Ezinearticles.com - New author guidelines 2011

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Quality Criteria for Authors

In response to the Google Algorith Change 2011, Ezinearticles.com
has now finalized its new Quality critieria for authors.

The list is provided here:

1. Doubling the time for editors to make quality checks
2. No longer accept article submissions via WordPress Plugin and API
3. Two weeks limit for removal of identified dead links (vs 35 days)
4. Only 10 additional submissions to reach Platinum Level (vs 25)*
5. Minimum 400 word count (vs 250)

* Note: if you do not make the quality grade (platinum member) after
20 submissions you will no longer be allowed to submit to
Ezinearticles.com

The NoFollow Link Debate

There has been a heated debate over the suggestion by
Ezinearticles.com that they would introduce a nofollow link
process for the Resource box area of an article (they already
have this in place for "within article" links).

Blog comments became quite heated over this topic
(50 + pages of comments). There was a very strong resistance
to this proposed change as it stopped authors from generating
quality backlinks via Ezinearticles.com.

The effect of the no- follow tag on links is that search engines
will not follow/index the link and no "link juice" or anchor text
will pass from Ezinearticles.com (now PR 6) to the
author's website.  Thus the author would not gain a quality
backlink (see Matt Cutt's video below explaining Google's
position on no-follow links).

Christopher Knight argued that using the "no follow" tag
for the Resource Box links, would show Google that
Ezinearticles.com were not "gaming" the search engine
system and would improve its quality score.

Other commentators pointed out that Articlebase.com
had a 100% "no follow" policy and still were hit very hard
by Google's 2011 Algorith Change.

The debate then turned to, "What is the fundamental purpose
of Ezinearticles.com?"  Christopher Knight argued that the primary
purpose is to serve the reader with content that helps them
solve their problems/issues - Ezinearticles.com does not exist
to provide quality backlinks for authors.

Many of the commentators then argued that authors submit for
two purposes - to get traffic and quality backlinks. They suggested
that if the second benefit was taken away, many authors would no
longer publish on the Ezinearticles.com article directory.

Christopher Knight, Owner of Ezinearticles.com, then
withdrew the suggestion of "no follow" links from 
current quality considerations.

The discussion, though, highlighted Ezinearticles.com absolute
commitment to improved quality (necessary for its survival)
but genuine willingness to engage in discussion and consultation
with its members.

It also highlights the need to be continuously vigilant about quality
and innovation, even for an organisation that holds a premier
position as the No. 1 article directory of the Internet.

Related Post:

The 2011 Google Algorith Changes: Ezinearticles.com Response



********************************************

Ron Passfield, PhD, is an expert author/Platinum author
with Ezinearticles.com with 40 published articles.
Ron is the creator of a training program in social media marketing,
covering content creation, social networking
and promotion:
http://www.squidooroo.com

**********************************************

Matt Cutts from Google on "no follow" links

Ezinearticles.com Response to Google's new "Farmer Algorith"

Google bots on-the-move

If you thought it was difficult in the past to get your article
published on Ezinearticles.com, things are going to be
even tougher in the future.  Ezinearticles.com is
predicting that it's current 40.6% rejection rate will
climb to at least 60% because of new measures it is
putting in place to improve the quality of the site.

These changes have come as an immediate response to
what is being termed as Googles's "Farmer Algorith"
changes.  Google has decided that it is time to
change its search engine algorith to dump poor quality
sites from high rankings:

This update is designed to reduce rankings for low-quality sites
—sites which are low-value add for users, copy content from
other websites or sites that are just not very useful.

Google plans instead to give more value to what they consider
to be high quality sites:
...it will provide better rankings for high-quality sites—sites
with original content and information such as research,
in-depth reports, thoughtful analysis and so on.

Unfortunately sites like Ezinearticles.com, who go out of their
way to create quality through human editing and other measures,
have been among the hardest hit.

Ezinearticles.com has already recorded the immediate downturn
in traffic it experienced after the changes were announced:

While we adamantly disagree with anyone who places the
“Content Farm” label on EzineArticles.com, we were not
immune to this algorithm change. Traffic was down 11.5%
on Thursday and over 35% on Friday. In our life-to-date,
this is the single most significant reduction in market trust
we’ve experienced from Google.

