ExcellentGuide is….Not So Excellent

ExcellentGuide.com is a rather odd combination of an Article Submission Site and a Directory of websites, bookmarks, and videos. It appears as if they are trying to single-handedly replace EzineArticles.com, YouTube.com, Digg.com, and the Yahoo Directory.

However, if you can overlook the amateurish-looking website and obnoxious Google Ads, and the fact that they explain nothing on their website (other than a vague list of options with prices), have no “About” page, and no help, tutorials, FAQs, or support pages (beyond a simple contact form), then ExcellentGuide is, if nothing else, yet another article directory site that you can use to gain readership. Remember that the more “eyeballs” that see your work the better (no pun intended).

What we like

  • You can create a free account, and upload articles, videos, and bookmarks for free.
  • You can search and interact with other members;
  • They do have a Travel and Tourism category;

What we don’t like ….(Where to begin!)

  • ExcellentGuide’s own website design is rather poor, and the Google Ads are distracting.
  • Their home page is confusing and gives no indication that you are, in fact, on the “Trusted Websites” tab.
  • Submission guidelines are tough to find (they’re on the Terms & Conditions Page);
  • Articles are not allowed to use any links in the article body;
  • Articles do not appear to contain a Resource Box in which an author would put a Bio, links to his/her website, and possibly a photo – this means you’ll have to put your bio/links in every article;
  • There is no mention of how often your article will be distributed, or approximately how many other sites use them as a resource;
  • The “other services” are pricey and there is no explanation of exactly what the service actually provides, no specific information on advertising placement or results, and no testimonials.

It’s true that Article marketing will help you to obtain an ‘Expert Author’ status, which is why many people engage in article marketing. The more people that see your articles, name, and website will only benefit you….not to mention the fact that your writing skills will improve from writing all of those articles.

But with very little flesh to its own website, ExcellentGuide.com feels much like a “black hole” — you could submit your articles and not see any return for your effort, so while I cannot advise you to not use them, I would strongly encourage you to make them part of an overall article marketing strategy that includes a good number of other article submission sites. Until they put more information publicly available on their website regarding their advertising, then I definitely advise you to put your advertising dollars elsewhere.

~Rebecca

What are some article directories that you use? Share your experience with them!

About Amandah Blackwell 198 Articles

Amandah Blackwell is a creative, freelance and ghost writer for industries that include but are not limited to the arts & entertainment, travel, publishing, real estate, pets, personal and professional development, and much more.

Amandah's personal writing projects include screenplays, teleplays, YA, non-fiction, short stories, and poetry. 

You can find more of her writing at www.MisticCafe.com, savvywritingcareers.wordpress.com, and www.savvy-writer.com.

You can follow Amandah on Twitter at:  http://twitter.com/savvy_writer

7 Comments

  1. Thanks for the information. I’ll take a look at the site — might use them, might not. I’d rather spend my time submitting to other sites that will help me get a return.

  2. Too bad about Excellent Guide. I’ll check it out to see what they’re about. There are so many article and web content sites today that it can make your head spin. I prefer to use ones that are a bit more professional, but that’s just me.

  3. It’s always good to know what’s available. How else can we make an informed choice. Thanks for the review.

  4. I have a question about article marketing. I have been doing research and I am quite confused. It seems that articles don’t have to be unique as long as you write the original content. Can I submit the same article without spinning it to several article directories? It would be odd to have the same article plastered all over the internet, but then again writing several different versions of the same article is very time consuming. Thanks for the information. Your site has given me so much!

  5. I’ve watched many a video from affiliate and PPC marketing gurus that stress the importance and value of unique content. If you take an article/blog from your website and upload it onto Ezine Articles, you want it to be different from the original one. This way you have “unique content.” Yes, it can be time consuming.

    A program such as DupeCop will show the difference between an original and revised article. With DupeCop you paste your original article on the “left hand side” and the revised article on the “right hand side.” It will calculate a percentage to show how much the original is different from the revised article.

    Unique Article Wizard is a service that will submit unique articles to many directories. The cost is $67 for 67 months. How does it work: write an article, submit it to Unique Article Wizard, they create unique articles from your article, and submit the articles to article directories…Check them out at http://www.uniquearticlewizard.com.

    Hope this helped…Rebecca

  6. Rebecca,
    Thank you so much for the advice.I only started submitting articles a couple of weeks ago, and it was stressing me out writing new content on top of my blog and guest posts etc everyday. I will look into DupeCop and Unique Article Wizard. You are awesome, that advice helped a lot!

  7. No problem, glad to to help! I forgot to mention that some article services such as Unique Article Wizard will not submit articles to Ezine Articles because of Ezine Articles’ strict guidelines. Just an FYI.

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