How to avoid getting flagged for being spammy?

1. 74

   KPM2017posted 6 years ago

   I'm new to this whole Hubbing gig and I'm curious about how one avoids having articles being rejected for being spammy? The article I submitted was an interview with a musician and the only thing that I can think is that she made too many references to her latest album and/or various aspects of her touring career in the article, so that it seemed like it was promotional. Does anyone have any comments on this? It would be appreciated!

   replyreport
   1. 84

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      You can avoid being flagged for being spammy by
      
      using very few links, even to your own articles,
      limiting ads significantly and making sure they help the reader and that you explain why your touting them.
      
      HP wants readers staying on our site, so anything you do that causes readers to go elsewhere is frowned upon.

      replyreport
      1. 84

         Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         "HP wants readers staying on our site, so anything you do that causes readers to go elsewhere is frowned upon."
         
         HP is very strict about links, BUT that's not the reason why they are so strict. 
         
         The reason they're so strict is because they want to please Google.  Google hates "irrelevant" links in articles.   Google also hates repeated links to the same websites.   HubPages' rules are based on that.
         
         HubPages does not hate all links, because Google does not hate all links.  If the links improve the authority of the article, or are genuinely useful to the reader, links are rewarded. That's why HubPages encourages links in health-related articles.  You'll notice many of the Hubs on HealDove are a sea of blue links!

         replyreport
      2. 83

         psycheskinnerposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Actually the want people to hit a hub and then exit by clicking an ad or affiliate link.  Money is made when people bounce organically  to an ad (buying a thing because it actually meets their needs).  Any other kind of link is only indirectly helpful, and non-organic ad traffic endangers the program.

         replyreport
2. 97

   Glenn Stokposted 6 years ago

   Welcome to HubPages Karl,
   
   My rule of thumb is as follows:
   
   Read it back to yourself out loud. If it sounds natural then it may be okay. But if it sounds like you're forcing repetition of specific words or phrases then you need to reduce the repetition.
   
   The other thing to keep in mind - are you providing some useful information for the reader? If all you're doing is coming across as if you're promoting something, then it will look spammy.

   replyreport
   1. 74

      KPM2017posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I'll take that under advisement, Glenn. I think it can be a fine line when interviewing musicians, as I have been, between eliciting their opinions and making it seem as though they are promoting themselves.

      replyreport
      1. 97

         Glenn Stokposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         If you focus on discussing his or her opinions, that would make your hub educational—providing useful information for other musicians who might be doing Google search for advice from other musicians. See what's happening there? It's just a matter of how you present the information.
         
         Avoid anything that seems promotional in the body of the hub. You can include a reference to the musician you interview by adding a section at the very end of you hub with the subtitle "References" and that won't come across as promotional.

         replyreport
3. 84

   Marisa Wrightposted 6 years ago

   "Spammy elements" and "overly promotional"  are jargon words on HubPages, they don't mean what you think they mean.
   
   Both terms usually mean you have added links that are problematic in some way.  Nothing to do with your text at all.  If that's the message you got, then you don't need to change the text, you just need to change the links.
   
   There are two rules about links:  one is that it must be relevant to the title of the Hub (in this case I'm guessing it's the album, which would be relevant).   The other is that IF it's a product, you must explain why you're recommending it, based on your personal opinion.  I'm guessing you may have linked to her album without making a personal recommendation - that will be classed as "spammy". 
   
   As for "overly promotional" - again, the links need to be relevant to the title, you must not have more than two to the same domain, and they need to be useful to the reader. 
   
   Occasionally, "overly promotional" does mean "your Hub has been written for the sole purpose of promoting a person or business".   However that usually only happens if you've written the Hub to sound like a press release or an advertisement.

   replyreport
4. 74

   KPM2017posted 6 years ago

   Thanks for the tips and advice. I think I've got the general idea! I did manage to get a second piece published, so I think I figured it out.

   replyreport
   1. 84

      Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      One more tip:  it looks like you're writing a series.    Unfortunately, using repetitive titles is the kiss of doom on the internet.  Google doesn't like it, and since HubPages relies on Google for 90% of its traffic, that's a disaster. 
      
      Each Hub needs its own unique title.  Each title should be something people search for on Google, otherwise you're wasting your time. 
      
      I guarantee no one is searching for Northern Roots, so that should not appear in the title at all.  I would say "Canadian Musicians" is a better choice than "Canadian Music", and you could get away with repeating just those two words, providing the rest of your title was different - but always put the musician's name first, because that's the real topic of the article.
      
      If you want people to know it's part of a series, say so in the first paragraph, or in the last paragraph, or in the summary.  Not in the title.

      replyreport