Hubpages Changes vs Other Sites Changes

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   Marye Audetposted 13 years ago

   You know...I have been reading the forums more than usual lately, partially to keep up with the PANDA-moan-ium and partly to see what changes are being made that may have an effect on my articles.
   
   You can take this or leave it...but at least read it. I work as a freelance writer for several clients, as well as Hubpages and having my own blogs. Every single client I have is reeling from Panda and making HUGE sweeping changes in order to come into compliance.
   
   EVERY single client that I have is having its top writers rewrite articles that have been around 3 or 4 years. This month alone I have done well more than 30 rewrites on other sites, not even my own work but work by other writers that used to be considered top notch and is now considered low quality.
   
   Now, if sites that hire only professional writers are having to scramble, you have to figure that Hubpages, where a large percentage of the population are not professional writers, will have to scramble as much or more to sift through content and make changes.
   
   Any writer can tell you that there is very little writing that is done that isn't edited before it is published even when you are talking about writers with their work on the NY Times bestseller list.
   
   It seems a little silly to assume that Hubpages is trying to keep people from making money when their own income is based on what the writers here make.If they are making 40% of what you make then they want you to make A LOT, I guarantee it.
   
   Sadly, making money takes work. It is the way it is. If you want to write and publish whatever you want, however you want you can get free blog space on several venues.
   
   I guess the rambling is just to say that it isn't just Hubpages... it is nearly every site that I know of INCLUDING the giants like About.com and LoveToKnow.com, Planet Green, and others... Every site that has writers that write articles has been subject to this change and is in the midst of tightening quality on their sites. Don't take it personally. Except with Simone. Because I have it on good authority that she drowns puppies in her spare time and pulls the wings off butterflies.

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      Baileybearposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      aww...not Simone.
      
      So is the problem ultimately that all the writing sites rely on google for income?  Was google traditionally the easiest to monitize from?
      Seems google is not very popular at the moment - could they be at risk of going under? 
      Do you have your own websites with different income sources?

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         Marye Audetposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Google is where most of the income on the internet comes from other than private income sources like selling your own ebooks and such. They pretty much ruled it..so no matter how big a site is they have to make sure that their material is going to make google happy... or they are out of business. If the average income loss was, as I believe, about 60% average on all income producing content sites..then imagine what a company that has been making 40K a month is feeling like right now
         Yes I do.

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            Baileybearposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            with your own sites, they were earning mostly from google too?  Or do they survive okay with other affiliates?

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               Marye Audetposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I have never made that much with google with my other sites..maybe 30 a month .... I make more money with them using publishers programs like BlogHER... and FoodBuzz, etc that pay per visit to the page not per click.

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                  Baileybearposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  I'm thinking about having a website and I'm keen to monetize it.  Trying to figure out whether it would be a worthwhile exercise or not.

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         Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Not happening.

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      Glamorously Jacobposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for sharing! Hopefully your insights will help some of these folks simmer down and get down to business. People, we've got work to do!
      
      Make it work! -- Tim Gunn

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      FaithDreamposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Please.. please not the butterflies Simone.
      Thanks for the insight Marye, appreciate your perspective on this.

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      Lissieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Very interesting comment Marye because you are in a totally different part of the market than I - hubpages is about as good as my writing gets ie not very, in terms of getting published or acting as a freelance writer.
      
      As far as my income is concerned though - my own sites -which are predominantly full of articles for which I paid less than 1c a word for -  so you can guess the quality - are doing as well or better as they ever have.
      
      Panda seems to have been very much directed at large general sites - small niche sites are doing well.

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         Marye Audetposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Lissie, I think that is exactly it. The big money makers have been hurt the most. Interesting that many of these have had certain rules about keyword saturation and stuff. I am thinking that google doesn't like formulas so once you figure out their formula they  change it!

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      bgamallposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      On Hubpages I am not a professional writer. I am one on Business Insider however. It is all about the neighborhood and Google determines the neighborhood. So called "professional" writing can get disseminated through many websites. It is very unfortunate that Google is such a T*rd.

