Lots of great additions - I’ll pass the word on to my mentees and the rest of my list - altho many do visit here!

CANI (Constant & Never-Ending Improvement) in action once again at EZA (my abbreviation for EzineArticles.com)

Jeff

I’m glad you are bringing this topic because many times I see my articles in different categories, even though I had selected other category for them. The Ezine members decide to put my articles in other places without asking me if I agree. I don’t know if this is good, because many times my articles are perfect for three or more categories.

Never mind, this is not a problem, but sometimes I believe the author has to decide an article’s category if it fits in more than 2 categories because there are more readers in some categories while in other categories… I don’t know if people know they exist…

Not that I really mind. I’m going to fill many categories that are not so popular. I’m just curious…

102     Arts-and-Entertainment:Performing-Arts
36     Business: Continuity-Disaster-Recovery
27     Business: Non-Profit
30     Business: Retail
62     Business: Security
31     Computer-and-Technology: Computer-Forensics
250    Finance: Day-Trading
27     Finance: Taxes-Property
51     Health-and-Fitness: Healing-Arts
36     Health-and-Fitness: Speech-Pathology
67     Home-and-Family: Death-Dying
24     Home-and-Family: Grandparenting
172    Home-Improvement: Feng-Shui
306    Internet-and-Businesses-Online: Paid-Surveys
25      Internet-and-Businesses-Online: Video-Marketing
57      Legal: Corporations-LLC
2        Real-Estate: Commercial-Construction
195     Real-Estate: Marketing
104     Recreation-and-Sports: Fantasy-Sports
184     Relationships: Anniversaries
43       Self-Improvement: Techniques
635     Shopping-and-Product-Reviews: Gifts
120     Travel-and-Leisure: Airline-Travel
371     Travel-and-Leisure: Camping
99      Travel-and-Leisure: Charter-Jets
1,245 Travel-and-Leisure: Hotels-Accommodations
127     Travel-and-Leisure: Sailing
——–
4,428 Total

I don’t know if I should suggest this category though, because I don’t know if there are many interested readers in the subject and I didn’t write any theology article yet.

Many thanks!
Dina Beach Lynch

Arts-and-Entertainment:Performing-Arts…?

Waaa!

I made up a bunch of new Squidoo lenses on VISUAL artists.. VISUAL artists like Warhol, Kandinsky, Matisse.. on and on.. I found a few articles on EA that I was able to post on them. I included their url of course. They were under all sorts of categories. WHY? .. because there is NO Visual Arts category.

Waaa!

Oh well, I am back to painting like a crazy woman these days and just came up for air. Everyone congratulate me! I am now OFFICIALLY REPRESENTED in New York by Monkdogz Urban Art in Chelsea. Yay!

Kathy

You’ll be happy to know that Editor #16 lobbied hard on your behalf as he wanted a “Visual Arts” sub-category as well.

Keep in mind that the category has little to do with how much traffic we can drive to your articles… a reality that no one usually wants to believe is true.

PS: Congrats on the new art representation!

Ohhh Editor # 16… (pant,pant and heavy breathing)

I will whisper your name in my dreams, as I restlessly toss and turn, because I cannot get the # 16 out of my head. I will chant a mantra of good will with you as the recipient. I will sing opera to the top of my lungs as I paint, with you as my muse I will paint masterpieces spoken of for centuries. I will lust after you because you are a soul of vision.

My cherished elusive spokesperson… someday, oh lovely Editor #16

(more panting and heavy breathing)

Someday, that wascally wabbit Cwis, while running in one of his marathons, will see visions of visual arts. He will stop his running abruptly, despite the crowds roar to step over the finish line, and he will say,

“Let’s make a Visual Arts Category”

~~*~~

We’ve updated the Category Guidelines to include the new categories:
http://ezinearticles.com/category-guidelines.html

Kathy,

Two words: Ice Water

:)

Ya know, this is a lot like the mug blog. You posted a lovely Ezine Article’s mug with wonderful background effects and everyone who did not get a mug, because of demographics, cried, “Waaa!”

I would suspect this is going to be the same.. there is no way possible to have a category for ‘everything. The can of worms has been opened though and you are bound to hear weeping for categories you have missed.

Petty humorous.

btw Checked my stats for my main website again yesterday. All I can say is, “Thank you Ezine Articles!” Yes I do know that it really has little to do with categories, I cannot resist feeling playful none the less.

Those keywords

I think it has *everything* to do with categories. Go to Google.com and type in the term that best describes the CATEGORY where you want to dominate, or shine if you prefer.

Look for the first EzineArticles.com link closest to page 1.

Click that link and then search for yourself in the list of article titles that are generated.

If you don’t see your name and article titles coming up, it’s time to start hitting THAT CATEGORY with tons of articles… hard!

Happy Friday.

Why did you say that an article’s category doesn’t affect the traffic it receives?

