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Are Ezinearticle reviewers being overly strict now?

by LeapingHorse
27 replies
I'm curious about other members experience with ezine since their new policy changes. I have had a few articles rejected as they claimed they weren't original enough, however these articles were 100% unique (no spun material, written from scratch etc).

Although I had written articles in the same niche, these weren't just repeats of what I had said before. It presented the material in a unique way and from a new angle.

I'm waiting on their support to get back to me. Yesterday this happened twice and support then reviewed them and accepted them. However, it takes a long time now for the initial review and a long time after for support to respond (and I do pay the fee to be a premium member)

I imagine this is just a case of reviewers being overly strict and looking for articles to reject since the changes, but it is frustrating. I "get" what kind of material they are trying to avoid, and I'm confident that what I produce delivers quality content.

Curious what other people have experienced?
#ezinearticle #overly #reviewers #strict
  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    I've noticed nothing different, so far (and am not really expecting to, to be honest). I submit my work there in the evening (UK time) and it's invariably published when I wake up in the morning.
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    • Profile picture of the author bretski
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      I've noticed nothing different, so far (and am not really expecting to, to be honest). I submit my work there in the evening (UK time) and it's invariably published when I wake up in the morning.
      Yeah... well, you're freakin' Alexa for crissake! Nobody messes with the skepchick!

      In all seriousness though, I am sure that some of the reviewers are used to seeing articles by certain authors and some might get a bit of a "free pass". I mean, after reviewing enough articles I am sure you get to know who is a good writer and who is a hack... both ends of the spectrum stand out, I am sure.
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    • Profile picture of the author AzzamS
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      I've noticed nothing different, so far (and am not really expecting to, to be honest). I submit my work there in the evening (UK time) and it's invariably published when I wake up in the morning.
      Could previous credibility count for this?
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      • Profile picture of the author CraigRC
        Originally Posted by AzzamS View Post

        Could previous credibility count for this?
        That's a good quation actually. Not in the way you're thinking, but expanded.

        For example: EZA tracks submissions and stats by author at quite a detailed level.

        Which means they can easily see if Author A has a 40% rejection rate while Author B has a 10% rejection rate.

        It would be very easy from a software standpoint to flag Author A's submissions as they arrive for more detailed review, thereby making Author A have to jump through an additional hoop.

        With 300,000 authors, they don't "know" any of us. But big-brother sees all, and they certainly have an idea which Authors cause them more review expense.

        Interesting.
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Yes, interesting. I don't know ... but perhaps not a far-fetched idea at all? Actually sounds quite realistic, when you think about it?
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          • Profile picture of the author CraigRC
            Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

            Yes, interesting. I don't know ... but perhaps not a far-fetched idea at all? Actually sounds quite realistic, when you think about it?
            Seriously. Until he raised the point I hadn't thought about it, but certainly they can dial-down (automatically) the approval rates for accounts that are prolific ($2 article spammy) and reject them at an above-average rate...
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        • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
          As far as I'm concerned, EZA should dump about 90% of the crap they
          have on their site and start running their directory like the NY Times news
          room.

          Maybe we'll actually get some decent content to read instead of the dreck
          that's currently polluting the Internet.
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          • Profile picture of the author CraigRC
            Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

            As far as I'm concerned, EZA should dump about 90% of the crap they
            have on their site and start running their directory like the NY Times news
            room.

            Maybe we'll actually get some decent content to read instead of the dreck
            that's currently polluting the Internet.
            Agree.

            If someone throws "How To Cure The Gout" into a search engine it shouldn't come back with nonsense articles all over 2.0 sites that tell you nothing and serve only as poorly-written pre-sells for a click to whatever affiliate product the author is pushing.

            It's wrong on a lot of levels.

            And that's not even talking about the nonsense and highly-unethical "product review sites" that half of all IMers seem to be barfing up daily to drive sales.

            Tough spot, pushing hard work and strong quality to this industry never sells well.
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        • Profile picture of the author AzzamS
          Originally Posted by CraigRC View Post

          That's a good quation actually. Not in the way you're thinking, but expanded.

          For example: EZA tracks submissions and stats by author at quite a detailed level.