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      viryaboposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Well said.
      Thank you
      This is good for us to know. It should calm many nerves (i sincerely hope).

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      Dilnashiposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Deleted
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         sunforgedposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         well, that was dumb! Spamming your unrelated hub into a discussion, quoting a huge block of text just brings attention to the fact that your hub is spun and over optimized.
         
         Whatever Spam school your attending should have taught you to stay under tha radar better.
         
         (response to removed post from Spam account Dilnashi who has been able to submit 3 new Spam hubs in 3 days while the existing users are henpecked for pixelated images et al) baby, bathwater

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      Garrett Mickleyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      What's with the Simone hate? Did I miss something?

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         Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         If you read SImone's post she said she drowned puppies in her spare time...because she has gotten a bit of flack recently, as have all the Hubpages team..I was merely continuing the theme, tongue in cheek

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            Garrett Mickleyposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Oh I missed that one.  Thanks!

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      Thrillerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      People just don't get it. The Panda update has nothing to do with quality otherwise so many top quality Hubs or articles on other sites just cannot tank this bad. Google got it wrong this time round. It couldn't pick out the bad Hubs from the good ones so it just punished all. I think no amount Editorial guidelines or screening is going to get things back to normal unless Google itself decides to make amends.

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       Pamela Sarzanaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Ha Ha that's funny...the puppie drowning...Butterfly wing- pulling...cute...I'm reading.. trying to stay informed.....I love the humor.

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   carpesomediemposted 13 years ago

   Thank you, Marye.  That is all.

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   rebekahELLEposted 13 years ago

   Thanks Mayre. It is good to hear your perspective. I was hoping to hear from prolific writers who don't frequent the forums often.
   Any insight you have, I'm sure many of us would like to hear.

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   Wesman Todd Shawposted 13 years ago

   With Simone, you could just tell - she's too "purty". . .as we Southern boys say about purty gurls.
   
   I'm just not going to publish anything else until staff is done finding chinks or kinks, or whatever it is. .. .uh, in my "armor."

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   Peggy Wposted 13 years ago

   Thanks Marye.  This makes sense to me.  It will simply force us to become better writers which is OK with me.  Life is a learning curve afterall. 
   
   Now as to Simone...ooh...that's SCARY!  Haha!

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   DzyMsLizzyposted 13 years ago

   I have no problem whatsoever with fostering high-quality writing and encouraging writers to improve.  What I do have a problem with is outside interference into the affairs of a private corporation (or multiple corporations) by another corporation.
   
   IMO--Google has just gotten too big for its britches!  I did a search yesterday, and had to scroll through several screens to get to the end of the list of all the search engines available to use!
   Some, if not many of them have been around since well before Google arrived on the scene.  In the total "public internet timeline," Google is a 'johnny-come-lately!' 
   How did they get so big and so all-powerful so fast, eclipsing much older search engines?
   Why, by the "good-old" American Way:  they bought them out!  Some of them still exist, but only nominally--Google apparently bought the rights to use their names, as well, so many had the notation, "run by Google" or "run by Yahoo" (the second-biggest, apparently), next to their names.
   How do you increase the power of a dictator?  Why, you bow down and accede to its demands!  If enough publishing sites were to tell the Google execs to go perform an anatomically impossible feat, perhaps they would tone down their demands and stop mucking about with their algorithms!

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   PaulGoodman67posted 13 years ago

   Certainly Google has the right idea and if they use their power wisely, then they can have a benign effect on the internet.  Raising quality harms no one, except the lazy, dishonest and frankly, crap writers.
   
   However, whether that is what will eventually materialize in pratice is difficult to predict at the moment.
   
   I can get a little tired of the moaning to be honest.  I don't think Hubpages has reacted at all badly to the changes.  They have been sensible and proactive as far as I can see.  (They have maybe been over-reliant on software and hubbers to oversee the site content in the past, but I understand that they are taking measures to change that)
   
   My only problem is with that Simone who has been squirting water in the eyes of kittens, I heard.

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      DzyMsLizzyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      "Wisely" is the keyword... pun intended...

