ezine articles finally dead

213 replies
can anyone here please really uncover the truth to me if ezine articles is still functioning like before or if it is not profitable for me tom post articles there anymore
#articles #dead #ezine #finally
  • Profile picture of the author Guru_Marketing
    I've noticed a huge decline in traffic since the last 12 months. Not sure about the future, but it tells us something at this point :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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    Originally Posted by dollar cashflow View Post

    can anyone here please really uncover the truth to me if ezine articles is still functioning like before
    Just as it was before, but with a lot less traffic.

    For article marketers, that's a good thing, not a bad thing, of course, because it more or less removes the risk of our potential customers finding those copies rather than the original copies of our articles previously published and indexed on our own sites, where we want our traffic.

    Originally Posted by dollar cashflow View Post

    or if it is not profitable for me tom post articles there anymore
    It depends why you're posting them there.

    If you're trying to use Ezine Articles for its own traffic (and/or its own backlinks) then it's certainly no use to you. But that has always been the case, you know? That isn't what article directories are for.

    This thread may help you a lot: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ries-work.html
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    • Profile picture of the author Black Hat Cat
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post


      If you're trying to use Ezine Articles for its own traffic (and/or its own backlinks) then it's certainly no use to you. But that has always been the case, you know?
      Well, actually, that hasn't always been the case, you know, lol.
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  • Profile picture of the author sunray
    I was actually planning to start a new thread about it. It seems ludicrous indeed to publish Ezine articles if Google now punishes for non-original content. And, if nobody in their right mind publishes them, there is no need to write them either. Just having them posted on Ezine is pointless, isn't it?
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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      Originally Posted by sunray View Post

      It seems ludicrous indeed to publish Ezine articles if Google now punishes for non-original content.
      It doesn't.

      Not only doesn't it, but it actually states expressly and openly that it doesn't (on Google's WebMaster Central Blog, among other places).

      Duplicate content and syndicated content are also two completely different things.

      Article Marketers - Lay the Duplicate Content Myth To Rest Once and For All | Internet Marketing and Publishing

      In any case, people who syndicate articles from directories (or by private arrangement) are not doing so for any "SEO benefit". They're doing so because they have a need for content, to share with their readers/subscribers.

      Originally Posted by sunray View Post

      And, if nobody in their right mind publishes them, there is no need to write them either.
      Perhaps I should say nothing, because a very large (and increasing) number of us here who make our livings through article syndication perhaps wouldn't mind everyone thinking this, and thinning out the competition a little, but it's actually not so at all.

      Originally Posted by sunray View Post

      Just having them posted on Ezine is pointless, isn't it?
      Yes, without syndication it would be totally pointless.

      Nobody wants to "gather" their traffic that way (i.e. send their own potential customer-traffic to EZA instead of to their own site - that would be absolutely loopy: we all lose most of that traffic, of course). And the backlinks you can forget. They're non-context-relevant, PR-0 backlinks: 100,000 of those "backlinks" and $3.50 will buy you a cappuccino at Starbucks.

      No, the value is all in the syndication from EZA. But that's real value. People are successfully building businesses that way.

      http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ries-work.html
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      • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post


        In any case, people who syndicate articles from directories (or by private arrangement) are not doing so for any "SEO benefit". They're doing so because they have a need for content, to share with their readers/subscribers.
        ^^This. This seems to be the point that all of Article Marketing's detractors miss. It's really got s**t to do with SEO rankings or what Google thinks at all, really. Google traffic is just an added benefit. The whole point of article marketing is targeted traffic directly from your site or another respected site in your niche.
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        • Profile picture of the author wiseworks
          I've stopped using EzineArticles for the moment because I noticed two things.

          1. Traffic to my sites went way down. Pretty much the same as hpgoodboy's chart.

          2. My many articles which once ranked first page of Google results aren't anywhere near that anymore.

          I'm using other resources to post my unique content. We'll see what happens in the future though.
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        • Profile picture of the author bretski
          Originally Posted by Joe128139 View Post

          ^^This. This seems to be the point that all of Article Marketing's detractors miss. It's really got s**t to do with SEO rankings or what Google thinks at all, really. Google traffic is just an added benefit. The whole point of article marketing is targeted traffic directly from your site or another respected site in your niche.
          And where does the targetted traffic come from, for the most part? When John Q public is searching for information on how to get rid of his foot rot, where does he go first?
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          • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
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            Originally Posted by bretski View Post

            And where does the targetted traffic come from, for the most part? When John Q public is searching for information on how to get rid of his foot rot, where does he go first?
            If this post is to be believed (and personally I do believe it), it's not from Google:

            Originally Posted by Robert Puddy View Post

            you do realise despite googles dominance among search engines, that search engine traffic only amounts to 3% of the total traffic sources online?
            I feel I should mention here that I am not pretending to be an expert or like my opinion is fact (as a matter of fact, that's probably my new signature right there). With that being said though, I still feel that what I said is correct. It isn't really an article marketers problem when considering where their syndication partners get the traffic from (hence, the screw what Google thinks comment). Is it not the site owners job to bring traffic to their site? An article marketers concern is writing excellent content that gets readers to click through to their own site, while ensuring that they keep growing their syndication network.

            That is what I view the essence of article marketing to be. If I'm totally off base here I have no problem with being corrected.
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            • Profile picture of the author bretski
              Ok... let me put this another way. When you are looking for a solution to a problem, where do you search for that solution?

              I just posted to a thread for someone that was having issues with tracking on his cloaked affiliate links. I told him that he should try using 301 redirects using an htaccess file or a php redirect. If he is clever he will put those two search terms into google or another search engine or search this site. Using google or a search engine is quicker than the search on this site so I would bet that he would use google.
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              • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
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                Originally Posted by bretski View Post

                Ok... let me put this another way. When you are looking for a solution to a problem, where do you search for that solution?

                I just posted to a thread for someone that was having issues with tracking on his cloaked affiliate links. I told him that he should try using 301 redirects using an htaccess file or a php redirect. If he is clever he will put those two search terms into google or another search engine or search this site. Using google or a search engine is quicker than the search on this site so I would bet that he would use google.
                I understand what you are saying...I just think that the point I'm thinking of and the way I'm wording it makes it seem like I am in disagreement :p.

                Yes, people looking to solve a problem will generally start out with Google. Hell, while at work at the smoothie shop today I used Google 3 times to try to fix a reciept printer, a computer monitor, and a fax machine. The store is a wreck.

                Article marketing as I understand it though is not looking to capture that traffic straight from Google to your site. If it happens, it's nice; but it's not the strategy. I am under the impression that article marketers want their traffic coming from reputable, in niche sites. Does it matter how the traffic got to the syndicated article? I believe not. Just that it got there and goes through to your site.

                So I get that, in one form or another, your traffic has a chance of funneling through a search engine. What I'm saying though is that pleasing Google is not the part that article marketers need to worry about. That just muddies the water. Article marketers should focus on providing the best content possible and getting it syndicated. The traffic comes by virtue of value to the reader, not taking any and all steps to rank in the search engines.
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            • Profile picture of the author bretski
              Originally Posted by Joe128139 View Post

              An article marketers concern is writing excellent content that gets readers to click through to their own site, while ensuring that they keep growing their syndication network.
              Cool... then make sure that your anchor text for your link is always "Click Here". If your goal is only to get people to click on your link and search engine traffic is nothing then that is the only anchor text you will ever need
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              • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
                Originally Posted by bretski View Post

                Cool... then make sure that your anchor text for your link is always "Click Here". If your goal is only to get people to click on your link and search engine traffic is nothing then that is the only anchor text you will ever need
                Bretski,

                I love you chap, you're a great person and I love reading your stuff. Don't ever think I'm against you and please don't take this as a rebuttal of what you've said. It's not.

                Ok... let me put this another way. When you are looking for a solution to a problem, where do you search for that solution?
                Some people go to sites they trust (not necessarily Google) like some people come here. I'm not in the IM niche but I am looking for the same sort of people in other niches outside it. They are already on a particular site, they trust it, they don't search Google, they ask their friends on their site of choice for advice.

                That's where I want my articles.

                I think the point he's making is that it's not so much about putting a link on an EZA or whatever article, it's about getting your article syndicated on a site/ezine/whatever that has a bunch of people, in large numbers preferably, that are extremely and intentionally, interested in what you have to say.

                When I pay for articles like this, that I want to have the effect I desire, clicking on my link to find out more information on their subject of exceptional interest, sometimes an obsession, becomes second nature.

                They come, because I've just stuck a bloody good article they want to read, right in front of them. That's targeted marketing.

                It works and it works well.
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                • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
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                  Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

                  Bretski,

                  I love you chap, you're a great person and I love reading your stuff. Don't ever think I'm against you and please don't take this as a rebuttal of what you've said. It's not.

                  Some people go to sites they trust (not necessarily Google) like some people come here. I'm not in the IM niche but I am looking for the same sort of people in other niches outside it. They are already on a particular site, they trust it, they don't search Google, they ask their friends on their site of choice for advice.

                  That's where I want my article.

                  I think the point he's making is that it's not so much about putting a link on an EZA or whatever article, it's about getting your article syndicated on a site/ezine/whatever that has a bunch of people, in large numbers preferably that are extremely and intentionally, interested in what you have to say.

                  When I pay for articles like this, that I want to have the effect I desire, clicking on my link to find out more information on their subject of exceptional interest, sometimes an obsession, becomes second nature.

                  They come, because I've just stuck a bloody good article they want to read, right in front of them. That's targeted marketing.

                  It works and it works well.
                  What he said about what I said. Thanks Richard!
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                  • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
                    Originally Posted by Joe128139 View Post

                    What he said about what I said. Thanks Richard!
                    I must add though, Bretski is a very smart chap and someone I personally have listened too and learned from.

                    I'm not discrediting him at all, just trying to play satans advocate.

                    I also think this is the nicest article marketing thread I've been in. :p
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                    • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
                      Banned
                      Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

                      I must add though, Bretski is a very smart chap and someone I personally have listened too and learned from.

                      I'm not discrediting him at all, just trying to play satans advocate.
                      I agree, I've read and enjoyed his stuff on here and wasn't trying to really make an argument against what he was saying lol. I think we were preaching on two slightly different things that were close enough to make it seem like an argument :rolleyes:.


                      Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

                      I also think this is the nicest article marketing thread I've been in. :p
                      Nice Article Marketing threads exist?

                      *Faints
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                      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
                        Banned
                        Originally Posted by Joe128139 View Post

                        Nice Article Marketing threads exist?

                        *Faints
                        It had to happen, eventually ... "law of averages" ...

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          • Profile picture of the author JB Jiles
            Banned
            Originally Posted by bretski View Post

            And where does the targetted traffic come from, for the most part? When John Q public is searching for information on how to get rid of his foot rot, where does he go first?
            Yeah, really. And what about that slovenly wench looking for a quick fix for crotch rot? What about her? I need answers.
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            • Profile picture of the author jordyhill
              I don't have much content on Ezine but I have had a couple of syndication's of articles.

              I prefer to use it as a kind of PLR resource, spin the content 50+% and upload the new content to doc sharing sites.

              Doc sharing is on the up and up
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              • Profile picture of the author kevinw1
                Originally Posted by jordyhill View Post

                I don't have much content on Ezine but I have had a couple of syndication's of articles.

                I prefer to use it as a kind of PLR resource, spin the content 50+% and upload the new content to doc sharing sites.

                Doc sharing is on the up and up
                EZA TOS says:
                "If you wish to publish/reprint any article from our site in your ezine, website, blog, forum, RSS feed or print publication, you must:

                Respect the copyrights of the authors by publishing the entire article as it is with no changes.

                Agree to include the FULL Resource box or SIG line at the end of the article.

                Agree not to change the title or content of the article in any way.

                Agree to make all links so that they are Active/Linkable with no syntax changes.

                Agree to include the article source credit below each article reprinted with the link active:

                Article Source: EzineArticles.com"

                So what you are doing is against their TOS, not to mention being plagiarism.
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                • Profile picture of the author jordyhill
                  Originally Posted by kevinw1 View Post

                  EZA TOS says:
                  "If you wish to publish/reprint any article from our site in your ezine, website, blog, forum, RSS feed or print publication, you must:

                  Respect the copyrights of the authors by publishing the entire article as it is with no changes.

                  Agree to include the FULL Resource box or SIG line at the end of the article.

                  Agree not to change the title or content of the article in any way.

                  Agree to make all links so that they are Active/Linkable with no syntax changes.

                  Agree to include the article source credit below each article reprinted with the link active:

                  Article Source: EzineArticles.com"

                  So what you are doing is against their TOS, not to mention being plagiarism.
                  F.Y.I. I always provide the original article source, and credit is given where credit is due.

                  And yeah, like no one looks up articles for content ideas, sure
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                  • Profile picture of the author TechEngine
                    I really don't understand the theory of original content and duplicate or cheap content. For example: If 10000 people have to write on a specific topic, lets say 'SEO services' how many of those 10000 articles would be original? And, how many times would you be able to write something different on one topic?

                    Apart from this, ezinearticles sucks nowadays, as it neither gives dofollow backlinks and nor it approves articles easily!
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                    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
                      Banned
                      Originally Posted by TechEngine View Post

                      I really don't understand the theory of original content and duplicate or cheap content.
                      Yes indeed - both your posts so far have clearly shown your lack of understanding.

                      Originally Posted by TechEngine View Post

                      Apart from this, ezinearticles sucks nowadays, as it neither gives dofollow backlinks
                      That's just plain wrong.

                      (Not that anyone in their right mind is attempting to use an article directory for the backlink, anyway: I actually wish their backlinks were no-follow).

                      Originally Posted by TechEngine View Post

                      and nor it approves articles easily!
                      That's an advantage, not a disadvantage.

                      You seem (here and in your other post on the subject) very confused about the purpose and function of article directories.

                      This little thread will enlighten you, if you have time to read it: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ries-work.html

                      Originally Posted by DavidTT View Post

                      if you're looking for another article directory that works well, you should look into streetarticles.com
                      I'm happy to hear that it's working nicely for you, David.

                      But - as discussed here at such length in so many other threads - it isn't an article directory.

                      Originally Posted by DavidTT View Post

                      seems to work better for me than ezine.
                      Then you've been trying to use EZA for the wrong purpose. People trying to use article directories to get traffic from them, and/or for the "value" of their backlinks, are destined for disappointment. That isn't how article directories work.

                      I think this little thread will enlighten you, also, if you have time to read it: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/488368-how-do-article-directories-work.html
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              • Profile picture of the author AlphaWarrior
                Originally Posted by jordyhill View Post

                I don't have much content on Ezine but I have had a couple of syndication's of articles.

                I prefer to use it as a kind of PLR resource, spin the content 50+% and upload the new content to doc sharing sites.

                Doc sharing is on the up and up
                That is stealing!
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                • Profile picture of the author jordyhill
                  Originally Posted by AlphaWarrior View Post

                  That is stealing!
                  You're all very funny aren't you? You have no idea what I do but the view must be great from your moral high ground. Stealing? Who are you to judge what I do? I do not have to defend myself here.
                  As I said, I include original article sources.
                  I'm sure you have never done a questionable action in your life:p
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                  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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                    Originally Posted by jordyhill View Post

                    You have no idea what I do

                    You told us what you do
                    , in post #19 above. You said you use Ezine Articles as a source of PLR and spin the content 50%.

                    That's contrary to EZA's terms of service (whether you include original article sources or not).

                    Never mind whether you think it's "stealing": just try that with one of my articles from EZA and your host will get a DMCA notice served against your site before you can say the word "stealing". And unless you're using bulletproof hosting in Nepal, or something, your site will be removed.

                    Do you honestly imagine that "including the original article sources" somehow makes that acceptable, or legal?! :confused:

                    Originally Posted by jordyhill View Post

                    the view must be great from your morale high ground.
                    To be fair to him, there's actually not too much "moral high ground" involved in knowing that that's wrong.

                    Anyone who reads the terms of service can see that.

                    Originally Posted by jordyhill View Post

                    I do not have to defend myself here.
                    No, you don't.

                    But I'm sure you're not so naive as to imagine that people will fail to comment, if only to inform others, that what you're doing isn't allowed, when you've admitted openly to using Ezine Articles as a source of PLR and taking articles and spinning them, contrary to the TOS. That's just factual, after all. You were the one who chose to publicise what you're doing.
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                  • Profile picture of the author AlphaWarrior
                    Originally Posted by jordyhill View Post

                    You're all very funny aren't you? You have no idea what I do but the view must be great from your moral high ground. Stealing? Who are you to judge what I do? I do not have to defend myself here.
                    As I said, I include original article sources.
                    I'm sure you have never done a questionable action in your life:p
                    It's OK for you to take a shot at me if it makes you feel better - I don't really care. When you take other peoples' articles and treat them like PLR and simply spin them, then that is stealing.

                    It is one thing to learn info from several articles by different authors and write your own article based on the info that you learned. But to take one article and treat it like PLR when it is not, that's stealing.

                    BTY, in your original post, you said "I prefer to use it as a kind of PLR resource, spin the content 50+% and upload the new content to doc sharing sites." You didn't say anything about giving credit until a later post. It seems to me that if you actually give credit, you would have mentioned that in your original post. Also, why would you post to doc sharing sites unless you were claiming credit?

                    If you are OK with what you do, so be it.
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                    • Profile picture of the author MikeTucker
                      Originally Posted by jordyhill View Post

                      I do not have to defend myself here.
                      Umm... Then why did you make the attempt? :rolleyes:




                      Originally Posted by AlphaWarrior View Post

                      But to take one article and treat it like PLR when it is not, that's stealing.

