Discovery & ranking
Visibility you can’t buy.
Every marketplace eventually gets the same question from the people who supply it: “How do I get seen — and do I have to pay for it?” On Student Body the answer is simple: no. This page explains how discovery actually works, so you don’t have to take it on faith.
The promise
What never influences ranking.
Nothing about ranking reads pricing, fees, or payment data of any kind. A class’s price appears in exactly one place in discovery: filters that students choose for themselves.
- Money. No paid placement, no boosting, no ad slots inside results. Your plan, your fees, our commission — none of it is visible to the ranking system.
- Your relationship with us. Studios and instructors we’ve never spoken to rank by exactly the same rules as ones we know well.
- Engagement bait. We don’t optimize for clicks or time-in-app. Our signals come from booking, attending, and post-class feedback — things that only happen when a class actually serves a student.
We consider this a core differentiator — and this page exists so you can hold us to it.
The one rule
Ranking serves the student. Only the student.
Every signal in our discovery system answers one of four questions. That’s the whole list — notice what’s not on it.
Is it relevant to them?
Their interests, the classes they’ve booked, the instructors and studios they follow.
Is it new to them?
A class type they’ve never tried, an instructor they haven’t met, a studio they haven’t visited. Newness is a boost, not a penalty.
Is it close?
Physically — near where they are — and in time: starting soon ranks ahead of weeks away. Online classes reach everyone.
Is it good?
Community signals from students who actually took the class — post-class feedback tied to real attendance, not anonymous drive-by ratings.
We show our work.
Recommendations on Student Body carry a visible “why this” explanation — “A style you haven’t tried yet,” “Students say this class is beginner friendly,” “An instructor new to you.” If we can’t explain a recommendation to the student in one honest sentence, it doesn’t belong in their feed.
The quality signals behind those explanations come from students who actually took the class. They surface as the badges you see on class cards, and they feed the themed sections of discovery. Students can also personally hide or favorite things — those choices shape their feed only.
Fairness by design
Built for newcomers, not incumbents.
“Something new” is a first-class surface
Students see a dedicated section for classes, instructors, and studios they haven’t tried. Being new — to the platform, or just to that student — is a structural advantage.
Variety is enforced
No single class, instructor, or studio can flood a feed. Repeats are deliberately spaced out, keeping every feed open to more of the community.
Popularity requires real volume
“Popular this week” has a minimum threshold of genuine bookings — so trending can’t be faked by a handful of coordinated accounts.
New students get a fair start
A brand-new student sees broadly welcoming, beginner-friendly starter picks — which is exactly where welcoming classes get their first exposure.
For instructors & studios
What actually improves your discoverability.
The honest levers are the ones that make your classes easier to match and better to attend.
Complete, accurate class details
Class type, level, and languages drive relevance matching. A mislabeled class doesn’t rank better — it ranks for the wrong students.
A listed venue — or explicitly online
Physical proximity is a real signal; a class with no venue can’t be “near” anyone. Online classes reach everyone.
An upcoming schedule
Discovery shows what’s bookable soon. Regular upcoming sessions are structurally more visible than rare or far-out ones.
A genuinely welcoming class
Post-class feedback is the engine behind quality badges and themed placement. There’s no shortcut to it — which is the point.
Why no exact numbers
If any of this changes, we’ll update this page before the change ships — not after.
We keep specific weights and thresholds out of this page — not to be cagey, but because publishing them is an invitation to optimize for the metric instead of the student. The principles here are stable and public; the tuning underneath them will keep evolving as the community grows.
Questions?
We’ll walk you through it.
We’re happy to talk any instructor or studio through how discovery works — in person, with your classes on the screen.
Talk to us