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      RedElfposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Oh, no! Puppies and butterflies were bad enough, but now kitties??? Oh, Simone
      
      I am devastated

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   Peggy Wposted 13 years ago

   And don't forget Simone's collection of knives.  I tell you...it is downright scary!

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   slock62posted 13 years ago

   Everyone keeps making noise about "changes", and no one is offering any sources that help learn these new rules.
   Could someone please enlighten those of us who are in the dark? Thanks

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      Marye Audetposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/74274

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         GoingOnlineposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Hey, at least there's a really comprehensive list of changes and things seem to be done. I write for other sites that are still on the "We are thinking that maybe we should considering thinking about making some changes to recover some of that 90% traffic we lost".
         Well, I used to write there at least.

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    Ritsosposted 13 years ago

    If material that has previously been considered quality and was written by professionals is getting hit by google, that indicates that other material has risen above them.
    
    From what you've said, that presumably means material written by 'inferior' writers which totally contradicts what google is supposedly trying to do
    
    doesn't it?

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       CMHypnoposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       One would think that if an article was high quality, then it is high quality period? But that is Google's challenge - deciding what is quality and then getting that content to the top

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       Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Not necessarily.  As an editor I have seen some pretty crappy articles written by professionals.

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    BobbiRantposted 13 years ago

    Yes, Google has good intentions, and is not looking out for their own purses.  Sure, sure, sure.

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       Mutiny92posted 13 years agoin reply to this

       
       
       But, Google said that they didn't target their competitor:
       http://spinport.com/google-denies-targe … or/315688/
       
       Google also said that they don't give preference to their own sites:
       http://spinport.com/harvard-researcher- … ��/314337/
       
       Do you ever see funky Youtube videos posted at the top of the page?  Since Google owns Youtube, it is just a coincidence if the rank above other articles.
       
       There is no correlation that Amazon benefited nicely from Panda and John Doerr (Google's Board of Directors) was an Amazon.com director.
       
       Or that Ann Mather was a director for Zappos - which got bought out by Amazon - is also a Director
       
       Just a coincidence...
       
       Conspiracy theories at their best! 

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    codehubposted 12 years ago

    Is it still possible to develop traffic levels of 1000s pageview/day on hubpages?
    
    I had been hoping to develop my hubpages traffic as my own sites where doing pretty poorly, now,the penalties suffered by hubpages articles across the board is pretty remarkable and does make this plan  problematic.
    
    The hardest hit are definitely the light weight articles ,for me anyway.

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       Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Today at 2 pm CST I am showing 3200 page views...so yeah..I think it is.

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          Aficionadaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Exciting, inspiring, hope-inducing.
          
          But CST??  Did you mean CDT? or is there some pocket that I'm not aware of?  Part of Indiana, perhaps?

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             Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Umm..Texas.. CST CDT...whatever.

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                Aficionadaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                Sorry - not meaning to be a prune.  I was just curious because at one time, just a few years ago, I had relatives in Hawaii, Arizona, and Indiana - the only three states at the time that did not observe Daylight Saving Time.  Indiana has changed since then, but it has always been idiosyncratic about time zones.  I was/am just interested.
                
                Yes, I do understand about the change in your traffic and, no, that is not good. The inspiring part was that you were answering the question "Is it still possible to develop traffic levels of 1000s pageview/day on hubpages?" and so your response - in the context of the bleak current traffic situation - was encouraging to those of us with far less traffic than you have.  I hope yours will return.  And soon.

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             Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             and while that sounds good... in January my average page views were betweem 7,000 and 8,000 per day...

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                Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                There is something quite distasteful about 'Gloating!'
                
                And I was starting think that I, as an Experienced Writer like yourself Marye, should be quite concerned by my current traffic level that has now been reduced down to the Absolutely Disgusting Level of 37 views per day here?
                
                How Do you explain this HubPages?
                Is it because I spend too much time chasing stolen content around the Net, or because my work is Crap?
                Is it because I don't know what I'm doing after 2 years?
                Is it because my links keep getting switched off?
                
