Post Panda HP: A New Hope- just set sights lower

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   sunforgedposted 13 years ago

   Although, I am quite surely in the "doom and gloom" crowd about the current state of HP, I figured I would share a tiny bit of positivity.
   
   Post Panda, I was still able to rank a new hub within hours and receive 100+ viewers daily on some days and ride that wave for a month or so.
   
   
   
   Its not a particularly amazing traffic level nor was it or ever will be profitable, but its promising that the opportunity exists still here at HP.
   
   Hubs will still rank quickly, just more effort needs to be placed on title selection, aim for lower hanging fruit.
   
   For me thats a catch22, since the draw of HP was being able to pick slightly more competitive terms and quickly rank and earn while acquiring data as to whether the topic/term/market could be expanded upon. A lower comp term would probably be just as easy to rank anywhere.But, the platform still has power for those who dont want the hassle of complete autonomy.
   
   anyways.. Hubs will still rank quickly and attract traffic, at least in non commercial terms, aim a little lower and be much more analytical in your title selections and you can still turn a profit.
   
   btw - that second spike is limited by the graph and is actually more in the 400+ range.
   
   Anyone else find anything good in post panda HP?

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   Mutiny92posted 13 years ago

   For me it is the time spent on my own site. It's performing pretty good. But nothing really positive here yet.

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      sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      from the iphone eh! - wonder if my droid will make that cool little message too

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         sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         testing with droid. hmm no sig, but the android market has some great laughs if you search for hubpages

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            Mutiny92posted 13 years agoin reply to this

            hehe!  I never noticed that...very cool!

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   earnestshubposted 13 years ago

   Thanks for this Sunforged, it offers a bit of hope. The first Panda hardly hurt at all, but a few days ago I sank like a stone on here. Some of my other Australian mates got hit pretty hard the same day. No good news to report so far...

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      tonymac04posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      My traffic has tanked in the past few days also, though my author score is now respectable again.
      Hope the traffic will increase again soon. Guess we just have to keep on plugging away at what we do.

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         earnestshubposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Same here My score went unusually low at the same time, but recovered fairly well, but the hundreds I was seeing regularly appear to be gone.

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   sunforgedposted 13 years ago

   My PAST hubs have suffered also, down to about 50% of pre-panda. BUT, I had targeted terms/categories based on the strength of HP at the time. HP no longer carries the authority to place me well in those terms.
   
   But when I pursued a lower comp term and did a little predictive selection I was rewarded with traffic.
   
   Old hubs are toast! The CTR here at HP is lower than I have ever seen anywhere, im guessing besides the hp ads, the whole YB system is flawed now as they have added new factors that YB cant have a data in. Amazon/ebay lower than ever. But, again, those (in my case) were built in a time past.
   
   The Hub boat sunk, its down and out. You may have noticed the crickets chirping where the friendly hubbers who were making a dependable income and liked to give encouragement used to be?
   
   But, new stuff can be built in the wreckage! Just target a little lower

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   David Warrenposted 13 years ago

   As a "newbie", the forums are leading me to believe I've booked passage on a sinking ship. I was initially thrilled and instantly addicted before I started browsing these forums. Not that I will enjoy reading hubs any less.

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      AEvansposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Hang in there, many of us have all of us will get through this together and many of us will not go anywhere either.

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         David Warrenposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Thank You! As I'm addicted, I'll be here

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            Ms Deeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Me, too.

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   Rik Ravadoposted 13 years ago

   Good point David.  The thread begins with the title 'New Hope' but soon we get:
   
   "The Hub boat sunk, its down and out. You may have noticed the crickets chirping where the friendly hubbers who were making a dependable smile income and liked to give encouragement used to be?"
   
   We are doomed!  Doomed!  Abandon ship!
   
   I like hubPages and am happy to stick around and see what happens next.  The ship isn't sinking yet but there is one hell of a storm out there and some nasty rocks ahead!

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      sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      lol, Well, i was trying to point out that a change in your personal targeting will be effective.
      
      If you try and aim for the same level of competition that you used to I think you will be disappointed. I stand by my belief that Hubs as sunk - my "message of hope" is you can build on the wreckage...many will drown, many have jumped ship already...
      
      I did ask for any new stories of success on post panda hubs, havent seen one yet!

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   lrohnerposted 13 years ago

   I think the best thing to happen to HP post-Panda is that now when I flag someone who's here on HP posting stolen content, they eventually get booted. Never woulda seen that before the smackdown.

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      Rik Ravadoposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Good Point!

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      Mark Ewbieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yes.  A word about that.  Will you just stop it.
      
      You flag me, they take me down.  I pay the money, they put me back up.
      
      I wouldn't mind but it's time spent that would be better on my email scamming business.

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   Richieb799posted 13 years ago

   I just skimmed the first lines of your thread because I have to go meet friends but I definitely think if some of my hubs rank instantly and gain 100+ traffic over 24hrs then there still should be room for individual hubs to do immensely well!

