Content, content, CONTENT!

36 replies
I'm still quite a newbie here but in reading around the forums, I felt the need to post on the subject. I notice many people are always looking for the best and easiest way to make money. Imo, anybody can "slap" a bunch of websites up and make some quick money but what about longevity? I see quite a few marketers here (some that appear, based on forum posts, to have some experience and success) using things like Scrapegoat and Spinners (among other things in that realm). If people are smart enough to understand that content is king when it comes to authority sites, why use things like that?

I don't say this from an angry place so for the marketers that do use these types of things, please don't take offense. I just feel if you value your clients (for me, potential clients, why not give them the best you can offer?
#content
  • Profile picture of the author Fazal Mayar
    IM is a long term business. You can build crap like autoblogs and stuff but even that with competition its hard to make money with autoblogs.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ghoster
      Not everyone has come around to what Panda, Penguin - and now Hummingbird - actually mean.

      Google is getting better and better at identifying content that results from the spinning process. Google knows why people spin, and they penalize for it.

      Sites that have above n duplicate content get a site-wide penalty.

      A lot of people who use spinners think that if they spin an article and then rewrite it a bit, that will solve the problem. Unfortunately, those same people typically forget to check it against the original article. At the end of the day, the new article will often closely resemble the original.

      After all, spinning doesn't add anything substantive to an article. The content--the central message and data-- is the same, and that is what Google is getting better at detecting.

      Google's definitions:

      Webspam: any practice or page which attempts to manipulate search engines for the purpose of getting traffic.

      Quality Content: unique, useful content which is relevant to the topic and has value for readers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Darrin,

    I agree totally. Put yourself in the place of your customer. Would you rather be exposed to re-hashed spun content or would you prefer to read original, unique, new content?

    I want to brand myself and my business with original thinking and one-of-a-kind output, something that differentiates my performance.

    Some will say . . . "There is nothing original, everything has already by said before. What you're calling 'original' is put into your mind by something you read or heard from someone else."

    I say that's a stupid lousy argument. No one else has your exact experience, your voice, your perspective, your passion and personal "take" on various subjects. You filter your thinking in a very unique way.

    Lots of artists have painted ladies sitting in a chair. But the Mona Lisa is something special and Leonardo da Vinci did it his way. Was he just copying someone else and offering nothing original? Of course not!

    The very best to you all,

    Steve
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    Steve Browne, online business strategies, tips, guidance, and resources
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    If you have need of good quality material, Darrin, I would be happy to help.
    You can also check out the Warriors for hire section in this forum.
    You'll find lots of warriors who can provide great content for you.

    I would never use any spinners, scrapers or any such tools as I believe they are all c*ap.
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  • Profile picture of the author Hartmann
    I think people used spun content just to get backlinks to their real pages....their real pages should be good, unique content...of course everyone wants shortcuts. But since all the google changes I thought this had pretty much fallen out of favor.
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  • Profile picture of the author conanedo
    Agree with you, we should see IM as a business, we create something that give value to others.. and in return we will get some money.. make your business bigger and you can give more value to others then you will make more money..


    .
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  • Profile picture of the author Stevie C
    While I agree content is king for visitor engagement, I still don't think Google knows[without doing a manual review] if the content is good or otherwise. They can gain information from your bounce rate if you have duplicate content etc but from a lot of the rubbish that is ranking high on Google you can ascertain that they can still be manipulated without much effort. So my view is yes create great content for the visitor as opposed to Google.
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  • Profile picture of the author clever7
    Good content really is very important for many reasons. But with all these Google updates, only content is not enough.






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  • Profile picture of the author DTGeorge
    Originally Posted by Darrin Bentley View Post

    I'm still quite a newbie here but in reading around the forums, I felt the need to post on the subject. I notice many people are always looking for the best and easiest way to make money. Imo, anybody can "slap" a bunch of websites up and make some quick money but what about longevity? I see quite a few marketers here (some that appear, based on forum posts, to have some experience and success) using things like Scrapegoat and Spinners (among other things in that realm). If people are smart enough to understand that content is king when it comes to authority sites, why use things like that?

    I don't say this from an angry place so for the marketers that do use these types of things, please don't take offense. I just feel if you value your clients (for me, potential clients, why not give them the best you can offer?
    What I've found is that these people are typically focused on making money (in the short term) than building a brand (makes you money in the long term)

    Although in fact, crap content is still a bad idea even for a short term venture, you can gain a bit of traction more quickly before you stall.

    That's my 2 cents at least
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by Hartmann View Post

      I think people used spun content just to get backlinks to their real pages....their real pages should be good, unique content...of course everyone wants shortcuts. But since all the google changes I thought this had pretty much fallen out of favor.
      It has, except for two groups:

      > The people still selling the "picks and shovels", who will never admit that their spam tools stopped working.

      > Those who want to believe they still work, and are too ignorant to see the writing on the wall. (Notice I said ignorant, not stupid. Ignorance can be cured, but it's really hard to undo stupid...)
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      • Profile picture of the author Ghoster
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        It has, except for two groups:

        > The people still selling the "picks and shovels", who will never admit that their spam tools stopped working.