                These are just a few things that I was worrying about!
                
                And Now with all those helpful Gloatingly presented opinions.. from our Marketing Manager and a Marketed Hubber.. Well, You Know...
                Now I feel like my 260 views for a week here is Just Fantastic and that I shouldn't be concerned and that I shouldn't compare HP to any vastly inferior sites traffic-wise, or otherwise!
                
                Even though those vastly inferior sites give me an average of 4500 content views for each of the weeks since the 'Internet Meltdown!'
                
                How do you think MY HP views compare with the Average Hubber here... Well.... You Know... The ones that don't get promoted on the front page, or don't have as much experience or as many hubs as me?
                
                Can You Explain to me How Come.. With Only 37 Views per day on My Hubs Here... How Come my Hubber Score is always Above 95?
                Would the Quality of my Work have any Bearing on that?
                
                Appreciate your Genuine and Honest Answers on this post...
                Oh yeah.. and Marye.. thank you for the ability to Measure the Imbalance here!

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                   Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   Gloating? I was not gloating. I was letting people know that it is still possible.  I don't see my work promoted any more than anyone else's...and I don't think I have any special dispensations or privileges. I literally work 12 to 18 hours a day and usually 6 or 7 days a week to get the results I have. If that is privilege and favoritism ...well you can have it..I would much rather be playing Monopoly with the kids.
                   
                   I am totally dependent on my income from my writing. I have 6 kids at home..and they are not inexpensive to support.
                   
                   My Income from google, amazon, and ebay combined has dropped from $2000.00 to about $400.00... Since that was a large percentage of my income well..lets just say I am not as comfortable financially as I was three months ago.
                   
                   I was merely trying to encourage others that are struggling as well. You can choose to look at the negative side or the positive. I prefer to stay positive.
                   
                   Dripping sarcasm does not benefit anyone. I am sorry if I offended anyone or made them feel badly it was not my intent. People have been asking for honest answers and I have tried to do that in a humble way.

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                   Lissieposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   Marye has over 600 hubs - you have 55
                   Every hub Marye has is a commercial topic that people who are searching in Google may be looking for
                   Many of you hubs are personal or poetry or humour - not topics that buyers search for...

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          rebekahELLEposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Mayre, I'm sure it doesn't hurt that you have a prominent spot on HP's home page, most of us don't have that opportunity.

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             Will Apseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Perhaps she earned that spot.

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                Mrvoodooposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                Perhaps.  But even so, it still makes statements like ' I don't see my work promoted any more than anyone else's...and I don't think I have any special dispensations or privileges.' appear as either naive, or dishonest.  When she's been one of only a select few, who have been promoted on the HP frontpage, for at least a couple of months.

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                   Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   Sorry.. I never look at the front page so I don't know. However, I can tell you where my traffic comes from and very very little of it comes from hub pages...most is from Google. Most Hubpages traffic does not result in income. 
                   I apologize again if anything I said was less than encouraging...I only meant to encourage those that had not been here long.
                   Thanks for reminding me why I stay off the forums so much.

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                      Mrvoodooposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                      LOL, well, I didn't really intend to attack you, in any way.  I was just clearing up a discrepancy.  But staying off of the forums, is probably a wise move.

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                   Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   . . .but I think the person in question has been on the front page based on Adsense or total income, and the fact that she's been here for a long time, if not from near the beginning of this website.

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                      Mrvoodooposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                      Yes, I believe it was total income since joining.  Although I can't quite remember.  But they were certainly hand-picked, essentially to make HP look good.  Which isn't something that I have a problem with, as long as we're all aware, that it is, what it is.

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                         psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                         Quite, who would you feature?  Those who perform the best, or those who are mediocre?

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                            Mrvoodooposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                            Who I would, or wouldn't choose, is not what we were discussing.  But that those featured were chosen by HP staff, not an algorithm, as you seemed to be suggesting.

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                   Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   ...and how many people (except other Hubbers) do you think see that page?
                   
