Last week, Google announced that they have made some changes to the algorithm that returns results on Google searches. Apparently content mill sites (presumably those like Bukisa,  Xomba,  eZine, etc.) will not be coming up as high in returns as they had been. Of course, Google is keeping their secrets to themselves, but we have to assume that REAL informational sites (those dedicated to one topic, and owned & maintained by REAL experts) will be weighted, and will come up higher in search returns.  This is expected to hit lower-quality content mill sites where it hurts them the most –the bank.

So will Google’s new algorithm hurt writers?  Yes and no. If your portfolio is filled with mainly revenue-share articles, then chances are 1) your articles are hosted and displayed on content mill-owned sites, and your earnings will most likely take a hit, because the entire site is taking a hit. Those who write for flat-rate fees, however, will most likely not see a change in their income, unless the content mills decide to start dropping their rates (unlikely).

So what’s a writer to do to survive the new Google algorithm that targets content mills? It’s really up to you. Personally, I am going to slightly increase the number of articles that I do for a flat rate, BUT I’m going to keep writing revenue share articles until I get my residual income back up to where it used to be.

What is your strategy for overcoming the new Google algorithm?

I’ve known for a couple of months that something major was in the works at eHow and Demand Studios. I just didn’t know it would be met with such passionate outcries from some of eHow’s contributing writers.

So.

Today, eHow announced Read the rest of this entry »

I have written very little over the last month or so. I own several blogs, but I’ve only written one blog post total. I posted a couple of new articles at eHow, but they were copy-and-pastes from articles that I previously written (but never submitted anywhere). (The two posts with December dates on them that appear on this blog were actually written in November, but were set to auto-publish in December.)

The truth is (and bear with me here Read the rest of this entry »

There is a lot of speculation about who is the top earner at eHow.com.  A lot of eHow-ers assume that the top earner is someone who has gone semi-public with their earnings.  When the question of who earns the most income at eHow pops up on the eHow forums, the names Writer Gig, Janet Ford, and David Sarokin pop up a lot.   Of the three, I know that at least two of them have said that they earn in excess of Read the rest of this entry »

I am putting my eHow ebook on sale for the rest of the year.   The regular price is $20.  For the rest of the year, it will be 20% off.   If you’d like to purchase it, visit the Writing for eHow ebook site, and use discount code Read the rest of this entry »