Google's Farmer Update: 3 Reasons eHow Could Prosper
By Kidgas
The last week has been interesting to say the least with Google's Farmer Update unleashing havoc on content farms. But one so-called "content farm" has seemed to side-step the latest algorithm change and has actually benefited from the change. The Demand Media site, eHow, has somehow avoided the wrath of Google and has gained in the SERPs according to early reports. Although at initial glance this wouldn't seem to make sense, I feel that this trend will continue and would offer up three reasonable explanations for this apparent contradiction.
1. A Changed Business Model
About 10 months ago, eHow eliminated its Writer's Compensation Program which allowed writers to publish whatever they wished. Now writers have to go through an editorial process which can be quite rigorous at times. This has given Demand Media more control over the content that gets posted on its site. I believe this goes a long way towards eliminating spam and maintaining quality. Leading up to the change, eHow went through a process of purging many substandard articles and ones that violated their terms of service. I remember hearing of some writers losing 80-100 articles at one time. As a result, only serious writers willing to undergo a thorough vetting of content end up actually publishing on the site.
2. Type of Content
I know that eHow would seem to be a content farm, and I would agree with that. However, the type of content is primarily informational and "how to". It is easy to understand that Google's algorithm change will punish small publishers copying and pasting reviews from Amazon and publishing these next to an affiliate link. Eliminating the middle man for shoppers in this instance makes some sense.
But there really isn't a middle man when it comes to information. eHow doesn't seek to sell anything. They simply provide information in a unique format. Any web searcher typing "how to...." is bound to get results from eHow. There is no larger "how to" site out there. Just like product searches would naturally return Amazon, "how to" searches will be returning eHow with smaller publishers getting pushed farther down the page.
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3. Size Matters and So Does Cash
Demand Media, the parent of eHow, went public in January. As a result, there is a lot of interest in this company from investors and the media. Imagine the anti-competitive howls from many sources if eHow had gotten slapped by Google. Demand Media now has the size and the cash behind it to bring lawsuits against Google. The last thing Google would need is the bad press not to mention the risk of having its algorithm subject to a subpoena in a European anti-trust case. It is already being investigated for anti-competitive behavior in the EU. Why add fuel to the flames and risk a major adverse ruling? I certainly can't make waves against Google, but eHow and Demand Media could. I think this will confer some advantage to eHow for a long time to come.
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Comment on eHow, Google, Farmer Update, Impact on HubPages
They had been doing this for over a year. My guess is that this was all part of the larger plan to go public and make the site as professional as possible. Now it looks like it may have helped them.
I believe that you do get paid for writing on eHow.
Yes, you do get paid if you have applied and been accepted as a freelance writer. The free-form Writer's Compensation Program where one could publish instantly no longer exists.
Interesting stuff! Makes you wonder whether HP will eventually go down the same route.
I have been on many site looking for the one writing site that has all of they right quality's for an online writer to prosper. I have found there is not just one site that has every thing that makes a website great. HubPages has the amount of people and the views, Info Barrel has the nice and up and coming community, and squidoo has a lot more options to make money.
I truly understand we need to make HubPaages more professional . I think we need to have a mass quality check and weed out all of the articles proven to be copied and plagiarized.
I think you may have hit a lot of the nails on the head. Not many people are going to argue that eHow isn't a content farm - it is - but they've vetted themselves against a Google slap. I also think based on some information that the required references section for each article may also have helped I can't 100% confirm this, but with all of Google's talk about wanting true authorities reaching the top as opposed to re-hashed information, it seems to make sense that having references with every article is only going to help eHow's position.
Empress and rory,
I do think there could be some improvement to the quality of some of the Hubs on this site. Many have expressed frustration regarding some of the glaring English errors that are published routinely. I enjoy the ability to publish without an editorial process, but there are some redeeming qualities as well.
Jerry,
I think eHow has been working on changes to their business model for a few years now. In getting dressed up for an IPO, they just might have avoided the Google slap that is impacting many other sites. References are a good resource if research is to be perceived as higher quality.
I wonder if the entire shake-up with Google has to do with Yahoo just purchasing Associated Content. Google can't just pick on them, so they are picking on all of the content farms to disguise what they really are doing.
I don't get a lot of money, hardly any to speak of, and hope not loosing even more.
Barbara,
That is certainly an interesting theory and one that I would not easily dismiss. There are certainly a lot of hidden agendas and motivations in business.
I agree that hubpages should go a little more towards professional. I am fairly new to this site, but I have been writing for over 20 years. I have read several articles that are lacking in basic spelling and grammar not to mention the "facts" were not well researched. Unfortunately the internet allows everyone to become an expert and "publish." While I feel everyone should have a right to publish, maybe hubpages could have a mild screening process. As for Google, they have a lot of ethical issues to work out and their stock has always been overvalued (from day one of its IPO). As for ehow, it is much like wikipedia, take it all with a grain of salt. Might be accurate sometimes but always verify info through a second source.
CJamesIII,
It would be nice to see some of the work that lacks proper spelling and grammar eliminated from the site. I will occasionally have trouble with spelling but will always check to make sure that it is correct if I have a question.
My mistakes are usually from thinking faster than I can type.
I hear ya on that one. I think we are all guilty of that. Today on another site I intended to type the word "wonderful" and I typed "wonderfun." LOL!
Insecurity and monopoly at its best.
Interesting that Google has been accused of unfair practices just like Microsoft in the 90's.
When I wrote the above comment, I hadn't done any hub hopping. Now that I have, I see what you mean about some of the content people try to get published. Yes, hubpages needed a good clean-up.
Barbara,
You have hit on one of the biggest problems with the instant publishing model. I enjoy it since I don't have to wait for approval, but I do try to put together a coherent article. On the other hand, you end up with a lot of crap on the site which hurts those who are seeking to make it work. A clean-up will be good in the end.
Amen.
Google, which practically controls the search engine volume, might just be over-reacting with their recent actions. I, for one, would like to see sites exercise more rigid screening to the articles posted on their sites similar to what eHow had done. However, I find it apalling to have one giant impose its will on the rest of us lesser mortals especially when it from us where they largely depend for their income. I only hope that this is not one way of Google trying to beat their competition under the guise of improving their services or whatever reason.
I surely would agree that there are sites on the net which need to improve their content. At the same time, who decides what is quality and what is not? It can be a tricky proposition. Your hope is the same as mine.
Changes should happen for the betterment and google done the right thing, so now more clean and neat info on ehow. thanks google
Pamela N Red 14 months ago
I'm glad to know that eHow is cleaning house. In the past I wouldn't even read an article there due to so much unprofessional information.