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   BobbiRantposted 13 years ago

   LOL I Have set my sights lower, to the tune of 30 cents in over a week.  I'll try not to spend it all in one place.

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    Stacie Lposted 13 years ago

    well I'm not happy going from 1.00 or more a day down to 1 cent or less a day.
    things have to pick up..

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       sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Have you created a new hub since the Panda bite? Did you select your title using the same rules you had pre-panda?
       
       I did notice a superfund article that seemed recent, I worked on the SF Bill here in NY and actually had Lois Gibbs come to my College Campus for a conference (as In , I invited her). Great Topic! (first public appearance of S.U.N.FOR.G.E.D actually, Students Under Nature FOR a Greener Environmental Dynamic)
       
       But I dont think there would be much money in it
       
       btw - this is the book I would give my readers, have a signed copy on my bookshelf myself
       
       http://www.amazon.com/Love-Canal-Lois-M … 0865713820
       
       

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    rebekahELLEposted 13 years ago

    I can't say that I have any success stories post second panda, but I do find it encouraging that at least my hubs are still being found!  
    
    I heard a quote the other day from the oldest American who recently died at the age of 114- "eat two meals a day and embrace change even when it slaps you in the face."
    
    and I still have this little plaque hanging on the wall above my desk,
    INNOVATION The Best Way To Predict The Future Is To Create It 
    nobody says how long it takes..

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       Rosie2010posted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I love the quote!

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    TamCorposted 13 years ago

    the draw of HP was being able to pick slightly more competitive terms and quickly rank and earn while acquiring data as to whether the topic/term/market could be expanded upon. A lower comp term would probably be just as easy to rank anywhere.But, the platform still has power for those who dont want the hassle of complete autonomy.
    
    anyways.. Hubs will still rank quickly and attract traffic, at least in non commercial terms, aim a little lower and be much more analytical in your title selections and you can still turn a profit.
    
    I don't understand what to do to "aim a little lower"...because aiming high has never helped me that much yet! But if you wouldn't mind, could you explain what you mean, for those of us who are technologically challenged?
    
    Honestly, I'd really like to know, but I'm just not following you...

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       sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Im not referring to a technological issue.
       
       The surest way to get eyes on your page is to KNOW what people are searching for already. This is done via simple keyword research.
       
       A small innocuous turn of a phrase can make the difference between dozens or hundreds of daily visitors.
       
       After you decide on a title or "term" to target then you have to see what your chances are on appearing on the first page of search returns.
       
       In the past a new hub, properly optimized could easily beat out old sites with a PR3 and several hundred existing backlinks.
       
       ^Thats aiming high^
       
       
       Now, one should simply aim lower, find returns that dont have strong competition and you can quickly rank.
       
       
       Honestly, as far as Im concerned, online writers (who self publish) should be very aware of what the following are:
       
       
       Keyword Research
       Competitive Analysis
       
       
       w/o a comprehension in those fields, you are gambling, not working at a business IMO - which is fine! As Stacie pointed out, its not always about money, but when the conversation turns to traffic levels and profits, those unaware of those terms and methods cant be helped as they are gamblers.
       
       "I hope someone wants to read this and I hope they find it!"
       
       I have a series that I hope points you in the right directions to understanding what Im talking about
       
       http://hubpages.com/hub/How-to-make-a-p … ing-online
       
       
       Its NOT a short read

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    Stacie Lposted 13 years ago

    thanks sunforged,I don't always write for money..
    my hubs are being found and stolen..
    and Google removed the ones I filed DMCA complaints about..
    I am tired of searching for thieves though!

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    lakeerieartistsposted 13 years ago

    The terms that Sunforged are using are a little deceiving unless you are already familiar with them.  When he says hi or low, he is referring to the saying about low hanging fruit.
    
    In other words, you need to do keyword research to find long tail keywords that are not as competitive to rank for and be found. 
    
    For those of us who have been writing on Squidoo, this is something that we have learned to be very good at.  Hubpages was much easier to rank for pre Panda.
    
    Now we have to work the same way for Hubpages as we did for Squidoo.  Do a lot of keyword research and write about the less competitive terms, link to blog posts, articles, and other high quality backlinks to help give authority to your hubs.  This is something all of us can do, but it may mean changing the way you write hubs.
    
    Hubpages should rebound over time, but that may be a one to two year period in which you can be making money and getting traffic to new hubs, and when they do, the new hubs will perform even better.
    
    As usual Sunforged's advice is right on the money.

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    Aya Katzposted 13 years ago

    Does it seem to you that Google is taking longer to index new hubs at all? My latest does not show up on Google but is indexed at the very top for its title in Bing.
    
    Is it possible some new hubs won't get indexed at all in Google, so that it won't matter how competitive the keywords are?