          Which means they can easily see if Author A has a 40% rejection rate while Author B has a 10% rejection rate.

          It would be very easy from a software standpoint to flag Author A's submissions as they arrive for more detailed review, thereby making Author A have to jump through an additional hoop.

          With 300,000 authors, they don't "know" any of us. But big-brother sees all, and they certainly have an idea which Authors cause them more review expense.

          Interesting.
          Even moreso now that they are in the s&*^t
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  • Profile picture of the author LeapingHorse
    Good to know, thanks for the reply.
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    I also have no problems with having work submitted.

    But I do hope that they are cracking down a bit. I went there to see if I could find a few articles to post on a blog of mine and couldn't believe the trash I was wading through. After seeing it I lost all care whether anyone ever knows me as an EA expert author or not. I could not find ONE article in the niche i was searching of a quality that I would post for my own readers.

    Makes me wish you were writing in my niche Alexa. I could use a few articles to post on that site - I don't have time or free funds to develop that damned thing right now. I'm actually considering just selling it, products and all.

    LOL - whine, bitch, moan. Sorry. Guess I need more coffee.
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  • Profile picture of the author seoguru13
    Before the policy changes, as a platinum author, the time used to be 12-24 hours for approval and now it seems to be in the 24-28 hours. However, I have been seeing better traffic and clicks since the changes. Maybe all the rubbish is not being accpeted, giving good content better results.
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    • Profile picture of the author bretski
      Guess I spoke too soon! I had two articles rejected after two years of never having an article rejected. Oh well! Funny thing is that those same articles are pulling traffic from google directly to my own site.
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  • Profile picture of the author CraigRC
    I expected an "over-reaction" by the reviewers as that's basic human psychology.

    They were told in lengthy meetings about the new standards, and they will enforce those standards at too high a level.

    This will be corrected once they then get the "ok guys, you're doing a great job but we feel you've been too restrictive" email, which should be arriving in their inboxes soon.

    Whenever you implement new guidelines for anything in life, to a group that is in a "police" role, those guidelines will typically be overly-enforced at the start. It doesn't matter if it's a lifeguard who's new on the job, or new policies for reviewing submitted articles from writers.

    My suggestion: Use this "break" to concentrate on submissions to SYNDICATION targets, who will appreciate your work, send you MUCH more targetted traffic, and won't have you worrying about every little google slap.

    This is your chance to finally ease out of your Article Directory co-dependency, and wake up to a new dawn beyond content farms full of garbage.

    Use it.
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    • Profile picture of the author x3xsolxdierx3x
      One thing I've noticed over years of conducting research into directories and Web 2.0 sites: a site incurs incredible short-term benefit from being lax on quality control standards.

      In all the case studies I've seen, they've realize quick ascension through the ranks to the top. They've enticed everyone and their brother to submit content, resulting in tons and tons of members. Good and bad quality articles--they accepted them all--and they served as massive canvases to throw up Google adsense/etc adverts.

      In the short-term, they made a killing in profit. It isn't until NOW that they are really beginning to care (yes, some did begin tryiing to do better a bit ago), but, its been mostly reactive...while Google has told them all along what they want.

      The truth is: creating a site that gains favor in Google isn't an easy task. Having a viable quality control/editorial process immediately ostracizes tons and tons of people that hope to exploit a platform or use it differently than how it was intended. They earn big time from the extra content in the short term...but, this is precisely why we are seeing what we are seeing now. Finally, they HAVE to pay attention because it's in their monetary best interest to do so.
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      • Profile picture of the author CraigRC
        Originally Posted by x3xsolxdierx3x View Post

        One thing I've noticed over years of conducting research into directories and Web 2.0 sites: a site incurs incredible short-term benefit from being lax on quality control standards.

        In all the case studies I've seen, they've realize quick ascension through the ranks to the top. They've enticed everyone and their brother to submit content, resulting in tons and tons of members. Good and bad quality articles--they accepted them all--and they served as massive canvases to throw up Google adsense/etc adverts.