                      Originally Posted by MikeTucker View Post

                      I have seriously stopped caring. They are not making 1/10th the money I am anyway, so I kind-of feel sorry for them. If they want to be the cockroaches that eat scraps out of the trash, I say let them.

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        • Profile picture of the author bitriot
          Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

          ^^This. This seems to be the point that all of Article Marketing's detractors miss. It's really got s**t to do with SEO rankings or what Google thinks at all, really. Google traffic is just an added benefit. The whole point of article marketing is targeted traffic directly from your site or another respected site in your niche.
          Since I make adsense sites, I upload articles to directories almost exclusively for the backlinks you get when someone else re-publishes your article on their website.

          So I would say these directories certainly do have the potential for off site SEO benefit.
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          • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
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            Originally Posted by bitriot View Post

            So I would say these directories certainly do have the potential for off site SEO benefit.
            You are entirely right, just not from the directory directly lol.
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          • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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            Originally Posted by bitriot View Post

            So I would say these directories certainly do have the potential for off site SEO benefit.
            Definitely.

            Not so much for their own backlinks (which are only non-context-relevant, PR-0 backlinks) but the backlinks they can lead to, when people syndicate, can be really valuable, because those are - more or less by definition - relevant ones.

            It's kind of ironic ... in some niches, for low, low-to-medium and medium competition keywords, though it's far from the main objective, you can even end up with considerably better SEO, just as a side-benefit from syndication, than some people who use search engines as their primary source of traffic.

            I get about 75%/80% of my traffic directly from syndication, but the 20-ish% of my traffic that comes from Google is still more than I ever got in the early days when I tried to build my business through SEO.
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            • Profile picture of the author Chris Chicas
              Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

              the 20-ish% of my traffic that comes from Google is still more than I ever got in the early days when I tried to build my business through SEO.
              I am sorry but what you write Alexa, really really confuses me. Can you explain this part? Thanks.
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              • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
                Banned
                Originally Posted by Christiani View Post

                Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

                the 20-ish% of my traffic that comes from Google is still more than I ever got in the early days when I tried to build my business through SEO.
                I am sorry but what you write Alexa, really really confuses me. Can you explain this part? Thanks.
                I'm sorry ... and I can try, yes.

                When I first started off in internet marketing, I was doing "article directory marketing", imagining wrongly that it was "article marketing" - in other words, I was stupidly trying to use article directories for their own traffic and their own backlinks.

                This was a couple of years before the Panda updates (which devalued the article directories so much) started, but even then, it didn't work.

                Stupidly, I had a business model which depended mostly on attracting traffic from Google (as so many Warriors have found out, during 2011, you're only ever going to be one algorithm-change away from a potential disaster, if you have that).

                I made the beginner's mistake of trying to build my business with SEO/rankings.

                I was naive enough to believe most of the nonsense I read in forums about article marketing, about what "duplicate content" was, about all sorts of things like that, not realising that a lot of it started off in the Urban Myth School of internet marketing and was lovingly propagated by people with their own financial interests in promoting the kind of spinning and/or auto-submission software and services and "bots" which need people to believe all that cr@p, in order to make it look potentially advantageous to buy them. :p

                I was gullible enough to believe the occasional person saying that "syndicated content" is a form of "duplicate content".

                I was ignorant enough to believe that Google penalizes "duplicate content".

                I didn't check.

                I didn't find out - because I didn't think about it - that Google likes and welcomes syndicated content (and even holds conferences at which its panel of experts openly explain why and how), and that it's a totally different thing from duplicate content.

                I believed all the wrong people, in other words.

                I did just about everything wrong that you can do wrong.

                So I made no money at all, to speak of, for about 4 months.

                The reason for that was that although I knew how to write articles and I was getting enormous numbers of backlinks from all the misguided nonsense I did, imagining that it was "work", my articles weren't written for syndication, and my millions of backlinks weren't relevant ones to my own sites, so however many of them there were, they weren't worth anything realistic to my SEO efforts.

                I put a lot of effort into SEO, used a lot of software and bought a lot of services, in the early days, but it was all misdirected effort and it didn't help me at all. However good the keyword research I did/bought, I couldn't rank at the top of Google. And it was the same in every niche I tried.

                Without quite realising it, I was looking at it quantitatively, imagining that "numbers of backlinks" and "page ranks" were going to help me.

                I didn't understand that SEO (even then, long before the Panda updates started) was about quality and relevance.

                The good news is that this is all in huge contrast to the off-page SEO which you get done for you by others when you have your articles syndicated as widely as possible. That way, without thinking much about SEO yourself, without "doing SEO" much, you end up with backlinks from relevant pages. And that makes it a whole different world. Successful SEO becomes far easier, without spending much time or money on it, and you can easily end up with some really good rankings for keywords of low, low-to-medium and medium competitiveness.

                So, I switched from an "SEO-based approach" to an approach that "almost ignores SEO", and the results of my SEO went from very bad to very good. It sounds paradoxical, I know, but it isn't really. It's easily explained (says she, having read plenty of SEO textbooks now, which I never did when I started ) by the facts that (a) other people - by syndicating my articles - are basically doing my off-page SEO for me, and (b) the backlinks I'm getting now are relevant ones, and that's what matters.

                So, the result is that (in round numbers) although 80% of my traffic comes directly from the syndication of my articles, the other 20% that comes from search engines is still far, far more search engine traffic than I ever got before I understood how article syndication works, when I was doing article directory marketing instead of article marketing, and when my main sources of "information" were misguided and/or deceptive people in forums.

                Originally Posted by acidophulus View Post

                So after reading all this I am still confused. Is Ezine articles a waste of time to get traffic to my site and create backlinks.
                You can get traffic to your site from EZA, but it just isn't a good thing to do it that way, because you lose most of it. It's very fully explained in this post.

                EZA's own backlinks are almost worthless, but the future backlinks you can get on other people's relevant sites if your articles are syndicated from EZA can be very good indeed.

                Originally Posted by acidophulus View Post

                What can I do to get traffic to some niche sites I just finished that took over a year to finish because of technical challenges. Any help appreciated.
                Sorry, but this thread is about "Ezine Articles".

                There's a whole SEO section of the forum for questions like that.

                Originally Posted by acidophulus View Post

                Also I have been searching for a very unique article spinner
                A big strategic re-think will help you.

                So will these two threads ...

                http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...-articles.html

                http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...necessary.html
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                • Profile picture of the author Chris Chicas
                  Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

                  I'm sorry ... and I can try, yes.

                  Thank you for such an in depth response, much appreciated.
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      • Profile picture of the author Lee Murray
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        They're non-context-relevant, PR-0 backlinks: 100,000 of those "backlinks" and $3.50 will buy you a cappuccino at Starbucks.
        Even after taking the time to hit the "quote" button and perform just the right amount of surgery for this little nugget of text to show up exclusively, I still find myself laughing.
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    • Profile picture of the author nm5419
      Originally Posted by sunray View Post

      I was actually planning to start a new thread about it. It seems ludicrous indeed to publish Ezine articles if Google now punishes for non-original content. And, if nobody in their right mind publishes them, there is no need to write them either. Just having them posted on Ezine is pointless, isn't it?
      Sunray, of course it's ludicrous and pointless. It produces nothing. Write your content, stick it on your website, and let Google reward you for it. Anything else splits interest/clicks among a bunch of measly little websites that has no real motivation to help you.
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      • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
        Banned
        Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

        Sunray, of course it's ludicrous and pointless. It produces nothing. Write your content, stick it on your website, and let Google reward you for it. Anything else splits interest/clicks among a bunch of measly little websites that has no real motivation to help you.
        ^^Guys, can we please just let this one go, let's keep it nice!

        Er...

        Nice tie Bretski!

        Richard, those sunglasses are awesome.

        Alexa, cool emoticons!

        ...This thread will not be ruined darn it
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      • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
        Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

        Sunray, of course it's ludicrous and pointless. It produces nothing. Write your content, stick it on your website, and let Google reward you for it. Anything else splits interest/clicks among a bunch of measly little websites that has no real motivation to help you.
        Measly little websites?

        Damn good evidence you neither have an authority site, nor do you have any idea of what one is, or how to benefit from one.

        I love you Dave, you continue to help me with every day. :p
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  • Profile picture of the author lotsofsnow

    http://siteanalytics.compete.com/ezinearticles.com/

    Yes, their traffic is going down hill..
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by hpgoodboy View Post

      Yes, their traffic is going down hill..
      For sure - no question about that.

      For anyone trying to use them for their own traffic, that would be "bad news", but realistically that was never a sensible way to try to use an article directory anyway. Nor is it what they're there for, of course.

      To article marketers, using EZA for its intended purpose, the decline in traffic is an advantage, of course, for all the reasons explained and linked to above.
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    • Profile picture of the author anthony2
      Originally Posted by hpgoodboy View Post


      ezinearticles.com 4,988,702 UVs for November 2011 | Compete





      Yes, their traffic is going down hill..

      Wow....Thats a huge drop off for Ezine Articles.

      Thanks for posting the image.
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      • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
        Banned
        Originally Posted by anthony2 View Post

        Wow....Thats a huge drop off for Ezine Articles.

        Thanks for posting the image.
        That traffic didn't just disappear though, it went somewhere else: to article writers own sites.
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        • Profile picture of the author myob
          Indeed; the image is meaningless to me and perhaps other article syndicators as well. For at least the past several years, my articles have been passively syndicated through EZA at a rather consistent rate of 3-5 new publishers per week. And the really big bucks can be made through self-syndication, as Alexa and Yoan suggested.
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  • Profile picture of the author webapex
    It sure looks like you don't need to flip a a coin to deride whether your own property or an article directory should be the oroginal publisher of your work. Ill give my own sites the first bite of the apple.

    Looking back for reports on the Panda impact on EzineArticles, the second round of setbacks in April were the results of Panda being expanded to include Europe traffic:
    SearchMetrics, looking at UK search data has EzineArticles with a drop in search visibility of as much as 93.69%. Sistrix, looking at Europe, has the site as its number 2 loser with a change of -78%.

    Ezinearticles strategic response to Panda May 2011


    Some interesting aggregated Panda articles
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  • Profile picture of the author WebMarketingDiva
    I think Alexa has it right - the value of EZA is in the syndication of your article - and use the bio section for your backlink.

    People tend to submit articles to EZA that are relevant to their specific site. If you're in an obscure niche, your article probably won't be syndicated by many people. BUT if you submit a decent article on an evergreen topic such as "weightloss", and put your backlink to your obscure niche in the bio... " Author x writes on a variety of topics on the internet. Visit her latest site at yoursite.com." If it's a good article, it will get syndicated on many sites, and give you many more backlinks - which is good for SEO.

    I think this is the best way to use EZA.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mary Wilhite
      Originally Posted by WebMarketingDiva View Post

      I think Alexa has it right - the value of EZA is in the syndication of your article - and use the bio section for your backlink.

      People tend to submit articles to EZA that are relevant to their specific site. If you're in an obscure niche, your article probably won't be syndicated by many people. BUT if you submit a decent article on an evergreen topic such as "weightloss", and put your backlink to your obscure niche in the bio... " Author x writes on a variety of topics on the internet. Visit her latest site at yoursite.com." If it's a good article, it will get syndicated on many sites, and give you many more backlinks - which is good for SEO.

      I think this is the best way to use EZA.
      I think this is a brilliant strategy.
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      • Profile picture of the author dshipman
        Well, this is interesting. I was planning on posting some articles in a few days. I had read about article marketing declining, but hadn't really done a lot of research about it.

        By the way, your thread title made me think that Ezinearticles had shut down. I almost had mini heart attack.
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  • Profile picture of the author samjaynz
    Ezinearticles isn't "dead" per se; the website is still live and you can still publish articles and read others' works.

    HOWEVER, it is no longer the easy source of page one rankings and massive traffic that it once was.

    You are much better served registering a simple blog or creating a website and publishing your articles there first, then getting them syndicated to Ezinearticles etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author Guru_Marketing
      Originally Posted by samjaynz View Post

      Ezinearticles isn't "dead" per se; the website is still live and you can still publish articles and read others' works.

      HOWEVER, it is no longer the easy source of page one rankings and massive traffic that it once was.

      You are much better served registering a simple blog or creating a website and publishing your articles there first, then getting them syndicated to Ezinearticles etc.
      I agree!
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Wilson
    People abused it and probably that the cause it has a "bad reputation" in Google's eyes. I feel sorry for those who submitted 1000+ articles on there.

    I have like 100 articles submitted and they have literally stopped producing direct traffic months ago.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Daniel Wilson View Post

      I feel sorry for those who submitted 1000+ articles on there.
      You're generous and sensitive to a fault, but I promise you have no need at all to feel sorry for me.

      I have 1,600+ articles on EZA, submitted over the last 3 years, and I make a fantastic living from article marketing.

      Originally Posted by Daniel Wilson View Post

      I have like 100 articles submitted and they have literally stopped producing direct traffic months ago.
      I'd be horrified to get direct traffic from Ezine Articles. That would be very bad news for me indeed.

      That's not what article directories are there for.


      Let's assume/guess/pretend that your average click-through rate from EZA is 25%, ok? On that basis, here are two scenarios to compare ...

      Scenario A: 100 people put into Google a keyword from one of your articles, and they find listed in the SERP's an article of yours in EZA. They click on the link in Google's SERP's and that takes them to your article inside EZA. Whatever happens to them from there (i.e. whether they read all or some or none of your article, whether they click on an EZA AdSense advertisement, whether they get distracted by something else there, whether they read someone else's articles too, whatever ...) we know that on average 25% of them click your resource-box link and arrive at your website, and that the other 75% don't. You lost the other 75%. Only 25 people out of the original 100 ever arrived at your website.

      Scenario B: 100 people put into Google a keyword from one of your articles, and they find listed in the SERP's an article of yours on your own site. They click on the link in Google's SERP's and that takes them to your website. 100 people arrived at your website.

      Both scenarios start off the same way, with 100 potential customers, but scenario B gives you four times as much traffic as scenario A.

      The reality is that, by going about it the right way, you actually get to choose which copy they find in Google's SERP's: the one that brings you 100% of the traffic or the one that brings you only 25% of the traffic.

      Not a very difficult decision, is it?

      The key concept is that customers search in Google (and/or in other search engines) and publishers search in EZA. The purpose of EZA is to offer your article to publishers, not to customers. As you've seen above, you'd lose three quarters of the customers, that way. Don't believe most of what you read on this subject: it's very easy to imagine that you're "getting traffic from an article directory" whereas what you're really doing is unnecessarily sending your traffic to an article directory and losing most of it.

      It doesn't really matter what your click-through rate from EZA is, if you're writing for syndication, because your article in EZA (or in any other directory, but EZA's the one the publishers go to, so it's the best one to use) is there only to get republished. Sure, it matters what the CTR is from the sites to which it gets republished, because those are the ones with your targeted traffic, relevant to your niche (but unfortunately that isn't normally measured). The article directory itself doesn't have your targeted customer-traffic (not if you know what you're doing, anyway!).

      Some of my articles, deposited in EZA after I'd finished publishing them myself, have been re-published in really large numbers of other places. Places that have targeted traffic (otherwise they wouldn't want to re-publish it, would they?) which comes to my website, opts in to my list, and buys from me.

      Trying to attract customers from/with article directories is a really fundamental misunderstanding about article marketing.
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      • Profile picture of the author Marty S
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Hi Marty,

          Originally Posted by Marty S View Post

          More often than not when my article is republished, it is outright stolen with no backlink credit whatsoever.
          That's because there are autoblog thieves around these days, and more idiots as well, I think. Unfortunately the entry barriers in internet marketing are set so low that anyone can "try it out". They nearly all fail, of course, but that doesn't really diminish their annoyance-value, because their places are only taken by a whole new "generation" of people trying it out without knowing what they're doing at all. I think these people must all take a quick course at the Urban Myth School of internet marketing, because their careers certainly don't last long, albeit that at any given moment, there are apparently quite large numbers of them in circulation! :p

          I keep a standard, pre-written, "fill-in-the-blanks" DMCA notice and just send it out when this happens. It's "often", as you say, but very quickly and easily remedied, and with a remedy that works at least 99% of the time.

          Originally Posted by Marty S View Post

          that, combined with a drastic drop in traffic from EZA itself convinced me to concentrate more on videos and video marketing.
          The big drop in traffic from EZA itself (which we've all noticed) is a good thing, not a bad thing. Nobody wants to be getting their potential customer traffic through an article directory, for all the reasons explained in posts #2 and #6 of this thread: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ries-work.html

          But you're obviously doing well in your new incarnation as "video maven", anyway.

          Originally Posted by Marty S View Post

          My experience has been they are faling off the map at least partly because nobody likes looking at adwords clusters the likes of theirs.
          My guess is totally different from yours, there. I think their traffic's about 50% down, still, following the Panda updates, just because their rankings in Google have been well and truly hammered. A great blow to them, of course, but to article marketers a huge advantage, as we can now (even when we have new-ish sites) submit copies of all our articles to EZA without any fear of them outranking our own copies.

          Originally Posted by Marty S View Post

          I don't know how you are getting such outstanding article syndication from that site right now, but maybe you can please enlighten us on that.
          I'm not doing anything different from what I've done before, Marty - I'm just "writing for syndication" as described here: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post3188316

          And here: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5035794

          But getting syndication from EZA is hardly the mainstay of my business at all, needless to say. It's only a "little afterthought" for me. EZA is (literally) the very last place I dump a copy of each of my articles, just to see if I get any additional syndication from there to other, new places/ezines I didn't know about. I often do, to be honest. But of course, as one builds up a syndication network for one's articles, one gradually becomes less and less dependent on passive syndication taking place, and the proportion of "eligible people" "in the niche" whom one still has realistic expectations of finding through EZA is bound to reduce somewhat, isn't it?

