Those who choose to play the numbers game and write for content sites that pay based on page views, ad impressions or ad share knows how important it is for the content we write to get indexed in search engines in a high enough slot on the search results that it's likely internet users will find our articles and view them. If no one ever clicks on them to view them, we wouldn't get paid.
While we can spend a lot of time to promote out content and build up back links and such, the best way to make money as a content writer for these pay by view websites is to write organic and naturally viral, evergreen content that people will click on to read when they find it. To do that, they must find it. Search engines and search directories are the most common way an internet surfer finds our content.
How Internet Search Works for Pay Per View Content
Usually, the internet surfer will search for something online in an internet search engine or internet search directory, and the engine or directory will return results for their search query that are supposed to match the information they are seeking--i.e.: our content should essentially be the answer to or information about the topic for which the person is searching.
The #1 source of our traffic and therefore our income when we write for pay by view content sites is from search engines, and so we all know how very important it is that the search engines do something called 'indexing' our content. They scan it with robots and spiders (internet speak for programs that go out on the web and look for content), and then they use the text area of the content to determine, semantically and contextually, what our content is most likely about. Then, based on algorithms that are a mathematician's wet dream (just ask my Ryan), the search engines determine what is likely closest to the searcher's query and what is most relevant.
How Are Internet Searches Returned for Pay Per View Content?
These things are determined by keywords in the content, keyword phrases in the content, and other related contextual clues in the content and on the website itself (latent semantic indexing and such), but it's also determined in part by how popular the content is, how many click throughs it gets, how many bounces the content gets when people do click through, and many other things. In fact, the formula for figuring how things get indexed is so complicated that no one really knows for sure how it works, but rather just have a vague understanding of how best to work with it.
Which Search Engines Matter of Pay Per View Content Indexing?
Google is the giant search engine, and for most people, they can bet at a minimum of 75% of their traffic is probably going to come from an organic search on Google. For some, that % might be as much as 90-95% of all traffic. Yahoo!, MSN - Live, and AOL all have some market share worth mentioning, and some of the smaller and newer search directories and search engines are picking up in numbers.
For now, Google is the one to hit for content writers who want payoff from pay by view content websites, sites like Associated Content.
Google and Associated Content's Pay Per View Content Model
But recently, Associated Content has been having trouble with it's lovingly called 'Google Juice'. We don't know why. We don't believe AC even knows why. In fact, AC is very hesitant to even indicate it is true, stating that our content is just as discoverable as it has ever been. We know this is not true, but it's also not false, entirely. Eventually, all our content does get indexed, and eventually, it will build up some money and page views, but that's not our point.
We are losing money on the front-end and the back-end side of things when Google either doesn't index us quickly or indexes us and then UNindexes our content. This is what is happening on AC, making breaking news almost impossible to get traffic to without major marketing and promotion work (and often spamming techniques get used to do this - bad, bad promoters!)
My Google Indexing Journey for Pay Per View Content
I decided to follow two of my most recent articles through the system on Google and Associated Content to show what is currently happening. Here is what I learned:
Article #1872611, In-Depth Series on Internet Panhandling: The Beccah Beushausen Sick Child Scam
And
Article #1853305, In-Depth Series on Internet Panhandling: Crime or Nuisance?
6/23 -- both articles were published and both were indexed within two hours of publication on Google. One indexed on page one of Google. The other indexed on page three in Google. Both for the phrase 'internet panhandling', not in quotes.
6/28 -- within minutes of each other, both articles dropped off Google completely - no indexing by link or keywords, at all.
6/29 -- article #1872611 re-indexed, dropping from sixth place on page one in a Google search to being in fifth place on page three for the exact same keyword phrase. Article #1853305 remained unindexed.
6/30 --article #1853305 re-indexed on Google by link, but is nowhere to be found on a keyword search for 'internet panhandling' (I only went back 15 pages), even though it was on page three for the same search on 6/23. Article #1872611 moved from fifth place on page three to seventh place on page one of a Google search (which is good news--means they can receover some ranking).
It should be noted I did nothing to promote these links except to post them via autopost on Twitter when they first published and on Facebook when they first published. I also posted the links to both in my forum. Both articles made the most commented list, and for a short time, both were on the list at the same time. While I'm certain traffic to the articles has little to do with the indexing issues, I thought I'd mention these things.
Lastly, article #1872611 Currently has 432 page views and articles #1853305 currently has 1004 page views as of 6/30. That means I have currently earned a whopping $3.00, give or take, for these two articles in the past week.
I have no way of proving how much different the page views would have been had the articles been posted and indexed in Google the entire time, but I can show on past articles of this nature that I easily was able to earn 1,000-4,000 page views in a relatively short period of time, with litlte promotion. I do feel this has lowered my page views at this point, and that cuts into my bottom line.
However, I can't complain too much. Some pay per view content sites don't get articles indexed in Google or other major search engines at all, or if they do, the writer has to do the work of getting them indexed. On those sites, also, the pay per view content site usually only uses 'unique visits' from 'qualified sources'. AC at least gives page view per page views, as long as it's from a qualified source, so if you can bring traffic back to your content again and again, you can earn from it in a truly unlimited fashion.
I wouldn't mind so much having to do work to get my content indexed with AC, but the problem is two-fold here. 1) AC doesn't tell the writers for their pay per content view website model that it's our responsibility to drive traffic and post links to get indexed. Yes, we have a responsibility to promote our content and constantly improve our library, but nowhere does it say we have to handle the indexing. 2) Even if we do the right things to get indexed, such as proper promoting (not spamming) and link backs and driving traffic, there is still the problem of it UNindexing adn returning to Google 'penalized' in some way.
I would much prefer to start with a blank slate where it was my job to get it indexed instead of working at an already existing deficit.
So that's the deal with Associated Content and indexing at this point, and that's a layman's explanation of why this is important for all people who write for Associated Content (and other pay per view income paying model content sites).
If you truly want to make some real money writing for the internet that is based on page views and revenue, check out Suite101 in addition to your other sites. They are a bit more prestigious and they require a bit firmer regulation to writing but you'll learn a lot and the potential for good money with Suite is there. I haven't written for them in nearly two years now, and yet my 11 articles from back then still earn me 10 bucks per month, every single month without fail--or more! At 50 articles, you get a raise, and it snowballs.
If I had the time, I'd totally be writing for them again and I do look forward to getting back in touch with their staff member who was on maternity leave to complete the Suite101 challenge.
As the print world changes and the economy continues to be unstable, it is the people who got in on the ground floor of these content sites and have built up their passive, residual income who are staying strong and steady. Self employment is where it's at right now, and with the internet, passive income can be a God-send to those who are struggling to keep jobs! Start writing some content that will continue to pay you, day in and day out, without having to do anything else. It might not seem like much, but a dollar per day is 30 bucks per month, and 5 bucks per day is $150 per month, for doing nothing more than you already did - and you might get some upfront money from it too! 10 websites all making you about 150 per month will get you $1500 cool bucks in residual income--passive income! It's worth it!
Keep writing!
Love and stuff,
Michy
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