Ever since Google’s Farmer/Panda update last month, there’s been a lot of speculation about the effectiveness of article marketing and its viability as a marketing method. In case you haven’t heard, it’s being reported that about 12% of the websites on Google dropped in their rankings due to this algorithmic update. This has been a big deal for websites that were affected, especially for those that relied heavily on Google as their primary traffic source.
This Google update targeted websites that they considered to contain “lower quality content” – sites some also refer to as “content farms” (hence the nickname “farmer update”). Looking at things from Google’s perspective, I totally understand why they did this – they want to produce quality website results for their users. However, it has been troubling to learn that sites like Ezinearticles.com, Buzzle.com, and ArticlesBase.com have been affected by this update, because they have been considered the “higher quality” article directories. I mean, when you pick the top ten article directories to publish your content to, didn’t at least one or all three of these directories make your list? According to Sistrix.com, here are the top 15 sites that seem to have lost a ton of traffic due to the update:
This image & the data it contains belongs to Sistrix.com
Those numbers are staggering and honestly pretty scary… but are they accurate? I know from personal experience that traffic stats can be a little tricky. I mean when is the last time the data you got from Google Analytics and AW Stats (from your web host) matched up and gave you the same information? It really depends on the data source and how you look at it. Christopher M. Knight, CEO of EzineArticles.com, disputes the 90% traffic loss claim. He states:
First and foremost, the 90% rumor is not true. Google’s recent search algorithm update did have an impact on our traffic, but it was to the tune of about a 10-35% decrease. We’re still serving over 1 million visitors to our site every day. Some niches actually gained traffic from this update.
ArticlesBase.com just sent out an email update to their members that also addressed the recent Google update, though they did not touch on any specifics surrounding the amount of traffic that they lost:
Dear authors, following Google’s changes to their search engine algorithm, we have taken even harsher measurements to increase and assure articles quality. Some of the changes include: 350 minimum words per article, no contact information in the article body, no duplicates of any sort and more. We will continue doing our best efforts to improve the ArticlesBase.com experience to all authors and readers.
There seems to be no doubt that some traffic was lost by these article directories, but how much is probably debatable. Know that, is it still worth it to spend your time publishing articles to these sites anymore?
Is Article Marketing Really Dead?
I personally don’t think so. However, the strategy behind how you are using article marketing may need to change. Watch this quick video by Matt Cutts (head of Google’s spam fighting team) and listen carefully for how he describes article marketing and what he has to say about it:
After watching that video, I would venture to say that using the article marketing method Matt describes is no longer a viable strategy. Don’t create some quickie, half-ass article that’s sole purpose is to get backlinks and then blast it out to a bunch of directories. I’m going to make a bold statement here and say that going that route is probably going to become a waste of time. Do I know this for sure? No, it’s just my opinion, but perhaps shifting your focus a bit may be warranted.
Where Should You Shift Your Focus?
#1 – Focus on creating good, quality content.
I know, kind of obvious, huh? The old saying, “Content is king!” is no longer true. The new saying is “Quality content is king!” I’m not going to simply pound out article after article just for content creations sake and you shouldn’t either. Give your content some thought and write with a specific goal in mind. My central goal is going to be to provide value and help others, what’s yours?
#2 – Distribute your content in a more focused manner.
I believe Ezinearticles.com is still a great article directory and I’ll continue to publish my content there, especially because I plan on increasing the quality of the content I produce. I mean, if there claim of still serving a million visitors per day is true, that’s nothing to sneeze at! I’m also going to look into developing a list of niche directories that I can publish my content to, as I believe these types of specialized article directories will increase in value. And, as I watch how the stats look for the article directories I’ve used over time, I will consider which ones will make the cut for me to submit my content to, but I’m no longer going to use article marketing software to blast my articles to 6,000 different directories. I’m just no longer convinced that’s going to be worth my time.
#3 – Re-purpose your articles to make the most of them.
Now that I plan on spending more time and research on my article marketing efforts, I will plan on making the most of the pieces that I produce as well. In fact, I’m not really going to be thinking of this as “article marketing” anymore, so much as “content marketing.” Kim Roach, the creator of Traffic Dashboard, has a traffic method called the 10X Method where she explains how to take your high-quality article and turn it into into multiple formats for a kind of “syndication on steroids” approach. This includes turning your article into a video that you can submit to video sharing sites, a powerpoint that you submit to sites like slideshare.com, a podcast, and more. Crazy powerful stuff.
#4 – Focus on getting others to share you content on the various Social Media websites.
Matt Cutts himself has affirmed the growing value of Social Media and the impact that others naturally sharing your content across the web is having on search engine rankings. My prediction is that Social Media and its impact on rankings is only going to grow. Connect with others on sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, etc. and make some alliances. Share your new found friends content first and then see about working on getting the favor reciprocated. Or better yet join a tribe! An online tribe is an alliance where others spread your content for you and you share theirs in return. I’ve only recently begun dabbling in tribes, but so far I love it. Join my tribe and let’s help each other get our content noticed!
So what do you think? I’d love to hear what your thoughts are on this Google update and the fate of article marketing. And let me know what you think of the new strategic focus I outlined – do you agree? Why or why not? I look forward to hearing from you.
To Your Success and Prosperity,
I also do not think it is dead yet,quality article will always get paid
You have a great point. Although I don’t think that it is completely dead, it still has its uses but it is no where near as effective as it used to be. We have to focus more on the high quality content since article marketing should be a far far second option maybe even a third.
Twitter: mikaylasway
says:
I don’t think article marketing is dead either, Debbie. In fact, there were a few Google “adjustments” since the initial Panda update early this year that lead me to believe it’s actually still rather effective. However, I still recommend a more focused article distribution plan rather than blasting your articles to 6,000+ meaningless directories. As I mentioned in this post, I think repurposing your articles is a better place to put your energy. One article can be transformed into a video, a slideshow (PowerPoint), a pdf doc, a EXE ebook, and even a podcast!