This week, Alex Ocampo of DMCAForce shared information about what is being called The Pirate Update (by DMCAForce).
On February 8, 2022, Google stated “when a site is demoted [by the Pirate update], the traffic Google Search sends it drops, on average, by 89% on average.” That statement came directly from Google about their efforts to remove those sites which they “received a large number of valid removal notices” as DMCA requires...
The article includes a link to a 2012 article about how Google penalizes sites that are repeatedly accused of copyright infringement by reducing their traffic by up to 89%. Google provides details.
https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2012/04/another-step-to-reward-high-quality
https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2012/04/another-step-to-reward-high-quality
TorrentFreak has more that is also more recent. I apologize for not posting the url except as a link on the word "more".
As copyright agent for aliendjinnromances and alien romances, I have never received a single infringement notice in the 12 years we have been blogging. Failure to respond to an infringment notice is supposed to be part of the process. Presumably, innoocent bloggers can also be throttled by accident. There are presumably over-automated piracy-fighting services that flag any content that contains a particularly sensitive keyword.
Talking of keywords, Angela Hoy of Writers Weekly shares a very good advice column about things not to do when promoting ones book.
https://writersweekly.com/marketing-secrets/6-things-you-must-avoid-when-marketing-your-book-by-amanda-steel?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=writersweekly-com-112119_67
https://writersweekly.com/marketing-secrets/6-things-you-must-avoid-when-marketing-your-book-by-amanda-steel?utm_source=mailpoet&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=writersweekly-com-112119_67
One of the recommendations (which I precis in my own words) is that newbie authors should avoid self-comparing their writing to that of best selling authors. Some writers did do this, which is why certain sites would exploit this trend by selling some best-seller author names as keywords.
Possibly, Bloggger Labels should also be used judiciously!
All the best,
Rowena Cherry
http://www.rowenacherry.com
Posts
Weird. I've heard a lot of advice in the last few years about recommending that writers self-compare their books to bestsellers (in their book blurbs). I've always felt strange about doing so and avoided it completely. I guess I dodged a bullet there.
ReplyDeleteRecently, I've seen a lot of writing advice that recommends against do the compare thing, e.g., "X meets Y." Others, however, are still in favor of it. On the whole, it seems most writing gurus don't think that device should be used in submissions to agents or publishers. But if the publisher wanted to use such a comparison in a blurb (none of mine have suggested it), I suppose it would be okay.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Karen. I agree entirely. Hubris is not an attractive trait, and it takes a lot of hubris for a debut author to self-compare to a bestseller!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Margaret. Yes, indeed, if a third party makes the comparison, it would surely be acceptable to quote the third party with attribution..
ReplyDelete