Fallout From Google Algorithm Changes Hits EzineArticles.com
So the other day we posted about how Google has released a couple of new updates in February both aimed at poor quality content as well as some other minor tweaks towards EMD’s (exact match domains). Well, now comes round two (if you missed the prior blog post on the recent Google algorithm updates see Google Launches Yet Another Algorithm Change Today Affecting 12% of Searches).
Round one is where Google makes its crack downs. Round two is the trickle down impact of those changes and today EzineArticles.com becomes the first of what will surely be more to crack down as well. EzineArticles.com announced several new measures to try and improve quality on their site, knowing that it is used by many article marketers and internet marketers looking for authority backlinks. They also know that if they don’t stay on Google’s good side they won’t have any “authority” to pass out. So obviously this is a self-preservation reaction.
The Five New Changes to EzineArticles.com Submission Requirements
The have officially introduced several new measures including (1) increased quality checks, (2) removal of the API and Plugin support, (3) new policy for dead links, (4) further restrictions on basic members and (5) a new 400 word minimum article length. All of these changes are designed to root out poor quality content and keep them in Google’s good graces. Honestly, on their part, it’s probably a wise move.
We all know that many people abuse the loopholes they find and EzineArticles.com has walked the line for quite awhile. On one side they hold themselves up as a higher standard than others, but at the same time they have allowed many to slip by with a few loop holes. The restrictions on Basic Members were one of them. Prior to today’s rules, if you didn’t reach Platinum level by your 10th article, you were allowed a maximum of 25 submissions. Well, that was the theory. The reality was that if you didn’t meet quality expectations by the 25th, you would likely get another 25 tries – and that cycle repeated.
Ezine editors will also be spending twice as much time editing and approving or rejecting each article to ensure higher quality as well. Emphasis will be put on more spelling and grammar checks, etc… But here’s the real scoop. People bash eHow and DemandStudios for “average” content with no real insight, yet EzineArticles.com is generally the same thing – general information pieces that are usually just rewrites for purposes of SEO (though there are many legit and quality writers there too – we know that). The point is this, how is fixing more spelling errors and correcting some grammar issues going to really improve the content? Poor quality is about more than merely spelling and grammar mistakes.
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As far as the API and plugin support, well, anything automated is, unfortunately, a recipe for disaster if you’re trying to maintain quality and keep out spammers. The fact is, that many have abused the API and plugin support and Ezine knows that. Again, they’ve been walking that line. Put up the high standards, but let people slide in the back door. Why? Because while quality is important to EzineArticles.com, what’s more important is, of course, revenue. The more content they pump out, the more long tail keywords they rank for and the more traffic and revenue they get. EzineArticles.com is not in the same exact boat as eHow or Demand Studios as true content farms, but they are certainly a close cousin. They publish hundreds of articles per day via their users and the end result is the same.
What It All Means To You?
The end result is probably a good thing for legit Internet marketers. Will it be more of a pain in the neck to submit to EzineArticles.com? Absolutely it will. However, your links there should still be valuable and after this very public crackdown you can probably bet they will continue to remain in Google’s good graces by at least publicly appearing to tighten the reins again.
As you know, we’ve never been a big fan of submitting more than a handful of articles to EzineArticles.com or any other single site as the benefits become quickly diluted and we firmly believe that real traffic comes through search rankings not trying to drive traffic through article click thrus. A few links, however, from EzineArticles.com is a good thing for most sites, we just don’t recommend it as a traffic strategy. If you want to read more about what we do recommend, we highly recommend you grab our free eBook at the top right of the page.
As always, please comment below and give us your opinion…
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On March 1, 2011 Stephen Monday wrote:
It is great that they are cracking down on low quality content. The end-user is who writers should write for – not search engines.
On March 1, 2011 Bryan wrote:
Will it still be useful to syndicate content to? Sure it will, but with the recent slap, it won’t be as powerful as it used to be in my eyes.
I used to use EZA as a source of traffic, simply because it delivered great results. I wrote articles of high quality and always made it a point to submit there, however, I probably will be leaning more focus on my own web properties (as I should’ve been doing all along anyway, so that’s MY own fault).
It will be interesting to see where things go from here. Grab the popcorn, sit back and watch it unfold.
On March 1, 2011 Troy wrote:
Hi Bryan,
It’s usefulness will all depend on your goals. If you’re looking for your Ezine article to rank and send you traffic, well, then yes, EZA rankings are going to be affected by the previous couple of algorithm changes – not a ton, but there has been some fall out… But if your goal is simply to get an authority backlink from EZA to your site, well, there shouldn’t be any difference as it appears that EzineArticles.com – by making these crackdowns on content – will likely stay in Google’s good graces.
-Troy
On March 2, 2011 David wrote:
Wow, I feel so lucky now that I completely changed my strategy for link building. A few months ago my gameplan was –
AMA + Rapidwriter (then changed to TBS for a short time)
Then I found your site, read the articles and your ebook and changed tack:
BMR + Buy physical books on my niches and become truly knowledgeable about them.
Troy, I had a hunch that BMR will increase 150 word posts to a minimum of 300+ in light of this (‘quality’) update, what do you think?
Dave
On May 23, 2011 Chalky wrote:
Nice article. Shame I didn’t read it until after signing up and carefully crafting my first EzineArticle.