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       sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       @aya,
       
       I dont find that likely. My example in the OP was a post-panda hub that exceeded 100 google hits in its second day.
       
       Indexing is achieved quickly by having your link appear on pages that are also indexed frequently. Tweets, Facebook, submitting your rss to sites.. indexing should not be a problem for anyone no matter where they publish.
       
       Anytime , I publish a hub, it is automatically shared and tweeted and such at a dozen or so places minimum so I cant actually test how a hub that is simply published would perform.

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          Aya Katzposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          It did eventually get indexed by Google, but the indexing by Bing was much quicker. I automatically share and tweet, but only once.

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    TamCorposted 13 years ago

    but when the conversation turns to traffic levels and profits, those unaware of those terms and methods cant be helped as they are gamblers.
    
    Believe me, I am NOT a gambler, lol...I have a very hard time comprehending some of the terms and processes used, although I try...
    
    Thanks for that link, and taking the time to reply to me--I will make that my homework tonight--to read through it all, and follow all of the links, and take notes...I take lots of notes, trying to learn whatever I can.  For some reason, I have a tough time absorbing some of this--it's like it won't click for me...
    
    But I'm not giving up!

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    Mikeydoesposted 13 years ago

    I've seen quite a few red arrows. My traffic is still going steady.. But earnings are certainly way down.

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       Mikeydoesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       There is only one way you can go when you are at the bottom! We know we don't belong there.

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    celebritieposted 13 years ago

    This is an interesting discussion, I have a friend who writes for squidoo and he said the same thing about hubpages since they have lost ranking  writers have to promote their articles the same way writers on squidoo promote theirs, mainly with social media.
    
    As far as low hanging fruit and aiming low it just means instead of writing about shaving kits you now have to be more specific about what kind of shaving kit, the brand name and who its for.

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       lakeerieartistsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Exactly. 

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    sunforgedposted 13 years ago

    ^yep

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    Rosie2010posted 13 years ago

    Thanks sunforged!  As always, your post is very helpful.

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    HikeGuyposted 12 years ago

    Thanks for the encouraging discussion. I'll be watching for success stories -- I'm an optimist.
    
    I'm returning to HP post-Panda. I've been able to increase traffic a bit by pinging and tweeting, and I'm in the process of of setting up a website. The biggest surprise is that Stumbleupon became my third largest traffic source, after Google and HP. It's small traffic so far, but it's something. This week, my traffic from Google is the highest it's been since I started posting new hubs -- small still, yet moving in the right direction.
    
    I've also increased traffic and ranking to some old hubs from when I first started here. I changed the titles, improved the tags and reworked them a bit. I have a lot to learn. I've started using Adwords and Wonder Wheel. I'm starting from scratch -- this was my first online publishing venture. My first hubs were non-monetized hiking and camping pages. I've been freelancing full-time in the interim, so I want to see how what I've learned about writing online works for me here. 
    
    It makes sense to choose less competitive topics to get higher rankings. Susana S. gave a helpful response to a question I posted about the Google change's effect on HP and provided the link to this discussion.
    
    I'll check out your link, Sunforged. Thanks for all the helpful information, everyone.

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    sunforgedposted 12 years ago

    HikeGuy,
    
    After you get over the initial joy of "visitors" if your intent is in any way commercial you will need to start looking into "targeted" visitors.
    
    StumbleUpon, Digg etc. traffic is near meaningless when your creating articles only (rather than an entire site) its just a bunch of window shoppers and looky-loos running by, they never had the intent to find you and are not likely to remember you, return to you, subscribe to you etc.
    
    Your ideal visitor is someone who is actively searching for the information you provide - not someone who just happens to be distracted by a tweet in their feeds or a link at SU/Digg et al
    
    Big spikes of "surfers" actually can have small neg effects on your earnings and personally, its hell on my ability to analyze my stats and conversions.
    
    ____________________edit_____________________
    
    I forget that HP now has Impression based ads (i think)- Impression based ads and social traffic spikes make great partners ... so disregard everything I said if you have Hpads in place - and just consider it for your own sites or cpc/sales related works only

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       HikeGuyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Sunforged,
       
       Thanks for your response. I'm more interested in generating productive traffic for income than traffic for the sake of traffic. Thanks for the tip about StumbleUpon -- I worked in sales in the offline world, and yes, looky-loos do nothing for the bottom line. My venture this week is to create backlinks.
       
       I haven't looked into the HP ad program yet -- I'm focusing on Adsense and Amazon, so cps/sales are the goal.

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    IzzyMposted 12 years ago

    I will echo what Sunforged says. The goalposts have moved and all traffic is now good (if you are signed up to HP ads of course).
    It took me a long time here to learn how to make money..in fact that process is ongoing..and now HP has dropped in the rankings making it just that little bit harder, but not impossible.
    
    Good content will always shine through - it will probably also get copied all over the place LOL - been there, done that, didn't write the ebook!

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