Poll: Is the number of Kudoz points important to clients when vetting a freelancer? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "Is the number of Kudoz points important to clients when vetting a freelancer?".
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| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 20:30
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
It's only my opinion, but I can't imagine how this could be of any importance for a customer. If I would need the service of a freelancer, I would most certainly don't care at all about Kudoz points. On the contrary, I might think a freelancer with an awful lot of Kudoz points has way too much time on his hands. At least half (if not more) of the questions asked could be answered by the asker, by the way, with a little more effort.
| | | | | Yes, to some extent | Jan 12 |
It is important when a client searches the directory for a translator. I suppose that if a client finds a translator in 1st or 2nd place, he/she will not give the job to someone in the last place.
I must say though that when I happen to outsource work (very rarely) I’m as much persuaded by the translator’s behaviour on Proz as by his/hers Kudoz points…
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The more KudoZ in a certain language combination and specialisation, the high you are shown in translator database search results. And it's a fact that most clients contact the translator or translators who rank highest in the search results. I regularly receive targeted requests (no mass mailing) because I'm at the first page for English into Dutch translators specialising in e.g. medicine and agriculture.
Obviously, KudoZ alone are not enough; if a client clicks on your profile li... See more The more KudoZ in a certain language combination and specialisation, the high you are shown in translator database search results. And it's a fact that most clients contact the translator or translators who rank highest in the search results. I regularly receive targeted requests (no mass mailing) because I'm at the first page for English into Dutch translators specialising in e.g. medicine and agriculture.
Obviously, KudoZ alone are not enough; if a client clicks on your profile link in the search result, only to find out it's almost empty, with no client reviews and no clear information about your background and experience, that won't get you very far. But it's an excellent way to get noticed in the first place, and the quality and completeness of your profile should do the rest.
[Edited at 2024-01-12 10:38 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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| Inbound acquisition | Jan 12 |
Lieven Malaise wrote:
It's only my opinion, but I can't imagine how this could be of any importance for a customer. If I would need the service of a freelancer, I would most certainly don't care at all about Kudoz points. On the contrary, I might think a freelancer with an awful lot of Kudoz points has way too much time on his hands. At least half (if not more) of the questions asked could be answered by the asker, by the way, with a little more effort.
True about the possible impression that you could have too much spare time, though I find the KudoZ requests in EN-NL usually (but not always) thoughtful and not lazy. But how about requests you receive through the translator database?
Because of my KudoZ - earned mostly in the beginning of my translation career - I end up very high in the search results, and I've gained many good clients through the years because of this. I don't think many clients would have found me without my KudoZ.
What's your experience with this, Lieven? Do you get targeted requests (no mass mails) from ProZ, and/or do you get your clients from other acquisition methods? (I also do a lot of outbound acquisition, by the way, not just sitting around and waiting for projects to land in my inbox.)
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Yes, because you appear at the top in search engines, though there have never been any questions in my language pairs, EN/IT/FR to MT.
[Edited at 2024-01-12 13:23 GMT]
| | | | Samuel Murray 
Netherlands
Local time: 20:30
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida wrote:
It is important when a client searches the directory for a translator. I suppose that if a client finds a translator in 1st or 2nd place, he/she will not give the job to someone in the last place.
I assumed the question meant whether a client looks at the KudoZ score itself when evaluating the translator, i.e. that this question isn't asking whether high KudoZ points make it more likely that a client might actually see you, but whether high KudoZ points will make it more likely that a client might choose you over another translator if they have both translators' profile pages open.
| | | | Lieven Malaise
Belgium
Local time: 20:30
Member (2020)
French to Dutch
+ ...
Edith van der Have wrote:
What's your experience with this, Lieven? Do you get targeted requests (no mass mails) from ProZ, and/or do you get your clients from other acquisition methods? (I also do a lot of outbound acquisition, by the way, not just sitting around and waiting for projects to land in my inbox.)
From time to time I receive targeted requests (meaning that they use my name to address me), but never from agencies I consider interesting (European agencies that give the impression to be serious businesses that won't try to hire you for peanuts). Well, there was 1 in the past few years, but I only got 2 small tasks out of it. But even that one was probably more of a freelancer than a real agency.
I understand that having a lot of Kudoz points puts you higher in the directory, but that is not what the poll question is about. If I understand it correctly, it's about the client considering Kudoz points (or not) to hire a freelancer.
My latest attempt to find new clients dates back to the year 2005, in the first months of my existence as a fulltime freelancer (I sent my cv to 5 agencies). Clients have always found me, instead of the other way around. I sometimes gain a new client, but always because that client contacts me, very often by word of mouth. LinkedIn got me 1 promising opportunity so far (translation agency, passed the test but no requests yet). So I don't get contacted often, but if it happens it will virtually every single time result in a good new client relationship. Needless to say that I have extremely loyal customers, about 15-18 regulars that keep me busy year after year.
