14 of 20

Write now Article Tools

The Rating Game at Helium

Of course ratings matter. We all love being #1 and hate coming in last or even middle. But over the months (year or more?) I've been at Helium I know that ratings are not static.

I have articles and stories that began very low in the ratings and now are at #1 or #2. In categories that have many entries, it takes time to move up. Conversely, I have some articles that ranked #1 for months, have dropped and then moved up again. I also have articles that need improvement.

Leapfrog is great. Hey, I taught English classes for years, but I still don't catch all of the typos. Also, strange things happen in cyber-world. A very nice woman emailed me recently. An article that, even with the glitches she found, was ranked #1, but had several repeated paragraphs.

I faithfully use the preview button on every article I submit. A few of my older items were sent before this option was available (it's the last button to the right on your "write" page, just before you begin typing). This particular article was not that old. I have no idea how the glitch happened. I was delighted that she told me so I could correct it.

Over the months I've been at Helium I have also learned to better fine-hone articles for better ratings.

First, spell check on a word processor. It's great that Helium has spell-check now, but it does not automatically make suggestions for corrections. Nor does it catch repeated periods and other minor glitches. I do use the Helium spell-check, too, partly to double-check and partly because spell checkers never agree with one another entirely. And I figure, "house" rules.

Because the spacing is different, reading something on line is different than reading it in print. Shorter paragraphs help readers absorb the content.

Always add an extra space between paragraphs for Helium. Copy/pasting from a word processor document will not necessarily do this. Even the best-written article or story without extra paragraph spacing can be impossible to absorb when reading from a screen. A lot of ratings go to the article that reads the most easily.

Finally, maybe your particular article just does not appeal to the audience. I've noticed this more within creative writing categories. I had one children's story that rated nothing.

I did a Leapfrog and submitted a different story that fit the same category. It took a month or two, but it now has a #1 rating and earns a bit each month.

In other words, don't worry too much about ratings unless they stay really low all of the time. Then go in and read your competition. Also do a Leapfrog to see if you can even find minor spelling glitches or grammatical errors.

I doubt if anyone here has a #1 rating on every article. Since we all occasionally contribute to topics where we are not experts, a "middling" rating is okay.

In the end, I think it comes down to whether you are earning. I'm #2 or 2 in one category just now, but I'm still collecting earnings. I'll check it, sure, and see if I can make it more appealing. But I won't give up on submitting.

Don't you give up either!

Learn more about this author, Margaret Shauers.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about When to care if your Helium article is rated low?
We want to hear your view. Write now!