There has been an immediate response by Ezinearticles.com
which has signaled the following changes:

1. tighten the software mechanism that detects copied content
2. no longer accept submissions directly from WordPress blogs
3. reduction in number of ads per page (to keep article reader focused)
4. 600-850 words may become the new normal with 400 being the minimum
5. increased rejection of "advertorials"
6. tightening up on categories that tend to encourage spam or poor content
7. may start rejecting content that is not unique to
EzineArticles.com alone. (this is in line with some news release outlets.)


So you can expect a whole lot of tightening up on Ezinearticles.com
but also on HubPages, AssociatedContent.com, Suite101.com and Buzzle.com
- all of whom have been negatively impacted by the Google Algorith Changes.

Some of the winners in the aftermath of the Google Algorith Changes are:

1. eHow.com
2. youtube.com
3. ebay.com
4. facebook.com
5. instructables.com

...plus Sears and Walmart!!
  
Dan Abbamont who compared some stats before and after the change
based on Google Canada suggested that Squidoo too lost 15 places
in search results.

This is not supported by other stats supplied by researchers.

Squidoo's recent appointment of large numbers of GiantSquids
as SquidAngels to do quality control over allocated
topic "neighborhoods" (sub-categories) was probably done in
anticipation of these Google Algorith Changes.

Whatever, the final fall-out is, the whole arena of article marketing
and content creation has changed yet again.

Related articles:

PotPieGirl gives her perspective on these 2011
Google Algoritm Changes changes:
http://www.potpiegirl.com/2011/03/my-theory-on-the-google-algo-change/trackback/

************************************************

Ron Passfield, PhD is the creator of SquidooRoo.com, a 6 month
program in social media marketing.  The Program covers,
content creation, social networking and promotion including
press releases.

Strategic Plan Document | Don Crowther

Here’s a link to the Two Page Strategic Plan Template
It’s a zip file that contains the template and a sample of it filled out for a fictitious business in both a Microsoft Word document and in PDF format in case you don’t have Word.

And here’s a video that describes how to do fill it out.

The key here is that it’s not the form that makes the difference, it’s the thought behind it. So, I recommend that you plan on spending at least 2-3 hours in a quiet room, with no distractions to think about the elements asked for in this form.

via doncrowther.com

Don Crowther does it again with this excellent tool for developing your own strategic plan - 2 Page Strategic Plan

===============================================
Ron Passfield, PhD, Giant Squid100 and creator of the SquidooRoo Training Program in social media marketing.

Posted via email from Ronpass posterous

Social Media Training: Lesson 24

I've just completed the 24th PDF Lesson in my 6 month
training program on social media marketing.

This Graduation Lesson titled, "Where to from Here?",
is designed to help participants explore how they can
best use the ideas in the SquidooRoo Program which
covered content creation, social networking and promotion,
including press releases and social bookmarking.

In the final Lesson, we explored how to create a Fixed
Term Membership Program and offered a process for
evaluating your own Internet marketing activity.

The final Graduation Bonus is an MP3 I developed in which
I share what I have learned in creating the SquidooRoo
Program as a Fixed Term Membership. While Lesson 24
covers the mechanics of creating such a Program, the audio
focuses on the inner journey and ways to overcome
obstacles.

It has been a long haul researching and writing weekly PDFs
over 6 months and locating or creating bonuses to go with each
week's Lesson.  However it was a rewarding experience and
members of my Fixed Term Membership Program have
commented that the Program is excellent.

Here's a testimonial from Allan James, the Start Business Mentor:
For someone like myself, with over 5 years experience online
and a fair degree of success, it's rare for me to find a
membership site and tutorials that adds to my knowledge,
stimulates my thinking, and provides practical ways and means
that I can put into action immediately to grow my business. 
Your excellent SquidooRoo course does all of that!

If you want to  master social media marketing for your own
business or to devleop your skills as a social media manager,
this Program is for you.

Click the link below to find out how you can grow in confidence,
competence and income with the SquidooRoo Program:
http://www.squidooroo.com

Ron Passfield,PhD, is a Giant Squid100, social media
consultant and dedicated educator with 30 years experience.

How To Research Facebook To Find Profitable Topics - Entrepreneurs-Journey.com by Yaro Starak

Press the PLAY button on the video below to begin watching.

