When Hub traffic is low,should you update the Hub before it goes idle?

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   NateB11posted 11 years ago

   Should you update a Hub when you see its traffic waning, even before it's gone Idle? Will this keep it from going Idle and increase traffic to it?

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      paradigmsearchposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Ya think!!!???!!!

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         NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Maybe.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Since we don't know why a Hub is idled, it's not possible to avoid it in advance.

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         NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I was thinking that too. Traffic is supposed to be part of it, but I don't think that's the whole thing.

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   rebekahELLEposted 11 years ago

   You can always try and see what happens.  If you receive the weekly newsletters, there is a section about updating, especially if you have hubs over 6 months old.  It depends also how and what you're going to update.

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   snleeposted 11 years ago

   I find that traffic does improve whenever I take the trouble to update my hubs

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      NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, that's what I noticed too. So, it seems it couldn't hurt,and might help.

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   sgbrownposted 11 years ago

   I try to watch my low ranked hubs and if I have one drop to below 70, I will either update it or delete it.  I have only deleted one so far.  I have updated several that were some of the first I wrote.  I will read my lowest viewed hubs from time to time as I feel that there is almost always some room for improvement. I don't have a lot of hubs, but I have only had one go idle at that was just for one day as I immediately updated and improved it.

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      NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Basically that's what I've been doing; monitoring the hubs, and improving them when it looks like it's needed.

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   Will Apseposted 11 years ago

   I have a feeling HP use view duration times as well as visitor numbers. If your Analytics data tells you that your page is not holding your reader's attention, visitors are few and updates do not help, it is probably best to get rid of the page as a potential Panda risk.
   
   I don't keep any pages with less than one minute view duration and I am wary of keeping pages with less than two minutes. I have never had a hub idled and this might be the reason.

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      NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      This is good to know, and makes sense.

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      brakel2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Will, how can you tell from GA how long a person is on a particular article or page? Your techniques are awesome.

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         Will Apseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I'm not sure that they are awesome, lol. They just get me away from the issue of trying to say what makes a 'quality' page and focus on 'pages that users like'.  Google wants happy users more than any other single thing.
         
         Obvioulsy, the easiest way to see if readers are happy is by checking the 'time spent on page' metric in Google Analytics. Bounce rate, Facebook likes, tweets, pins all give clues too.

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   brakel2posted 11 years ago

   That is great Will. If a hub has little or no traffic in 30 days, I start improving or unpublishing.

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      Will Apseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I reckon if you want to keep your traffic, a ruthless approach to under-performers is best. With me it's also a pride thing. I don't want pages that don't work well in my account.

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         wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Me, too, Will.  I've got 2 that I like and may keep even though idle, but anything else is likely to get cut.
         
         I'm still questioning very seasonal hubs, though.   One on Easter, for instance, has 3 views for the month - I'll keep it until after Easter, but what then?  If it goes way back down do I keep it anyway or chop it?  Another one languishes for 10 months, but the other two months is good for 100 views/day - I don't want to lose that!

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            Will Apseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I have an older page which only gets traffic at Xmas (started rising this week) but it has a track record so that probably protects it from idling.
            
            HP should think about tinkering with the algo to accommodate new seasonal hubs but that might be too much to expect at the moment.
            
            Overall, I am just grateful for the recent traffic boost. While I don't think anyone can be sure it is the result of the new quality controls, I won't knock them yet.
            
            I would certainly take the fifty per cent increase in traffic at the expense of the seasonal hubs, if that was the trade off.

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   WriteAngledposted 11 years ago

   Since HP arranged for any hubs that were idled or altered in any way to be judged for quality by people working for a few cents at a time on Mechanical Turk, I have decided not to bother with changing my hubs, but to concentrate on other projects situated elsewhere on the Net.
   
   The life failures, who have no other options but to work for a couple of cents at a time on MT, are obviously people with no decent education or talent, who are incapable of surviving in any other work environment. They are most probably gaming the system rather than providing a proper review of content on Hubpages. After all, would you make a real effort for 50 cents or whatever? It is unbelievable that our hubs are being judged by this scum.

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      Will Apseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I would never defend the exploitation of people desperate to make a living and willing to take a low wage. But I think calling low wagers 'scum' is as bad as happily exploiting them.

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         brakel2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         @ Will  I posted this  question in the wrong place. How can you determine from GA all the statistics about a page?

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            Aficionadaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            brakel2, I have something of the same question, but I have been able to find enough for getting started. It may or may not be helpful to you.
            
            Sign-in to Google Analytics and make sure the "Standard Reporting" tab at the top is selected.  In the menu on the left, select "Content"; then select "All Pages."
            
            You should be able to see each of your Hubs, and even each slide or picture, listed. The chart will display several columns of data, including "time on page" for each item. I don't really grasp the significance of all of it, but there is enough there to get started on.
            
            I hope this helps, but I also hope the more knowledgeable Hubbers will show up to explain more about Analytics.

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               brakel2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Thank  you Aficionada. i have tried it, and it does bring up more info. Now we need a little more help to figure it all out. Bless you. You are so sweet and helpful.

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                  NateB11posted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  One of the issues is whether visitors are leaving your page quickly, as in hitting the back button; Google counts that as a bad page, may give low rank. So, in the stats on Analytics, the Average Time on Page and the Bounce Rate are significant; they indicate how long people are on your page and if they just leave. I urge you to check out the Hubs of thephoenixlives; he's knowledgeable and gives good info; particularly check out his Hub about the importance of writing in a niche. The comment section alone is an incredible education on SEO.

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                     Aficionadaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Thank you, Nate, for the information. I'll be sure to check out thephoenixlives's Hubs for more insights. And thank you, brakel2, for your kind comment.

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