        In the short-term, they made a killing in profit. It isn't until NOW that they are really beginning to care (yes, some did begin tryiing to do better a bit ago), but, its been mostly reactive...while Google has told them all along what they want.

        The truth is: creating a site that gains favor in Google isn't an easy task. Having a viable quality control/editorial process immediately ostracizes tons and tons of people that hope to exploit a platform or use it differently than how it was intended. They earn big time from the extra content in the short term...but, this is precisely why we are seeing what we are seeing now. Finally, they HAVE to pay attention because it's in their monetary best interest to do so.
        Good points.

        And with 75 people on the payroll, combined with a 40% drop in gross revenue, the thought of EZA having to dramatically reduce overhead, including layoffs, isn't out of the picture.

        I'm not aware of many business that could take a 40% hit to their overall gross earnings and survive intact, and that's a subject that hasn't been talked about with this recent slap much...yet.
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      • Profile picture of the author Doug Wakefield
        Was actually skimming over a few topic categories for niche ideas and even noticed some articles listed in the top results for a category were removed when I clicked on the article.

        This could have been the author changing links or the article, but would find that odd with it being freshly approved as the top in the list.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    I haven't seen any issues with my submissions yet. However, since their big announcement, I have been writing longer articles. Not sure if that has anything to do with it, but it is a variable that could have an effect.

    All the best,
    Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author Drizlek
    Recently I have had a significantly larger amount of articles rejected as well. With EZA I have noticed that it does not matter if you write them by hand, check them in copyscape and then put them up they will still on occasion tell you there are too close to another article.

    Obviously when you ask why you get some spam message from the company so it really isn't worth the time.

    The only thing I have seem make a difference is if you submit multiple articles all at the same time on the same subject. Probably what happens from there is that it's the same person reviewing all of your articles very close to each other if not one right after another. And as you all know, no matter who much you try and make it "unique", look at them and read them long enough and they are start blurring together till it looks and sounds all the same.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Worner
    Well hopefully these new stricter guidelines will result in getting rid of all the junk authors who think that spewing articles with 3-4 paragraphs that waffle around a keyword, makes quality content.

    I guess I can dream....

    Chris
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  • Profile picture of the author keitter
    I have had a few articles rejected but always got them resubmitted after following the advice given by Ezine, overall pleased by my Ezine experiences at present. Quality control important I believe and enhances user experience overall.
    Too strict ? I am not sure but it stops complacency.
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  • Profile picture of the author RightGood10
    It wouldn't surprise me if its an order from above (Google)

    I mean Google do rank Ezine articles particularly high in the serps as we all know and love, but they will only keep doing that if Ezine keeps being strict and /or stricter with its supervision and audits of submissions.
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    • Profile picture of the author CraigRC
      Originally Posted by RightGood10 View Post

      It wouldn't surprise me if its an order from above (Google)

      I mean Google do rank Ezine articles particularly high in the serps as we all know and love, but they will only keep doing that if Ezine keeps being strict and /or stricter with its supervision and audits of submissions.
      There is no relationship between EZA and Google. Dozens of other sites were also affected with these manually done slaps besides just EZA.

      Google serves Google, they could care less about any property they don't own.

      Bottom line is that it's likely time to move on to greener pastures if you're a writer who's worth a damn, article directories don't compare to the money that's available through freelance oppurtunities as well as syndication.
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      • Profile picture of the author x3xsolxdierx3x
        Originally Posted by CraigRC View Post

        There is no relationship between EZA and Google. Dozens of other sites were also affected with these manually done slaps besides just EZA.

        Google serves Google, they could care less about any property they don't own.

        Bottom line is that it's likely time to move on to greener pastures if you're a writer who's worth a damn, article directories don't compare to the money that's available through freelance oppurtunities as well as syndication.
        I've noticed this. I've heard some say that Google was somehow in 'cahoots' with certain sites that they 'favor'. I agree with you, Craig....I don't think Google cares. There will be an endless supply of sites trying to get to the top, and they'll be using Google ads. Google has some absolute geniuses working for them. I am a bit surprised that eHow remained untarnished though....that's really the only one I question.
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  • Profile picture of the author kvnkane
    no just write good quality and your article will be accepted
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