But if the day comes that I will need to start looking actively for new customers (something I constantly fear, but to my surprise I have been fearing this for more than 18 years now), I wouldn't even consider to do this by answering Kudoz questions. I would target agencies or direct clients directly. The only reasons I'm paying for Proz are the Blue Board (for possible future needs), my Project history record (to refer my (potential) clients to) and the fun of participating in the forums. I don't care about my ranking in the directory.
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Quentin NEVEN
Belgium
Local time: 20:30
Member (Jan 2024)
English to French
+ ...
| Answer from a new Proz.com user | Jan 12 |
Hi !
I am new to Proz.com.
I believe Kudoz are meant to enhance your visibility on the website, so it can only be a good thing.
Of course, your profile matters as well, but let's be honest, when we go on the Internet, we tend to click on the three first links, and not to go on the very last pages... I assume it applies to potential clients as well.
All the best,
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It's clearly important when clients SELECT a freelancer here as Quentin says, but not for VETTING and obviously not for the vast majority of clients who do not even visit this site.
I'm quite high up the rankings but it's very rare for me to be contacted by anyone through ProZ.
I'm still on a total of 20 euros of work (yet to be paid) after three months of paid membership. (A $20 job fell through in the end.)
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Lieven Malaise wrote:
I understand that having a lot of Kudoz points puts you higher in the directory, but that is not what the poll question is about. If I understand it correctly, it's about the client considering Kudoz points (or not) to hire a freelancer.
In that case, you're absolutely correct: clients couldn't care less about it, I'm sure!
My latest attempt to find new clients dates back to the year 2005, in the first months of my existence as a fulltime freelancer (I sent my cv to 5 agencies). Clients have always found me, instead of the other way around. I sometimes gain a new client, but always because that client contacts me, very often by word of mouth. LinkedIn got me 1 promising opportunity so far (translation agency, passed the test but no requests yet). So I don't get contacted often, but if it happens it will virtually every single time result in a good new client relationship. Needless to say that I have extremely loyal customers, about 15-18 regulars that keep me busy year after year.
That's fabulous! Keep up the good work 
| | | | Yaotl Altan
Mexico
Local time: 12:30
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
| Yes, to some extent. | Jan 12 |
Kudoz points (and WWA too) give translators more visibility when potential clients are searching for translators and proofreaders.
Recently, I was hired by a financial firm located in Cyprus that seemed a promising client, but their internal inconsistencies and their ultra-neurotic marketing "leader" made it impossible to keep collaborating with them.
As I started answering Kudoz almost 20 years ago, I'm in the first positions of my main pair (EN>ES). Some other f... See more Kudoz points (and WWA too) give translators more visibility when potential clients are searching for translators and proofreaders.
Recently, I was hired by a financial firm located in Cyprus that seemed a promising client, but their internal inconsistencies and their ultra-neurotic marketing "leader" made it impossible to keep collaborating with them.
As I started answering Kudoz almost 20 years ago, I'm in the first positions of my main pair (EN>ES). Some other firms from several countries have also found me via the Kudoz through all this time, without me having sent CVs. Those long work win-win relationships are possible when both parties do their job: translators keep translating projects (and Kudoz from time to time), and clients respect language services providers.
[Edited at 2024-01-12 20:25 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Daryo
United Kingdom
Local time: 19:30
Serbian to English
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| We can only guess or assume what is important to clients | Jan 14 |
especially that "clients" are definitely not some kind of homogenous mass.
One poll more poll question not really thought through, mais passons ...
You get clients looking for translations they can rely on and those only interested in finding the cheapest offer, those who understand how translating works and those who think that Google translate is some kind of authority/reference, etc etc ...
Apart from having an impact on ranking / who will be most visibl... See more especially that "clients" are definitely not some kind of homogenous mass.
One poll more poll question not really thought through, mais passons ...
You get clients looking for translations they can rely on and those only interested in finding the cheapest offer, those who understand how translating works and those who think that Google translate is some kind of authority/reference, etc etc ...
Apart from having an impact on ranking / who will be most visible, Kudoz points can be a useful indicator for clients looking for best translators for their projects, not for "best prices".
But Kudoz points can be misleading - with enough time it's possible to accumulate a lot of points even by getting most answers hopelessly wrong. What is a far better indicator is the proportion of points compared to the number of question answered. I doubt any potential client has taken the trouble to make that calculation, as unless you know how Kudoz works you won't be looking for that indicator. Not the first time that the most useful information is not the one staring at you, that you have to recombine the raw data to make the best use of it.
What is potentially the most useful is to simply look at a sampling of answered questions - 5 or 10 answers to Kudoz questions can give you a pretty good idea of the translator's modus operandi, and help decide whether you want or not to trust that translator with a text that matters to you.
But then again, there are probably only few potential clients who would do that.
One way or another, if you already have your own client base, Kudoz point are of little relevance. ▲ Collapse
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