Have I got this all wrong?? Please give me your thoughts.

[katied772]

I've been attempting to find a good writer to outsource to in order to increase my site content. In doing so, I've encountered some horrendous writing. Recently I received a review copy from a new writer here. The article was actually good in regards to grammar and spelling. Was also obviously written my a person who is a native English speaker. But when it came to content, it was totally fluff. The kw was used the right amount but the article simply danced around and gave no valuable info.
The kicker is that several others who also received review copies were raving about their articles being exactly what they needed for their sites.
Three years ago I started with SBI and learned to build sites with valuable content, sites where the reader actually obtain the info. they need. Now, I'm thinking I may be doing it all wrong. I have worked on two sites for several years (admittedly off and on) and each site has about 50 pages, mostly written by myself. While I enjoy offering good content to my readers and am proud of my sites, my main reason for the sites were to eventually provide a retirement income. Not looking like it is going to happen. I usually make about 20.00 per month from adsense, mostly from one site.
I understand and am good at on-page SEO and have just started to be serious about backlinking to gain traffic which I know I need but am questioning my content strategies. I have two other sites recently started and wonder if I should back off on quality of content and leave the reader a reason to click on the ads. With so many people (and I've noticed it more than this one time) putting less than quality content on their sites and saying the sites are doing well, maybe I've got it all wrong. And, it would sure cost me a lot less in outsourcing and be faster. But it also seems like this just clogs up the internet with garbage.
Thoughts please? Thanks.

[SleekMedia]

It's really difficult to advise you on specifics because a lot depends on the subject matter of your site. Your first priority should be to make the site clear and usable for your target audience.

There are sites that people go to to read about things, so on those it makes sense to have a lot of information. At the same time, if your site is not specifically designed to be a comprehensive source of information, it is key to avoid overwhelming the visitors.

The fundamental aspect is understanding your target audience, whether through feedback or research.

[Instantfruit]

Hi Katie

Interesting post. I'm a newcomer to this particular sector of the industry and desperatly trying to learn. I`ve been horrified at some of the copy I`ve seen on Niche sites (the avenue I`m currently going down) as a majority of it is utter rubbish. Both grammatically and from an infomation perspective.

I suspect though that this is indeed part of the strategy for some some sites. As you mention, too much information gives no reason to click on an ad.

Its a real shame, as like you I believe in offering a sound product with sound information.

I`m still learning, so I am building very small niche websites at the moment, I intent adding what is, in my opinion, good quality content, but I will try to ensure that the content itself is not the solution to the browser problem (ie, the adverts should be)

I suspect with larger authority sites quality content pays off in the long term, however for 5 page micro sites it appears any old rubbish will do as long as it performs well in google.

Thats my (newbie) take on it so far!!

Build sites according to your objectives, swallow your pride on some, ensure quality content on others!

[julien731]

You have to choose between 2 strategies:

1. SEO/linkbuilding = generating a lot of content, not focusing on quality but on keywords/semantics... and (no) duplicate content. This kind of work, if it has to be outsourced, is quite cheap
2. Marketing = taking care of your visitors, giving them awesome content and forget linkbuilding a bit. If this has to be outsourced it can become very expensive, especially if you are working in a specific area: you need a writer that knows your field.

What you describe seem to perfectly fit case 1. If you have chosen this strategy, you're all good. If not, you might have to change something...

[webcontentprovider]

Being familiar with SBI, isn't the saying "Content is king" a favorite saying. Yes many, many people put up crappy content, but in the long run those sites with quality content will win. For one thing, Google will keep doing things like the Panda/Farmer algorithm just to weed out bad content.

I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience with outsourcing your content. Perhaps you need to try my service.

[Kay King]

But when it came to content, it was totally fluff. The kw was used the right amount but the article simply danced around and gave no valuable info.
The kicker is that several others who also received review copies were raving about their articles being exactly what they needed for their sites.

It could be your expectations of what the standard "content writer" does. You don't say how much you paid but I doubt the articles were expensive.

There is "content writing" where the writer talks about the topic without saying much of anything - and it's often praised by people who can't write at all (or can't write in English). For many site owners, that is good enough.

If you want better quality, that takes more time for the writer and the fees are higher.

If you hire a "content writer" to write 5 articles on a certain topic - chances are the person will do one quick piece of research and then will turn out the articles using that same research. They will not go into depth because the prices do not justify that much time.