Text Transcript of Video

• Download the text transcript [ PDF ]

via entrepreneurs-journey.com

In the video you see one way to gather live feedback from real people about potential topics and also gauge how popular topics could be. The video above helps with Milestone One (Topic Selection) from the The Roadmap to Become A Blogger:
http://www.becomeablogger.com/roadmap/

Visit the SquidooRoo Program for focused training in social media marketing:
Social Media Marketing

Posted via email from Ronpass posterous

9 Traits of Successful Marketers (Pt 2) - Get Rich Click With ClickBank

9 Traits of Successful Internet Marketers (Part 2)

As promised, 5 more traits of successful marketers from Neil Hartley and Dush Ramachandran’s presentation at the Internet Marketing Party – a gathering of like-minded Internet marketing entrepreneurs and marketing professionals held the second Tuesday of every month in Austin, TX and run by Dave Gonzalez.

• They take action. Inevitably, we all face tasks we would rather put off for another day. Successful Internet marketers understand that getting those tasks done now can translate into more sales today AND tomorrow. Procrastination can, and will, prevent you from becoming successful.

via getrichclick.com

Some list building insights from Clickbank executives along with 5 traits of successful Internet marketers. The list of traits is a good basis for reflecting on your own Internet marketing. The five traits discussed are - take action, believe in yourself, don't be afraid of competition, pursue multiple revenue streams, invest in your own skill and knowledge building.

Posted via email from Ronpass posterous

Twitter and Facebook help Queensland Flood Victims

I am writing this post from my evacuation location
following flooding in Brisbane.

The Brisbane River broke its banks two days ago and
now thousands of homes are flooded and the river has
entered the CBD of Brisbane, Queensland's capital.

The CBD and 115,000 people are without power as a result
of the need to cut power to flooded areas.

Boats and pontoons have been racing wildly down the river,
totally out of control.

Queensland Police kept people informed via Facebook and
the Twitter #qldfloods messages kept information
flowing from people being affected by the floods. The tweets
also provided safety information and were running
at a couple of hundred tweets per minute. Queensland Police
also monitored the Twitter posts and were very quick to
make tweets to correct myths or rumours that were passing
on inaccurate information.

Current indications are that 11,900 homes had water througout
the entire property and 14,700 were partially affected by the
Brisbane floods. 2,500 businesses were flooded over the entire
property while 2,500 were partially flooded.

While the flood level in Brisbane ended up 1 metre lower
that of the 1974 floods, the damage is still devasting
as the population is twice that of 1974 and there has been
a lot of riverside development since.

Many homes have the flood water at roof levels and people in
the upper reaches of the river experienced flood levels greater
than the 1974 floods.

The flood in Brisbane is mirrored throughout the whole State
as 75% of Queensland is under water (Queensland is 6 times the
size of the UK). The city of Ipswich is 30% under water with
homes and buildings destroyed.

Some of the more devastating floods are out West in towns like
Chinchilla, Dalby and Condamine which have been totally evacuated
twice in ten days. Cities in the north like Marborough, Bundaberg
and Rockhampton have also had thousands of people evacuated.

The most dramatic, frighteneing and emotionally disturbing floods
occurred on the range above Brisbane at Toowoomba and the foothill
towns of Grantham, Helidon and Withcott.

People were walking down the main street of the major city of
Toowoomba when a 7 metre walk of water raced through the CBD
drowning some people, throwing cars and containers around like
corks and leaving cars piled up on top of each other.

The 7 metre wall of water then raced down the range gathering
speed and smashed into a number of country towns such as Grantham.
The devastation at Grantham is beyond belief. It has been totally
razed as if a bomb blast hit it. One house with a faimily of three
in it was lifted off its stumps and smashed into splinters with
no visible evidence of the house remaining.

12 people are now confirmed dead and 43 missing.

Hundreds of people have been saved from the fast running
flood waters via Army and SES helicopters, some
plucked from the roofs of cars and houses.

Brisbane and surrounding areas are now in shock and face
a huge cleanup and rebuilding task - with much of the
infrastructure destroyed (roads, bridges, water treatment
plants, etc.).

Thanks to wonderful support from NZ and interstate
and the Defence Forces. The Queensland Police and
State Emergency Services (SES)were courageous and
amazing. Community volunteering and collaboration
has been outstanding.

As the Premier said, "This flood may break our hearts
but will not break our will!"