Yet Another Article Question

22 replies
So yesterday I was looking over top articles on go articles, article base, article snatch, and article alley. I realized these articles get 300,000 views. Its crazy. Now what I want to know is...are the for real? Are they really getting THAT many views?

I re-wrote such articles and posted them...not much luck at 300k views of course..Now I want to know...how are they getting so many views? I completely flipped their articles by hand with no spinner...no luck. Of course I do SEO for all my articles..so thats not it

I looked at their titles..some articles werent even titled well. One had accidental ::"" <<stuff like that on it and still had 30,000 views.
Anyone have any idea?
#article #question
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by connorbringas View Post

    Are they really getting THAT many views?
    Some may be. If their authors do enough backlinks to them and/or send enough traffic to them.

    Others may not be, really: some people are sending "paid traffic" (a lot of which is "automated clicks") to articles to make it look as if they're hugely well-viewed. Article directories have differing policies on banning their authors for that trick.

    Personally, I only "encourage views" (by SEO) for the copies of my articles on my own site, not the subsequent article directory copies of them I submit after getting the originals indexed on my own site first: I want to build up my sites, not other people's, and I don't want article directories outranking my own site for my own keywords!

    Originally Posted by connorbringas View Post

    I looked at their titles..some articles werent even titled well. One had accidental ::"" <<stuff like that on it and still had 30,000 views. Anyone have any idea?
    Some will be "junk articles" which have had "junk traffic" thrown at them by authors who find that beneficial, or who just copy others who say it can be beneficial. Go figure. In an "industry" with such a high long-term failure-rate, unsurprisingly it's not always the best idea to copy "popularly received opinion".
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2510887].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
      I re-wrote such articles and posted them...not much luck at 300k views of course..Now I want to know...how are they getting so many views? I completely flipped their articles by hand with no spinner...no luck. Of course I do SEO for all my articles..so thats not it
      So you grabbed their articles and re-wrote them instead of coming up with something original and you really have to ask why they aren't doing as well as the originals?

      Views don't mean diddly, really. What counts is the conversion rate and you have no way of knowing if those articles you copied converted or not. I'd rather have 400 views and 8 sales, then 300,000 and 2 sales.

      Tina
      Signature
      Discover how to have fabulous, engaging content with
      Fast & Easy Content Creation
      ***Especially if you don't have enough time, money, or just plain HATE writing***
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2510940].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author connorbringas
        Originally Posted by TMG Enterprises View Post

        So you grabbed their articles and re-wrote them instead of coming up with something original and you really have to ask why they aren't doing as well as the originals?

        Views don't mean diddly, really. What counts is the conversion rate and you have no way of knowing if those articles you copied converted or not. I'd rather have 400 views and 8 sales, then 300,000 and 2 sales.

        Tina
        Yeah you have a point of course I dont know the conversion. I just wanted to see if they would get crazy views naturally I dont usually just take articles and re-write them I normally make up my own content.

        I kind of assume that an article with 300,000 views gets a higher conversion than an article with 400 views. But go figure.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2511035].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
          With the likelihood of them using junk traffic to get those views, I'd be willing to bet that many of them have terrible conversion rates.

          Tina
          Signature
          Discover how to have fabulous, engaging content with
          Fast & Easy Content Creation
          ***Especially if you don't have enough time, money, or just plain HATE writing***
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2511056].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author connorbringas
            Originally Posted by TMG Enterprises View Post

            With the likelihood of them using junk traffic to get those views, I'd be willing to bet that many of them have terrible conversion rates.

            Tina
            Yeah thats definitely true. Since I'm working B2B its even harder to get targeted traffic. Thanks for the help Tina.
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2511078].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
              Connor, another thing to keep in mind is that it's often in the directory owner's interest to show articles having extremely high numbers of "views" - it encourages people to submit additional articles.

              When the directory posts the number of views, what you are really seeing is the accumulated number of times that file was requested from the server. Odds are that includes scraper bots, RSS directories, SE bots, robot clicks from article posters seeking links from the 'most viewed' list and a whole host of other non-humans who will never click through or buy anything from you.
              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2511258].message }}
              • Profile picture of the author connorbringas
                oh...well thats a scam and somewhat depressing
                {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2511809].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author tpw
              Originally Posted by connorbringas View Post

              Since I'm working B2B its even harder to get targeted traffic.
              You are selling yourself short... It is possible to get targeted traffic in the B2B niche... It is even possible to get targeted traffic from articles... It all comes down to how you build your articles...

              Once your article is written, ask yourself some questions... Is the article title attractive to the people I would like to read this article? Is this an article I would want to read? Is this an article that a reader will be thankful for having read? Do I make a related and good call-to-action in the resource box... When the person has finished reading the article, does my resource box lead the reader to want to visit my website?

              There are many factors that can influence the effectiveness of your article... And as the article writer, you can influence all of those factors...

              Like Tina said, it is not about the number of times your article was read, but the ability of your article to convert readers into customers...