          One would also - by definition - be doing something pretty wrong if there weren't "fewer people left" to syndicate one's articles from EZA as time goes by. Each time an article's taken and legitimately re-published, that represents yet another person who'll never need to go to EZA for your work again in future, because you've added them to your syndication network and built a relationship with them.
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    • Profile picture of the author Guru_Marketing
      Originally Posted by Daniel Wilson View Post

      People abused it and probably that the cause it has a "bad reputation" in Google's eyes. I feel sorry for those who submitted 1000+ articles on there.

      I have like 100 articles submitted and they have literally stopped producing direct traffic months ago.
      I do not know anything about abusing Ezine Articles, but sometimes I feel like there's an Ezine Police disapproving and cutting you off for little mistakes, especially grammar.

      I believe if the message is sent across well, grammar would not matter as much (but at least proper spelling is needed). Most successful marketers make a lot of grammatical mistakes, but let's face it, we do not write on Ezine just to get an "A."

      The college education conditioning is brought to Ezine as a policy which is why, in my opinion, their popularity decreased.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      I think more than one person here needs to get a grip. EZA has its terms printed on its site. Arguing "what EZA says" isn't productive. Go to EZA - read the terms - interpret it for yourself.

      Being rude or arrogant isn't productive for anyone - it creates a perception of who "you" are that may not be correct but may be believed. Not all EZA experiences are the same - nor should they be. One person's "results" may be another's "myth" and that's not odd, either.

      kay
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  • Profile picture of the author dmason
    If I understand correctly...ezine is not the eazy trip that it once was, Google has slapped her hard, and most marketers are avoiding her as a result....pretty close, right??

    We still can get a pretty solid backlink from a 200 word article that wouldn't take more than 30 mins for most of us. right ??

    So. EZA still serves a purpose...right???
    Thanks
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    • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
      Banned
      Originally Posted by dmason View Post

      We still can get a pretty solid backlink from a 200 word article that wouldn't take more than 30 mins for most of us. right ??

      So. EZA still serves a purpose...right???
      Thanks
      From what I understand, the backlinks are worthless. Who writes 200 word articles? Oh, and EZA serves a purpose as a place to get your articles syndicated (you know, it's original intent).
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by dmason View Post

      If I understand correctly...ezine is not the eazy trip that it once was, Google has slapped her hard, and most marketers are avoiding her as a result....pretty close, right??
      Right.

      Because "most marketers" were trying to use EZA for its own traffic and/or its own backlinks, and that just isn't a viable use of an article directory.

      Hence all the forum threads started off by people announcing "Article Marketing Is Dead", who don't actually understand what article marketing is.

      For the minority using EZA for its intended purpose, things are actually flourishing and improving.

      Originally Posted by dmason View Post

      We still can get a pretty solid backlink from a 200 word article that wouldn't take more than 30 mins for most of us. right ??
      Wrong.

      All you can get there (just as in any other article directory) is a non-context-relevant, PR-0 backlink of almost no value at all. As the SEO textbook-writers were saying even before the Panda updates devalued article directories so much, 100,000 of those backlinks and $3.50 would get you a cappuccino at Starbucks. :rolleyes:

      Originally Posted by dmason View Post

      So. EZA still serves a purpose...right???
      Totally right.

      Just not the one you're thinking of.

      It still serves the exact purpose it always served (which had nothing to do with backlinks at all), but it now serves it better and more safely and more easily than ever. http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ries-work.html

      (By the way, EZA doesn't accept 200-word articles, anyway).
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      • Profile picture of the author Kurt
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post


        Wrong.

        All you can get there (just as in any other article directory) is a non-context-relevant, PR-0 backlink of almost no value at all. As the SEO textbook-writers were saying even before the Panda updates devalued article directories so much, 100,000 of those backlinks and $3.50 would get you a cappuccino at Starbucks. :rolleyes:
        Wrong.

        SEO for Dummies, an SEO "text book" that Alexa has recommended in the past, suggests that a good proportion of low quality links to high quality links is best. And this is what I've also suggested for many years.

        IMO, the best ratio is about 40-50 low value links for every one high quality link. It's unnatural for a site to only have a few good links, as there are fewer high PR sites than there are lower PR sites. (I use PR as a general guide to authority). While SEO for Dummies didn't give an exact proportion, they did suggest getting low value links as part of the mix.

        Also, there's much more to link benefits than just what's on the page, such as link velocity (and link decay), as well as age of the links. In theory, a link on a low value page that's been around for 10 years without being removed can potentially have the same/more value than a new link on a higher quality/more relevant page.

        So, even low quality links can be beneficial to link velocity, link variety and IP variety. And, there's more to "contextual" than Alexa tells us...SEO for Dummies explains "context" quite well, and "context" isn't site-wide and a good bit of "context" is taken from the page the link is on.

        And with the recent Google "Freshness" update, which affects something like 35% of all searches, something like link velocity may be more important than ever. It may be good to note that Freshness affects 35% of all queries, while Panda only affected something like 11%.
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        • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
          Originally Posted by Kurt View Post


          And with the recent Google "Freshness" update, which affects something like 35% of all searches, something like link velocity may be more important than ever. It may be good to note that Freshness affects 35% of all queries, while Panda only affected something like 11%.
          Hi Kurt,

          I'm going to bed chap.

          You said the other day that even if Google starts pissing on syndicated content, it would still be a viable method.

          But I agree 100% that syndication and SEO are "almost" always two different subjects. Both are viable marketing methods. Even if/when Google does deindex doop pages, syndication will still be viable. It just may not have a secondary benefit of passing link juice.
          Can you explain that to "nm5419" for me, he's really finding it tough. I have explained it to him multiple times, with examples and even offered to get on Skype to explain it better.

          Do me a favour and tell him what you mean't by the above quote. He finds it very hard to remove SEO and rankings from what I'm saying. He seems to only see it from that angle which we both agree, are two different subjects.

          I'm not knocking SEO at all, I'm just against Dave telling me I'm spreading misinformation. I think our signatures tell a lot about our aims here.

          Nighty nights all.
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          • Profile picture of the author Kurt
            Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

            Hi Kurt,

            I'm going to bed chap.

            You said the other day that even if Google starts pissing on syndicated content, it would still be a viable method.
            Hey Richard,

            Yes I did. However, that's totally irrelevant to my point, which is that Alexa's info concerning SEO is inaccuate. She is also misstating what SEO for Dummies says.

            This isn't opinion, it's factual. I can give you a quote and a page, if you don't believe me and want me to spend 10-15 minutes looking it up? At the very least, I should get the same benefit of the doubt as you give Alexa over this point, correct?

            Also, Google just had a major update called "Freshness". Like I said above, low value links may play a part in link velocity, and link velocity may play a part in scoring high for "Freshness". Again, my comments were about Alexa' points about LINK VALUE, not syndication per say.

            And...PPC is a viable marketing method, as are JVs, press releases and publicity, buying ads...And yes, even SEO is a viable marketing method, even if Google changes thier algo every day (which they do). No matter who loses their rankings, there will be another Top 10 to take their place...There will ALWAYS be a Top 10.
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            • Profile picture of the author Black Hat Cat
              Banned
              Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

              However, that's totally irrelevant to my point, which is that Alexa's info concerning SEO is inaccuate.
              It usually is....and it's typically not limited to seo.
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    • Profile picture of the author kevkos30
      Originally Posted by dmason View Post

      If I understand correctly...ezine is not the eazy trip that it once was, Google has slapped her hard, and most marketers are avoiding her as a result....pretty close, right??

      We still can get a pretty solid backlink from a 200 word article that wouldn't take more than 30 mins for most of us. right ??

      So. EZA still serves a purpose...right???
      Thanks
      This is exactly the way I see it.

      EZA started cracking down on articles they would accept. Hence, marketers started using them less and less, resulting in less traffic. I have submitted quality articles that get rejected, then I have to figure out WHY it was rejected. Sometimes they will tell you and it's for some goofy rule of theirs.

      I much prefer goarticles.com. They accept whatever I post, and usually I see my articles rank pretty quickly. EZA was becoming a waste of my time to deal with anyway, so I'm not that upset about this new development.
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      • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
        Banned
        Originally Posted by kevkos30 View Post

        This is exactly the way I see it.

        EZA started cracking down on articles they would accept. Hence, marketers started using them less and less, resulting in less traffic. I have submitted quality articles that get rejected, then I have to figure out WHY it was rejected. Sometimes they will tell you and it's for some goofy rule of theirs.

        I much prefer goarticles.com. They accept whatever I post, and usually I see my articles rank pretty quickly. EZA was becoming a waste of my time to deal with anyway, so I'm not that upset about this new development.
        How is EZA cracking down a bad thing? The marketers using them less and less were the marketers that posted spun garbage thrown together in ten minutes.

        I'd much prefer a site with higher standards over a site that takes anything and everything submitted.
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        • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
          Originally Posted by Joe128139 View Post

          It isn't really an article marketers problem when considering where their syndication partners get the traffic from (hence, the screw what Google thinks comment). Is it not the site owners job to bring traffic to their site? An article marketers concern is writing excellent content that gets readers to click through to their own site, while ensuring that they keep growing their syndication network.

          That is what I view the essence of article marketing to be. If I'm totally off base here I have no problem with being corrected.
          Joe, you are not totally off base, but you are leaning the wrong way if there is a pickoff throw...

          One of the reasons publishers, or at least one publisher we both know, chooses articles to syndicate is that they provide excellent information that enhances the value of the publisher's site. Part of the value lies in drawing traffic, whether from search engines or other content sites.

          So, while it is indeed the site owner's job to bring traffic to their site, your syndicated article is part of them doing their job. Write too many articles totally from a 'screw what Google thinks' attitude, and your syndication percentage will likely drop. Long-term syndication is a win-win partnership between the author and publisher.

          You still have to show some consideration for what Google and other SEs want as far as article structure and content go. You just aren't playing the backlinks game directly.
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          • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
            Banned
            Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

            Joe, you are not totally off base, but you are leaning the wrong way if there is a pickoff throw...

            One of the reasons publishers, or at least one publisher we both know, chooses articles to syndicate is that they provide excellent information that enhances the value of the publisher's site. Part of the value lies in drawing traffic, whether from search engines or other content sites.

            So, while it is indeed the site owner's job to bring traffic to their site, your syndicated article is part of them doing their job. Write too many articles totally from a 'screw what Google thinks' attitude, and your syndication percentage will likely drop. Long-term syndication is a win-win partnership between the author and publisher.

            You still have to show some consideration for what Google and other SEs want as far as article structure and content go. You just aren't playing the backlinks game directly.
            I get what you are saying. The way that I have been thinking of it is "just write the best damn article possible, get it syndicated; and the rest will work itself out".

            Looks like I'll have to work a little harder against looking at things in only black/white.
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  • Profile picture of the author CDawson
    Banned
    Honestly, I haven't seen too much of a different since the update. I have had articles that I thought would get a ton of views not get any views at all. I have also seen articles that got a bunch traffic when I didn't expect it at all.
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  • Profile picture of the author Maraun
    Article marketing is similar to Guest Blogging. But with guest blogging you have to push your article to the target sites whereas with article marketing the bloggers pull the content they like from article directories. So article marketing is a passive and indirect form of guest blogging. For that to work the way it's intended you shouldn't spin your articles though, instead deliver the highest possible article quality so that it gets picked up by more bloggers.
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    • Profile picture of the author Keepinitreal
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      lol my thoughts exactly - "oh look another thread created with the same heading as last week's"
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      • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
        Look, I'm going to really simplify this whole messy subject for everybody.

        Article Marketing 101:

        1. You put your articles on YOUR site to get the bulk of targeted traffic to go
        DIRECTLY to YOUR site.

        2. You submit articles to EZA or any article directory for that matter to get
        OTHER sites looking for content for THEIR site to syndicate that article for you
        in order to get that article read by those who WOULDN'T find your site (maybe
        their regular readers) and thus get even MORE traffic to your site through
        syndication.

        If you look up my name at Google, you will find my articles all over the freakin
        place. And trust me, I didn't personally put them on all those sites. They got
        their from THOSE site owners putting them there themselves because they
        neither have the time nor desire to write articles themselves.

        That is how directory submission and syndication work.

        End of Article Marketing 101 lecture.

        Now I have to go prepare for my Friday Night Magic Tournament.

        I'm playing Township Tokens tonight...Wish me luck.
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

          Now I have to go prepare for my Friday Night Magic Tournament.
          They don't even stop for Christmas shopping?

          Good luck! ...
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        • Profile picture of the author Chris Chicas
          Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post


          Now I have to go prepare for my Friday Night Magic Tournament.

          I'm playing Township Tokens tonight...Wish me luck.

          Thanks for all the great info. My step dad never misses a Magic game on Fridays. He wants to get into marketing Magic cards.. I'm opting for Warcraft instead.
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  • Profile picture of the author nicheblogger75
    75% traffic decline at least in the last 3 months. I have almost 1000 articles live there that used to bring me 4000-5000 visitors easily every month. Last month = 800 visitors. After the last Google update, I had several articles go from page 1 to page 10 and beyond. I wouldn't say it's dead, but it's experiencing a decline, same as all the major directories. Same thing happened to ArticlesBase, GoArticles, Searchwarp, Buzzle, etc...

    That's not to say Google couldn't do some other kind of update and it will come right back like before...
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    • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
      Banned
      Originally Posted by nicheblogger75 View Post

      75% traffic decline at least in the last 3 months. I have almost 1000 articles live there that used to bring me 4000-5000 visitors easily every month. Last month = 800 visitors. After the last Google update, I had several articles go from page 1 to page 10 and beyond. I wouldn't say it's dead, but it's experiencing a decline, same as all the major directories. Same thing happened to ArticlesBase, GoArticles, Searchwarp, Buzzle, etc...

      That's not to say Google couldn't do some other kind of update and it will come right back like before...
      Is that traffic lost from the directory itself or traffic lost from sites that the articles were syndicated on. If you are talking traffic from EZA directly, it was to be expected.
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  • Profile picture of the author chanetsa
    I just had a quick look at the alexa data for these article directories:
    EzineArticles.com
    GoArticles.com
    ArticleDashboard.com
    SearchWarp.com
    ArticlesBase.com

    It would seem that they have all suffered a significant 3 month decline in traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author Reginald432
    Banned
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author bretski
      Originally Posted by Reginald432 View Post

      I was actually planning to start a new thread about it. It seems ludicrous indeed to publish Ezine articles if Google now punishes for non-original content. And, if nobody in their right mind publishes them, there is no need to write them either. Just having them posted on Ezine is pointless, isn't it?

      I actually have blogs that I have swiped articles from EZA and GA from with the author's resource box and the attribute intact and actually found that it helped my site. There is actually a belief that linking OUT from your site helps SEO wise. Try it. You'll like it!

      If you are talking about "duplicate content" you are mistaken. Whole other ball of wax and I say that we don't ruin this thread that has turned into a big ole love fest by talking about duplicate content, what it is and what it's not.

      Thanks all for the kind words. I'm not really anything special. I learned things the hard way. I'm not even close to being done yet and I learn more from Richard and Lexy than anyone else here.

      I guess my point was that I do focus on search engine rankings. That has been my focus over the past few months but like I said, I am still learning. I just know that my income goes way up when a site hits #1 for a keyword. I don't even have to check it to know it. I know because my income multiplies.

      I do understand what you guys do but I must admit that I am chicken****. Yeap... too chicken**** to contact someone and ask them to publish my stuff. Call it laziness or fear of rejection or what have you. My stuff is pretty good, it ranks well and people like it but I like hiding behind a pen name way too much.
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  • Profile picture of the author JeanneLynn
    I remember when I used to search for things and there would always be ezine articles on the front page. Now I can't remember the last time an ezine article turned up in any search results.
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  • Profile picture of the author celente
    yes can someone please post....the DEATH OF.... The death of posts

    As an author with over 1300+ articles on EA I can say we are see huge drop offs now.

    But the thing is we have incorporated more strategies to do with guest articles / blogging and also article syndication and our traffic has increased. YES! while others are wondering what to do and scratch there head we are seeing more traffic and sales in this stinky economy. The rule is, work smarter not harder...and that is what guest blogging and syndication is. Working smarter and leveraging off others hard work.

    There are still people posting to 101 article directories and not seeing results...so they continue to do this, and expect to see more results.....

    errr wasnt it Einstein that once said, "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expect a different results"

    That is why people who are doing article marketing and syndication are getting huge results. We have seen this, and almost no one is doing it.

    But then again, article marketing is just one way to get traffic. We use lots of straegies....More then one way to skin a cat. But the article market game is changing, to penalize those idiot spinners and jibberish articles out there.

    The sad thing is you still see people offering spinning services in here **shudders** people are still not listening to what GOOGLE wants and CRAVES for. If you listen, she will stoke your back and reward you. high quality original content. After all these death or article marketing posts, people still do not seem to get it.

    Maybe I am just waisting my breath in here I dunno. So what is the latest awesome spinning tool. LOL.
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  • Profile picture of the author DavidTT
    personally, i was getting really good results with ezine before the panda update. Kinda sux.

    although if you're looking for another article directory that works well, you should look into streetarticles.com

    seems to work better for me than ezine.
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by dollar cashflow View Post

    profitable for me tom post
    CALCULATE YOUR OWN DAMN PROFITS

    Seriously, there is no damn way for us to know what YOUR return on investment will be from ANYTHING. Try it and run the numbers.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      By the way, as you can see from posts like this, Google is going to some lengths, at the moment, to confirm to people that syndicated content is NOT a form of duplicate content (as one or two people have been known to allege for reasons of their own).
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  • Profile picture of the author Dann Vicker
    The fact still remains that the effectiveness of ezinearticles has waned down progressively since the last google update.