                   As you should know, your paying visitors are not people who arrive at "HubPages.com" and browse around.  They're people who find your Hub on Google and go straight there.
                   
                   Being on the front page gives you an extra backlink and that's about it. It will get you extra traffic from other Hubbers but no money.

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                      Mrvoodooposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                      I'm not sure where I said that it would increase earnings in any way, shape, or form?  Perhaps you could point me to where I did?
                      
                      I suspect though that the frontpage still receives a significant amount of traffic (but could be wrong), from HP's own promotion of this site, etc.  Which still counts as additional promotion.
                      
                      And I'm not even suggesting that it was/is unfair, or that those chosen didn't deserve it.  I was merely (and fruitlessly) arguing a point.

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                         Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                         The wording of this post said to me that you did consider it "unfair".  Maybe I misinterpreted it.
                         http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/74281?p … ost1614709
                         
                         I suspect Marye is like me - as a long-time Hubber, she doesn't even notice the featured Hubber section.  In the old days, it was an algorithm thing, determined by Hubber Score. I hadn't noticed it had changed because I have a blind spot for all that stuff now, it's irrelevant - I just log in and get to work.
                         
                         So to call Marye dishonest in discounting the front page is unfair.

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                            Mrvoodooposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                            I believe that I said 'naive, or dishonest'.  But perhaps naive wasn't the right word either.  Simply 'mistaken'.
                            
                            And the post by myself you point to, was in response to psycheskinner.  Not Marye.

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    codehubposted 12 years ago

    boy o boy, your traffic for 2 days is more traffic than i've had since joining hubpages, remarkable

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    DzyMsLizzyposted 12 years ago

    OK--Last night, as I was drifting off to sleep, I came up with the REAL problem!
    
    It is the number of pages (screens) of so-called "results"
    
    "1st 25 of 6,598,600 results."  Seriously?  Who, in an entire lifetime, has time or the desire to sift through all of that??!! 
    
    I assure you, no one!  And, as we all know, the further down the list you go, the less relevant the "results" beoome, until by page 50, you're lucky to even find anything remotely related to the phrase, topic or keyword you searched!
    
    The real solution, then, is to limit the number of results displayed!  Not very many people are going to search even as far as 20 pages of results, so if the search engines (all of them!) were to collectively agree to cap the displayed results at, say, 30 pages, it would be "problem solved!" 
    
    With proper filters in place, the true garbage would fall off the bottom much faster and more easily. 
    
    Since it would seem that there may also be some bias at work, that would need to be addressed, but the next biggest problem after the sheer number of "results" is the listing of so many duplicates! 
    
    I'm not a programmer by any stretch, but I am married to a guy who used to work in the field, so I do know enough about programming to realize it would take only a few lines of code to tell the program to check for duplicate site hits, and eliminate them, posting only one link to the same page/article.
    
    It's not, as they say, 'brain surgery.'

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    Marye Audetposted 12 years ago

    At the risk of sounded smug or gloating...
    One thing I am doing is going back over each of my hubs, starting with the ones that get the most traffic.
    
    I am reading it carefully and taking time to make sure it doesn't sound like an info-mercial at 2 a.m. Is it interesting? Is it well written? Does it sound choppy or forced? I then do a search for similar articles on google and see which articles are above mine. Are the better? If so, what makes them better?
    
    Images, how do they look? Recipes, are they easy to follow and read?
    
    Is the information still relevant and up to date (some of my articles are 4 years old)
    
    Do my articles sound like a 10th grade English or science report? Are they easy to read, friendly; do they engage the reader?
    
    Are the articles broken up into easily read paragraphs with space or does it look like one long article with no white space?
    
    Looking at my work with a critical eye helps me to revise it to make it better. Assuming that I my writing is "good enough" will only cause me to lose money in the long run.
    
    And, at the risk of making people angry (oh heck, why not?) Writing fiction, poetry, and personal experience type things is not going to make you any money on a venue like Hubpages. I keep my fiction writing in other venues.
    
    I hope this is helpful to someone.

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       Will Apseposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I reckon looking after successful pages is more important than creating new ones at the moment. I am only putting out a few new pages a month here just to test the (icier) waters.
       
