The Google Panda update is old news to the online world, but it is just now that I found time to actually write about it. Need to pay the bills first before public service.
Going back, for those who were not able to get the memo, Google did not buy a panda for a mascot. The Google Panda update is actually a revamp of their algorithm. And this update targets websites which has content that the search engine giant considers as low quality.
When I first read the update last February (Yes, I told you this was old news) I suddenly felt my wallet shrink.
As a Filipino article writer, I instantly realized the effect of the update on my primary source of income. Since one of its targets are article directories, you don’t need to be a genius to realize that article spinning and marketing in general would surely be hit hard, or even become a thing of the past.
Since internet marketers relied heavily on directories to get their websites valuable links, losing this option means that they would have to cut back on people to handle their article marketing until they can find a new medium to exploit. Yeah, I was never shy about stating that fact. My personal opinion is that internet marketers, “mavens”, and other catchy names they call themselves did ruin the SERP.
Whether or not this was morally wrong though is not the issue here. The issue is, how can a Filipino article writer deal with these changes?
Talk to your client
If you work for an internet marketer, talk to your boss. Discuss with him or her what course of action to take to deal with the Panda update. And if your boss is unaware of this update, do slap him or her on the face with a link to the Google Panda update.
Do not devalue yourself
Times are hard for a Filipino article writer. Clients don’t pay as much as they used to.
When I started writing online, I could have easily asked for a salary that would be the envy of a bank manager. Although I still am enjoying fairly good work compensation, I can’t help but feel sorry for the rates that clients are offering their potential writers. 10 articles per day for a measly PHP10,000 per month is just outright robbery in my book.
If you believe that you can provide good content, do not allow yourself to be exploited. And if your excuse is that you also need to pay the bills, remind yourself that you studied for 4 years in college. Maybe it’s about time you flaunt that piece of paper your school gave you when you graduated?
To end, I actually love the idea that Google finally flexed its muscle to clean up the SERP. Although the effect was a bit hard to swallow, let us all take comfort in the fact that we will be getting better search results, and that we no longer need to write articles stuffed with awkward sounding keywords like “Chihuahua biting dog”.
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