Ad Astra Traffic

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Before You Reach for that Private Label Rights Content…

On 10.25.09, In Ad Astra Traffic, Article Marketing, Google, PLR, By Carson

Here’s something for those of you who rely on PLR content in your business to ponder…

If Chris Knight at EzineArticles.com has proprietary software that can recognize articles derived from seed private label rights content, what do you think Google can do?

That’s not a dig on EzineArticles. They’re the Big Boy of Article Directories, after all. They also feel confident in their ability to recognize spun PLR content. In a previously-mentioned post at the directory’s blog, head honcho Chris knight mentioned:

“Don’t submit 10-1000 articles on same rehashed topic with only the words and tips re-arranged. Our anti-derivative software is being continually tweaked to reject this behavior.” [emph. mine]

and, in the comments, he added:

“We’re taking a serious bite out of this type of member with a change to our software last week.

Yesterday alone we rejected 741 articles before our Editors even saw them, purely on the basis that they were derivative works previously submitted in another form.

On a normal day, we were already rejecting 250-500 articles for being duplicate or derivative based.

Once we’re confident on this new level of auto-anti-derivative rejection, we’ll have more bad news for those who don’t write and submit original works.”

Think about it… If EZA can sense that an article is nothing more than well-spun PLR, you gotta wonder what Google–with its army of smarty-pants geniuses–can manage.

This post is something of an “admission against interest” for me. I work with a few private label rights sites in various capacities and Ad Astra Traffic would be a perfect primary vendor for those who want to create large quantities of quality PLR to serve their memberships. I’ve never been a real fan of most PLR and the way that most people use it, but I understand it and its functions. However, I’m beginning to wonder if the use of PLR material for site content and article marketing efforts is about to grind to a halt.

That doesn’t mean that there won’t be other uses for PLR, of course. That’s what’s stopping me from making one of those annoying “Death of…” statements.

Seriously, though… If an article directory can sniff out the spinning, you know the folks in Mountain View can do it, too.

Where would that leave a PLR user? Well, I guess that’s the upside to the story. Maybe the business lost in the private label rights world will be replaced by people who’ve finally figured out that they can get more mileage with a good strategy based on quality, original content.

Today’s Gratuitious Sales Pitch: Let’s develop a results-oriented content strategy for your business that combines longevity with the right price point. Whether you think PLR is a dead-end or not, there’s definitely more profit potential in utilizing original work the right way. Get in touch.

Tagged with: Ad Astra Traffic • article spinning • articles • chris knight • ezinearticles.com • PLR • private label rights

EzineArticle’s War on Lousy Content

On 10.06.09, In Ad Astra Traffic, Article Marketing, Industry, By Carson

EzineArticles.com, inarguably the most powerful article directory on the ‘Net, recently declared war on affiliate marketers. More specifically, Chris Knight (EzineArticle’s Publisher/CEO), outlined plans to raise the site’s editorial bar in an effort to weed out “thin” content often submitted by affiliates as part of their article marketing plans.

Whether you agree with EzineArticles’ decision or not (personally, I think it’s a good idea), it’s clear that those who are relying on the submission of sub-par content to the directory to drive traffic and/or to generate backlinks will need to rethink that strategy. Based on Chris’ comments on the “war” thread and elsewhere, it appears as though EzineArticles is committed to a long-term strategy that will include greater focus on article quality.

While that may be bad news for those who were hoping that rewritten PLR content and 250-word low-value blips, it’s good news for those who’ve been forced to duke it out with the corner cutters for page views.

I commented on the announcement and expressed my belief that this announced change will undoubtedly cause some of EzineArticles’ authors to worry unnecessarily. I argued that EzineArticles might want to provide a few examples of content that wouldn’t pass muster under the new policy, along with notes explaining why. Chris was receptive to the idea and said he would take it back to the appropriate folks at EzineArticles for evaluation. I hope they do find a way to provide that information. It would be clearer than the necessarily vague “we’re increasing quality requirements” language and would probably calm a few nerves at the same time.

If you’re using article marketing as a part of your approach to online business (if you’re not, you should) and are concerned about your ability to personally create content that will meet quality standards, or if you just don’t think you can produce enough good content to meet both your needs and EzineArticles’ requirements, you should consider utilizing the services of a professional content writer.

Even if you think you’re in good shape today, you may want to think about what the future holds in terms of quality requirements and whether some assistance might make sense for you.

While you’ll spend more on good content than you will on the questionable materials often secured from ultra-cheap bid board producers, you can be assured of the content’s originality and quality if you’re dealing with a legitimate provider.

I’ve personally written and have personally managed the creation of well over 1,000 articles that have been submitted to EzineArticles in this year alone. Of those hundreds of articles, we’ve only experienced acceptance issues with three of them that I can remember–and two of them were rejected do to a failure to properly code links within a custom resource box (they weren’t related to the article itself). The other was the byproduct of EzineArticle’s concern that the title wasn’t sufficiently representative of the article’s content. A quick and minor adjustment of the title solved the problem.

In other words, I’m batting 1.000 this year with EzineArticles based on a very representative sample size.

I continue to receive orders for this kind of content (personally and through Ad Astra Traffic) because the articles produce a positive return on investment for the purchasing clients. You may spend slightly more for “the good stuff”, but in my case the return more than justifies the cost differential.

Now with EzineArticles heightening their standards and demonstrating an ongoing commitment to raising the quality bar, it’s more important than ever to make sure you’re working with quality content.

I’m willing to guarantee that the content I write on behalf of clients will be accepted by EzineArticles (if that’s part of the client’s plan) when used with the provided title, assuming the client doesn’t violate any other EzineArticles’ TOS with their outbound linking and/or resource box. We’re planning to extend that same guarantee to all Ad Astra Traffic content, as well.

If you need good content and you aren’t sure that you or your current vendor can supply you with adequate material, feel free to contact me personally or via Ad Astra Traffic. We can discuss your content options and can work to find a way that will guarantee your ability to benefit from directories like EzineArticles.