The best way for you to get a writer that suits you is to find ONE writer who is has a good writing flow, good grammar and sentence structure, etc and then train that writer to write on your topic. Work with them to get the level of info and detail you want by paying them to do a couple hours of research on the topic before you start. Have them send you a list of sites they researched - provide the writer with one primary and 2-3 secondary keyword phrases for each article you need.

If you have the patience to train a writer in that way - and can send them regular work...you won't have a problem outsourcing your content. It may cost a bit more and takes some time in the beginning - but it pays offs big time over weeks and months as once the writer knows what you expect, he can keep delivering that level of content to you.

kay

[Carl Brown]

In the end, you have to ask if you've given the reader any reason to click on an ad, or does your great article answer ALL the reader's questions.

If you've created a website about losing belly fat, did your article answer every question a reader might have about ways to lose belly fat? If you did, why would they click that adsense ad that says, "Eating This One simple Food Will Eliminate Belly Fat"

Understand the ads that will run on your site and don't undermine the advertiser by giving up too much information.

[Chris Kent]

Do not change your strategy to accommodate the latest thing. In the long term you will always benefit from good content giving low bounce rates, multiple page loads etc.

[dburk]

Hi katied772,

While creating "fluff" content may increase your CTR a bit, it it can also be very detrimental to user traffic, which in turn will affect your search engine rankings. It's a catch 22. The key to higher AdSense earnings is more targeted traffic. The greater the targeted traffic the greater your ad revenue will be. Better content generates more traffic.

Another problem you will have with that strategy is that Google is making big strides towards computationally detecting "fluff". What you could get away with last year may not fly this year. I have seen many posts where publishers of "fluff" have been crying a river over the Panda series of updates. You may be zigging precisely when you should be zagging.

I like to think of content I publish as mouthwatering menu descriptions that leave my readers yearning for the exact items my advertisers are selling.

[MaryOlson]

As you started writing content yourself so it is really good thing, you would try to give best information whatever you can, it is better than hiring any writer.

However, you have to do link building if you want you content to be searched in search engines.

[katied772]

I am expecting to pay $10.00 and up for articles. I started out as an article writer, so have always done my own articles. I now realize I need to outsource some if I am to move forward. I can't keep up with it all. Maybe I expect too much. I am a reader and am always disappointed if the content is not good. I also tend to be picky about grammar and spelling. I can't tolerate the misuse of words.
When I request articles, I always give the writer my KW, several related keywords and ideas on how to angle the article. I try to leave no doubt of the direction the article should take.
What is really weird is that I have gotten review articles I really liked from three different writers, then when I wanted to order, they disappeared. Why go through the trouble of advertising their services, then vanish?

Originally Posted by Kay King

It could be your expectations of what the standard "content writer" does. You don't say how much you paid but I doubt the articles were expensive.

There is "content writing" where the writer talks about the topic without saying much of anything - and it's often praised by people who can't write at all (or can't write in English). For many site owners, that is good enough.

If you want better quality, that takes more time for the writer and the fees are higher.

If you hire a "content writer" to write 5 articles on a certain topic - chances are the person will do one quick piece of research and then will turn out the articles using that same research. They will not go into depth because the prices do not justify that much time.

The best way for you to get a writer that suits you is to find ONE writer who is has a good writing flow, good grammar and sentence structure, etc and then train that writer to write on your topic. Work with them to get the level of info and detail you want by paying them to do a couple hours of research on the topic before you start. Have them send you a list of sites they researched - provide the writer with one primary and 2-3 secondary keyword phrases for each article you need.

If you have the patience to train a writer in that way - and can send them regular work...you won't have a problem outsourcing your content. It may cost a bit more and takes some time in the beginning - but it pays offs big time over weeks and months as once the writer knows what you expect, he can keep delivering that level of content to you.

kay

[katied772]

Originally Posted by webcontentprovider

Being familiar with SBI, isn't the saying "Content is king" a favorite saying. Yes many, many people put up crappy content, but in the long run those sites with quality content will win. For one thing, Google will keep doing things like the Panda/Farmer algorithm just to weed out bad content.

I'm sorry that you had such a bad experience with outsourcing your content. Perhaps you need to try my service.

Yes, content is king. I learned a lot from SBI. Although I don't use SBI any longer, I'm glad I started with them. I learned so much.