How to Boost your IMDb STARmeter Naturally and for FREE

If you’re a film/TV actor, then most likely you’re familiar with IMDb.

If you’re not, IMDb is the Internet Movie Database, an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, plot summaries, trivia, ratings, and fan and critical reviews.

Essentially, it’s the who’s who of who’s working in the on-camera industry.

(For theatrical actors who have worked on Broadway, there’s IBDB, the Internet Broadway Database, which is the official source for Broadway information.)

For actors on IMDb, there is a ranking system called the STARmeter. It’s basically an online actor popularity contest / thermometer of who’s getting hot or who’s cooling down.

The STARmeter is available to view on IMDb Pro only, and it is updated weekly on Sundays. The ranking system was created and is managed by IMDb and they alone determine how every movie and actor are ranked based upon a complicated equation.

The lower the STARmeter number, the better:

200,000 and below indicates actors who are working regularly.

3,000-5,000 are actors you might have heard of.

2,000 and below are well known actors.

900 and below are stars, celebrities and top directors.

Who’s currently the #1 actor? At the time of this article being written, it’s Joseph Quinn who was on Game of Thrones in a small role but had a breakout role this year as Eddie Munson on Stranger Things season 4.

So, how do you boost your STARmeter?

First, make sure that your IMDb profile is up-to-date and that all of your information and credits are correct. (Verify that your film/TV credits are all there with the role you played, episodes you were in etc., add in your headshots, shots from being on set or screenshots from the production, add your bio, film/tv demo, articles with links etc.)

Second, the more credits you have plus online notoriety leads to more people clicking on your IMDb profile page thus boosting your rating. What if you don’t have credits? Well, you can actually produce your very own short films which is a fantastic way to start earning credits, improving your craft, getting camera time etc.

Third, share your IMDb page through your actor website, different social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social networking sites leading to more people checking out your IMDb page.

Fourth, link your IMDb page in your email signature and in the bio section of your social media platforms.

Fifth, you scratch my back and I scratch yours: Another tip is to help other people promote their IMDb page, promote other actors, filmmakers, projects, producers, and then vice versa ask them to promote you and your projects.

Sixth, list your IMDb page in your press kit (if you have one).

Seventh, increase your overall STARmeter by working on a film set or attending film premieres with actors and celebrities rated in IMDb’s Top 5000 STARmeter. If you are in still frames, behind the scenes or event photos that are published to IMDb, you can tag yourself in the photos and get backlinks to your profile. This is especially advantageous if the photo is linked to a top 100 profile often, and a recently released title. The photo(s) display on all pages tagged, and crosslink your page with massive traffic.

Eighth, once you have all of this accomplished, forget about it and let IMDb and it’s algorithm do it’s thing. Focus your passion on your career and don’t worry too much about your STARmeter. Yes, you can pay for clicks but IMDb has already figured this out so there’s no need to waste your money. You’re better off using a site like Karmalicity. It’s a much more appetizing way to increase your STARmeter than paying big bucks to have a server farm hit your IMDb page. Plus, you get to join an online community of like minded professionals.

Ninth, check your score every 4-5 months to see where you are at and then adjust from there.

Having a steady flow of page views and likes will increase and hopefully stabilize your IMDb STARmeter ranking. Good luck and check out my IMDb page for more info on me.

Tony Nation is a professional actor who has worked in all areas of Showbusiness. You can currently see him on HBO’s THE REHEARSAL in the pilot episode, in season 3 of THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL and in an upcoming animated feature film in 2023.