It’s been about a month since Google applied its Panda 2.2 search algorithm that prioritizes “sites with original content and information,” according to Panda developers Amit Singhal and Matt Cutts. Panda 1.0, implemented in February, affected about 12 percent of U.S. search results, according to research done by SearchEngineLand.com. Google’s message between the lines was that business models based on paying pennies per word to freelance writers in an effort to rank high on search results and get more clicks for having more content should beware – that strategy wouldn’t make it past the Panda. But the content contributors who write these inexpensive pieces don’t seem to be sweating it. Maybe that’s because some of them are not simply churning out words, and are actually using these platforms to write well-researched articles.
One such contributor is Julie Scott, a freelance writer out of Worcester, Mass. She recalls the announcement from Google and its subsequent consequences. “This sent writers and webmasters into a tailspin and editors began to overhaul their expectations,” she wrote in response to queries posed by inVocus on a LinkedIn forum. “Suddenly, a good SEO article became undervalued and writers who took the time to learn SEO were dropped from a highly valued position and began dealing with article rejections.”
Of course, there are two sides to every business plan. As the Times article from June 26 points out, not all of the editors or curators at these outlets care about the quality of the content they acquire, approve and post. Many only care about the article’s ability to rank high on SEO, and once that rank is devalued by Panda, the article has no value to them. The more content they post, the more eyeballs see their pages, translating into more dollars from website ads. A few companies with similar business models include AssociatedContent.com, eHow.com, and formerly DemandMedia.com (formerly because they have recently made changes to their structure).
Just to be clear, the correct terminology for said business model is not “content farm.” Business Insider writes: “A content farm is a site that scrapes content from other sites and slaps ads against it. Demand Media meanwhile has an army of freelancers who create original content that they put ads against. It’s a crucial difference.” Using the term “content mill” would be more accurate, though still derogatory. Scott prefers “farm” because, as she wrote in her LinkedIn response, “a farm is a nurturing, caring, growing place where the end product results from artistic involvement, rather than no-brainer activity.” Whatever you call it, it’s become one of the last places for freelancers who used to write for print mediums all over the country.
Many of these writers are connecting with each other online to share information on sites like LinkedIn, where a closed group called Freelance Writers Working for Internet Content Mills has formed. At 488 members strong, they post discussions and reply to each other’s questions about pay rates, choosing topics to write about, and alert each other to sources that have stopped paying them altogether. Speaking from personal experience, it’s not always easy to get a hold of an editor at these mills, but reaching a colleague via one of these forums is.
One of those writers, Candice Arnold, has written for Suite 101, AssociatedContent.com and Demand Media. “I guess sites like Ezine.com and ArticlesBase.com would be considered content mills,” she told inVocus in a LinkedIn forum. “From what I can tell, those sites don’t have editors quality- and fact-check articles either. I find that I like Demand Media Studios the best.”
“So many articles are written by writers who have never worked for mills and are filled with misinformation and negativity,” explained forum monitor and group owner Robin Elizabeth Margolis. Their frustration is understandable when many of them have more than a decade of experience in their craft and have watched their pay rates go from $2 a word to five cents per word for the same quality product. As business models change, like in Demand Media’s case, the pay rates are increasing, the assignments they’re doling out are making more sense, and the acceptance standards are much higher, Scott explained. While many sites continue to post junk filler, the type of content the Times article speaks of, many of them are turning the boat around and working successfully with the Panda.
–Rebecca Bredholt
