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Does this happen with you? - SEO Content Writing

by ankitoberoi
17 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Well its been an unpleasant day, so far. I've been ordering content for a number of my projects since years now and have very good relations with a lot of writers. However, today I filed for my first dispute on paypal, related to an article writer.

I try to order good quality content, well researched and everything has to be backed by stats. I've never even tried the $5/$10 articles. I generally pay anything from 3 cents to 8 cents a word, depending upon the content and look for very detailed articles (generally 2000+ words a piece).

However, I found this guy (not naming him, at least for now) through a WSO and he looked worth a try. I ordered a 2000 word article and gave him an approval to go above the limit and was happy when he came out with a 4000 word draft.

Acting in good faith, I paid him on paypal the balance amount, before reviewing the article. However, upon review, I could easily find the source of a considerable part of the content, just from google. Now, the content is clearly copyscape proof, and it is a re-write of another report. It looks like 10-12 odd points which are exactly a point by point copy of that report, just that they have been re-written. It going to be 20 days since I made the first payment (12 days since I asked him to do the edit) and I still don't have the final content with me.

My writer says that its what I should expect for 5 cents a words. For original content, he charges thousands of euros. Of Course, considering he is not from the industry, I am not expecting content for which he has never looked at any other website, to learn from. However, my point is that it should not resemble in such a clear way that it took me 5 mins to find the source and any lay man upon reading both the articles can very very easily say that it has been clearly rewritten from this report.

I am looking for your opinion on the matter. What do you guys think? Am I expecting too much for the price?

Thanks,
Ankit
#content #happen #seo #writing
  • Profile picture of the author Shenpen
    Not matter how unfair it feels and is, there is no better option than to move on as fast as possible. Do what you can do through paypal without raising your expectations too much, but then move on as fast as possible. Almost no good outcome can come from chasing justice in such cases. Find your win elsewhere. Channel your energy into some other more promising project.
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  • Profile picture of the author writer88
    I can understand how bad you are feeling at this moment BUT I can't resist myself from saying that you could have been a gold-mine for me at least
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    $2/500 words - A Limited Offer..Check My Reviews
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Does this happen with you? - SEO Content Writing
    I don't get the whole SEO/writer thing. Most writers suck at SEO like most SEOs suck at writing.

    You wanted a VA, so you have to do your own babysitting to make sure the VA does exactly what you want them to do.
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    • Profile picture of the author ankitoberoi
      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      I don't get the whole SEO/writer thing. Most writers suck at SEO like most SEOs suck at writing.
      You are correct to say that, it is better to ask the writers to write for the readers and the SEO yourself.


      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      You wanted a VA, so you have to do your own babysitting to make sure the VA does exactly what you want them to do.
      If you read in the first post, I took the services of a writer from a WSO. I expect a service provider to stand up to the quality and despite what the writer says, I feel 5 cents a word is at least worth a timely re-write.
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      • Profile picture of the author yukon
        Banned
        Originally Posted by ankitoberoi View Post

        If you read in the first post, I took the services of a writer from a WSO. I expect a service provider to stand up to the quality and despite what the writer says, I feel 5 cents a word is at least worth a timely re-write.
        I guess you need to babysit more than your used to doing.

        You said you paid the guy before you even looked at the article, so that's not necessarily the writers fault. Next time review at least a portion of the article before you pay.
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        • Profile picture of the author ankitoberoi
          Originally Posted by yukon View Post

          You said you paid the guy before you even looked at the article, so that's not necessarily the writers fault. Next time review at least a portion of the article before you pay.
          Yes, it was my fault to pay him before the review, I already know that (almost all writers normally take a full upfront anyway), but it does not help answer the question or the subject of the thread - "Am I expecting too much for the price?"

          More constructive replies please.
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          • Profile picture of the author yukon
            Banned
            Originally Posted by ankitoberoi View Post

            Yes, it was my fault to pay him before the review, I already know that (almost all writers normally take a full upfront anyway), but it does not help answer the question or the subject of the thread - "Am I expecting too much for the price?"

            More constructive replies please.
            I'm guessing you didn't give the writer a bulk order, so no big deal, move on to another writer.
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  • Profile picture of the author manishak
    No matter what you've ordered, your writer shouldn't have sent you a rewritten version. Well researched, proofread content is very important.

    If he says that original content is worth thousands of Euros, he should have mentioned that before.

    I wonder if you'll get the money back, but, move on!
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  • Profile picture of the author YorkieBoy
    I've just responded to some articles I have had written.
    here's my response to his request for feedback

    "Feedback, I'll give you my feed back.
    At best it's pure waffle, while at times its like trying to read a bowl of spaghetti
    I wouldn't put this garbage on toilet paper, let alone my website
    Apart from such instances as "Serotonin may be life hostile" which clearly suggest that the article is spun. There are quite a number of phrases which make no sense at all.
    Please be warned that this is only part of my review of your work that I shall be posting on the warrior forum, where I intend to post some shining examples of your incompetence.
    You are a fraud!"
    if I don't get any joy by tomorrow, either with 5 decent articles or a refund for the spaghetti alphabet he threw my way, I will do a lot more than just name and shame him.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kevin Maguire
      Originally Posted by daveg1960 View Post

      "Feedback, I'll give you my feed back.
      At best it's pure waffle, while at times its like trying to read a bowl of spaghetti
      I wouldn't put this garbage on toilet paper, let alone my website
      Apart from such instances as "Serotonin may be life hostile" which clearly suggest that the article is spun. There are quite a number of phrases which make no sense at all.
      Please be warned that this is only part of my review of your work that I shall be posting on the warrior forum, where I intend to post some shining examples of your incompetence.
      You are a fraud!"
      LOLZ...

