher-demand categories (Salon, Mechanic) cost more than lower-demand ones (Translation, Tutoring).

When to use: When you want immediate visibility — a launch month, a busy season ramp-up, or a slow week you want to fill.

How to buy: Service Hub → Promote → Spotlight → pick duration → pay.

2. Top in Category

What it does: Boosts your rank within the organic results of a specific category. You don't get the "Sponsored" pill — you just appear higher in the regular list.

How it's priced: Cheaper per day than Spotlight, since you're not in the prime Featured rail slot. Often a few thousand UGX per week.

When to use: When your profile is strong and just needs a push to climb naturally. Works best alongside a polished profile — Top in Category brings traffic, but converting it depends on what they see.

How to buy: Service Hub → Promote → Top in Category → set the boost duration → pay.

3. Local Boost (district-specific)

What it does: Boosts your rank specifically for buyers in your chosen district. If you're a Bukoto salon and most of your bookings come from Bukoto buyers, Local Boost concentrates your visibility there.

How it's priced: Per-district fee, similar to Top in Category.

When to use: When your service is geographically concentrated. Mobile services with a tight service radius benefit most.

How to buy: Service Hub → Promote → Local Boost → pick district → set duration → pay.

When to spend on promotion

Promotion is an investment, not a free move. Be honest about whether your profile is ready to convert traffic.

Spend if:

• Your profile is fully built — logo, bio, attributes, 5+ videos, 5+ showcase items, some reviews.
• Your WhatsApp response time is under an hour during business hours.
• You have capacity to handle more bookings.
• You can afford to lose the promotion fee if it doesn't pay back this month (it usually does, but treat it like an investment with risk).

Don't spend yet if:

• Your profile is bare — empty showcase (or no showcase), generic bio, no videos. Promotion brings traffic to an empty page, which wastes the spend.
• You're slow to respond on WhatsApp or calls. Buyers won't wait; promoted leads get ghosted faster than organic ones because the expectation is professional.
• You're already booked solid — promotion adds load you can't handle.
• You're testing the platform — wait until you've operated for a month and seen organic results before spending.
• You're unverified with a thin profile. Ads work for unverified services (buyers can call and message you), but you'll be compared to the verified salon / mechanic / photographer one row above with the ✓ badge and the showcase. If your bio and videos aren't strong enough to win that comparison, verify first — the showcase and badge are what convert taps into bookings.

Reading the impact

Insights tab → Promotion section shows:

• Days promoted (current and past).
• Views during promotion — how much traffic the spend bought.
• WhatsApp taps during promotion — the leading indicator of bookings.
• Cost per tap — the relevant ROI metric.

Track cost per tap over a few campaigns. If it's around what one booking is worth (e.g., 3,000 UGX per tap and your average booking is 50k), promotion is profitable. If cost per tap is above what a booking is worth, dial it back.

Promotion mistakes to avoid

Spending on Spotlight without a strong profile

Spotlight puts you on the Featured rail. Buyers tap through and... land on an empty showcase, no reviews, a generic bio. They bounce. You paid for a click that didn't convert. Build the profile first, then spotlight it.

Promoting outside your service area

Don't run Local Boost in Wakiso if you only serve Kampala Central. The buyers there will message you and you'll have to decline. Bad for your conversion rate, bad for your reputation.

Running constant promotion

Promotion is for spikes, not baseline. If you're always spending, the algorithm starts treating it as part of your normal traffic and the ROI flattens. Use promotion for launches, seasonal pushes, or specific gaps in your calendar.

Forgetting to renew

Promotion campaigns have a fixed duration. When they end, your ranking drops back to organic levels. If you want continuous promotion, set up auto-renew or schedule reminders.

A first-month promotion plan

If you're newly verified and want to use promotion to bootstrap:

After a month, you'll have enough data to know what works and what doesn't.

Common questions

Can I promote my service in someone else's category?

No — promotion is tied to your primary category. To appear in another category, you'd need to change your primary, which has broader implications.

Does promotion affect organic ranking?

Indirectly — promoted profiles get more traffic, which gets more engagement, which lifts organic ranking signals. So a month of promotion can raise your organic ranking somewhat even after the campaign ends.

Can I pause my promotion if I'm fully booked?

Yes — Service Hub → Promote → Pause active campaign. The days you paid for don't carry over, but the campaign stops broadcasting. You can resume manually within the original duration.

Do all my videos benefit from promotion, or just my profile?

Promotion lifts your profile placement in the directory. Your videos appear higher in the home feed organically based on engagement, not directly via your verification status or promotion.

Can I see exactly where I rank in my category?

Insights → Rank in category shows your current organic position within your district + category. Useful for tracking the impact of profile improvements.

What if I'm in a low-volume category?

Categories with few competing providers are usually cheaper to promote in (less demand for the slot). They also have lower buyer volume. The math can work either way — promotion in a low-volume category might be cheap but bring few clicks.

What's next

• Building your showcase — make sure your profile can convert the traffic promotion brings.
• Subscription mechanics + vacation — managing the underlying verified subscription.