Howdy all! Long time reader, first time poster. From my own experience using different types of unique / non-unique content on average PR sites (PR3 - PR4), I came up with the following per-page values of different "grades" of unique content when used in conjunction strictly with AdSense: -Monthly Revenue per Page of 100% Unique Content: ~$1.30 USD -Monthly Revenue per Page of "Slightly Altered Content" (unique META TITLES but duplicate H1 and body copy): ~$0.17 USD -Monthly Revenue per Page of Non-unique Content (taken straight from article directories without modification): ~$0.003 USD Now, I realize there are MANY variables that go into the profitibility of a certain page / document (niche, ad placement, linkage, content quality, etc.), but what value do YOU place on a page of unique content? From my estimates above, I would pay about $15.00 USD for a unique article (monthly revenue x 12 months). That seems an acceptable valuation for me, given the risk of constantly changing search engine algorithms, user search patterns, etc. What dollar value would you place on purchasing a totally unique article (500 words)? All things being equal, do you think shelling out some $$ for usable unique articles is worth it in most cases? Thanks for your input!
Interesting concept here...I've never seen the value of unique content presented in this way. My guess is that these numbers could vary significantly based on the niche and amount of promotion used on the site where the unique content resides.
This is the first time I've seen anyone attach value to an article dependent on its uniqueness. Interesting, but how did you come to such conclusions?
qwest, To come up with those values, I just looked at my AdSense revenue per channel (site) since the first of this year (5.5 months). Then I took the total dollar amount for each channel, divided it by 5.5 months to get the monthly value per channel, and then I divided that monthly value per channel by the number of pages in the Google index for that channel (from the command, "site: domain.com"). That gave me the revenue per page, per month for each channel. Since I knew what kind of content I had on each channel (unique, semi-unique, or non-unique), I was able to come up with the numbers above. Admittedly, the number of channels in my little "experiment" is small, so the sample may not be large enough to draw any universal conclusions. That's why I'm wondering what monetary value other people have attached to unique content. A per-page value seemed a pretty logical unit to me.
I thought thats how you did it. It sure is an interesting find. Are the different types of articles on similar niche? I suppose non-unique content will find it difficult to drive traffic to the pages than the unique ones.
So, if I told you that I have a site with 5 unique articles that's generated over $1,000 in Ad Sense and in less time than a year, would you then go out and spend up to $200 per new article? The real question, I think, is what are your goals. If you want to be a well-known and trusted site, you won't accomplish that goal with $7 articles written from non-experts. If your goal is to just be an Ad Sense earner, then you could quite possibly do it with $7 (or whatever) articles written by whomever will hunt and peck on the keyboard for you. The problem you will run into is that more pages doesn't equal more Ad Sense revenue. It's been tested time and time again (by myself too). The more you put up, the more pages you'll have that do very little if anything for your bottom line, which means your overall numbers become diluted. Anyway, time for me to go. Good luck!
this is really a new look of this side and i have never looked at it this way. thanks for giving us a new way of thinking...
ismedia, You'll be pleased to note that you've got a whopping 2 more posts than I do, as I'm a long time reader, sitting in the shadows, profiting, and first time poster too. THIS IS A LONG ARSE POST ..But seeing that you are new, perhaps you'd be more receptive to a roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty response, rather than something short and sweet. Notice the Sub-Heads included, for anyone BORED and wants to hop, skip and jump ahead. Based on how you've presented your question, "value" in your case seems to be defined as: how much should you pay for a uniquely written article to be used on one of your sites for the purpose of Adsense revenue? In that case, your equation may make sense, but it is unique (no pun intended) to your particular situation and application. That's not to say, that such determined value is the end all answer for all seeking high caliber content. For example.. MY CLIENTS ARE SPOILED My Clients are a bit spoiled, frankly. They have become so use to me solving their problems, that they forget it's not the norm when they outsource to others. In terms of Unique Content, and yes, many variables exist (word count, subject matter, objective, legwork involved, research and what the competition is doing that I have to combat), my Clients pay me as much as $160 per page, with quantity discounts. But, of course that's not the norm, by any means. But, my Clients are particular. They don't want regurgitated bullsh*t; they want it interesting, compelling, naturally "sticky", grammatically correct, Client-specific tone as if they had written it themselves, and they have come to rely on my history of delivering "the goods" when needed. Your question however, touches on the latest Internet fear: duplicate content and how to avoid it. While my situation is not exactly suited for what you are asking, perhaps how my Clients define my value will offer some insight to you. These days, most Clients who are ordering unique web copy (content specific, sales copy is priced at an entirely different echelon) from me want one unique piece, usually a minimum of 550 words, to as much as 2200. Of course, it is 100% original, and in the end they own it. But, with each original article they order, they also request anywhere between 100 to 1500 rewrites, at the same time. THIS IS WHERE "UNIQUE" Comes Into Play. I have an in-house software application developed just for this purpose. Not to suggest there is not work involved, I may spend as much as 3 hours on on the "before" version of the piece, before pushing a button and getting