By Mary Andersen

When the Google Panda update took place in February 2011, ezinearticles.com was hard hit by the algorithm changes.

In an effort to regain the vast amount of lost traffic, immediate changes began to take place at Ezine Articles.

Changes such as:

• Increase to the minimum article word count – it went from 250 to 400 (does not apply to Diamond Level authors).
• Addition of a new Ezine author status – Diamond Level – Best of the Best expert authors; according to Chris Knight (CEO Ezine Articles), “Diamond Level Membership is our way of making the ideal Expert Authors stand out.“
• Basic Level membership has only 10 allotted submissions; after that, they are allotted 10 more at Basic Plus; failure to follow recommended feedback to advance to Platinum will result in denial of ability to submit future articles – 20 chances, that’s it.

Knight made a Twitter comment back in February, “I’ve rec’d some pretty nasty hate mail & I fear it’s going to get much worse as our article rejection rate climbs even more steeply today.”

Another Twitter comment later in March, “Really excited about our new ‘Diamond’ quality level of membership being unveiled later today. It’s about trust, quality & consistency.”

The authors at FreelanceGhostwriter.com were excited about the new membership level, too. I went directly to my ezinearticles.com account to find out what exactly was required to obtain this level of membership.

Many Ezine Articles authors were under the impression this was a membership you could buy; however, that is incorrect. Diamond Level Membership at Ezine Articles is NOT for sale. This membership level must be earned.

I logged into my Ezine Articles account and requested Diamond membership. I was honored when I received a prompt response that my account met the requirements for Expert Diamond Author status and I was awarded this level of membership.

When I first started writing for Ezine Articles years ago, it was always important to me to submit high quality well researched articles. The content associated with my numerous author pen names reflects the quality of work I also provide to my clients.

When it came time to apply for Diamond Author status, all that hard work paid off when I was immediately granted acceptance into what I consider to be a prestigious membership level.

Over the past few months, there have been plenty of disgruntled and unhappy authors with many negative comments about the changes. I personally believe that Ezine Articles was in need of cracking down on some on the poorly written content they were allowing to pass through the editorial gates.

Keep in mind, it raises the quality of the article directory itself and the articles posted in it when the less than acceptable content is weeded out. My content is much more valuable to the search engines and to my business when it appears on a directory that cares enough to implement positive changes.

Ezine Articles realized the damage the Google update caused them and immediately began to search for ways to correct the problem issues and regain their foothold in the rankings.

Another Tweet from Knight: “Over-time, the best always rise to the top. Reason: They do whatever it takes to make it work.”

With Diamond Level status comes the benefit of retaining the ability to submit articles with a minimum word count of 250; that is not allowed at any other membership level at this time. This is because Diamond account holders have proven their willingness and ability to submit short, content filled, well researched, high quality articles.

The articles are not keyword stuffed or loaded with poor grammar, incorrect punctuation, and spelling errors.

The Diamond Level status is a privilege and one that I, as a Diamond Level author, consider valuable. I will continue to write content that reflects my belief that unique, well written, quality content IS king. The prestigious Diamond Level is considered by Ezine Articles to indicate the “ideal EzineArticles Expert Author.” I feel honored to be included in this group.

What does this mean for our clients at FreelanceGhostwriter.com?

Clients can purchase lower word count articles for the ezinearticles.com article directory. We will be posting a money-saving option of purchasing 250 words articles to be submitted under our Diamond Level account.

Freelance Ghostwriter clients will have the opportunity to reap some of the benefits of our Diamond Level Expert Author Status, unless, of course, they have already achieved the Diamond Level status in their own account.

Check back soon; I will post a link to the new article product.