New Kid on the Block

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   eugbugposted 3 years ago

   I think this is a relatively new website, outranking Dengarden for lots of articles.The have a team of expert reviewers who fact check guides.
   
   "......The Spruce Home Improvement Board, and The Spruce Cleaning Review Board, comprised of licensed and certified field experts."
   
   Thespruce dot com
   
   Edit: Apparently The Spruce is a brand of the Dotdash company (formerly its home site About.com)

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      Shesabutterflyposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      The Spruce has been around for several years. They have recently branched out so they are no longer a content farm and have several niches like HP. They recently added the fact check and certified field experts though. They are not listed on every article that I've seen, but I think the fact they have it gives them a leg up.
      
      Some of their other sites also out rank HP. TheSprucePets frequently outranks Pethelpful, SpruceEats out ranks Delishably more often than not. They also have a SpruceCrafts, but I don't know how well that site ranks. I don't know if they have any other sites, because I never found a full list on their main site, but these are the ones I've seen on Google searches in the past.
      
      I don't remember whether it was always a part of the Dotdash company though. That might be new. The site has been a work in progress and I believe this could be a rebrand for them, similar to when we merged with Maven.
      
      Edit: I tried looking at the dotdash family website, but it must be brand new or a front. The links did not take me anywhere, but it appears that they might be branching out and creating more niches "brands" to further diversify. If that is the case, they could become a true competitor. The Dotdash home page actually mimics The Arena Group in some ways.

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   2. 83

      bravewarriorposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Here's an interesting video:
      
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv1QCAK2eJU
      
      Dotdash might be worth looking into further. I know I'm going to do some digging....

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         Shesabutterflyposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         I definitely found this interesting!
         
         It appears that dotdash is doing the same thing Maven/The Arena group is trying to do. I think this could very well push The Spruce( and it's spin offs) and some of the other sites dotdash has aquired into a postition to outrank HP in the long run simply based on how I have watched The Spruce grow and change over the last year or two on their own. Speaking directly in regards to Spruce, I think they have the page layout/design nailed. I'm curious to see some of the other dotdash sites.
         
         I did a quick Google search for some titles that I knew where on Patient's Lounge and Youmemindbody, simply because I think medical articles are hard to rank for and I found verywellhealth (Not a Spruce spin off, but a dotdash entity) was ranking higher even if their title was not the same as the HP niche title I searched for. There was only one instance were HP ranked first, but I wonder if the other site did not cover that topic?
         
         I'm definitely interested in looking into what other "brands"/verticals this company has aquired. I think we are in for a lot more competition than just The Spruce. Honestly, the few articles I looked at from verywellhealth were set up similar to The Spruce so I have a feeling most if not all dot dash sites might be similar. Ads only in the right margin, recommend articles that were actually related to the article I was reading. I can see why these verticle sites might be able to jump the rankings like the video suggested was possible.
         
         Not sure how old verywellhealth is, but I know The Spruce came on the scene around 2017, and it has definitely changed and grown in that time. I'm curious to see how dotdash helps/changes them.

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            bravewarriorposted 3 years agoin reply to this

            I went into the dotdash site and took a quick look around. I, too, like the layout much more pleasing than what HP has become. They have an area for freelance writers under the Careers tab. I found it quite interesting.
            
            I've only taken a cursory glance, but I will delve deeper. I'm particularly interested in (as I'm sure all of us on this forum are) the means of pay, rate of pay, etc. Dotdash certainly has no sub-par writers in their emporium. Something to take a serious look at, in my opinion.
            
            My only drawback at this point in time is I'm still working full-time, so I don't have the time to devote to a freelance career at the moment. However, that will change in the not-to-distant future. Just as I need to plan for retirement, I need to plan for sources of income other than SS. My goal is to return to freelancing. This venue (HP) is not the one to supplement my income with any serious benefit.

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               eugbugposted 3 years agoin reply to this

               I've emailed them twice, over the last couple of months, but got no reply.

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                  bravewarriorposted 3 years agoin reply to this

                  Emailed who, Eugene?

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                     eugbugposted 3 years agoin reply to this

                     TheSpruce's support address to get further details about freelance writing. I sent them some samples.

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                        Beth Eaglescliffeposted 3 years agoin reply to this

                        If you look at the DotDash site careers/vacancies page, their freelance roles (even home-based ones) are only open to writers living in the US.

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   PaulGoodman67posted 3 years ago

   I agree with Shesabutterfly, rather than "new," it's probably better described as the latest incarnation of an old rival.

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   Jodahposted 3 years ago

   The Dotdash satellite sites seem a similar concept to HubPages network sites, except they appear to have succeeded in making them more appealing in regard to the advertising mostly in the right margin, and recommended articles being relevant.

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      bravewarriorposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      And the readership is much more vast than Maven/Arena, John.

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