Relevance

Relevance in Topsort’s ad system means how well an ad matches what a user is looking for. This is measured by an ad’s Quality Score. A higher Quality Score means a more relevant ad, which helps it rank higher in auctions, even if the bid stays the same.

How it Works

1. Basic Mode: Topsort calculates the Quality Score on its own. We mostly use the eCTR (estimated click-through rate), which is how likely someone is to click on an ad. This is based on past views and clicks.
2. Enhanced Mode: Marketplaces can share their own relevance information with Topsort. Topsort then mixes this with its own score to get the final Quality Score. Marketplaces can also give “boosts” to certain ads, like from small sellers, which helps their Quality Score.

Topsort uses an “explore-exploit” method. Most of the time, it shows the best ads (exploit). But sometimes, it shows other ads (explore) to learn more about them.