              And often that starts with telling people the things they will not hear from someone else... When you focus on telling a good story, on a topic that your target audience is interested to read, then readership will increase and your conversions should follow upwards as your readers increase...
              Signature
              Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
              Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2512220].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author connorbringas
      Yeah I was thinking something along the lines of automated views. Thanks for your help. I really wish it was possible to get that many views though. I had this dream idea that one of my articles will take off and I can just make a living off it haha.

      Well sounds dumb but anyway
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2510944].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author PeterSparks
    What you can do is check for which keywords the articles rank (by using google's external keyword tool).

    If these keywords get a lot of traffic than it is possible that these views are actual readers.

    If you are talking about 300k views however it is more likely that it is PPV traffic or something done via Iframing.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2511063].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author NicoleBeckett
    Like Tina and Bill have pointed out, it's not about views, it's about conversions.

    Yes, you would like to get as many eyes on your resource box as possible. However, just looking at the number of views an article has doesn't mean it's successful. For all you know, there's a ton of people who clicked on that article, started reading it, hated it, and never even made it to the resource box.

    That's why, as Bill pointed out, there are a ton of different factors that go into the effectiveness of an article. Don't be intimidated by articles with lots of views.
    Signature
    Sick of blending in with the crowd? Ready to stand ahead of the pack? The right content writing services can get you there...
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2512382].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author connorbringas
      Yeah I guess you guys are right. When I think about it logically, it just doesnt make sense.

      Would a business really be on goarticles.com...i mean honestly? Even if its ranking pretty good organically..it isnt really a valid website to find key information. Well anyway I wont sell short anymore.

      Thanks guys
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2512599].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author tpw
        Originally Posted by connorbringas View Post

        Would a business really be on goarticles.com...i mean honestly? Even if its ranking pretty good organically..it isnt really a valid website to find key information.
        The reason for GoArticles, EzineArticles, etc is to provide the article to the niche webmaster looking for content to include on its website...

        It is not that GoArticles or EZA is bad, but both are a means to an end; places where the niche webmaster and newsletter publisher can find content that is authorized to be reproduced...

        The link count from article directories is not in my mind the goal of article marketing... It is simply a measure to show how actively you are promoting your article to the bigger world beyond article directories...

        When Joe Schmoe's Pickle Paradise finds my article on pickles at Go Articles and reproduces it, then I will have found a website worthy of carrying my article, but Joe Schmoe may have never found me without GoArticles...

        GoArticles was never intended to be the end destination, but the pathway to Joe Schmoe's Pickle Paradise...
        Signature
        Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
        Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2516132].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
          Connor, Bill (tpw) won't say it because it might look like self-promotion, but I'll say it for him.

          Download the free ebook in his sig and absorb it.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2516497].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
            Banned
            Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

            Connor, Bill (tpw) won't say it because it might look like self-promotion, but I'll say it for him.

            Download the free ebook in his sig and absorb it.
            ^^^^ Very good advice, here. And then re-read a lot of his forum posts here, too, because you're in the presence of Someone Who Knows What He's Talking About.
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2516510].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author connorbringas
              You're definitely right. I just recently read a 100 page e-book that explains what you just told me. Make a google alerts of the article you just posted..and see what websites just reproduced it. Then you can see what sites are putting up your content
              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2520458].message }}
              • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
                Banned
                Originally Posted by connorbringas View Post

                Make a google alerts of the article you just posted..and see what websites just reproduced it. Then you can see what sites are putting up your content
                I spread around my own versions each with one word (or even just one punctuation-mark) subtly different, so I'll always know where it originally came from.
                {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2520474].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author anions
    Many people buy fake traffic to the articles so that they can get backlinks to the article by getting listed in the "most viewed" categories.


    You shouldn't really be worried aobut all this when you're just starting.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2520483].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author connorbringas
      well im not just starting but that does make sense. I wonder if the backlink is really that good to waste money on getting fake traffic
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2520493].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by connorbringas View Post

        well im not just starting but that does make sense. I wonder if the backlink is really that good to waste money on getting fake traffic
        They're not looking for the single back link in most cases. What they want is a spot on the 'most viewed' list, which gives them a back link from every related page in the section.

        As someone else pointed out, though, it's violating the TOS and a good way to get your whole account nuked if you get caught.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2520805].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author connorbringas
        Originally Posted by John McEachern View Post

        I think it can be.

        Getting "fake" or automated traffic to an article on a directory like Ezine Articles can potentially be good for short term profits - even if the article is written very poorly.

        But this is breaking the terms of service of Ezine Articles by driving traffic to an article like this.

        So that's no so good of a starting point, I think.

        I also think that people who know how to drive traffic like this may also be very good at accumulating tons of spammy and low quality backlinks for the article, which can get articles such as these up in the search engine rankings very quickly - especially if they are backlinking an EZA or Buzzle article.

        It's just another style of article marketing - and however much it may be distasteful to some people and probably not be able to produce near the long term results of highly entertaining, informative, and useful articles that actually convert readers into customers (as described in post #11, and the reasoning for the proper use of an article directory as described in post #14), the bottom line, I think, is that this kind of article marketing is something that can produce results.
        Thats so unfair. Hopefully some day quality content is actually accepted much more than horrible spun content
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2520839].message }}

Trending Topics