STUCK and confused!

1. 96

   Jule Romansposted 14 years ago

   Can someone PLEASE help me? I am getting confused and frustrated.
   
   I have 22 hubs. None are perfect in terms of SEO or promotion. Over the past 72 hours, I have gone in circles. Keywords, backlinks, additional websites, new hubs, more keyword research, writing new hubs etc. All of these I have done a little bit, over and over-- None of them enough. Every time, Ihave hit some sort of wall.
   
   I just DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO NEXT. I posted a grown-up and thoughtful forum post in anohter forum, but  now, a few hours later, I just feel lost again.
   
   Everyone here has been so helpful, and I keep getting such good advice. Every time I post, the people who answer always look at my work carefully and  always provide good advice. 
   
   I feel like I need someone to just say- DO THIS NEXT

   replyreport
   1. 70

      wyanjenposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Do THIS next:
      
      Keep working away!
      
      Patience pays off. Don't stew too much about the hubs you've got up already, keep moving forward.
      
      Here is TKA Pro:
      They did raise the membership this month, but you can get a trial month for $1. You'll get a good peek under the hood!
      
      http://thekeywordacademy.com/crash-course/
      
      And of course, the how-to advice from hubbers right here is top notch. Just keep moving forward. don't get bogged down.

      replyreport
      1. 96

         Jule Romansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         *follows directions, starts new hub*

         replyreport
2. 0

   ryankettposted 14 years ago

   Do you use the Google Keyword Tool BEFORE writing a hub? Or AFTER?
   
   The most important thing that you can find from that tool is your hubpages URL and Title.... I very rarely write a hubpage without a good keyword title... they are the two most important things that you could get write... in my humble opinion.

   replyreport
   1. 96

      Jule Romansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      thanks for responding, ryan. I have been reading your hubs.
      I did  learn that lesson the hard way. Yes, I do use the keyword tool first. Except I think I am using it wrong.  I was writing amazon product hubs, so I just used it to find phrases with low competition and high global  search volume.
      
      Now I am learning that I need to look at CPC and also look up page rank for competing websites, and use the traffic estimator to be sure I get a good keyword.
      
      I am also having trouble getting beyond two-word phrases. I don't know how to expand beyond two words without getting "not enough data" responses. I don't seem to be picking very good longer phrases.

      replyreport
      1. 0

         ryankettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         If it makes you feel any better, I earnt about $20 in my second month. This is my 10th month, and last week I published a thread telling everybody that I had almost reached $500 for March.
         
         Try not to overload your brain, walk away for a couple of days, come back.... and take it slow. There is a Ryan Hupfer video which helps you with picking titles, have a hunt for that.
         
         Then shove a few other keyword phrases in the body of text and as subtitles.
         
         Then do some tagging, after reading this hub: http://hubpages.com/hub/Hubpages-Traffic-Use-of-Tags
         
         Next, leave it alone completely and move on to your next hub. Dont even worry about bookmarking, backlinking, etc etc. Worry about that in the future.
         
         Seriously, it can be that easy. My best earning hub didnt earn me a penny for the first two months, it found its way up Google in the third month, and now earns me a fortune. I didnt backlink it, it backlinked itself, I think I have backlinked it two or three times since.... that is all, a couple of backlinks, in 8 months!
         
         The biggest ingredients is patience. Many of my hubs completely flop, others just turn great after a few months.... get your keyword phrase for your title, write the article, do your tagging.... forget about it.... done
         
         As for CPC.... that only really relates to AdSense earnings, not Amazon earnings. To be honest, I ignore cpc completely for Sales pages... I go for the traffic.... for the articles I go for a CPC of say $1 minimum...
         
         Those few things.... title, subtitles, tagging, a couple of keywords in the body of the text, patience.... I really do think that it is that simple. The more complex things, like backlinking etc etc... you will have plenty of time to learn these when you have mastered the basics. And those hubs will still be there for you to backlink
         
         I would perhaps add one more thing.... a News Feed or relevant RSS can help to increase the shelf life of your content...
         
         Another one more thing.... Ask Relache whether she backlinks.... I can tell you that she doesn't, and we all know that her traffic is excellent

         replyreport
         1. 96

            Jule Romansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            AWESOME, Ryan. Thanks so much. I  am going to  take this and turn it into my to do list. I do have patience, mainly because I enjoy the writing process. I'll just concentrate on pre-research a bit more carefully and write some more hubs. This clarifies things very well. Thanks again.
            
            Of course, if you ahve any more words of wisdom ro adivce, I am all ears.... I have all night to work....

            replyreport
            1. 0

               ryankettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Look out for a project that Darkside is undertaking at the moment, you should hear about this shortly, a lot of people will learn a lot from this about some of the things you have mentioned. Just concentrate on the simple things, and that could well help to take you to the next level, I am actually involved in that... so watch this space... although I need to pull my finger out of my backside as he is probably going to be asking for my stuff soon!

               replyreport
               1. 96

                  Jule Romansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  Is that the keyword academy that was on the forums a couple days ago? I missed the cutoff by about an hour.

                  replyreport
                  1. 0

                     ryankettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                     No not that, I have to go to bed (3.30am), but will let you know when its all done and dusted.

                     replyreport
                     1. 96

                        Jule Romansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                        okay, great, thanks.  That video was VERY helpful.

                        replyreport
         2. 84

            Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Ryan, we all know you're a star - I'm probably a more average Hubber, and my impressive total in my second month (with 55 Hubs) was about $2.
            
            It does take time for Google to rank your Hubs enough to get paid.  Most Hubbers take 9 months to a year to make their first payout. 
            