    Sure some people are still making bank with the site, but I've taken my attention elsewhere. The effort is simply not worth it anymore for me.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Dann Vicker View Post

      The fact still remains that the effectiveness of ezinearticles has waned down progressively since the last google update.
      That's far from a "fact": it's effectiveness to many of us has actually increased since the Panda updates (which is why there are so many threads here on this subject full of posts from article marketers explaining what a favor Google has done us all: we can now submit our articles to EZA for publishers to find without the risk that our potential customers might find those copies - rather than the ones originally published and indexed on our own sites - listed in Google's SERP's. Which is a huge plus, of course).

      But if you're trying to use EZA for its own traffic, then yes: it's effectiveness to you will certainly be worse.

      I don't mean it impolitely, but that decline in effectiveness to you exemplifies what can happen when you try to use something for a purpose other than the one it's there for.

      http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ries-work.html
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  • Profile picture of the author nm5419
    Maybe Alexa could teach EzineArticles what its site is really for since the company uses traffic as one of its main "selling" points. In fact, the site claims writers can get "Massive Exposure To The Hundreds of Thousands of Unique Visitors That Come To EzineArticles.com Daily" and "Surges in Traffic to Your Website Like No Other Site Can Deliver". Oh, and "Continual Traffic To Your Website For Many Years To Follow For Free" It just goes on and on and on: Benefits of Submitting Quality, Original Articles to EzineArticles.com

    It's all kind of ironic, nevertheless, since publishers aren't allowed to reprint more than 25 ezine articles a year. Even more ironic that sites wanting to use EA's content can't conform to Google's Webmasters guidelines and/or Adsense policies. According to EA's TOS, members agree to not include the rel=nofollow tag in their HREF statements.

    Yeah. Real effective.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

      It's all kind of ironic, nevertheless, since publishers aren't allowed to reprint more than 25 ezine articles a year.
      I see the accuracy of your "information" is up to its customary standard, here.

      And it took all of about 5 seconds to check, and paste in these words: "you may not reprint more than 250 articles per year".

      It's on this page: Terms of Service For Publishers Who Wish To Reprint Any Content From EzineArticles.com

      Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

      Yeah. Real effective.
      However much it pains you - for reasons best known to yourself - to acknowledge it, large and increasing numbers of us, here, as you can see in so many other threads, are very successfully building our businesses and earning our livings incorporating that as part of our syndication methods. Now that one really is a "fact".

      You must have been very interested in the reports of Google's recent conference, though, in which they went to some lengths to clarify that Google likes syndicated content, and that syndicated content isn't a form of duplicate content, because they're two completely different things?

      As explained here: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5273419

      And commented on here: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5286678
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      • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        "you may not reprint more than 250 articles per year".
        Would it really matter if it were only 25 anyways? That's why you contact them personally and build a syndication network outside of Ezine articles...or at least that is the lesson I have been taking from you guys.

        Just more trollin' on nm's part.
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

          Would it really matter if it were only 25 anyways?
          Not to me.

          Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

          That's why you contact them personally and build a syndication network outside of Ezine articles...or at least that is the lesson I have been taking from you guys.
          Absolutely. They've only got to take one article, once, for me to contact them, thank them and follow them up as described in this post: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post3188316

          Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

          Just more trollin' on nm's part.
          No question. Just a shame for those with less/little experience continually to be factually misinformed like this. And by someone who should know better, I think.
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          • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
            Banned
            Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

            No question. Just a shame for those with less/little experience continually to be factually misinformed like this.
            We will just have to keep fighting the good fight then.
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          • Profile picture of the author nm5419
            Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

            No question. Just a shame for those with less/little experience continually to be factually misinformed like this.
            How do you know the amount of experience I have?
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            • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
              Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

              How do you know the amount of experience I have?
              She was talking, I believe, about the many inexperienced people who might confuse vehemence with knowledge. Many of those folks don't know any better, they don't post or ask questions.

              Your experience, whatever it might be, is irrelevant, as your dogmatic attacks on Alexa and anyone who agrees with her show that your own opinion is ossified and unlikely to be swayed.
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              • Profile picture of the author nm5419
                Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

                Your experience, whatever it might be, is irrelevant, as your dogmatic attacks on Alexa and anyone who agrees with her show that your own opinion is ossified and unlikely to be swayed.
                Now why in the world would I be swayed away from facts?!? I don't attack people. I attack the misinformation that they spew. People don't like that and I couldn't care less if they like it or not.
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        • Profile picture of the author nm5419
          Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

          Would it really matter if it were only 25 anyways?
          A website that has already fulfilled that quota with other people's copied content legally cannot spread your copied content, so that little, insignificant requirement reduces your exposure. Multiply that by millions of websites that have already fulfilled that quota with other people's copied content, your chances for exposure are reduced even more!
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          • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
            Banned
            Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

            A website that has already fulfilled that quota with other people's copied content legally cannot spread your copied content, so that little, insignificant requirement reduces your exposure. Multiply that by millions of websites that have already fulfilled that quota with other people's copied content, your chances for exposure are reduced even more!
            Does it not just prevent them from republishing from ezine articles? As I understand it, a major factor in article marketing is private syndication through contacts that you build. That is outside of ezine articles (since it is content that you deliver to them personally), and not subject to their terms of service.
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            • Profile picture of the author nm5419
              Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

              Does it not just prevent them from republishing from ezine articles? As I understand it, a major factor in article marketing is private syndication through contacts that you build. That is outside of ezine articles (since it is content that you deliver to them personally), and not subject to their terms of service.
              Who are you asking? A troll?!

              Maybe you'd better drop whatever you're doing and give the TOS a thorough read (a talent Alexa likes to claim she's the only one capable of doing). Anything published ON the site is subject to the site's rules. You've got to be kidding me!
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              • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
                Banned
                Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

                Who are you asking? A troll?!

                Maybe you'd better drop whatever you're doing and give the TOS a thorough read (a talent Alexa likes to claim she's the only one capable of doing). Anything published ON the site is subject to the site's rules. You've got to be kidding me!
                If a troll wants to stop trolling and bring up an actual point for debate, I'm all for it. I will give a thorough read and come back with my interpretation.

                We can do civil debate if you want. Doesn't only have to be trolling.
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
    Banned
    So I read the publishers TOS. I see the points that you are making and why you came to the conclusions that you did; but still disagree with your interpretation. The wording of this particular sentence stands out to me:

    Agree to limit the number of articles reprinted to no greater than taking 25 articles from our site per calendar year per unique domain that you own.
    As I read it, you cannot take more than 25 articles per domain from their site. As I stated previously though, what happens when the article that you have didn't come from their site, but from the author personally? It would seem that as long as you could prove that fact (by perhaps providing the email that proves you had the content before ezine did) you would be in the clear.
    According to EA's TOS, members agree to not include the rel=nofollow tag in their HREF statements.
    Also, how does this matter? If I recall correctly, the Google Webmaster guidelines ask you to insert a noindex tag, not a nofollow tag. Apples and oranges.
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    • Profile picture of the author nm5419
      Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

      So I read the publishers TOS. I see the points that you are making and why you came to the conclusions that you did; but still disagree with your interpretation. The wording of this particular sentence stands out to me:

      As I read it, you cannot take more than 25 articles per domain from their site. As I stated previously though, what happens when the article that you have didn't come from their site, but from the author personally? It would seem that as long as you could prove that fact (by perhaps providing the email that proves you had the content before ezine did) you would be in the clear.
      From the author personally? I'm sorry, but that's not the issue at hand. What you arrange with authors outside of EA is moot.
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      • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
        Banned
        Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

        From the author personally? I'm sorry, but that's not the issue at hand. What you arrange with authors outside of EA is moot.
        I don't think it is moot. In fact I would say it is integral to the article marketing strategy that I believe works.

        Whether or not it works though comes down to this: once you post an article to ezine, do the TOS apply from that point forward, or are the guidelines retroactive as well?

        If they don't have a say in what is done with content before it is on their site, then authors and publishers have a very simple way to get around the 25 per domain per year clause.

        I guess you didn't realize that a follow tag tells Google to index a link. A nofollow tag tells Google not to index it.
        You would be right, but do you have third party evidence to support what you are saying? Don't take it personally; but I like to see proof.
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        • Profile picture of the author nm5419
          Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

          I don't think it is moot. In fact I would say it is integral to the article marketing strategy that I believe works.

          Whether or not it works though comes down to this: once you post an article to ezine, do the TOS apply from that point forward, or are the guidelines retroactive as well?

          If they don't have a say in what is done with content before it is on their site, then authors and publishers have a very simple way to get around the 25 per domain per year clause.
          Well that's all fine and dandy, until you understand the 25 article/domain requirement reduces your exposure. Who the hell's gonna find you to even set up an arrangement? Very few. <-- I wish I could double-underscore that!
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          • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
            Banned
            Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

            Well that's all fine and dandy, until you understand the 25 article/domain requirement reduces your exposure. Who the hell's gonna find you to even set up an arrangement? Very few. <-- I wish I could double-underscore that!
            How so? It reduces a publishers ability to publish my article directly from the site. It doesn't affect my ability to host the content on there. It only takes one well written article to be able to start up that partnership.

            A publisher that is using up their limit before getting to me is a publisher that probably isn't building up relationships with the authors they syndicate anyways; and thus are probably not worth an article writers time...well, that's how I see it at least.

            There are also other avenues for publishers to go through, be it by going to reputable members of their niche "cold" or some other form that I have not yet educated myself about. Just like with any business model, diversification is key.
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            • Profile picture of the author nm5419
              Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

              A publisher that is using up their limit before getting to me is a publisher that probably isn't building up relationships with the authors they syndicate anyways; and thus are probably not worth an article writers time...well, that's how I see it at least.
              Look. The point is that without any numbers to prove a significant portion of publishers do, in fact, set up off-site relationships, it's misleading to say EA is an profitable marketing scheme when the facts (1) don't even address such relationships and (2) work against those relationships by limiting (a) author exposure and (b) access to author email address.

              You're also making a bizarre assumption by stating a publisher that uses up their limit before getting to you isn't worth a writer's time. Is your work so valuable, that anyone who doesn't get to it in time, or even finds it, is unworthy??

              This just gets richer and richer.
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              • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
                Banned
                Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

                Look. The point is that without any numbers to prove a significant portion of publishers do, in fact, set up off-site relationships, it's misleading to say EA is an profitable marketing scheme when the facts (1) don't even address such relationships and (2) work against those relationships by limiting (a) author exposure and (b) access to author email address.

                You're also making a bizarre assumption by stating a publisher that uses up their limit before getting to you isn't worth a writer's time. Is your work so valuable, that anyone who doesn't get to it in time, or even finds it, is unworthy??

                This just gets richer and richer.
                I don't think that myself, or any of the people that I have learned from, have been saying that Ezine Articles is what makes article marketing profitable. It is just one aspect of a larger strategy.

                1. There are no facts to back up EZA's profitably for authors because EZA is not where the money is going to come from. It is a website that allows our work to be published. Nothing more, nothing less; and none of us are pretending otherwise.

                2. EZA only limits exposure if one is foolish enough to use that as their only avenue of syndication, the same way that limiting your traffic strategy to Google's serps sets you up for failure. Diversity is the key. User Richard Van told me that article syndication makes up about 30% total of his traffic strategy. I'm sure others like Alexa, myob, tpw, and others that I follow would say the same thing.

                Diversity is the key in any business. That fact does not change online.

                The judgment call I am making may in fact be bizarre, if it is incorrect then I am sure that I will learn sooner rather than later. I do not participate in this business with a closed mind; and will be glad to change my viewpoint if I am given sufficient reason to do so.

                I think that is as far as we can civilly take this discussion without starting the cycle of circle talk. I would actually like to thank you for the debate, it is much more engaging than the trolling I would usually use against you. I disagree with you still though. Which one of us is right will be revealed through our respective efforts online.
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                • Profile picture of the author myob
                  Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

                  ... Diversity is the key. User Richard Van told me that article syndication makes up about 30% total of his traffic strategy. I'm sure others like Alexa, myob, tpw, and others that I follow would say the same thing....
                  Actually article syndication accounts for over 90% of all traffic to my sites. EZA is a significant source of syndication for my articles, mostly because it serves as a showcase of my writing style to potential publishers. SEO considerations are separate, and in my case irrelevant, since my sites are in niches of deeply entrenched competition. When you realize EZA is a well-recognized depository of content for sourcing, it can be a very powerful tool to market articles to targeted outlets.
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                  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
                    Banned
                    Originally Posted by myob View Post

                    Actually article syndication accounts for over 90% of all traffic to my sites. EZA is a significant source of syndication for my articles, mostly because it serves as a showcase of my writing style to potential publishers. SEO considerations are separate, and in my case irrelevant, since my sites are in niches of deeply entrenched competition. When you realize EZA is a well-recognized depository of content for sourcing, it can be a very powerful tool to market articles to targeted outlets.
                    Egg on my face then.

                    ..although it also further proves the effectiveness of article syndication.

                    I'm still counting it as a win :rolleyes:
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                    • Profile picture of the author myob
                      Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

                      ..it also further proves the effectiveness of article syndication.
                      Article syndication was the original intent of EZA.
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                      • Profile picture of the author Kurt
                        Originally Posted by myob View Post

                        Syndication was the original intent of EZA.
                        Until they found they could get tons of traffic from Google for free, then convert that traffic into cash from Adsense. Once they figured this out, they lowered their standards and started accepting the 250 word "articles" from other SEOers.

                        And they continued doing so until they got slapped by Google during the Farmer (Google gives the Farmer update the nicer name "Panda") update. Let's not forget, all those "spammy", short articles in the past were all approved by EZA...And EZA made millions and millions of dollars from those spammy articles for quite a few years.

                        It isn't the publishers/syndicators that EZA makes a profit from....EZA makes its money from Google, from the user generated content it accepts and posts.
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                        • Profile picture of the author bretski
                          Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

                          Until they found they could get tons of traffic from Google for free, then convert that traffic into cash from Adsense. Once they figured this out, they lowered their standards and started accepting the 250 word "articles" from other SEOers.

                          And they continued doing so until they got slapped by Google during the Farmer (Google gives the Farmer update the nicer name "Panda") update. Let's not forget, all those "spammy", short articles in the past were all approved by EZA...And EZA made millions and millions of dollars from those spammy articles for quite a few years.

                          It isn't the publishers/syndicators that EZA makes a profit from....EZA makes its money from Google, from the user generated content it accepts and posts.
                          But it's the perfect business model. "Go ahead and snag any of the content off of our site, post it on your site for nothing. Just give us a backlink." SEO-wise it's freakin' brilliant!!! Everybody wins and EZA is the hub of the wheel. There is a reason why they did everything that they did including purging articles after the farmer update, increasing the required word count and torquing down articles in specific niches. I am sure that syndication was their original goal and I am sure that it still is.
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                          • Profile picture of the author Kurt
                            Originally Posted by bretski View Post

                            But it's the perfect business model. "Go ahead and snag any of the content off of our site, post it on your site for nothing. Just give us a backlink." SEO-wise it's freakin' brilliant!!! Everybody wins and EZA is the hub of the wheel. There is a reason why they did everything that they did including purging articles after the farmer update, increasing the required word count and torquing down articles in specific niches. I am sure that syndication was their original goal and I am sure that it still is.
                            I agree completley. User Generated Content is the BEST revenue model there is. I've recommended it for years. This very forum is successful due to a great degree to User Generated Content. And I don't fault EZA a bit for making millions all of those years. I just don't feel sorry for them being slapped, either.

                            The problem is, User Generated Content sites are hard to get going. But for those that do, it's a gold mine.

                            My hunch is though, despite all the debate, Google is getting less and less tolerant of duplicate/syndicated content. Both Hubpages and EZA took big hits after Farmer.

                            Hubpages seems to be making a comeback, EZA is still in decline. I thought it may be that Hubpages went to subdomains for each author account, but the timeline of Hubpages' upswing was before they created sub domains...But it is still possible the sub domains are helping.

                            So the question becomes...Why is Hubpages on the upswing while EZA's traffic is still falling? One possibility is that Hubpages requires original/not used elsewhere content. And by it's nature, syndicated content will be duplicated on other sites.

                            It could be something else, but Hubpages is on the rise and EZA is falling and the doop issues is something that should be considered. While syndication may have been EZA's "original" purpose, and a great benefit with the backlink, now syndication may be EZA's demise.
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                            • Profile picture of the author bretski
                              Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

                              I agree completley. User Generated Content is the BEST revenue model there is. I've recommended it for years. This very forum is successful due to a great degree to User Generated Content. And I don't fault EZA a bit for making millions all of those years. I just don't feel sorry for them being slapped, either.

                              The problem is, User Generated Content sites are hard to get going. But for those that do, it's a gold mine.

                              My hunch is though, despite all the debate, Google is getting less and less tolerant of duplicate/syndicated content. Both Hubpages and EZA took big hits after Farmer.

                              Hubpages seems to be making a comeback, EZA is still in decline. I thought it may be that Hubpages went to subdomains for each author account, but the timeline of Hubpages' upswing was before they created sub domains...But it is still possible the sub domains are helping.

                              So the question becomes...Why is Hubpages on the upswing while EZA's traffic is still falling? One possibility is that Hubpages requires original/not used elsewhere content. And by it's nature, syndicated content will be duplicated on other sites.