Someone could just as easily suffer from other Mental Health issues. Mental Health is a huge field, one could spend their whole life studying it and never finish, even if they skipped “depression” all together. Up for debate? Smile. - Lance

The guidelines are not helping me understand when I should submit an article about depression to “depression” or to “mental health”.

Mental Health = ?
Depression = ?

Here is Ezine Articles’ description:

1. Health-and-Fitness: Depression
Articles about/concerning Depression, Depression Treatment, Mental Health, Therapy, Psychotherapist, Psychotherapy, Mood Disorders, Antidepressants.

2. Health-and-Fitness: Mental Health
Articles about/concerning Depression, Anger Management, Anxiety Attacks, ADHD, Adult ADHD, Autism, Social Anxiety Disorder, PTSD, Alzheimer’s Disease, Bipolar Disorder.

3. Reference-and-Education: Psychology
Articles about/concerning Psychology, Psychological Disorders & Treatment, ADD, ADHD, Mental Illness, Human Development, Addictions, Cognitive Skills.

I believe the description should be:

1. Health-and-Fitness: Depression
Articles about/concerning Depression, Depression Treatment, Therapy, Psychotherapist, Psychotherapy, Mood Disorders, Antidepressants.

2. Health-and-Fitness: Mental Health and Psychology
Articles about/concerning Anger Management, Anxiety Attacks, ADHD, Adult ADHD, Autism, Social Anxiety Disorder, PTSD, Alzheimer’s Disease, Bipolar Disorder, Craziness (Neurosis, Hysteria, Psychosis, Schizophrenia).

3. Reference-and-Education: Psychology
Articles about/concerning Psychology, Psychological Disorders & Treatment, Human Development, Addictions, Cognitive Skills.

I believe that mental health and psychology should be together, in the same category…

Okay, well your modifications seem very reasonable, I think I would add to Mental Health description- “Mania” maybe

Psychology and mental health together? Maybe not, as there is the educational aspect, such as names of famous people in the field and their biographies, plus University studies, the sociology aspects of society from a pyschological aspect, innate characteristics of the species and the implications. Also issues with Prisoners Dilemma, fight and flight theory, I’m okay you’re okay, risk reward, competition, maslow, etc.

Thus, Psychology could stand alone>? I have written on many of these topics, not from an expert POV, but from an observational standpoint in considering events, groups and prediction of behavior.???

What say you?

If it was true (it’s not) that the category an article is in impacts how much traffic the article can attract, we’d have ten thousand categories.

Very few of our users surf the site like authors do… and most land directly on a specific article from a referral… therefore the category your article in matters only slightly.

–

I agree that our mental health category description needs some improvement. Will do next week. Thanks.

So, why should I publish an article that can fit on Depression, Mental Health, Psychology and Spirituality in a category like Relationships – enhancement?

I would publish it on Depression that has more readers, but the Ezine members want to fill the empty categories too, so they put my beautiful article there and many readers cannot find it because they are just taking a look at what the Ezine authors wrote and they are going to look for articles in the most popular categories, unless they have a specific problem and they want a specific answer.

I believe that the articles placed in specific categories (with fewer readers) shall go there only if the author agrees with that or if he or she wrote them especially for that category.
I don’t agree with the Ezine member’s decision when my article can fit on Depression that has many readers but they put it somewhere else because they want to.
They cannot say that an article with rich content has to belong to certain category for sure if it is about relationships, society, psychology, spirituality and depression at the same time.

On the other hand, I want to help the Ezine fill all categories with good articles, but only when I decide to write for a different category, because I have a plan.
I don’t write articles by chance, starting from the end to go to the middle later. I’m teaching my readers, giving them serious free lessons step by step, so I want my articles in the categories I choose.

If my readers cannot find an article I wrote for depressed people because someone in the Ezine put it somewhere else, this is bad for me and for the readers that are following my lessons.

.

Plus if you fill up articles in all your categories, Mental Health, Depression, Relationships, Psychology, Self-help categories, etc. Then they will find an interesting article of yours in each. More chances still of click thrus to your site. Once the reader comes to your site, then you can really kick butt, by letting them peruse titles of your books, read your resume, find addtional information as well. Thus, cementing a contact for life and perhaps a paying customer if you are selling information or consult. So, what are your thoughts on that set of truths and my perspective on the reality of why this is indeed a Good way to do it, as opposed to being full of ghostly drawbacks?

For example, Lance writes on Depression and he says that only herb treatment can cure depression.
Chris also writes about depression and he says that only regular anti-depressants can solve depressed people’s problems.
Christina writes on Depression too and she says that only through dream interpretation we can eliminate depression.

Reader A is following them at the Ezine. If he won’t find Christina’s article there, he is going to read only Lance’s and Chris’ articles. He is going to forget Christina, because he doesn’t know what to do.
Why Christina’s article is not at Depression though? Didn’t she write her regular article for this category?