       I should also say I was genuinely shocked by your loss of income and I am sorry to hear it. I would be reeling with anything like that kind of hit. My fifty per cent loss of traffic has translated into a 30 per cent loss in income which I can live with (just).
       
       On the wider issue- my feeling is that Hubpages can recover because unlike Mahalo and Zomba it does have plenty of good content. Also Squidoo and eHow have not been hit too hard. This suggests that there is a formula for big content sites that still works. Hubpages has to find that formula.

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    Pearldiverposted 12 years ago

    Good.. As I said, I would appreciate genuine and honest answers to my post..
    You see how different we can Paint Each Other?
    You Read Me as being Negative and Sarcastic...
    I Read You as being Negative and Gloating...
    
    BASED on what you had said.. prompted by my words, you have Reacted.. Defensively and Clearly Out Of Context, yet you claim to have only been trying to answer people here Honestly!
    Did You Bother To Consider The Information within My Post - Objectively?
    Had you done that, then I would have thought you would be concerned about the Honest information, rather than Reacting to a perceived challenge (Not directed at You).
    If Indeed you were Trying To Help.. Then Why did you Not simply and honestly answer the honest questions that I asked?
    You were making a Statement about Traffic etc. HERE.. Your Information given, based on my information, appears flawed and therefore is Not a Fair Representation of the Average Hubber's experience HERE!
    If You are going to make a Public Announcement of The Honest Traffic Facts and Prospects Here.. BE HONEST.. Give Accurate Information.. Tell it as it is! - My Post Gave You Accurate Information, that appears contrary to what you were saying!
    FACTS: Many People Here (including Quality Writers like PD) can't even crack 50 views per day on this site!
    THAT IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM HERE.. It hould Not Be Glossed over to people who dream about making a living in this War Zone!
    If You Find My Candor Is by Your Standards Sarcastic - Then Appreciate That By My Standards Your Honesty Resembles Gloating to me!
    Thank you for reacting to my post and taking the post out of context. If you read it in the correct perspective, you may understand what I am HONESTLY Saying!
    I too apologize if you are offended by what you perceive to be sarcasm - I speak differently than you, as Kiwis we tend to be very direct and tactless.... However, we also tend to Care About Others and Are Extremely Honest! Perhaps, my refusal to 'Fudge' the Real Issues behind a Ra-Ra-Ra.. is considered to be sarcasm.. by others here - but hey, I chased YOUR Stolen Content Around The World as well in the 16 Straight Hours that I Spent Trying to do something 'Positive' for the site.. 
    
    @ Lissie... Cheers but the point I was making is that this is the NOW Volume.. It was far, far higher before (here).. On other sites less of the same style of hubs earn 4500 - 6000 per week NOW... I Have Work Elsewhere that is first page, well searched, But ALL My HP work has GONE from the First Page!
    THAT Is NOT Because of the style of my Hubs... THAT Is The Love that G has for HP... AND THAT IS What has Hurt the Bulk of writers here!!! My Poetry is #1 - #5 Still on Other Sites on the SEs.. So Please don't assume that I am measuring Apples with Lemons.. BTW.. I wrote on the subjects that the Management of the Day suggested would help the site... It seems from what you're saying then, that I should have been 'less personal' perhaps and written About Reviews and Stuff that I Don't Personally Know About!
    
    @ Marye... Your Last Post REALLY DOES Come Across Honestly and Openly Practical. 
    Consider this: ALL That Has Happened In The Last 3 Months on the Net is NEW To ALL Of Us... Including Staff.. We REALLY DON'T Have the ability to KNOW..

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       Baileybearposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Hate to say it PD, but you really do come across as very negative lately (someone asked you if you had PMT?)  Yes, you did have points here and there, but it seems to turn into personal attacks where it's not justified.  Yes, I am kiwi too, and pretty direct.

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          Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          ...and I'm an Aussie and I've been snipped for being too direct in the forums, too.  And I agree with Baileybear.  Marye didn't say anything that deserved such a rude, sarcastic reply - and she's not the first person to get the rough side of your tongue for absolutely no reason.
          