                              It could be something else, but Hubpages is on the rise and EZA is falling and the doop issues is something that should be considered. While syndication may have been EZA's "original" purpose, and a great benefit with the backlink, now syndication may be EZA's demise.
                              I didn't want to quote your whole post there but... I'm lazy basically...

                              I own or owned an article directory and after the farmer update my traffic and revenue actually went up. My directory sucked, for the most part. The only thing that I did different than EZA was to only accept articles over 500 words. Well, that and I didn't have as much Adsense on my pages. My revenue was nowhere near what EZA made or makes. Probably $100 a month before it was too much for my shared hosting so I disabled the site.

                              I do see some of my older articles from EZA showing up in search engine results on page 2 and back for some pretty competitive long tail keywords. I rarely see anything from EZA on page one these days. Personally, I don't want to go back to the days when your EZA article was on page 1. It's a heck of a lot easier to not have them in the picture.

                              I hate to say it but you would think that Google would love EZA since I am sure that they made a ton of money themselves off of Adwords revenue from clicks on EZA. Someone clicks on an Adsense link on EZA... EZA profits and Google Adwords profits. It was literally like Google cut off their nose to spite their face!
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                              • Profile picture of the author nm5419
                                Originally Posted by bretski View Post

                                I own or owned an article directory...
                                !!!_RECORD SCRATCH_!!!

                                Even as a typo, that doesn't make a damn bit of sense. Do you even know what you're doing???

                                { { {gawd }
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                                • Profile picture of the author bretski
                                  Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

                                  !!!_RECORD SCRATCH_!!!

                                  Even as a typo, that doesn't make a damn bit of sense. Do you even know what you're doing???

                                  { { {gawd }
                                  Yes... yes, I do know what I'm doing and your ignorance is deafening.
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                        • Profile picture of the author myob
                          There are certain marketing basics that have always worked amidst change - one such perennial basic principle is article syndication. For an excellent read on this model, I highly recommend Turn Words Into Traffic. The book is dated (over 10 years old), but the insights are eerily prescient in light of Panda and Google's ongoing algorithm changes.
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                          • Profile picture of the author John Coutts
                            Originally Posted by myob View Post

                            There are certain marketing basics that have always worked amidst change - one such perennial basic principle is article syndication. For an excellent read on this model, I highly recommend Turn Words Into Traffic. The book is dated (over 10 years old), but the insights are eerily prescient in light of Panda and Google's ongoing algorithm changes.
                            Now, there's a phrase you don't see every day ("eerily prescient"). I love it! It's kinda like, back to the future, almost...
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                        • Profile picture of the author AlphaWarrior
                          Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

                          Until they found they could get tons of traffic from Google for free, then convert that traffic into cash from Adsense. Once they figured this out, they lowered their standards and started accepting the 250 word "articles" from other SEOers.

                          And they continued doing so until they got slapped by Google during the Farmer (Google gives the Farmer update the nicer name "Panda") update. Let's not forget, all those "spammy", short articles in the past were all approved by EZA...And EZA made millions and millions of dollars from those spammy articles for quite a few years.

                          It isn't the publishers/syndicators that EZA makes a profit from....EZA makes its money from Google, from the user generated content it accepts and posts.
                          Bingo! We have a winner! The truth comes out!
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                          • Profile picture of the author MikeTucker
                            Originally Posted by AlphaWarrior View Post

                            Bingo! We have a winner! The truth comes out!

                            True their quality control went bad for a while, but "millions and millions" from AdSense?

                            My guess is that they make more from those of us with premium membership accounts.
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        • Profile picture of the author nm5419
          Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

          I guess you didn't realize that a follow tag tells Google to index a link. A nofollow tag tells Google not to index it.
          Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

          You would be right, but do you have third party evidence to support what you are saying? Don't take it personally; but I like to see proof.
          nofollow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

          Things might have more value if you try researching some of this stuff yourself. Like, you might be more inclined to believe it.
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          • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
            Banned
            Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

            nofollow - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

            Things might have more value if you try researching some of this stuff yourself. Like, you might be more inclined to believe it.
            nofollow is a value that can be assigned to the rel attribute of an HTML asearch engines that a hyperlink should not influence the link target's ranking in the search engine's index. element to instruct some

            The
            noindex HTML meta tag advises automated Internet bots to avoid indexing a Web page.
            They don't mean the same thing though. A nofollow tag tells search engines that something should not affect the ranking. It doesn't say that the page should not be indexed at all.

            Google wants a noindex tag, and if I understand that correctly it means that Google ignores the page completely and keeps it out of the SERPs.
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            • Profile picture of the author nm5419
              Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

              They don't mean the same thing though. A nofollow tag tells search engines that something should not affect the ranking. It doesn't say that the page should not be indexed at all.

              Google wants a noindex tag, and if I understand that correctly it means that Google ignores the page completely and keeps it out of the SERPs.
              So did you just read part of the explanation, or are you another one of those that likes to copy and paste parts of a source to fit your argument?

              The Interpretation by the individual search engines section shows a table. That table clearly shows that Google, Bing, and Ask do not Index the "linked to" page.

              Above that table, it reads, "Google states that their engine takes "nofollow" literally and does not "follow" the link at all. However, experiments conducted by SEOs show conflicting results. These studies reveal that Google does follow the link, but it does not index the linked-to page, unless it was in Google's index already for other reasons (such as other, non-nofollow links that point to the page)."

              Is there any particular reason why you left out these facts?
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

        Who the hell's gonna find you to even set up an arrangement? Very few. <-- I wish I could double-underscore that!
        However many times you underscore it, it would still completely miss the point.

        They don't have to find you.

        You find them (and very easily).

        That's how article syndication works. For the large and increasing number of us here making our livings that way.

        Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

        From the author personally? I'm sorry, but that's not the issue at hand.
        For you perhaps it's not the issue at hand. For the large and increasing number of us here making our livings that way it's very much the issue at hand, because that's how article syndication works.

        Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

        What you arrange with authors outside of EA is moot.
        To you perhaps it's moot. For the large and increasing number of us here making our livings that way it's very far from "moot", because we're building syndication relationships with people who re-publish one of our articles from EZA, and supplying them with further content, in exchange for the floods of targeted traffic (and the relevant backlinks) we get from some of them, because that's how article syndication works. The ones who re-publish content from article directories, using article directories for their original purpose as content-providers, are already known to be out there looking for content to syndicate. And there are huge numbers of them.

        If you want to learn something, instead of disparaging everything, this is what it's all about: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5035794

        Probably you don't read those, though? I think you may have been reading a little bit too much of thisthis , instead.
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        • Profile picture of the author nm5419
          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          They don't have to find you.

          You find them (and very easily).
          Making EA... what? Relevant somehow? Writers don't go to EA to find publishers. It's the other way around for christ's sake.

          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          That's how article syndication works. For the large and increasing number of us here making our livings that way. For you perhaps it's not the issue at hand. For the large and increasing number of us here making our livings that way it's very much the issue at hand, because that's how article syndication works.
          You mean by making a profit? That thing that Joe said nobody here is claiming to do!?

          Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

          For the large and increasing number of us here making our livings that way it's very far from "moot", because we're building syndication relationships with people who re-publish one of our articles from EZA, and supplying them with further content, in exchange for the floods of targeted traffic (and the relevant backlinks) we get from some of them, because that's how article syndication works. The ones who re-publish content from article directories, using article directories for their original purpose as content-providers, are already known to be out there looking for content to syndicate. And there are huge numbers of them.
          Floods of traffic... To a PR0 webpage, Alexa? I want you to know I've seen them, so everything you've said so far contradicts results. For that reason, and the fact that (for some reason) you've refused to properly copy and paste an entire 3rd party quote in context on more than one occasion, I can't take anything you say with any credulity.

          My position isn't based on attacks as some have incorrectly penned. This is about stopping outright nonsense, and leading people to do things the right way so they can succeed. Why anyone would have a problem with that is beyond me!

          The good news is that people following this thread can view quoted sources and come to an intelligent course of viable action. Cause from the looks of it, they sure as hell ain't gettin' it from all those unproven half-truths!
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          • Profile picture of the author bretski
            Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

            Making EA... what? Relevant somehow? Writers don't go to EA to find publishers. It's the other way around for christ's sake.



            You mean by making a profit? That thing that Joe said nobody here is claiming to do!?



            Floods of traffic... To a PR0 webpage, Alexa? I want you to know I've seen them, so everything you've said so far contradicts results. For that reason, and the fact that (for some reason) you've refused to properly copy and paste an entire 3rd party quote in context on more than one occasion, I can't take anything you say with any credulity.

            My position isn't based on attacks as some have incorrectly penned. This is about stopping outright nonsense, and leading people to do things the right way so they can succeed. Why anyone would have a problem with that is beyond me!

            The good news is that people following this thread can view quoted sources and come to an intelligent course of viable action. Cause from the looks of it, they sure as hell ain't gettin' it from all those unproven half-truths!
            You seem to be deaf to anything that Alexa writes. You seem to believe that your way is the right way and you have shut off your mind to anything else. We get it.

            It should make logical sense to you though. If you know anything about SEO or traffic generation you should see the genius in this. It is simple and holds a lot of potential power. People pay good money to get their content published on other people's sites, correct? This wouldn't cost you much more than a little time each day and some organizational skills.

            - Article published on EZA
            - Website owner republishes it
            - Author searches for article on internet
            - Contacts site own who republished article
            - Offers more content in exchange for backlink and traffic

            5 Steps. 5 Steps that could get your stuff sitting on some nice internet real estate.

            But if you wish, please continue to rant, rave and make a fool out of yourself. Fine by me. My opinion of you is pretty much set in stone.
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            • Profile picture of the author Kurt
              Originally Posted by bretski View Post

              You seem to be deaf to anything that Alexa writes. You seem to believe that your way is the right way and you have shut off your mind to anything else. We get it.

              It should make logical sense to you though. If you know anything about SEO or traffic generation you should see the genius in this. It is simple and holds a lot of potential power. People pay good money to get their content published on other people's sites, correct? This wouldn't cost you much more than a little time each day and some organizational skills.

              - Article published on EZA
              - Website owner republishes it
              - Author searches for article on internet
              - Contacts site own who republished article
              - Offers more content in exchange for backlink and traffic

              5 Steps. 5 Steps that could get your stuff sitting on some nice internet real estate.

              But if you wish, please continue to rant, rave and make a fool out of yourself. Fine by me. My opinion of you is pretty much set in stone.
              Actually, there's plenty on this thread that ignore basic SEO advice...

              And, we can cut out two of the five steps listed by using my method here...While I use Scrapebox to speed things up, it isn't necessary. With or without, it makes submitting to EZA mute. Plus, there's more than one way to find sites to accept content other than EZA.

              Using ScrapeBox for article syndication
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              • Profile picture of the author bretski
                Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

                Actually, there's plenty on this thread that ignore basic SEO advice...

                And, we can cut out two of the five steps listed by using my method here...While I use Scrapebox to speed things up, it isn't necessary. With or without, it makes submitting to EZA mute. Plus, there's more than one way to find sites to accept content other than EZA.
                Yeah.. you could do that or use AMR or any of the other products out there but if I can I want my stuff going to to blogs where nobody else can go.

                I'll read your thread, Kurt. I promise. Promise I'll be open minded, ok?
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                • Profile picture of the author Kurt
                  Originally Posted by bretski View Post

                  Yeah.. you could do that or use AMR or any of the other products out there but if I can I want my stuff going to to blogs where nobody else can go.

                  I'll read your thread, Kurt. I promise. Promise I'll be open minded, ok?
                  Actually, I just use Scrapebox to "loop" multiple search queries, instead of having to enter each by hand.

                  And...I use EZA's footprint to find site owners that have pulled EZA content before as a way to find sites that are likely to accept outside content.

                  Then find the PR and sort the results by homepage PR to get a general idea of authority.

                  It isn't spammy in any way. Just a very effective way to do research for sites that have good PR and are likely to publish others' content.
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                  • Profile picture of the author bretski
                    Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

                    Actually, I just use Scrapebox to "loop" multiple search queries, instead of having to enter each by hand.

                    And...I use EZA's footprint to find site owners that have pulled EZA content before as a way to find sites that are likely to accept outside content.

                    Then find the PR and sort the results by homepage PR to get a general idea of authority.

                    It isn't spammy in any way. Just a very effective way to do research for sites that have good PR and are likely to publish others' content.
                    Kurt... I need to apologize to you. I read "scrapebox" and think "comment spamming" and "article blasting". Your technique is freakin' clever as $h1t! I don't know if I would pony up the coin for the app for this but finding someone with the app on Fiverr and asking them to run the job for me is doable though. Thanks for the tip! I know you're going to want to punch a baby full in the face after I say this but... you have more in common with Alexa than I thought!
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                    • Profile picture of the author John Coutts
                      Originally Posted by bretski View Post

                      ...punch a baby full in the face...
                      Sorry for lifting this phrase out of context, but I can just hear a thousand mothers gasping in shock.
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                    • Profile picture of the author Kurt
                      Originally Posted by bretski View Post

                      Kurt... I need to apologize to you. I read "scrapebox" and think "comment spamming" and "article blasting". Your technique is freakin' clever as ! I don't know if I would pony up the coin for the app for this but finding someone with the app on Fiverr and asking them to run the job for me is doable though. Thanks for the tip! I know you're going to want to punch a baby full in the face after I say this but... you have more in common with Alexa than I thought!
                      It's too bad...Many people see "Scrapebox" and immediately think "spam" or SEO. I posted that thread in the Main WF, but a mod moved it to the SEO/Adsense forum. IMO, it has nothing to do with SEO/Adsense, but I'm guessing the mod just read "Scrapbox" and made a judgement based on that.

                      Scrapebox is one of the most powerful tools I have, and I have NEVER used it to submit a single comment or spam in any way.
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    • Profile picture of the author nm5419
      Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

      Also, how does this matter? If I recall correctly, the Google Webmaster guidelines ask you to insert a noindex tag, not a nofollow tag. Apples and oranges.
      I guess you didn't realize that a follow tag tells Google to index a link. A nofollow tag tells Google not to index it.

      !!!
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  • Profile picture of the author aaaa33030
    It would be profitable to post new articles at ezinearticles

    If the article is also found elsewhere on the web, credit will be given to the site with the highest pagerank that contains the article
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    • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
      Originally Posted by aaaa33030 View Post

      It would be profitable to post new articles at ezinearticles

      If the article is also found elsewhere on the web, credit will be given to the site with the highest pagerank that contains the article

      Says who? That would be incredible dumb, by the way.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Chicas
    I kinda get the POV most of you are coming from - except some of the misinformation that I had to go and check (face palm).

    Anyways, is anyone willing to put up links to some of their articles?

    I wouldn't mind reading up on some of your good work and see how it is that you are doing it. Really, I would read it and see if I can learn something from it. Just a thought.
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  • Profile picture of the author Targeted Traffic
    Well... more traffic doesn't always translate into more revenues. Sometimes less is more -- especially when that less is quality.
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  • Profile picture of the author AlexDoerian
    OMG!

    I just tried to start using Ezine. But after see discussion, it makes me
    to change decision. Looking for other marketing techniques out there.
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    • Profile picture of the author nm5419
      Originally Posted by AlexDoerian View Post

      OMG!

      I just tried to start using Ezine. But after see discussion, it makes me
      to change decision. Looking for other marketing techniques out there.
      If you want fast results, and if you have excellent content, guest post on the highest trafficked sites you can find within your niche. And don't let anyone tell you that guest blogging doesn't require original material.

      Submit one, unique, quality (and relevant) article to a blog that has a high Alexa and PR rating, then sit back and watch the traffic flow in.

      Just make sure you have enough quality material on your own site to keep people engaged after they click through to learn more about you. Guest blogging will bring you traffic, but how you keep that traffic is up to you.
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      • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
        nm5419 -My position is based on attacks as some have correctly penned.
        Fixed that for you.

        You need to look at how you write Dave, if I spoke in public how you write, I'd be in intensive care.
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  • Profile picture of the author acidophulus
    Hi-So after reading all this I am still confused. Is Ezine articles a waste of time to get traffic to my site and create backlinks. What can I do to get traffic to some niche sites I just finished that took over a year to finish because of technical challenges. Any help appreciated.

    Also I have been searching for a very unique article spinner I saw an ad for-saw it once. It was $297 and I had never seen any spinner like it -It was one click or something so simple without all those manual clicking on synonyms like all other spinners which are annoying. I think it was somewhat blackhat though cause it someone put together different bits of articles and would pass copyscape automatically somehow. The articles were really coherent. Did anyone ever see it and know what I mean. It was quite unique through some internet marketer.If you could let me know if you have ever seen it. Maybe 6 months ago? I don't even know if it was a warrior offer. thanks for any help
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  • Profile picture of the author chrislangley
    Ezinearticles has certainly lost a lot of ranking power since Google's subsequent Panda update, and they have tightened their requirements as to which articles they will accept
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim Franklin
    To be honest, I do not see backlinks being indexed from EZA to outbound websites, so there is no love in that relationship, the problem is that EZA allowed substandard content, approved just about anything for a long long time, then they were slapped by google, and they suddenly find Grammar Religion, and perfection in publishing.

    The thing is how has that worked out so far?

    EZA would appear to still be making the wrong decisions for the wrong reasons.

    For three months straight they have been trying to focus on how to create great articles, how to do the right thing when it comes to grammar, how to punctuate, English 101, but in reality it has not done them any good at all.

    Could it be that the Business model is what Google finds objectionable not the type of content they create or the quality of that content, but the nature of what they are doing.

