Forum Moderators: not2easy
This is my first post to the forum, but it's going to be a long one to make up for it! :) I've been lurking at Webmaster World for the last 4 months, ever since I started my own website and was lucky enough to find this forum. I hadn't posted anything yet, since I am still learning the ropes with regard to webmastering etc - and it's obvious to me I've got a lot to learn. But I've gotten some great advice from this site, such as Brett's 26 steps, sitemaps etc. So thank you all for your help so far.
Anyway, to the point of the post. I've been contacted by a PR 7 site, who want to use my website's articles in a section on their web site. I don't know whether I should jump at the chance or worry about the duplicate content filter etc. I need advice from the forum about whether I should accept their offer, and if so, what sort of conditions should I be looking for?
Bear in mind that I only set up the site in February - and it is a labour of love, with hopes of making a little money on the side. Up to this point in time, I was quite happily trundling along following the 26 steps, and slowly watching my traffic pick up. Nothing huge, just 20-30 return visitors per day, and about 50 new visitors. Maybe 300-600 page loads a day - small stuff really but quite satisfying. I also really enjoy the contact I get with my visitors. By way of comparison, the PR 7 site has tens of thousands of visitors a week.
My website is in a sports area that has only a few great websites, and a lot of hobby sites. The URL is in my profile. Based on the competition, I can see my site being one of the great sites in another 6 months to a year or so based on content, but getting it to rank that high in the search engines may take another year or more. I've had a PR of 0-1 as a new site, so there is a long way to go.
The PR7 site has virtually no good articles on the sport, being mainly news headlines, product reviews and an online shop, while I have a wealth of content (been following the 26 steps!) So although they are bigger and have more traffic, I definitely have something that would be of use to them. Although they couldn't write it as well as me (modesty!), they certainly could write their own similar content if they felt like taking the time.
So what should I do? I can see it taking years to get up to their traffic level (if ever!) - it certainly looks like a great way to shortcut the process. But I don't want to have my site disappear from Google due to a duplicate content penalty. And I still want to have visitors coming to my site - not just reading the articles on their site. I also have my Google Adsense and an online affiliate shop, as well as offering homemade DVDs of the sport for sale. These are bringing in a nice little side income that I don't want to lose.
Some thoughts I have had already:
- get a link to my main page on every article they use;
- get an email link on each article so their readers can contact me directly about my articles
- I maintain the copyright of the articles
- I have the right to stop the arrangement if it is hurting my website
I am sure that there are other things that I have missed - and I don't know what to do about the duplicate content issue - will Google pick up the duplicate content and drop my site completely? Or will the additional advertising and traffic I get be worth it anyway? Or is there any other way I can get around the problem?
Phew! Just as well I don't post too often! ;) So, in closing, can anybody out there offer me some good advice about what to do in this situation? I'm currently flipping between excited and worried every few minutes - some expert advice from calm heads is what I need!
Regards,
Greg
Or give them a deal where they can "reprint" 50% of each of your articles, with a "more...." link below each of them leading to your pages.
Gert
Actually, I thought of posting here in the Content forum, but thought it might be a bit more general than just a content problem.
Apologies guys.
Greg
So what should I do? I can see it taking years to get up to their traffic level (if ever!)If you keep that type of attitude up you won't get up there. Stay Positive! :) Also remember they were once where you are now.
I would go with creating new articles and allowing them to use it. That way you don't have to worry about hurting any of your web page's ranking and your content remains unique for your visitors.
Only give them rights to republish the articles revocable at any time.
Spend your time writing new articles for your site and if you are getting good traffic from the big guy, give them more articles. If not, do not renew the contract.
I like monkeythumpa's advice - this is a relationship that could benefit you if you exploit it for maximum advantage.
I'd also suggest the possibility of modest rewrites - either offer to do some "free" rewrites to customize the articles for the PR7 site, or edit your own. Ultimately, that gives you two different articles on the web, one on your site, and one on a popular site with linkage and attribution to you. To me, that's the best possible situation.
Thanks very much for the responses so far - I'm currently leaning towards monkeythumpa's and rogerd's advice of accepting the offer and looking to benefit as much as I can from it - and start with a short contract to see how it goes, with the option to revoke it if things aren't working out for me.
The site hasn't made a firm offer with specifics yet, and neither have I, so anything and everything is available for negotiation at this point.
Given that their traffic is so much more than mine, do you think I would be pushing my luck to ask for a fee with each article? I've spent well over a hundred hours writing them all, so they would be getting a lot of valuable content in terms of my time. I suppose I would be benefitting from the exposure and links from a PR7 site though, so would you call that about even?
I would definitely want the link to my pages and an email link to me on each article though. No argument about that point.
Anybody else got anything to add? I really wasn't expecting to be in this situation so soon, and it's caught me a bit unprepared, so any and all advice is desired.
Cheers,
Greg
I would start out asking for a monthly/yearly licensing fee as well as all the other stuff I said above. Also ask to have their Graphic Designers design your banner ads and get the rights to reuse them on other sites. That way you can conceed one thing or another when they counter with their "standard contract". Beware of the "standard contract"; only suckers agree to it without modifications. Make sure you can stop the relationship at any time (with 30 days notice) and get back your articles. And make sure not to give away your whole site.
The licensing fee will not be where you make your money so don't worry about it too much. it is gravy if you get it. The increase in pagerank and traffic is what you want to focus on and won't cost them too much.
I've got a mail form on my website, so I can get them to put the email form through that if I need to.
Again, thanks for the tips.
Greg
Greg