unique versions spitting out on the other end by the hundreds. The higher the number of rewrites, the more work, to ensure "lottery number like odds" that there would never be a repeat that was too similar to another. Clients pay per piece, or per Rewrite in bundles of 50, with a maximum of 3,000. When it's all said and done, "one article + rewrites in qty." may fetch $500.00 or so, depending on Client, my mood (pricing variation), and quantity discounts. BUT HERE'S THE THING My Clients are interested in anchor text, keyword density, and backlinks that come from relevant sources. Even as I write this, my Clients are successfully flying under the radar of the most popular (high PR) article directories, by simply submitting a unique version (one of my rewrites) of the same article, every couple of days. Their backlinks are exponentially growing for one effort. And we have no fear of duplicate content, because, well, truth be told, I'm anal-retentive about the details. Where some believe all you have to do to fly under the radar is switch words with synonyms, I don't believe that's nearly enough to fool Spider Bots - for the long term. I try to squeeze the most Leverage out of my effort and deliver the best Bang for the Buck. I'm swimming upstream of those who charge $10 for an article. No doubt about it. I'm not a good fit for most people. I don't have the patience to deal with the Incompetent, just slightly smarter than a pair socks mentality that seems to be multiplying like rabbits on viagra these days.. But, when I'm hired, my Clients know what they are getting. I look out for their best interests, even if they don't exactly know what those are. I don't nickel and dime them, nor do I tolerate unnecessary headaches or time wasted. My "secret" has always been to out position those who don't know how to Market themselves and their talent, Charge an Astronomical Price and Kick my Competitors in the Teeth. Not, perhaps, subtle.. but it works for me. YOUR SITUATION Can you get seriously cheap articles, literally pennies on the dollar. Absolutely. 4 SUGGESTIONS TO SQUEEZE MORE LEVERAGE FROM YOUR EFFORT One. Your post reads to me like you are on the verge of outsourcing the writing at some point, and are trying to ascertain what is worth paying for, thus I'll "assume" outsourcing is your strategy. An educated guess.. Here's how to save money on your outsourced content writing. In your post describing what you want, more important, is to be clearly specific about what it is you don't want. Never assume that what you think is obvious, is what your reader will think is obvious. What comes second nature to you, may very well be worldly wisdom to an onlooker. Two. Don't limit responses by subject matter. In other words, if you are shopping around for articles about "basement remodeling", you'd be a fool to include only that subject in your post. A decent writer is what you want. If they can write about one thing, they can write about another. Keep the subject matter of the assignment a bit "open-ended". You'll attract many more prospects, versus what most people are doing thanks to the many gurus igniting the panic to outsource, outsource, outsource.. THEY write their posts in such myopic ways, that I continue to feel more comfortable about who my "competition" is. Three. If you can get someone to price per piece, you can get them to price per word. But here's the spin. If you need 500 words to complete an article, outsource only the "meat" of the article - such as the hard part that requires research aplenty. For example the most I pay for outsourced content is 1.3 cents per word, but usually a fraction of a penny. I know I can slap together a decent introduction and conclusion without even thinking about it anymore, so I don't even bother assigning that part. I outsource only the boring, "I don't wanna do that", laborious parts. Then, for what I'd pay for one 500 word article, I can have the heart of the content provided for 4 or 5 individual articles. Four. When I write ads looking for outsource providers, they (as you might suspect, by now) are atypical of what readers normally find. Like a 7-Foot man standing among a mass of midgets... Here's the trick. You are not the only one looking for help. Unfortunately, there's a flood of people wanting the world in a hand basket, but will fight tooth and nail to be the cheapest chump of the lot. You don't want to be in this group. Let THEM fight for scraps and p-i-s-s and moan when what they paid for, sucks. That does not in any way suggest you can't get cheap writing done for you. Here's how you separate yourself from the loser-majority: The Dangling Carrot. A promise to be fulfilled in the future, if they do their part. And I do mean more than just "more work", or "being paid more". Give them something that is unique to you. And this may sound silly, but in my ads for outsource providers, one of the extra advantages I bring to the table is access to me. ((There's a fine line between cockiness and confidence; one's just talk, the other can back it up)). I have niches that I specialize in, and get paid a lot of money to provide solutions for. Service providers that work for me, know that if they need a straight to the heart, tell it to me straight, answer or short-cut, they just have to shoot me an email. Now, mind you, there is a cloud of intimidation to deter tire-kickers and jabber-jaws, but I've literally got men and women who have been published in major, popular magazines here in the 'States, working for me for a fraction of a cent per word, just for the added perk of being able to catapult ahead when an obstacle falls in their lap. BOTTOM LINE: You can get articles for a dollar piece, even less. You can have 'em delivered with a big, shiny, red bow attached, and delivered in 24 hours. There is absolutely no issue getting that everyday of the week, 24/7. But, here's my suggestion, if not Dare, to you. Raise your standards. Don't chase small money. "What dollar value" + "is worth it". As you see, this question asked of my Clients would deliver completely different monetary responses. Value for us is more about NOT having to dilly-dally with B.S., wasted time, and doing the same things repetitively when we can do it once. For us, it IS worth "shelling out some $$ for usable content". Hope this helps.
