Hub as a directory to other hubs- help, advice, tips

1. 92

   WiccanSageposted 10 years ago

   Hey HP community, looking for help from some knowledgeable veterans.
   
   So I've got quite a body of work in a couple of narrow, related niches (Wicca & Witchcraft). I would like to write hubs that act as a directory to other hubs to make it more useful for those who want to use my articles as sort of a study guide.
   
   I know some people do this with their hubs as I've seen them in the past when exploring, I'm just not sure what it's called.
   
   Can anyone offer guidance on these or do you have a good example of one that I can check out?
   
   Also what are the dangers of being flagged for spamming since so many back links come to the same place? And is there a way to avoid this?
   
   Thanks ~

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   1. 96

      DrMark1961posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I have four of these: dog health, behavior, training, and puppies. If you want to take a look at them they are "in the spotlight" on my profile page.
      Originally I put them together so that readers would have an easier time looking through my hubs. I have about 300, so it can really help some people.
      The hubs are mostly just links. Someone flagged my puppy hub (this was back before QAP) so I just added some text to make it more acceptable. (If you only want to look at one, check out the hub on health. It is set up in systems so that it is easier to access.)
      Just write it like a hub, with pictures, videos, an adequate word count, etc. You should be fine.

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      1. 87

         Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         +1
         
         I've done the same thing.   They were actively encouraged by HubPages at one time - it was called the Capstone Program.  The idea was that you wrote a number of Hubs on one subject, then created a Capstone Hub as a kind of index.
         
         The Capstone Hub shouldn't be just a list of links.  Include an introduction to the subject and a short "blurb" about each of the Hubs.

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2. 39

   ChristinSposted 10 years ago

   On my hubs that have related content, I post a link section on a sidebar so it can have a colored background and I'll use a heading like "You may also be interested in.... " or "Learn More About .....  and then do links to the hubs that are related. 
   
   You can also do text links at the end - Here is some more great information on widgets. Then make the text "more great information on widgets" into a text link. 
   
   Instead of doing a whole hub that is just links to other hubs (could get flagged that way) add some content to it in sections, a blurb on the overall topic and then add a few links, in the next section some text about the next subtopic and then some links etc.  This way it can be kind of a standalone article too.

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   1. 86

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I used to do this but no longer do because HP made it clear this was not what they wanted from us.  I am not sure whether doing this ever brought more views, but I am sure that it was one heck of a lot of work!

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      1. 39

         ChristinSposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         All my hubs are featured and many are EC so if it were a problem I don't think that would be the case.  I think what HP doesn't want is us linking to tons of other hubs or unrelated hubs.  To be clear, I do this and link only to hubs directly related. 
         
         For example, my hub on how to make soap in a crockpot has links to where to find soap making ingredients cheap and the best essential oils for making soap.  They are directly connected with each other.  If I had links to 15 other hubs that had no correlation whatsoever, then yes, that would go against what HP wants, but there is not a problem in linking to your own hubs that directly correspond to the current hubs content.  Especially if each of the hubs has plenty of useful content of it's own and isn't simply a redirect to another hub.

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3. 92

   WiccanSageposted 10 years ago

   Thanks everyone for answering, and DrMark I checked out your Hubs too and thank you!
   
   I think I understand better now what to do and will get working on my own.
   
   Much appreciated, everyone.

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4. 92

   WiccanSageposted 10 years ago

   Thanks again to everyone. I finished my directories and felt a great sense of accomplishment looking at the work I've put out over the last 16 months that I've been here at HP.
   
   I think they're not only useful to readers trying to learn about my niche, but also to me because it makes it easier to survey what I've done in a categorized way, and even as I wrote them I was jotting down topic after topic that I need to get to.

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