    The truth is the resource box is really almost never even seen by the reader and most of the time they feel no obligation to click on a link, add to that the fact that Google is not indexing those links and you have a recipe for disaster.

    I get more from posting my own articles, to my own websites than I ever got from posting to EZA...

    The title may be accurate, ...
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

      Now why in the world would I be swayed away from facts?!? I don't attack people. I attack the misinformation that they spew. People don't like that and I couldn't care less if they like it or not.
      Should have known better than to waste my energy trying to have a discussion with an echo...

      Originally Posted by bretski View Post

      You seem to be deaf to anything that Alexa writes. You seem to believe that your way is the right way and you have shut off your mind to anything else. We get it.

      [snip]

      But if you wish, please continue to rant, rave and make a fool out of yourself. Fine by me. My opinion of you is pretty much set in stone.
      According to a relative of mine (a retired homicide detective), there are usually three sets of facts - yours, mine and the truth. Our obstreporous buddy here only sees one of them.

      Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

      If you want fast results, and if you have excellent content, guest post on the highest trafficked sites you can find within your niche. And don't let anyone tell you that guest blogging doesn't require original material.

      Submit one, unique, quality (and relevant) article to a blog that has a high Alexa and PR rating, then sit back and watch the traffic flow in.

      Just make sure you have enough quality material on your own site to keep people engaged after they click through to learn more about you. Guest blogging will bring you traffic, but how you keep that traffic is up to you.
      Have to give the devil his due...

      This is the first post I've read from you that actually makes sense. The only change I would make is that some guest blogging requires original material - and is worth the effort.

      When I cross over from pure syndication to guest blogging, I try to customize previously published content for the given blog. This is usually pretty quick to do after spending enough time on the blog to determine if the opportunity matches the effort. But the 'guts' of the content is the same as originally published.
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      • Profile picture of the author nm5419
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        This is the first post I've read from you that actually makes sense.
        Now ask me if I care.
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        • Profile picture of the author bretski
          Originally Posted by nm5419 View Post

          Now ask me if I care.
          LOL! Merry Christmas... now, back under your bridge!
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  • Profile picture of the author Ashley Redcliff
    Don't worry about Ezine Articles, just focus on ranking your own blogs posts. There are many ways to build up backlinks without the need for Ezine Articles.
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  • Profile picture of the author rooze
    I'm surprised that no one is taking a more cautious approach to proclaiming the wisdom in what they do and how they do it, since we are in the middle of a massive re-evaluation of how Google treats articles, article directories, syndication and duplicate content.
    I'd be wanting to keep my powder dry to see what shakes out over the coming weeks and months, before going full tilt to defend a strategy that's worked for me in the past......in other words, it's changing, hang on to your hats.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by rooze View Post

      we are in the middle of a massive re-evaluation of how Google treats articles, article directories, syndication and duplicate content.
      I'd be wanting to keep my powder dry to see what shakes out over the coming weeks and months, before going full tilt to defend a strategy that's worked for me in the past......in other words, it's changing, hang on to your hats.
      One of the key points about article syndication is that it's a way of building a business that ISN'T dependent on Google for its traffic.

      (It isn't dependent on Ezine Articles for its traffic, either, although admittedly syndication from EZA can provide a very welcome "extra" for us, and for some people a convenient way of "starting off", too.)

      Article marketing is a traffic-generation method in its own right, not "a way of doing SEO".

      Why would the fact that Google's continually re-evaluating how it treats articles, article directories and so on matter much to article syndicators?

      If Google de-indexed all my websites tomorrow, I'd still have 80% of my traffic.

      It's painful for some people (not meaning yourself, Rooze!) who so much love to argue about this subject to admit it, I know, but Google actually isn't too important at all in this context.

      And that's exactly the point that so many people miss.

      http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5035794
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      • Profile picture of the author rooze
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        One of the key points about article syndication is that it's a way of building a business that ISN'T dependent on Google for its traffic.

        Why would the fact that Google's continually re-evaluating how it treats articles, article directories and so on matter much to article syndicators?

        If Google de-indexed all my websites tomorrow, I'd still have 80% of my traffic.

        It's painful for some people (not meaning yourself, Rooze!) who so much love to argue about this subject to admit it, I know, but Google actually isn't too important at all in this context.

        And that's exactly the point that so many people miss.
        Hi Alexa,

        With respect, the issue isn't with you as the source of the content, the issue is with the websites who are syndicating your content. They almost certainly receive traffic from Google, and if they are 'devalued' due to their policy of publishing syndicated content, then that's going to affect the traffic flow to your websites too. As seen by the bigger article directories, this sudden traffic loss can be quite extreme, as much as 90% in some cases. So whether you like it or not, Google is still a major factor in your traffic flow, even though it might not be the direct source.

        Cheers

        Rooze
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        • Profile picture of the author nm5419
          Originally Posted by rooze View Post

          Hi Alexa,

          With respect, the issue isn't with you as the source of the content, the issue is with the websites who are syndicating your content. They almost certainly receive traffic from Google, and if they are 'devalued' due to their policy of publishing syndicated content, then that's going to affect the traffic flow to your websites too. As seen by the bigger article directories, this sudden traffic loss can be quite extreme, as much as 90% in some cases. So whether you like it or not, Google is still a major factor in your traffic flow, even though it might not be the direct source.

          Cheers

          Rooze
          This has been explained to her twice now (that I know of -- probably tons more).
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Originally Posted by rooze View Post

          whether you like it or not, Google is still a major factor in your traffic flow, even though it might not be the direct source.
          I get most of my own traffic from ezines, actually, Rooze. But thank you.
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          • Profile picture of the author myob
            LOL! Nearly all of my articles picked up from EZA for syndication are sourced by ezine publishers. :rolleyes:
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          • Profile picture of the author rooze
            Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

            I get most of my own traffic from ezines, actually, Rooze. But thank you.
            Great, but I'm not sure what that comment adds to the conversation. If you want to tell me to butt out, I'd rather you just did that

            My thoughts were that this thread has become an open discussion on article marketing in its various shapes and forms.
            I'm an advocate of syndication, amongst other methods of IM. I'm concerned that the ground rules for syndication are changing. You've inferred that Google isn't important to you which is fine. I've simply tried to point out that one shouldn't rule out the importance of Google even if one's primary marketing strategy is syndication. If the sites who syndicate our work are hit in some way, then that will impact us too.
            I made this comment because I thought it hadn't been made previously in this particular thread, and that it gave a valid piece of information and perspective for anyone following the thread. It wasn't an attack on you, Alexa, hence no defensive response was needed.
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            • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
              Banned
              Originally Posted by rooze View Post

              It wasn't an attack on you, Alexa
              Of course not ... nobody would have taken it that way.

              But you "quoted" me and said "you", so it's clear you were talking to me. Which is why I was simply pointing out that you had your facts/assumptions wrong about "my traffic" and were rather missing the point as a result (exactly as Paul has now also confirmed about his, it seems.)

              Originally Posted by rooze View Post

              no defensive response was needed.
              Just as well none was offered, then.

              You're quite right about the fish, though.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kurt
      Originally Posted by rooze View Post

      I'm surprised that no one is taking a more cautious approach to proclaiming the wisdom in what they do and how they do it, since we are in the middle of a massive re-evaluation of how Google treats articles, article directories, syndication and duplicate content.
      I'd be wanting to keep my powder dry to see what shakes out over the coming weeks and months, before going full tilt to defend a strategy that's worked for me in the past......in other words, it's changing, hang on to your hats.
      I agree with everything you said, except "no one". I've posted comments suggesting we take a look at recent Google changes, but they get ignored by those that say Google doesn't matter to them, then constantly bring up something related to SEO.

      While Google may not directly affect article syndication and free lance writing, in many cases it does affect those that publish their articles.

      Recently, Google started giving those that use their Webmaster Tools warnings about their pages being duplicates of others on the web. It appears that Google is starting to only include one version of a page, then deindexing the other doops.

      It used to be that Google's doop content was "filtered" into the supplementary index. It may be soon that these doop pages are simply deindexed, which is worse than being penalized, especially if the page being deindexed is the original on your own domain.

      Seems many of the syndicators are totally ignoring the recent changes and haven't updated their opinions despite being presented with new facts. They claim they aren't dependant on Google.

      However, what about the publishers? If it's true that Google is planning on deindexing doop content, will the publishers still be willing to publish doop content, knowing the page may very well be deindexed?

      I'm sure the answer will vary from site to site. But it really doesn't hurt for the syndicators to have a Plan B and realize that they may need to submit totally original and unique articles in order for many publishers being willing to publish them.
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      • Profile picture of the author travelerjim
        Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

        I agree with everything you said, except "no one". I've posted comments suggesting we take a look at recent Google changes, but they get ignored by those that say Google doesn't matter to them, then constantly bring up something related to SEO.

        While Google may not directly affect article syndication and free lance writing, in many cases it does affect those that publish their articles.

        Recently, Google started giving those that use their Webmaster Tools warnings about their pages being duplicates of others on the web. It appears that Google is starting to only include one version of a page, then deindexing the other doops.

        It used to be that Google's doop content was "filtered" into the supplementary index. It may be soon that these doop pages are simply deindexed, which is worse than being penalized, especially if the page being deindexed is the original on your own domain.

        Seems many of the syndicators are totally ignoring the recent changes and haven't updated their opinions despite being presented with new facts. They claim they aren't dependant on Google.

        However, what about the publishers? If it's true that Google is planning on deindexing doop content, will the publishers still be willing to publish doop content, knowing the page may very well be deindexed?

        I'm sure the answer will vary from site to site. But it really doesn't hurt for the syndicators to have a Plan B and realize that they may need to submit totally original and unique articles in order for many publishers being willing to publish them.
        This is very interesting and it would seem t me that it would change the rules of the article syndication strategy quite quickly. Is there anyone that would disagree with that? The sites that would want the syndicated content would lose some of their rankings by continuing to take articles from others, right?

        One other note, this would be in google's interest right? It would push more people to buying ads for visibility huh?

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      • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
        Originally Posted by Kurt View Post

        I agree with everything you said, except "no one". I've posted comments suggesting we take a look at recent Google changes, but they get ignored by those that say Google doesn't matter to them, then constantly bring up something related to SEO.
        Hi Kurt,

        I certainly don't ignore anything, apart from what Dave says because he can't even read EZA's terms and conditions correctly along with numurous other errors which have been pointed out to him which he goes silent on. He also talks like a child in a playground that thinks his sweets are better than the other kids even though the other kid doesn't care. So to be heard better, he wears a t shirt saying "Teacher hates your sweets, they're bad and I do too".

        Very childish.

        Seems many of the syndicators are totally ignoring the recent changes and haven't updated their opinions despite being presented with new facts. They claim they aren't dependant on Google.
        I have actually. Quite openly. I've told you personally I don't use EZA or directories now (For my own reasons unconnected to this thread), I've admitted some publishers (don't get get excited Dave, I'm talking a rarity) do want totally unique content, that's why I'm so fussy to pick very high traffic sites, so my ROI is still worthwhile, especially if those I syndicate to decide they want to change. That still won't make this model I use dependent on Google though.

        It also doesn't mean those currently using EZA to syndicate their content have a method that doesn't work. Certainly not today. Another point is to look beyond the syndication of the article. Why is it done? In most cases it is purely to build a list, once they have the list, they have their business in that niche. If they have to give out unique content in future, how will this effect the main stay of there business which is really email marketing? How will any changes effect the list they already have?

        However, what about the publishers? If it's true that Google is planning on deindexing doop content, will the publishers still be willing to publish doop content, knowing the page may very well be deindexed?
        How will this effect the Ezines I use to get my work published? This makes up a good amount of my traffic I use to get people into my sales funnels. They are emails. How does this change effect this? How does it effect other paid parts of the syndication model I use?

        I'm sure the answer will vary from site to site.
        Exactly and from each person that uses syndication to the next. One thing Dave can't grasp is we don't all do the same thing. Not at all. He also doesn't grasp that syndication is much more varied than his very shallow view of it.

        But it really doesn't hurt for the syndicators to have a Plan B and realize that they may need to submit totally original and unique articles in order for many publishers being willing to publish them.
        Correct, which is why I've been testing, including what would happen if this became the case. That is why I already have certain sites, that I only give unique content to. They're not the majority but I do have them.

        What I want to know though are actual facts. There is a lot of speculation. On one hand there are the links to these Google conferences, Associated Press etc, then there's the freshness update.

        Lots of very interesting specualtion.
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  • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
    Could it be that the Business model is what Google finds objectionable
    Of course! Because, FOR ONCE, Google did something right with slapping those directories silly. Don't get me wrong, i did "article marketing" (in that sense) too in the past.

    But a "wild" article directory which contains 900 zillion categories with rather low quality 350 words "blah blah" articles should NEVER rank top-spot in Google for whatever searches.

    What would qualify an article on Ezine in some random niche to jump to #1 in Google (as was the case in the past)...as if Ezine is the ultimate authority on some subject?

    A 350 words articles written in mediocre English hardly "deserves" top spot in Google "just because it is on Ezine" - if there are other web-sites around which are far better covering a niche or topic.

    So..for once..Google did a good thing..the fact that "serious" webmasters don't need to compete anymore with an article which someone wrote on Ezine which cost him $3 and 15 mins to write (or let write) --> Ridiculous.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by GeorgR. View Post

      So..for once..Google did a good thing..
      Exactly so.

      And a real win/win - and a blessing for article marketers, of course, as so many of us have been saying in so many threads, because (a) with all those article directory copies out of the way, it's far easier for us to rank the copy originally published and indexed on our own sites, and (b) even beginners with new-ish sites can now submit a copy of their articles to EZA without their former problem that their prospective customers (rather than just prospective publishers) might unfortunately find that one rather than finding the one on their own sites.

      Originally Posted by Ashley Redcliff View Post

      There are many ways to build up backlinks without the need for Ezine Articles.
      There are many ways to go deep sea diving without the need for Ezine Articles, too. And Ezine Articles has about as much to do with deep sea diving as it does to do with being a backlink provider. Article directories are not there for people to try to use them for their own backlinks: they're simply a stepping-stone to better places: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-internet-marketing-discussion-forum/488368-how-do-article-directories-work.html
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    • Profile picture of the author nm5419
      Originally Posted by GeorgR. View Post

      A 350 words articles written in mediocre English hardly "deserves" top spot in Google "just because it is on Ezine" - if there are other web-sites around which are far better covering a niche or topic.
      Earlier this year, SearchEngineLand showed some University of Utah students the type of content found at these article directories, and you know what they did?

      They laughed at it.

      I guess Google had the same reaction, except that laughter sounded like a slap.
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  • Profile picture of the author Randall Magwood
    What does this mean in regards to using EZA to become an authority in your niche?
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    • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Randall Magwood View Post

      What does this mean in regards to using EZA to become an authority in your niche?
      Er, what does what mean? This thread hasn't been on just one topic. The conversation has deviated numerous times. Which piece of information led you to ask this question?:confused:
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    • Profile picture of the author nm5419
      Originally Posted by Randall Magwood View Post

      What does this mean in regards to using EZA to become an authority in your niche?
      EZA is not the place to become an authority on something. Things like your own highly-trafficked website, published books, degrees and certifications, real-world experience, published interviews, and teaching make one an authority figure!

      I know some companies that wouldn't be caught dead having content in EZA because of that very reason.
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    • Profile picture of the author myob
      Originally Posted by Randall Magwood View Post

      What does this mean in regards to using EZA to become an authority in your niche?
      When you submit a relevant article within your niche to EZA, and it is subsequently published, you are effectively given an implied endorsement by publishers to their subscribers/readers. The potential for this type of endorsement should not be underestimated. Its value is as real as tangible business assets; much like brick and mortar chain stores adding new outlets.

      And by having multiple articles archived on EZA, this serves as a showcase of your writing prowess. The real value of EZA for writers lies in its leverage for article syndication, but becoming an "authority" is entirely dependent upon one's skill as a writer for producing the quality expected by prospective ezine publishers.
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      • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Ken_Caudill View Post

        Yes, much like playing softball on a sandlot is a showcase of your ability to hit major league curve balls.
        See: The Dominican Republic
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  • Profile picture of the author rockingcow
    ezine articles isn't good for much anymore

    I submitted loads of articles there back in the day, some now have 50-60k views and altogether bring in 100-200 clicks per day to my affiliate links. 1-2 sales a month is all I can expect from that traffic. 2009 the same amount of traffic might have been 3-4 sales a week.

    Combination of people knowing crap content when they see it and Clickbank not converting like it used to.
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  • Profile picture of the author DakotaJStapp
    it's all about links back to your site I think... you post articles, add a resource box with a link back to your site, google indexes your article, sees the link and adds a thumb up.


    Originally Posted by dollar cashflow View Post

    can anyone here please really uncover the truth to me if ezine articles is still functioning like before or if it is not profitable for me tom post articles there anymore
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by DakotaJStapp View Post

      it's all about links back to your site I think...
      It just isn't.

      That's not what article marketing is about, at all. Article marketing is a traffic-generation method in its own right, not a way of getting traffic from search engines! The point, and value, of article marketing is that it's a method of attracting targeted traffic without being dependent on Google.

      This little thread clarifies the whole thing, if it helps: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ries-work.html
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      • Profile picture of the author DakotaJStapp
        So Alexa you're saying that there are people that will read my 1 article out of 1000s articles out there and THAT will benefit me because of the traffic of that 1 reader???

        I need my Tequila (xo)



        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        It just isn't.