            I wouldn't fret about the fact that you did your early Hubs "wrong".  You may not have - it's too soon to know.

            replyreport
            1. 96

               Jule Romansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               My total is not quite $2, split almost evently between adsense and amazon. (BTW, do you capitalize amazon?)
               
               The amazing thing is that my first .25  from amazon was WAAAAY more exicting than the over $300  I earned writing for hire on article sites like textbroker and content authority.  Hubby  talked about that .25 for days to his friends.
               
               It has kind of spoiled me. I go to write an article for someone else, and I think "nah, I'd rather write for me." 
               
               I now understand why so many people keep picking briefcases on the TV game show Deal or No Deal.

               replyreport
   2. 75

      Richieb799posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      What would you consider a good title, would this just include a keyword phrase or your chosen title with a keyword included?

      replyreport
      1. 0

         ryankettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Richieb799,
         
         Sometimes I used a keyword phrase, sometimes I use two keyword phrases together, sometimes I use a keyword phrase with other non-relevant words.
         
         I find that I have greater success if one of keyword phrases is in the URL.... so I might have a title "Pig Farming: How To Start A Pig Farm'.... In this I have 'Pig Farming' and 'How To Start A Pig Farm' (all hypothetical, I havent actually checked these keywords out)
         
         My URL could be /how-to-start-a-pig-farm
         
         If the article is getting 0 page views after a month or two, I could have a go at change the title to something like "How to start a pig farming business".... but I am stuck with the URL...
         
         Its all trial and error, sometimes long string really works for me, but as a starting point I always try to include my URL in the title... whether its the whole thing or just a part of it....
         
         I have had success with long string and short string, I dont think that there is a right or wrong answer here... but I see people naming hubs something like "My Journal Day 1: Trip To Marrekech' for example...
         
         The 'Trip To Marrekech' bit might win them a bit of traffic... but there is no reason to have the URL /my-journal-day-1-trip-to-marrekech
         
         That would be a pretty poor title for me.... I would check out something like 'Morocco: A Day Trip To Marrekech', perhaps my URL would then be something like /day-trip-to-marrekech-morocco
         
         Again, I havent checked that out on the google keyword tool....

         replyreport
3. 96

   Jule Romansposted 14 years ago

   Uh, and I just hit "post" by accident. But maybe that means I  should stop talking.
   
   I don't know what I need, exactly, I am just feeling so stuck and confused.
   
   If I should work on promoting my current hubs, then I guess I still need a bit more guidance.... do I rewrite and perfect all of them first? Just leave them as-is and promote like crazy by joining ezine and others and writing backlink articles? Use my blogger account? I am sooooo lost.
   
   I joined redgage, stumbleupon, xomba, and digg, and posted all my links there. I saw a slight jump in traffic on the exact day I posted the links, but nothing since. So I figure that means I have something wrong with the hubs themselves.
   
   Or, am I supposed to calm douwn and be  patient, and just keep writing what I want?
   
   Of course, I am hopelessly lost with keywords. Finding longtial keywords seems beyond me..
   
   
   waaah.
   
   Maybe I just needed to whine? Anyway, thanks for listening. heh.

   replyreport
   1. 79

      LiamBeanposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Jule: You've only been on here for two months. Heck I wrote for nine months and decided to take a break. While I was "gone" one of my hubs hit it's mark and took off. Even after two years my best performing hubs are the oldest.
      
      The problem, of course, is getting YOUR audience to find you. It simply takes time. So try not to get discouraged and trust that the SEO techniques you are using will work.

      replyreport
      1. 96

         Jule Romansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you! I will do that. I enjoy writing the hubs, so I think I will continue with that. Spring break is almost over, so I won't have as much time then. I can just write as many as possible in the next few days, then wait and see.
         
         I am blown away by how kind and supportive people are here.

         replyreport
         1. 79

            LiamBeanposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            I notice you do a lot of writing about flowers of all types. Of course the intent is to sell them. But you might add some advice on planting, tending, and finding cheaper ways to keep them growing. Give your audience, not only where to find them, but the best times to plant, what you do in particular to get good results. Things like that.
            
            For example do you have some secret trick you use to get rapid growth? Do you have some special technique for planting early, growing late, or just getting the best coverage all year?
            
            Update: just found the miniature greenhouse on one of your hubs. Wow! Great idea! So simple yet something that never occurred to me. Just keep doing what you are doing. You are a very good writer and the hubs are high quality.
            
            About half my hubs, recipes and how-tos, are from direct experience. The others, new drug and science breakthroughs take a lot of research, but it's always worth the time and trouble. The direct experience ones have step by step instructions and a "best results" rundown. The more technical take a lot of research and lots and lots of "translation." I have to find terms that most people are familiar with to take the place of the jargon and specialized terminology.

            replyreport
            1. 96

               Jule Romansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Excellent advice. Thank you. I am making a to do list out of this post, too.
               
               The mini greenhouse is the brainchild of Trudi Davidoff. I learned all about it on GardenWeb and from her site. It  completely transformed my concept of gardening. There are some incredibly bright, creative, and generous people on the GardenWeb forums. I should give them some praise in a hub.

               replyreport
4. 84

   Edweirdoposted 14 years ago

   Jule,
   
   I've been here just a bit longer than you, and I am pleased with my results so far. I mostly try to focus on writing good quality hubs and mainly do my keyword research after the fact to tweak my hubs. It's only recently that I've been letting the keywords drive my choice in topics.
   
   I've tried to keep track of what I've done and share it with others - if you go to my profile and look for the hubs "My Adnetures in HubPages" you can read about what I've learned so far.
   
   Hope that helps - my best advice would be to keep doing what you're doing! Read other hubbers like Ryan and Darkside and Mark Knowles and Sunforged and many others - everything you need to know is around her eon HubPages somewhere!

   replyreport