          Maybe you read things too fast and therefore misinterpret them?

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17. 83

    psycheskinnerposted 12 years ago

    Google will do what Google will do.  Hubpages will try and adjust. Me, I'm making more money here than ever before.  So I don't have a problem.  It's all relative.

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    Rosie2010posted 12 years ago

    Hiya Marye, thanks for the info.  This is really good to know as I feel very discouraged reading stuff here in forums.  So much negativity and it's bringing me down.  But I read them just to keep being informed of what's going on here in Hubpages.  I am a neophyte in writing, and Hubpages is the only writing home I know.  I have a blog account, but it is not the same.  So I just keep on going.  Thanks for the positive input.
    
    Rosie

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19. 71

    sunforgedposted 12 years ago

    Kind of depends on what words stick out to you, you can say it with a smile but:
    
    
    
    Isn't all that optimistic! and stating that many sites are running around and making possibly useless changes doesnt really settle my unease on how changes were implemented here.
    
    I lost more than the above figures and a great chunk of it was after HP created their arbitrary amazon/ebay guidleines not from Panda.
    
    Lots of the "doom and gloom" is/was coming from writers and marketers who have far reaching portfolios of sites that extend outside of the impacted "content farms" model. With that broader perspective its easy to see a "baby with the bathwater" problem.
    
    Hp will recover but Im guessing the Squidoo example( I hope not though!) will end up being the most relevant, so the haste that the changes are enacted in will be proven to have been a mistake.
    
    Im sure tons of the criticism is pure venting and the tone of it will lessen with time. Im done being outraged myself and can tell that the HP plan is decided on and inflexible so there is no point in spending time discussing the errors. It all could have been handled better. On the bright side Im sure it can get any worse! and Jason and Simone have been more active answering questions in the forum and making blog posts and really improving communication overall

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    SunSevenposted 12 years ago

    PD is brutally honest and direct to the point, as far as I am concerned. Perhaps, it is us, who misinterpret his words.
    
    Best Regards

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       Pearldiverposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       SunSeven Thanks - You Got It In One!
       
       The 'holier than thou' smugness that gets spread on the walls in threads like this one.. Merely emphasis how much Reality gets so selectively 'tweaked' when some feel their computer screen is attacking them!!   Such Ego-Promos are indeed as MrVooDoo states: Drool!!  
       
       @ MW.. Contrary to your suggestion on my reading abilities... I am NOT Obtuse! Having made a few million myself in life.. I guess I should confidently challenge decidedly average Dross... Don't You think?
       
       Both the OP and MW should ALWAYS REMEMBER.. To Be Nice and Not So Smug To Those They Look Down On.. On The Way Up!
       - Because... They May Find That They Need The Ones That They Consider They Are Better Than... On The Way Down!!
       
       You Never Know Who The Person That You 'Look Down On' Actually Is!

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21. 83

    psycheskinnerposted 12 years ago

    The front pages spots are automated and based on performance--or based on peer or self nominations.  I don't see performance based perks as being anything other than totally fair and egalitarian.  You want that spot?  You earn it.

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       Mrvoodooposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       You have to laugh.  When people try to pass of what they believe to be true, as fact.

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          Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          I agree.  Also, that comment screams "I'M CONSERVATIVE!"

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             psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             If you are suggesting I am conservative, you are waaaay off.  I am a card carrying socialist. Not that I am sure how it is relevant.

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          psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          I have observed on the forums how people put forward their pages or the pages of others for being featured and how the best of those pages were selected.
          
          I have observed how the hubbers with the highest hubscores are featured and what causes people to have high hub scores.
          
          You on the other hand are just *asserting* that something else is occurring.  based on observing... what?

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             Mrvoodooposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             In the context of THIS conversation, your observations mean nothing.

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                psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                Wow.
                
                If objectively confirmable observations of physical reality are not seen as relevant then you are the one who should be laughed at.
                