        That's not what article marketing is about, at all. Article marketing is a traffic-generation method in its own right, not a way of getting traffic from search engines! The point, and value, of article marketing is that it's a method of attracting targeted traffic without being dependent on Google.
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Originally Posted by DakotaJStapp View Post

          So Alexa you're saying that there are people that will read my 1 article out of 1000s articles out there and THAT will benefit me because of the traffic of that 1 reader???
          I'm saying nothing even remotely similar to that, at all.

          This thread will explain to you how article directories work. If you follow the links in post #2 of it, you'll also know how article syndication works too, and that as John McCabe explains above, it has nothing to do with getting traffic from Google at all. http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ries-work.html

          And this post gives a quick overview of the process of article syndication, explaining and illustrating how Google is entirely unconnected with the traffic-attracting process: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post5035794
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          • Profile picture of the author rooze
            Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

            ... explaining and illustrating how Google is entirely unconnected with the traffic-attracting process...
            If Google begins to devalue (they drop in the SERP's and receive less traffic) sites that consistently publish second hand content, how can Google be "entirely unconnected with the traffic-attracting process"?

            I'm sorry to keep springing up, but I find the above comment to be remarkably inaccurate, yet you toss it out there like its my blessed Mother telling me that all little boys should be good!

            Scenario involving fictional Article Syndicator 'Ed'.

            1 - Ed's business revolves around writing articles for syndication, he gets very little direct traffic from Google.
            2 - 5000 websites have published Ed's syndicated content, along with a lot of other syndicated content.
            3 - 5000 websites send clicks to Ed's pages from his syndicated articles daily
            4 - Google, in line with its evolving policy of devaluing sites which publish dupe content, runs a new filter and many of Ed's 5000 syndicated sites see a significant loss in traffic.
            5 - Ed wakes up one day and notices a significant drop in his traffic

            Ed didn't get much direct Google traffic but his partner/syndication sites did and so everyone is affected to varying degrees. Ed isn't too worried, he has a diverse traffic base so his business isn't in ruins, but it still hurts, nevertheless.

            My point is that I just can't understand how article syndication can be considered entirely unconnected to Google? I'm sorry but it's just so wrong that I can hardly stand it
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            • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
              Banned
              Originally Posted by rooze View Post

              If Google begins to devalue (they drop in the SERP's and receive less traffic) sites that consistently publish second hand content, how can Google be "entirely unconnected with the traffic-attracting process"?

              I'm sorry to keep springing up
              Not at all, Rooze; you're welcome.

              The traffic-gathering process described is largely ezine based.

              As Paul and I were trying to explain to you further up in the thread.

              If you read the post I linked to, you'll see, about three quarters of the way through it, the statement, highlighted in colour: "Nobody, at any stage of the story, has used a search engine at all". (Or virtually identical words to that). That's what we're talking about when we explain that one of the attractions of this kind of business model is that it builds a real, asset-based business comprising gradually increasing residual income from work already done without being dependent on Google.

              Originally Posted by rooze View Post

              I find the above comment to be remarkably inaccurate
              I imagine one might, not having read the thread linked to, and still thinking of website-derived traffic, as you've again clarified. We're just talking at cross purposes, to some extent. As once or twice before, I think. Never mind.

              Originally Posted by rooze View Post

              I just can't understand how article syndication can be considered entirely unconnected to Google?
              I suspect that it's not a business model for you anyway, Rooze, so I wouldn't worry about it, if I were you.

              As you can see from a plethora of threads here on the subject, large and increasing numbers of us are making our livings and building our businesses this way, without dependence on Google-derived traffic.

              And Christmas greetings to you.
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              • Profile picture of the author rooze
                Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

                Not at all, Rooze; you're welcome.

                The traffic-gathering process described is largely ezine based.

                As Paul and I were trying to explain to you further up in the thread.

                If you read the post I linked to, you'll see, about three quarters of the way through it, the statement, highlighted in colour: "Nobody, at any stage of the story, has used a search engine at all". (Or virtually identical words to that). That's what we're talking about when we explain that one of the attractions of this kind of business model is that it builds a real, asset-based business comprising gradually increasing residual income from work already done without being dependent on Google.
                I imagine one might, not having read the thread linked to, and still thinking of website-derived traffic, as you've again clarified. We're just talking at cross purposes, to some extent. As once or twice before, I think. Never mind.
                I suspect that it's not a business model for you anyway, Rooze, so I wouldn't worry about it, if I were you.

                As you can see from a plethora of threads here on the subject, large and increasing numbers of us are making our livings and building our businesses this way, without dependence on Google-derived traffic.

                And Christmas greetings to you.
                Once again Alexa you've completely failed to acknowledge my point, and you've resorted to quite a condescending tone to try and minimize the validity of what I'm saying.

                If you continue to believe that the traffic to your website, via whatever route they arrive, is not somehow influenced by Google search, then it's really hard to take all the good information you provide to this community very seriously at all. Linking me away from this thread has no bearing on the outcome. Regardless of how your traffic arrives, this statement is still false - "Google is entirely unconnected with the traffic-attracting process..." and as for this comment - "Nobody, at any stage of the story, has used a search engine at all" - well, the plot just thickens.

                Have a smashing Holiday
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                • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
                  Banned
                  Originally Posted by rooze View Post

                  Have a smashing Holiday
                  Thank you very much, Rooze. You too.
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  • Profile picture of the author Raindance
    How do you find webmasters who publish others' content on their sites with the resource boxes intact? I'm not asking how to find publishers who use my content, I know how to do that. I want to know is there a way of finding out these people so you can contact them and try to pitch your articles? I have heard of "directory of ezines" but not used it yet. It isn't always fruitful to just wait for webmasters to pick your stuff from article directories. It has happened a couple of times to me that my article wasn't used anywhere else at all. So any tips on that?
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    • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
      Banned
      Every morning, without fail, I come into the main section and find this thread at the top, and see more more of this:
      a lot of speculation.
      Well, at least I caught up on it before nm5419 came in. Merry Christmas article marketers!
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Originally Posted by Raindance View Post

        How do you find webmasters who publish others' content on their sites with the resource boxes intact? I'm not asking how to find publishers who use my content, I know how to do that. I want to know is there a way of finding out these people so you can contact them and try to pitch your articles? I have heard of "directory of ezines" but not used it yet. It isn't always fruitful to just wait for webmasters to pick your stuff from article directories. It has happened a couple of times to me that my article wasn't used anywhere else at all. So any tips on that?
        One way is to pick your favorite search engine and search on the phrase:

        [keyword] "Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com" -site:ezinearticles.com

        This will return pages which have used articles with your keywords sourced from EZA and following the bit of their TOS that requires the link back.

        You can do the same thing with other directories. Just go to the directory and see if their TOS or even their copy/paste format has a footprint you can use to find people using articles from that directory.
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  • Profile picture of the author rooze
    :confused:.....and so the myth about article syndication not being dependent on traffic from Google continues...:confused:
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by rooze View Post

      :confused:.....and so the myth about article syndication not being dependent on traffic from Google continues...:confused:
      If you're referring to my post just above yours, it has nothing to do with traffic from Google.

      It depends on Google (or Yahoo or Bing) indexing those pages, and returning them when a very specific search query is used. Whether those pages get any search traffic is an entirely different question.

      BTW, if you think $14/lb for salmon is outrageous, come to Florida and pay $27/lb for grouper...
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      • Profile picture of the author rooze
        Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

        If you're referring to my post just above yours, it has nothing to do with traffic from Google.

        It depends on Google (or Yahoo or Bing) indexing those pages, and returning them when a very specific search query is used. Whether those pages get any search traffic is an entirely different question.

        BTW, if you think $14/lb for salmon is outrageous, come to Florida and pay $27/lb for grouper...
        Hi John,

        I wasn't referring to your post, it's one higher up the page that had me shaking my head in disbelief.

        $27/lb for grouper!! It'd have to be an endangered species for anyone to pay that much for a fish in Wisconsin
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    • Profile picture of the author Chris Worner
      Originally Posted by rooze View Post

      :confused:.....and so the myth about article syndication not being dependent on traffic from Google continues...:confused:
      You are making a very dangerous assumption that those websites we syndication folk submit our content to are themselves dependent solely on SEO to get traffic.

      Very unwise.

      Respectfully
      Chris
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      • Profile picture of the author rooze
        Originally Posted by Chris Worner View Post

        You are making a very dangerous assumption that those websites we syndication folk submit our content to are themselves dependent solely on SEO to get traffic.

        Very unwise.

        Respectfully
        Chris
        Hi Chris,

        No I'm not, because I didn't say that. Very unwise of you to make an assertion like that. Show me where I said 'solely'.

        But thanks anyway for the feedback.

        Cheers,

        Rooze
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  • Profile picture of the author DakotaJStapp
    Alexa

    I see what you're saying but you support your arguments with the "flood" of traffic you receive from that way of dealing with articles.

    I do not trust even my dog, so do not take it personal, but if I do not see NUMBERS I do not believe any of the statements posted in forums. Neither my dog does.
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    • Profile picture of the author MikeTucker
      Originally Posted by DakotaJStapp View Post

      Alexa

      I see what you're saying but you support your arguments with the "flood" of traffic you receive from that way of dealing with articles.

      I do not trust even my dog, so do not take it personal, but if I do not see NUMBERS I do not believe any of the statements posted in forums. Neither my dog does.

      That's it, you have officially hurt my brain.


      She has shown you the gold mine and given you the pickaxe & shovel-- she isn't trying to sell you anything-- and you think she needs to prove something for you?
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Rooze, you seem like a reasonable guy, but perhaps you have a small blind spot?

        This statement does not have to be false:

        "Google is entirely unconnected with the traffic-attracting process..."
        For it to be universally true, Google would have to be the sole starting point for anyone to reach any website, and I think we can agree that that isn't true.

        As a web surfer, I find sites and other content in a variety of ways. There are the other search engines, of course. Google is still the 800# gorilla, but the others do seem to be gaining weight. I find many sites through references in books and magazines and in TV shows. In newsletters, both email and in print, which were not found via Google.

        I don't ignore Google completely, but I don't overhaul everything I do just because they float a trial balloon on a blog, or they trot out Cutts to float the balloon. I think you'll agree that many times what Google says and what Google actually does are not the same.

        The one thing that has remained constant is their devotion to the user experience. As long as I keep that in mind, I'm not really worried. I may have to adjust the way I do certain things at some future point, but that point isn't here yet...
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        • Profile picture of the author bretski
          Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

          I think you'll agree that many times what Google says and what Google actually does are not the same.
          Good point and I would assume that there is a good amount of disinformation that is put out there.
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        • Profile picture of the author rooze
          Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post


          For it to be universally true, Google would have to be the sole starting point for anyone to reach any website, and I think we can agree that that isn't true.

          As a web surfer, I find sites and other content in a variety of ways. There are the other search engines, of course. Google is still the 800# gorilla, but the others do seem to be gaining weight. I find many sites through references in books and magazines and in TV shows. In newsletters, both email and in print, which were not found via Google.

          I don't ignore Google completely, but I don't overhaul everything I do just because they float a trial balloon on a blog, or they trot out Cutts to float the balloon. I think you'll agree that many times what Google says and what Google actually does are not the same.

          The one thing that has remained constant is their devotion to the user experience. As long as I keep that in mind, I'm not really worried. I may have to adjust the way I do certain things at some future point, but that point isn't here yet...
          Hi John,
          I agree with what you've said and there may well be a blind spot in my vision but I'm trying hard to see through it

          I think as the posts unfold, the original premise starts to become a little more opaque.

          Yes, I reacted to this statement: Google is entirely unconnected with the traffic-attracting process...
          and yes, with respect to the above statement we can agree that this isn't true: For it to be universally true, Google would have to be the sole starting point for anyone to reach any website, and I think we can agree that that isn't true.

          The various steps a person takes before arriving at our website looks like any typical sales funnel. For certain there will be some people who arrive at our websites via steps which have not involved a Google search at any stage. But there will be people who do arrive at our websites with Google having played some part at some stage in the process along the way.

          So keeping the 'entirely unconnected' comment within the context of that which preceded it, here's the scenario that simply does not appear logical to me -

          I syndicate articles to other website and/or ezine owners > they in turn provide visitors to my website or subscriptions to my list or clicks to my products - whatever the resultant action, they're still 'visitors' derived from my syndicated article.

          Even if they're coming from an ezine list, that list still had to be compiled in the first instance!

          Now the: Google is entirely unconnected with the traffic-attracting process... comment, precludes Google from having been involved at any stage whatsoever, under any circumstances whatsoever - my entire traffic source is immune from the activity of Google

          Google is intertwined with pretty much all aspects of the web, as you know.
          1 - In a scenario where it has little involvement: an ezine owner may purchase an email list, receive an article from an author, send the article to the list, and send traffic from the list to the author's website. Google has likely played some role in the list compilation but the actual ezine owner would need to verify what that role was.

          2 - In a second scenario which shows Google in its most involved light - an author submits an article and it is syndicated on a website. Google finds the articles and sends traffic to the article, some of that traffic clicks the author bio link or a link in the article and arrives back at the author site. Obviously this scenario leaves the author most prone to being impacted by Google's policy changes regarding dupe content. If the site is devalued for publishing dupe content then the author's indirect traffic will decrease too.

          But regardless of the scenario, I still can't envisage a real life practical scenario where Google doesn't play some role in the generation of traffic, directly or indirectly.
          Furthermore, given the OP, and the context, I firmly believe that we're talking more about people using scenario 2 above, and not 1, therefore Google's influence is greater and not less. (Though Alexa, God bless her, may be more in camp 1).

          That's my blind spot and I'll just have to peer over the rim of my glasses to see out


          Cheers

          Rooze
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          • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
            Banned
            Hi Rooze, yes, as you say, I'm probably more in camp I, myself, as you've set them out. I think quite a lot of us are, actually.

            I do take your points, though. One can never swear with certainty that one's flood of traffic which arrives through an ezine syndicating one of one's articles, comprises people who have never at any point in their lives used a search engine to look for anything related to the subject. Some of them may even, at some previous long-ago point, have subscribed to the very ezine in question after finding it via a search-engine search (though I do have some difficulty finding them that way, myself, I have to say). Obviously one has to accept this possibility.

            Nevertheless, I don't think this observation actually detracts from the "key concept", if you will, that the fundamental principle of the article syndication is that the traffic-generation part of one's business, in itself, is very clearly not dependent on search engines.

            There are, after all, large and growing numbers of us here building our businesses with methods very closely similar to the one described in some detail in this post, and it seems very clear to me that nobody can suggest with a straight face that the floods of targeted traffic, attracted by the article syndication there, really have anything to do with Google at all. Indeed, the key point explained in that post, and the very reason for it being there, is that no search engine was involved in the whole story at all.

            If Google had disappeared off the face of the Earth the month before, taking my SERP's listings, and the article directory's SERP's listings, and all the ezines' SERP's listings with it, the traffic from the syndication of that (or any other) article would have been unaffected by this. You're not going to get any less Google-dependent than that, I think?

            It must be said (and has been, a few times!) that I'm not averse to being a little bit pedantic, myself, sometimes, when responding the threads here, but to struggle to find a way of interpreting "article syndication" to try to make it sound as if it might somehow be "Google dependent" is really taking it a level or three too far for even me to contemplate.
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            • Profile picture of the author rooze
              Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

              Hi Rooze, yes, as you say, I'm probably more in camp I, myself, as you've set them out. I think quite a lot of us are, actually.

              I do take your points, though. One can never swear with certainty that one's flood of traffic which arrives through an ezine syndicating one of one's articles, comprises people who have never at any point in their lives used a search engine to look for anything related to the subject. Some of them may even, at some previous long-ago point, have subscribed to the very ezine in question after finding it via a search-engine search (though I do have some difficulty finding them that way, myself, I have to say). Obviously one has to accept this possibility.

              Nevertheless, I don't think this observation actually detracts from the "key concept", if you will, that the fundamental principle of the article syndication is that the traffic-generation part of one's business, in itself, is very clearly not dependent on search engines.

              There are, after all, large and growing numbers of us here building our businesses with methods very closely similar to the one described in some detail in this post, and it seems very clear to me that nobody can suggest with a straight face that the floods of targeted traffic, attracted by the article syndication there, really have anything to do with Google at all. Indeed, the key point explained in that post, and the very reason for it being there, is that no search engine was involved in the whole story at all.

              If Google had disappeared off the face of the Earth the month before, taking my SERP's listings, and the article directory's SERP's listings, and all the ezines' SERP's listings with it, the traffic from the syndication of that (or any other) article would have been unaffected by this. You're not going to get any less Google-dependent than that, I think?

              It must be said (and has been, a few times!) that I'm not averse to being a little bit pedantic, myself, sometimes, when responding the threads here, but to struggle to find a way of interpreting "article syndication" to try to make it sound as if it might somehow be "Google dependent" is really taking it a level or three too far for even me to contemplate.
              See now, had you just admitted this at the start, I wouldn't have had to resort to pedanticism
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      • Profile picture of the author John Coutts
        Originally Posted by MikeTucker View Post

        She has shown you the gold mine and given you the pickaxe & shovel-- she isn't trying to sell you anything-- and you think she needs to prove something for you?
        I worked out months ago that the information provided freely by Alexa and a few others is solid gold. It's better than the majority of WSOs coming out, and it is costing us nothing whatsoever.

        I currently write articles for clients, and I have been doing that for over 16 years. I do pretty good with that, but I have already started to shift my focus over to article syndication. I hope to make the complete shift over within the next few months, gradually phasing out writing for clients and phasing in writing for myself.

        I will follow the "plan" detailed across so many posts on this forum (and regularly resurrected whenever someone else declares that article marketing is dead), and I know it will work for me. Furthermore, I don't care what Google does or doesn't do in the future; it won't significantly affect the outcome for me.