marketjunction, No, I would not "go out and spend up to $200.00 per new article" based on your sample size, because it is too small to draw generalizations from. That's why I'm putting the question out to people - to get a larger sample. Now, if you told me that you had 100 sites (500 total pages) with those numbers, I'd say, "Let me buy you a beer. Let's talk."
qwest, No, actually the sites I compared are in different niches. To really create a valid test for measuring the value of unique content, I would need to test sites in the same niche with varying levels of unique content. I don't have the time or inclination to do that though. I'm just trying to gauge what other people would pay for a unique article.
gettothepoint, If I understand correctly, you offer an article spinning service. "Spun articles" would be another interesting type of article in the unique content spectrum to test. Going from your rough numbers, if you charge $500 for one unique article spun 100 times, your clients assign an average value of $4.95 to each "unique" article. (Now, some may argue that these are not truly unique, but for the sake of argument, let's just say they are unique enough to get by current duplicate content filters.)
ismedia, Do factor in word count, subject matter, term and likability of Client, qty. discounts, but in general, you are correct. If how you are defining Unique, indeed, means to escape detection of "duplicate content", in my world this has been tested for this purpose extensively - and has passed with flying colors, if that's the "testing" you were referring to. In terms of numbers, Clients get the best of both worlds. The unique original article, and in addition say the minimum of 100 rewrites. For favorite Clients who constantly shower me with money, I may charge them less than .30 (cents) per rewrite, but "retail" for the original article. That said, you are not correct about me offering an "article spinning service". I don't. Nor is it publicly accessible in any size, shape or form. That's strictly in-house for Clients. I'm NOT selling such, too much business now is forcing me to either put people on a waiting list, or turn them away. Lord, that's NOT what I need right now - more business. Hope that clarifies.
It's impossible to base your budget on something like that (unless the writers you hire are simply suckers). What you're doing it putting all of your earning weight on their backs.... the truth is that whether you earn from the content has MUCH more to do with how you present it with the ads visually, whether you're getting relevant ads, whether you chose a well-earning niche (or at least keywords to target), and whether you can pull your weight in the marketing department to bring the eyes (traffic) to those articles. If you can't do that, a professional magazine-quality article will do nothing for you. However, if you can, you'll find that better articles will help you monetize the site more effectively (but not via Adsense... that works better for crap articles that people find useless so they want to click away). So trying to judge the value of content by one income stream is pretty faulty.
jhmattern, Thanks for your input. There are definitely multiple variables that go into the profitability of content (content quality, distribution, ad quality, ad placement, etc.). I agree with that. My valuation model works for me with the variables I stated. Basing a content-acquisition budget on past performance is certainly possible and acceptable. I disagree with you there. It is not "impossible to base your budget on something like that." I'm trying to find out how much other people value unique content. What's it worth to them? I know what it's worth to me, and my valuation is sound. Thanks for your thoughts though, jh. It's always nice to read thoughtful comments like yours - even if I disagree with them. Anone else care to post how much they pay per unique article?
Jenn, What you're talking about and were I agree is what I'd call premier sites (CNN, CNBC, TheStreet, Yahoo, etc). With those sites, you can only get a general sense of what content is worth by comparing month-to-month expenditures and growth. However, it really becomes a slippery slope (same as TV advertising) when you have to factor in maturity times. This thread is more for a specific type of site (and I run about 100 of them). These sites, well mine anyway, utilize two revenue channels. They're not there for any other purpose, such as branding. You add content, market and look at AdSense (or whatever) stats. The problem here, as anyone who makes more than $10 a decade on AdSense will tell you, is that adding content to a site only guarantees revenue dilution. At some point, the site can become capped, just like companies, and the profit margin on content comes crashing down. Where margins per article might have once been in the hundreds, it could shrink down to a few percent. Anyway, I'm not going to talk about it any further.
Content sites (not talking about authority sites like you mentioned) can certainly operate better without Adsense. I just worked on switching one blog of mine alone over from an adsense model to a private ad model, and it's now making more than 10 times as much, and a pretty decent monthly income factoring in all sales through this week (low $xxxx / month). As a site owner, it's your job to monetize it and use that content to its fullest potential. It's not worth less for a writer's time just because someone can't market or monetize a site effectively to save their life. That's my primary point. If you want quality content, you'll pay a lot more for it. If you're ok with crap content on hoards of sites using one primary revenue stream (just generalizing, and not referring to your collection Jason), then that's fine. Pay less for it... but don't mistake what you get out of it for the actual "value" or something if you're not using it to its fullest.... I've seen very few webmasters who can honestly say they do that, and "why aren't you getting more out of the content you have" might be a better question of sorts than how much it's "worth" to someone, given the primary type of audience here. Just my $.02.