      Ah, someone best pm me the name, because I was about to spend some nice bread on a WSO writer next week. Now I'm praying it's not the same guy.
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    • Profile picture of the author ankitoberoi
      Originally Posted by daveg1960 View Post

      I've just responded to some articles I have had written.

      if I don't get any joy by tomorrow, either with 5 decent articles or a refund for the spaghetti alphabet he threw my way, I will do a lot more than just name and shame him.
      How much did he charge you for the article?

      Originally Posted by Lyanna View Post

      That's why I normally go for a trial article. I order one article written, like 1000 words, then decide whether I want that writer to do more writing for me.
      It was the first order, just that it was ~ 4000 words. A smaller article would not have helped me, actually. Although, I stick to my regular writers, at times there are issues with availability, but whenever I order from a new writers, generally the first articles come out very good.

      Originally Posted by Lyanna View Post

      But to answer your question - is this what I can expect for 3 cents a word? My answer is yes. You can only get rehashed content for that amount of money.
      Not that there is a huge difference, but I paid 5 cents a word Please refer the first post. So you think close paraphrasing (which is a copyright infringement too) good enough for 5 cents a word? or any cents a word for that matter?

      Originally Posted by Lyanna View Post

      To give a real example - last month I had the opportunity to write a new "college entrance exam tips" article for the newspaper I used to work for. What would I need to do for this article?

      - do online research
      - call for appointments
      - do several interviews (admissions staff, the people who actually wrote the exam (if they agree to be interviewed but they never do lol), many other college staff, students, parents, and experts (people who do exam review for a living)
      - find out all of the info - costs, stats, interesting tidbits, history of the exam, basically like 100s of facts

      This takes about a week. You can't get that for cheap...
      TBH, I would happily paid much more for such masterpieces. However, I was not looking for Industry insights and it was merely an article on information about a technology aimed at beginners, very elaborate though.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lyanna
    That's why I normally go for a trial article. I order one article written, like 1000 words, then decide whether I want that writer to do more writing for me.

    The real problem here is the subjectiveness of "quality." He probably thinks the work he did is good enough.

    But to answer your question - is this what I can expect for 3 cents a word? My answer is yes. You can only get rehashed content for that amount of money.

    For real original content (in the real world, not in online SEO) I would have to do one or all of the following:

    - go to a real event (trade show, seminar, presentation, gallery opening, etc.)
    - get a first-hand experience of it (example: for a hotel review I would need to actually stay there or for a machine review I would need to go to their exhibit booth for a hands on demo)
    - set up and do at least one interview, probably more than one

    And, yes all of that is worth more than 3 cents a word.

    To give a real example - last month I had the opportunity to write a new "college entrance exam tips" article for the newspaper I used to work for. What would I need to do for this article?

    - do online research
    - call for appointments
    - do several interviews (admissions staff, the people who actually wrote the exam (if they agree to be interviewed but they never do lol), many other college staff, students, parents, and experts (people who do exam review for a living)
    - find out all of the info - costs, stats, interesting tidbits, history of the exam, basically like 100s of facts

    This takes about a week. You can't get that for cheap...
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  • Profile picture of the author Lyanna
    I just gave my honest opinion. For 3 or 5 cents a word most writers will simply rehash work, meaning they will take whatever is already on the internet and use that.

    I cannot judge whether it is close enough to be copyright infringement since I haven't read the stuff myself.

    Hmm, just my opinion obviously, but I am talking about two types of writing - real original work that you do yourself (as in my previous example) and "SEO" stuff.

    BTW, I never hire "SEO writers." I figure that is shorthand for "I will just put in your keywords somewhere because this is just for the search engines." You might have a different experience for me but what I have ordered from SEO writers has never been really good.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    LOl, you guys don't ask for a review copy? Are you high?




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    • Profile picture of the author ankitoberoi
      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      LOl, you guys don't ask for a review copy? Are you high?
      Review copies don't help all the time, Even a bad writer can push a 300 to 500 word decent review copy (and I yet to meet someone who'll do a large piece as review), while he'll completely suck when the length is 2000+ words.

      Larger articles require a structure and lot of research, even before the work begins.
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    • Profile picture of the author Lyanna
      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      LOl, you guys don't ask for a review copy? Are you high?
      Review copy? As in ask a writer to write a custom article for free? No, I never ask for a review copy. I pay for the first one. If I don't like it then I never order again. If I like it then I order more.

      I don't hire people who don't have samples if that is what you mean.

      I just would never ask people to work for free. What if I asked you to give me SEO work for free, would you do it? I don't see why writers would have to work for free when other people don't.

      Besides, all I need is *one* good writer. Once I find a good guy for my needs then I stick with him or her. I don't order bulk.

      @OP Maybe you just had a miscommunication. To me when you say "I want something original for 3 cents a word." That would just never fly. Original to me means something that is nowhere on the internet.
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  • Profile picture of the author Vanilla Gorilla
    Should have hired me. Kidding.....sorta.

    From my experience as a writer I've noticed a few things.

    1. A large majority of people expect Jules Verne quality for peanuts. Kudos on you TS for choosing a higher priced writer.

    2. Writers often times believe their abilities are much better than they are.

    3. Once you find a high quality writer, stick with them.

    4. Many "writers" only do it part time to supplement their income. Life often times gets in the way and will wreak havoc on deadlines and quality will suffer. Ensure you find a full time writer.

    5. Waiting 12 days for an edit is ridiculous.

    Best of luck TS. I hope this doesn't stop some of you from finding writers within the warrior's for hire section.
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