        > Those who want to believe they still work, and are too ignorant to see the writing on the wall. (Notice I said ignorant, not stupid. Ignorance can be cured, but it's really hard to undo stupid...)
        This is a great point. People selling spinning software and the like will continue their uphill battle till the bitter end.

        This occurs in other industries as well. For instance, any experienced Forex trader knows that Forex bots don't work. At least not in the mid to long term. The people perpetuating the myth that they do are the ones selling the bots.

        They plaster Youtube with video "proof." This "proof" can be faked very easily. Buyer beware.

        Darrin Bentley,

        I agree. If you can become an authority in your niche by building a quality brand--well, is there anything better? Once you have that platform you can use social media marketing to its full potential.
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      • Profile picture of the author An Al
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        It has, except for two groups:

        > The people still selling the "picks and shovels", who will never admit that their spam tools stopped working.

        > Those who want to believe they still work, and are too ignorant to see the writing on the wall. (Notice I said ignorant, not stupid. Ignorance can be cured, but it's really hard to undo stupid...)
        Let me help cure your ignorance then....those spam tools still work, and in many cases, depending on the tool, they are working quite well. Might want to do a little research to see what you're missing.

        Will it last forever? Doubtful. The 8 track didn't last forever either.That doesn't mean there isn't a lot of money to be made using these tools right now though, and smart folks are taking advantage of it. And the even smarter folks are making a quick buck with these tools and making a slow buck doing things the so-called right way.
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  • Profile picture of the author carlamae
    Well said! Although, I think the days of slapping together a quick website and making a few bucks are almost gone too. People have been online long enough now and are getting sick of they empty promises game. It is only quality that will stand apart from the rest.
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  • Profile picture of the author RogueOne
    Ignorance can be cured, but it's really hard to undo stupid...
    Nearly impossible.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Originally Posted by carldavies111 View Post

    Interesting... There's many paths you can take when starting. Start with what feels right to you and go with the flow full force.
    Carl,

    I like your zeal . . . and you are right . . . there are many paths that can be taken when starting out. The caution I would give to any newbie is this:

    Going full force with the flow just because something "feels right to you" could easily lead to a head-on collision with reality.

    Focus on original, high quality, relevant and targeted to your niche content that you develop yourself or have developed for you.

    Don't go near scraped, copied, or plagiarized content.

    It might "feel right" to go after quantity and the easy, least effort solution.

    Build a long term, honest business. If you take care of your customers - they will take care of you.

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author Darrin Bentley
      Originally Posted by Steve B View Post

      Don't go near scraped, copied, or plagiarized content.

      It might "feel right" to go after quantity and the easy, least effort solution.

      Build a long term, honest business. If you take care of your customers - they will take care of you.
      Steve
      Exactly! I'm thinking "long term" so for me, the cheap way out is not an option. Now, I'm sure there are MANY people that use questionable methods and it works for them. For me, it's more of a "branding" thing. If what I have to say is interesting enough to get people to my site, hold them there with my content and convert them with my offers, it has to be from my brain
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      A sucker MAY be born every minute, but that don't mean you have to take advantage of them.

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  • Profile picture of the author trader909
    why so much content?

    I am not here to write or educate. screw G. and what they want.
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    • Originally Posted by trader909 View Post

      why so much content?

      I am not here to write or educate. screw G. and what they want.
      LOL I agree.

      Why writing so much free content just to please Google? Instead, why not writing targeted OFFERS and driving traffic outside Google?
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  • Profile picture of the author trader909
    Some do...no where near as profitable as they claim of course.

    Pro traders go for about 5% monthly gains...

    Spam fx robots can make me 30%+ month, apparrently. No risk all the time to boot.

    This occurs in other industries as well. For instance, any experienced Forex trader knows that Forex bots don't work. At least not in the mid to long term. The people perpetuating the myth that they do are the ones selling the bots.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ghoster
      Originally Posted by trader909 View Post

      Some do...no where near as profitable as they claim of course.

      Pro traders go for about 5% monthly gains...

      Spam fx robots can make me 30%+ month, apparently. No risk all the time to boot.
      Don't want to hijack the thread, so this will be my last Forex comment. I agree that Expert Advisers created by pro traders can be profitable if maintained. Bots in general though are absolute junk.

      Re: Google...because it's not 1999, and people want the Internet to be of some use.
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  • Profile picture of the author zdebx
    I would say it largely depends on what you need the content for?

    If it's for your main "authority" site, then yeah, using scrapers/spinners will only get you junk unreadable stuff, but if you just need something to put out there on your 2nd/3rd tier sites, then these tools do help to save some time...
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  • What I have observed so far is, people hardly uses spun content at their main business site or blog. They use spun contents to create web 2.0 properties, article submission at article directories etc. In short, most of the people use spun articles for link building.