Yes, she did, but Editor Number 1000 put it on Relationships, enhancement, without asking Christina if it was ok to do that.

I think that when an article can fit in many categories if the editor decides to change its category he has to justify his decision and ask the author if he or she agrees with his decision.

Casey told me that they cannot ask each author about that when I complained.
Why? Is it so hard to do? How can the Ezine members consider our article problematic because it has many links and send us a message telling us to change it?
Why is it so difficult for them to send us a message about the category’s matter?
Or do you still think it is irrelevant?

Actually if someone typed into the search engine, Google; “Eliminate Depression” all the articles from Christina, Lance and Chris would have an equal go of it, then the person would have an equal chance of coming into EzineArticles to one of their articles.

Once at ezine articles they could surf around or use the search tool for more article using the exact same key words they put in Google in the first place you see?

Meanwhile, I like Gregory’s article best using Electrodes to stop depression:

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/science/7fe10fb25fef4110vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

Unfortunately, Gregory, did not post on EzineArticles.com therefore the Internet surfer with depression will never learn of his article, in any category here, for he failed to post it here. Therefore, his article will not be sydicated 18.8 times each like my average article has. I feel sorry for Gregory and all the depressed people out there, not Christina, whose articles will get read and syndicated and have a much better self life and showing, Sincerely, Lance.

Sometimes the changes made by the Ezine members are better for the article’s popularity. However, it’s not always this way. The article’s category is very important and I believe that the changes shall not happen without an agreement between the editor and the author.

We all love Ezine articles and we want it to be in the top. We all want our articles to be read and our business to be successful. Why can’t we decide together which the best place for an article is? Why shall I accept editor’s number 1000’s decision?… This is the problem.

However, it’s not so serious because all articles are read if they are good.

I totally disagree with all methods that try to cure depression or craziness without psychotherapy. Perhaps many things can be achieved through many other methods, but the point is that the doctor has to help the patient acquire psychic health.

Usually the patients simply learn how to accept reality and live in their community without provoking problems. They don’t acquire psychic health, balance and wisdom. This miracle can happen ONLY through psychotherapy.

Sincerely,
Christina

I wouldn’t get too depressed over the depression category, after all we are looking for impressions and article views. And to that point, the more the categories are added the more chances that those new category pages will attract new folks to other similar key words, considering the Long Tail Theory.

Once a “Key Word” becomes saturated there is a diminishing point of return, and that is whan I wholeheartedly agree with Chris to add a category, although perhaps not his sole intention, definitely a good second or third reason; to pick up some of the other “key words” that may be less traveled yet little if any real competition for a well-ranked and traffic’ed website like this one.

Also, the re-defining of the categories to narrowly focus for the authors makes sense. The more articles in the new category the more Ezine Editors will come to them and sign up for the email alerts, so all-in-all, if an EzineArticle editor feels that an article belongs in a different category to help EzineArticles get more traffic or attract new Ezine Publishers/Editors, well in the end we all win, as long as their strategy here is working, and well the statistics show that it is working and working well.

Do you have any further points of contention to discuss here on this subject, it is a good dialogue we have going - Lance

I don’t know however if it is really a good idea to have so many specific categories at the Ezine because the readers that come to the site because they simply like several authors perhaps don’t have the patience and the time to look for the specific category they want.

It may help a few authors but I don’t know if it is really good for the readers.
It seems to be somehow complicated…

However there are more than too many authors here… the divisions are indispensable.
Fortunately most readers come to the Ezine though search engines.

Usually the Ezine editor’s decision is good because he knows well all the existent categories.
However, there are times that his decision may not be the best one, as I explained before.

The editor is a human being and he makes mistakes too.
That’s why an agreement between the author and the editor who wants to change the article’s category is undoubtedly necessary. Don’t you think this would be better for both?

The editor doesn’t know my plan and which lessons I want to give to depressed people.

Nice! I discovered this brilliant solution today!

Christina

Also, Casey isn’t the only one who does member support behind the scenes, so please don’t address her directly unless in reply to one of her emails.

In any case the public is with me, because I write a lot.
You write a lot too.

Our words feed hearts and minds, surpassing all the obstacles of the Universe, thanks to the Internet and to electricity. And thanks to Ezine Articles.com, of course!

Comprehension and peace again help the hero continue her arduous mission…

Thanks for your feedback on the Mental Health, Depression and Psychology category descriptions.

After some consideration, we’ve made pretty much all of the changes suggested:
http://ezinearticles.com/category-guidelines.html

Europeans are totally different. They don’t accept foreigner’s ideas; they are very hard to please and to convince…
Americans welcome foreigners and easily accept their conceptions, let them cooperate everywhere and respect their opinion. South Americans too, they have the same mentality.

I’m glad I have the chance to be in contact with people from everywhere in the Internet and specially to work with North Americans!
I like the American responsibility and organization very much, besides its flexibility and open mind.