        So, with Christmas almost upon us, I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly thank all those who have so generously (and patiently) explained what article marketing really is, and isn't.

        Thanks, and Merry Christmas to everyone!

        John.
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        • Profile picture of the author MikeTucker
          Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

          The one thing that has remained constant is their devotion to the user experience. As long as I keep that in mind, I'm not really worried. I may have to adjust the way I do certain things at some future point, but that point isn't here yet...
          ...And there is half of an ever-green business plan, Folks!


          Originally Posted by John Coutts View Post

          I worked out months ago that the information provided freely by Alexa and a few others is solid gold. It's better than the majority of WSOs coming out, and it is costing us nothing whatsoever.

          I am currently writing articles for clients, and I do pretty good with that, but I have already started to shift my focus over the article syndication. I hope to make the complete shift over within the next few months, gradually phasing out writing for clients and phasing in writing for myself.

          I will follow the "plan" detailed across so many posts on this forum (and regularly resurrected whenever someone else declares that article marketing is dead), and I know it will work for me. Furthermore, I don't care what Google does or doesn't do in the future; it won't significantly affect the outcome for me.

          So, with Christmas almost upon us, I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly thank all those who have so generously (and patiently) explained what article marketing really is, and isn't.

          Thanks, and Merry Christmas to everyone!

          John.

          Writing articles for clients is a great way to "earn while you learn", smart strategy.

          Merry Christmas to you, too, John. Best wishes.
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  • Profile picture of the author swingin4dafence
    I've stopped using EzineArticles for the moment because I noticed two things.

    1. Traffic to my sites went way down. Pretty much the same as hpgoodboy's chart.

    2. My many articles which once ranked first page of Google results aren't anywhere near that anymore.
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  • Profile picture of the author Haris Tahic
    Well, EZA actually isn't good as it used to be, but still good.

    The fact is that you cannot build your SERP only trough article marketing on EZA.
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  • Profile picture of the author NddS777
    In my opinion, EZA can still work well for you, depending on what you're using them for.

    In my case, for instance, I'm currently submitting articles that serve as samples of the quality content we create. Now, whether you're pro-EZA or not, one cannot deny that people do still associate content published on their site with QUALITY. As mentioned earlier, to some, EZA is still a trustworthy and preferred source of information.

    It really depends on what you're Article Marketing Strategy is. And yes, you need one.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jgregory
      Two Cents from a Coder's Point of View on Ownership and Where to Publish First

      Bottom Line: IF this is original content, AND you intend to syndicate said content, THEN publish on your own Site first, AND get that page into the Google Index first, THEN wait for 3 more visits from the GoogleBot that retrieves said page text before syndicating, IF you want to establish solid ownership of said original content.

      AND if it does not score as "Original Content" in the first place, THEN none of this matters anyway

      From the Point of View of a Coder, who could be working on the Google index algorithms, establishing ownership of Original Content by "First Date Published" is dead easy. With these numbers right here, and coders love numbers.

      26122011

      Would work something like this... The algorithms crunch retrieved text and find some "original content"... meaning a lot of words in a group between <body> and </body> that "don't fit any pattern seen previously in our indexed pages". Then it is flagged as Original... this is logic based on those conditional logic statements coded in... that IF THEN ELSE stuff.

      And it assigns to that "group of words on a page", 26122011 DOMAIN it came from.

      Now we have an owner/originator in the simplest, most efficient way possible. So simple. It's even fair some would say.
      CUTAWAY to Scene 42: The engineers in the Google basement wagging heads up and down.

      Is this official from Google? No. Is this the way it is really done. Danged if I know, but I assure you it is what 999 out of 1000 coders would do if directed to establish the Ownership of Original Content. And they were tasked to do exactly that a long time ago.

      What does Google Say?

      Not really sure and don't really care for my purposes. There is a lot I do care to know, but not this one. Been established for a long time in my view.

      BTW, I do get some sideways information that indicates it resembles a zoo over at Mountain View fueled by the huge disconnect between engineers, management, and spokespersons on the blogspot. No real communication or direction. I take what is posted at the BlogSpot with a lot of salt. And in the end, the outcome of the debates or issues there, don't really matter for my business.

      With the engineers, even "who's in charge" is often up for grabs in many departments, or so I'm told and hear. The numbers of new hires is staggering. Teams are huge and spread around in different locations. Google started with a decentralized you-have-a-PHD-do-want-you-want-when-you-want-to-do-it Corporate Culture, and that's not easily changed... frustrating as that is to the money boys up in the Penthouse offices.

      Suggestions Please... What are the Best Syndication Sites or Resources?

      I came here for a reason searching the forum... Can someone point me to a list of the currently best places to syndicate some articles? paid or un-paid. Please share. I've looked around for current opinions and come up dry so far.

      Would like to place some low-searched thematically relevant articles and not let them get picked up outside the same specific theme. IOW, "XYZ topic" business articles that will only be picked up by "XYZ topic" business websites.

      Thanks in advance.

      Best Regards,
      Jan Gregory

      PS Why 3 visits from GoogleBot? It makes lots of mistakes retrieving and the index algorithms take awhile to digest new additions, so be safe and wait. Duplicate content penalties are a total myth. Spin the titles if you want, forget the rest and just spread your great content around. And please, focus on writing truly unique, interesting, valuable content... and the rest will pretty much fall into place. The internet needs great content, and Google thinks so too and will reward you.

      And what about the targeted website traffic we all want to see from our content? Which is the only kind that matters to me. In our experience... 75% of targeted traffic comes from referral domains that have our content with a link in it. We also track every visitor and every keyword, and every visitor source, and connect all that to conversions on the Money Pages. Very revealing and highly recommended if you want to maximize your efforts.
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      • Profile picture of the author rooze
        Originally Posted by Jgregory View Post

        Two Cents from a Coder's Point of View on Ownership and Where to Publish First

        Bottom Line: IF this is original content, AND you intend to syndicate said content, THEN publish on your own Site first, AND get that page into the Google Index first, THEN wait for 3 more visits from the GoogleBot that retrieves said page text before syndicating, IF you want to establish solid ownership of said original content.

        AND if it does not score as "Original Content" in the first place, THEN none of this matters anyway

        From the Point of View of a Coder, who could be working on the Google index algorithms, establishing ownership of Original Content by "First Date Published" is dead easy. With these numbers right here, and coders love numbers.

        26122011

        Would work something like this... The algorithms crunch retrieved text and find some "original content"... meaning a lot of words in a group between <body> and </body> that "don't fit any pattern seen previously in our indexed pages". Then it is flagged as Original... this is logic based on those conditional logic statements coded in... that IF THEN ELSE stuff.

        And it assigns to that "group of words on a page", 26122011 DOMAIN it came from.

        Now we have an owner/originator in the simplest, most efficient way possible. So simple. It's even fair some would say.
        CUTAWAY to Scene 42: The engineers in the Google basement wagging heads up and down.

        Is this official from Google? No. Is this the way it is really done. Danged if I know, but I assure you it is what 999 out of 1000 coders would do if directed to establish the Ownership of Original Content. And they were tasked to do exactly that a long time ago.

        What does Google Say?

        Not really sure and don't really care for my purposes. There is a lot I do care to know, but not this one. Been established for a long time in my view.

        BTW, I do get some sideways information that indicates it resembles a zoo over at Mountain View fueled by the huge disconnect between engineers, management, and spokespersons on the blogspot. No real communication or direction. I take what is posted at the BlogSpot with a lot of salt. And in the end, the outcome of the debates or issues there, don't really matter for my business.

        With the engineers, even "who's in charge" is often up for grabs in many departments, or so I'm told and hear. The numbers of new hires is staggering. Teams are huge and spread around in different locations. Google started with a decentralized you-have-a-PHD-do-want-you-want-when-you-want-to-do-it Corporate Culture, and that's not easily changed... frustrating as that is to the money boys up in the Penthouse offices.

        Suggestions Please... What are the Best Syndication Sites or Resources?

        I came here for a reason searching the forum... Can someone point me to a list of the currently best places to syndicate some articles? paid or un-paid. Please share. I've looked around for current opinions and come up dry so far.

        Would like to place some low-searched thematically relevant articles and not let them get picked up outside the same specific theme. IOW, "XYZ topic" business articles that will only be picked up by "XYZ topic" business websites.

        Thanks in advance.

        Best Regards,
        Jan Gregory

        PS Why 3 visits from GoogleBot? It makes lots of mistakes retrieving and the index algorithms take awhile to digest new additions, so be safe and wait. Duplicate content penalties are a total myth. Spin the titles if you want, forget the rest and just spread your great content around. And please, focus on writing truly unique, interesting, valuable content... and the rest will pretty much fall into place. The internet needs great content, and Google thinks so too and will reward you.

        And what about the targeted website traffic we all want to see from our content? Which is the only kind that matters to me. In our experience... 75% of targeted traffic comes from referral domains that have our content with a link in it. We also track every visitor and every keyword, and every visitor source, and connect all that to conversions on the Money Pages. Very revealing and highly recommended if you want to maximize your efforts.
        Hi Jan and Merry Christmas,

        I'm interested in your comments. I've spent a big part of my research in 2011 working on ways to establish page/content ownership and seeing how Google reacts to different strategies. I too thought this at first "Now we have an owner/originator in the simplest, most efficient way possible. So simple. It's even fair some would say" ....until I realized that Google only has a small percentage of the web in its index at any one time. I haven't found a reliable figure, but I see numbers fairly consistently between 18% and 30%.
        So if it's a number in that range, then mathematically Google would have to assume that the first time it encounters a piece of 'unique' content, it probably already exists somewhere that it hasn't indexed.

        My belief is that this is the biggest weak link in their new Site Authority system. For Authority to be awarded fairly the original source must be known (as you've eluded to in your post I think). But with the present range of tools and methods, including REL Author, canonical URL's etc, I don't believe there's a way for Google to establish the source reliably. So looking at it from a coders perspective, I believe a 'weighting' is given to each piece of new content based on the probability of it being new and original. I think the weighting factor (say a number between 1 and 100) can also be influenced by authors in one of a number of different ways. But there's a trick to getting a high score, it doesn't come from a simple thing like a date stamp due to the low percentage of indexed content. The higher the 'probability of originality' score, the more authority received for a particular piece of content - so it's important we take steps to establish our content as unique, if we want maximum benefit out of it. I have a lot of stats on this that I may roll out here when I've finished compiling, if anyone is interested. Also some test data on what works and what seems not to.

        Cheers

        Rooze
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      • Profile picture of the author myob
        Originally Posted by Jgregory View Post

        ...I came here for a reason searching the forum... Can someone point me to a list of the currently best places to syndicate some articles? paid or un-paid. Please share. I've looked around for current opinions and come up dry so far.
        There are four reference tools I use almost daily for article syndication outlets - the directoryofezines.com, writers' market, newspapers.com and directoryofassociations.com. For any given viable niche, there are perhaps millions of potential candidates for article syndication.
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  • Profile picture of the author FriendlyRob
    I've always felt that a good time to start driving something is when everyone else thinks it doesn't work anymore.
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  • Profile picture of the author Majin
    Never liked to do article SEO, i have some article directories backlinks but only thanks to some services i bought. I really don't care much.
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  • Profile picture of the author ezmystic
    I will be publishing articles on my site mainly from now on and facebook and using a service like onlywire to distribute the articles.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by ezmystic View Post

      I will be publishing articles on my site mainly from now on and facebook and using a service like onlywire to distribute the articles.
      It's just a suggestion, Ezmystic, but you may find you do a lot better by distributing them yourself to people with ezines and/or websites in your niche who want to share them with their already-targeted readers/subscribers.

      That way you can get targeted, buying traffic (and some valuable relevant backlinks) from them. Many of us have found that this makes the difference between making a living from them by building up some true residual income from work already done, and not making a living from them.
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      • Profile picture of the author ymest
        Yep and you could try "Turn words into traffic" by Jim and Dallas Edwards, very useful and not too expensive!

        You can do it "manually" or if you have more cash to spare then Charlie Page is the man for you!

        Gd Luck

        Yoan
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  • Profile picture of the author VeitSchenk
    well, the graphs and overall 'statistics' depicting the traffic decline from ezine articles don't quite tell the whole story!

    there are some niches/markets in which ezinearticles articles are alive and kicking, and others, in which, yes there is a huge decline.

    So, before embarking on an article marketing campaign, make sure ezinearticles still ranks in your niche!

    Veit
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    • Profile picture of the author anthony2
      Originally Posted by VeitSchenk View Post

      well, the graphs and overall 'statistics' depicting the traffic decline from ezine articles don't quite tell the whole story!

      there are some niches/markets in which ezinearticles articles are alive and kicking, and others, in which, yes there is a huge decline.

      So, before embarking on an article marketing campaign, make sure ezinearticles still ranks in your niche!

      Veit

      Definitely makes since.
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  • Profile picture of the author rooze
    Heck, their traffic fell to only 5M UV in November, they might as well close it down!

    (Sorry about that, I meant to say that it's still a nice chunk of traffic if they can reorganize for their reduced revenue).
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  • Profile picture of the author datemyride
    EzineArticles never worked for me. I was getting less than 5% traffic from them before Google pushed them down and now I am getting nothing.
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  • Profile picture of the author footfoot
    A few questions:
    1. Why doesn't google simply deindex the entire ezinearticles.com site except for the homepage thus forcing EA back to what it was originally designed for? Why is google so wishy-washy on this with their little penalties?
    2. If syndication is EA's primary purpose, why the limit of 25 articles/year per domain per publisher?
    3. If you submit an article to EA that is never published anywhere (there's plenty) you have essentially accomplished nothing with that article with refards to EA right?
    -thanks
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    • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
      Banned
      Originally Posted by footfoot View Post

      A few questions:
      1. Why doesn't google simply deindex the entire ezinearticles.com site except for the homepage thus forcing EA back to what it was originally designed for? Why is google so wishy-washy on this with their little penalties?
      2. If syndication is EA's primary purpose, why the limit of 25 articles/year per domain per publisher?
      3. If you submit an article to EA that is never published anywhere (there's plenty) you have essentially accomplished nothing with that article with refards to EA right?
      -thanks
      1. I'd assume EZA is still making enough ad money for Google to want to keep them around. I agree though that what they have done so far is "wishy-washy" and in a perfect world they would take your approach.

      2. I couldn't answer that one.

      3. In regards to EZA, you are right. You have accomplished pretty much nothing (assuming you don't get a stray customer or two; but that's a lot to hope for). This is why one must build their own personal syndication network, so that they are not dependent on one site such as EZA.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by footfoot View Post

      1. Why doesn't google simply deindex the entire ezinearticles.com site except for the homepage thus forcing EA back to what it was originally designed for?
      Why should they?

      What business is it of Google's "what EZA was originally for"?

      What would give them to right to single out an individual site for "special/different punitive treatment"?! :confused:

      Originally Posted by footfoot View Post

      2. If syndication is EA's primary purpose, why the limit of 25 articles/year per domain per publisher?
      That's in the rules (a maximum of 250 articles per year) simply to give them a legal remedy in the case of someone copying their entire database and "setting up in opposition". They don't enforce it and don't intend to, but it protects them against that far-fetched possibility, anyway. Lawyers are paid to think of things like this! :rolleyes:

      Originally Posted by footfoot View Post

      3. If you submit an article to EA that is never published anywhere (there's plenty) you have essentially accomplished nothing with that article with refards to EA right?
      I don't understand what you're asking, with this question - sorry.
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  • Profile picture of the author HatKing
    I think the founders of ezine are trying to scrape any $$ that they can left from ezine and move on..
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    • Profile picture of the author rooze
      Originally Posted by HatKing View Post

      I think the founders of ezine are trying to scrape any $$ that they can left from ezine and move on..
      This part interests me more than anything else, how a company reacts to losing a large chunk of their market share overnight.

      My own business offices were a 1/4 mile down the street from the Industrial park that Chris Knight chose to build his brand new, state-of-the-art facility (Sparknet - eZine). I've since moved an hour north from Ashwaubenon but I still see information about his company in the local press. The facility he built is pretty amazing, I've been there a couple times and admired its minimalistic styling on the outside, but the modern and high-tech layout on the inside. He's built a pretty amazing facility for his 70 or so employees, and it's huge, he clearly built it with expansion in mind. They have a modern cafeteria, weight room, fitness center, conference and training center and an amazing lobby area all kitted out in a money-no-object approach.
      Of course this was all built a year before his website took a dive. Can you imagine that, making such a financial commitment to the future, then being hit so hard by Google?
      I don't know how diverse his operations are these days. When I first had dealings with him he operated a corporate email server business (Sparknet) though my understanding was that he'd ditched that along the way to building his eZine empire.
      Anyway, Chris Knight is a pretty amazing guy with a very positive philosophy on life. I hope he bounces back, both for him and the 70 people he employs in my local area.
      We sometimes forget what's behind these things when they happen. We look at graphs and jest about the decline of a website, but there's often a whole bunch of jobs depending on the business to stay afloat.
      WRT to the OP title, I know eZines is far from dead, but it's pretty badly wounded. I hope CK keeps it together and finds a way to bounce back.
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  • Profile picture of the author MikeTucker
    I'm not a gambling man, but I would bet a sizable chunk of change that EZA is going to endure, and will thrive again. I've never met or spoken with Chris, but I've had a lot of conversations with the folks over at EZA over the last few years, and you can always tell a leader by the leaders that are following him.


    (...And I typed this paragraph while sipping tea from my EZA mug and half-watching my 5 year old plays games only he knows the rules to with the template cards, LOL)
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