    I just feel if you value your clients (for me, potential clients, why not give them the best you can offer?
    For a good service provider, every client is valuable. Clients have got the right to get the possible best service.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ghoster
      Originally Posted by Bonita T Josephson View Post

      What I have observed so far is, people hardly uses spun content at their main business site or blog. They use spun contents to create web 2.0 properties, article submission at article directories etc. In short, most of the people use spun articles for link building.

      For a good service provider, every client is valuable. Clients have got the right to get the possible best service.

      I think for it to drive traffic the Teri 2 content still has to be readable. Of course, there's various levels of "readable." I know, for me, when I'm browsing around online, I click back out of anything that looks like it was blended with software.
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      On the whole, you get what you pay for.

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  • Profile picture of the author Giftys
    Content is king... but only if you have your other bases covered. I've got one site that we spent years filling up with content but I never really linked it up because it stayed on the back burner. It gets very little traffic even though it's filled with a ton of 100% original content. We'll get around to it one day but the message here is that yes, you'll constantly hear about "content" but it is useless without quality incoming links, optimized seo, etc.
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  • Profile picture of the author dynamyt100
    I totally agree. My concern is that when a site is aimed at a single market or a single product, how much unique content can you REALLY create?
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    • Profile picture of the author Giftys
      Originally Posted by dynamyt100 View Post

      I totally agree. My concern is that when a site is aimed at a single market or a single product, how much unique content can you REALLY create?
      As someone that specialized in nothing but "drums" for many years, I can tell you that the sky is the limit. Take a look at drumchat.com as an example. That's our forum. It still blows my mind how much content can be created in one small niche. Just get those right brain juices flowing!
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  • Profile picture of the author Claire Koch
    a newbie? that puts some of us oldies to shame WoW
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  • Profile picture of the author Make Money Ninja
    If you can write 5000 words a day, everyday, of very good content...

    You will be one VERY rich man.

    Spinning is on the way out. Are you seriously going to bet against those genius types over at Google not figuring it out?
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    • Profile picture of the author An Al
      Originally Posted by Make Money Ninja View Post

      If you can write 5000 words a day, everyday, of very good content...

      You will be one VERY rich man.

      Spinning is on the way out. Are you seriously going to bet against those genius types over at Google not figuring it out?
      Do you seriously think Google is the only place that has smart people?
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      • Profile picture of the author Make Money Ninja
        Originally Posted by An Al View Post

        Do you seriously think Google is the only place that has smart people?
        Nope, but they have the smartest. They also have the most money
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  • Profile picture of the author Lokahi
    I don't really understand this obsession with publishing mass content quickly. So much better to publish one high quality, well thought out and indepth tutorial or wiki (well researched and written from scratch) every week than 1000 low quality spun out, barely comprehensible 'articles' a day. The first way benefits your reader and will provide the best long term success for your site with readers and Google Search. And, yes I understand what you are saying as to how it seems many people use spun articles for publishing on blogs. However, I don't really see it that way. It's just that the people who use article spinner software and other blackhat techniques are often the most vocal, in order to draw attention to themselves. Seems to be working but in a negative way.
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  • Profile picture of the author iNeverBehave
    being a flash in the pan isn't the way to go! Longevity all the way... building a solid foundation with quality content
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  • Profile picture of the author tjaysen70
    yeah man so true...garbage in, garbage out. Better to keep your content fresh and useful and engaging.
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  • Profile picture of the author leewiggins
    Hi Darrin

    Automation in your business is a sticky subject for some people unfortunately But I believe you can certainly create great quality and value in the marketplace, and also automate some of these processes.

    For Example, if you use articles in your marketing? then creating unique content, and then spinning that, is certainly acceptable if you know how to do it the right way, But let me just stress that the important factor is certainly in your methods and how you go about doing it firstly and foremostly

    Because in my eyes there are two types of marketer, the Spammy Marketer, who may be in it for a quick buck, and probably doesn't really care about the longevity of their business and may also have limited knowledge... or there is the Good Savvy Marketer who cares about their reputation, business and understands the importance of leverage.

    The important thing to remember here is that, if you have a quality product and service that you know provides massive value in your marketplace, then surely getting your message out there to as many people as you physically can is essential.

    There are certain ways to do this, and there are also many different avenues to generate traffic or customers. Articles can be a very effective way to generate leads, but try to diversify your approach and use lots of different modalities to help your customer understand what it is you have to offer.

    And for those people who comment in the forum with limited knowledge, I know methods that can help you to create unique quality articles which are over 200% spun, totally individual and unique, read perfectly, and can create up to around 20,000 different unique articles from around two main articles that are hand written by myself and merged.

    And I can assure you they provide massive value, and are totally google compliant and white hat. And send a customer through a specific system and funnel nicely.

    Remember as long as you are passionate about your business and have good marketing ethics!! then, automation can only help those processes and save you time in the long run Just remember to be unique, authentic, provide massive value and you wont go far wrong

    Hope this helps, and please be sure to thank if you like, Also I have a WSO that may help you, you can find it in the link below.
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  • Profile picture of the author Weedy92
    Because there are loopholes and people will exploit them.

    Either it's short term gain, or long term gains.

    Everyone has different sides.

    Do you want to run a brand site, or a spam site.
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