                I am going to get back to interacting with rational people who understand they have to earn what they get in life.
                
                Have fun raging against 'the man'.

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                   Mrvoodooposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   In other words.  It's just dawned on you that you were wrong.  And instead of admitting that graciously.  You're going to try your hand at a little misdirection.

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          Mishaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          I have to agree. Probably I just did not perform good enough - I never made it there

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             Mrvoodooposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Thank you, Misha.  As you can no doubt see, she wasn't entirely wrong, she just hadn't taken the time to read back a few responses, to understand the context of my response.  Before weighing in.
             
             And if it was just based upon financial success, you should definitely have been on there.  Prior to having your hubs unpublished anyways.   I hope they didn't get your best ones.
             
             I never made it onto the featured list either.  Maybe that's why I'm 'raging against the man!'

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             Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             Misha, glad to see you; was worried you'd found another place to hang out - and that I'd not get to glean some internet marketing wisdom from your comments!

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                Mishaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                Sorry to disappoint Todd, but I just stopped by to answer people on my farewell thread, and just stumbled on this ignorantly arrogant psyche post and could not just let it go

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                   Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                   Damn.  Now I must check your profile.  Did you write a farewell hub?

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    sunforgedposted 12 years ago

    MW is spot on.
    
    But, I do believe they are referring to the "Writers Spotlight" that showcases writers earnings on the front page, rather than the featured section.
    
    Im also not sure that featured section is software based anymore.

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       Mrvoodooposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       ^ This.

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    rebekahELLEposted 12 years ago

    well, I guess I'm the one who brought it up that she has a prominent spot on the HP home page. The statement wasn't meant to demean in any way, simply that it probably doesn't hurt to be on HP's landing page, if someone comes in via ads or a HP.com search. Most of us don't have that opportunity. Yes, obviously she earned that spot.

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       Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Yes, but as we're always saying - if someone arrives at her Hub via a general HubPages search, they're probably not in the mood to buy, therefore they won't click on her ads.

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          Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          That point can't really be pointed out too many times to someone who can create a decent article, but is unfamiliar with the psychology of the internet searcher.
          
          I'm a person who thought that he was doing "great" when he discovered reddit.com, and started putting links there, and getting hundred and sometimes thousands of page views from that site.  I didn't realize that that could actually hurt my earnings potential - so thanks to you all who can and will clarify these types of things.

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             Trish_Mposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             That sounds odd. How does that work?

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                Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                I forget the terminology, but it works like this:  If Google sees that I'm getting tons of page views by people who do not click ads, then Google will see no reason to continue putting their best, highest pay per click ads on my pages.
                
                You see, the people on Reddit, or digg, or facebook, or any site like that didn't find my content from search engine searches - so they weren't looking for my information, really, they weren't shopping, they were just browsing; so they aren't the type of traffic or visitor that clicks an advert.
                
                I've heard other well respected persons on this site - persons who seem to be very successful here say that "who knows who will click an advert!"
                
                But I'm going more with what I was told by Susana S, Ryankett, and Sunforged - because I know for a fact that those three persons have been and are successful at the online marketing game.
                
                I still sometimes share articles on reddit.com, it's a great dofollow backlink that helps your standing with Google in that way, but you have to be careful.

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          rebekahELLEposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          .. my original statement was made in light of the number of views she receives.. I'll leave you guys to discuss whatever. Who's to say when a viewer will click or not click.

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             Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             I thought that's what you meant - but if you read Marye's responses, it's clear she measures her success by dollars earned, not page views.

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          Mrvoodooposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          The thing is, if you're promoted, or promote yourself, in a certain light, there's money to be made beyond the scope of adsense/amazon, etc. 
          
          Look at RyanKett, do you think as many folk would flock over to Excerptz, if he wasn't seen to have been a success here?  And that's just one example.

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             Marye Audetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             For the record... I am much more well known for my food writing/reviewing and I don't need hubpages to promote me. I have spent the past four years systematically creating a brand  and internet recognition around my name.
             
             However..I will play.
             Yes. I am a total success on Hubpages because I and a handful of others pee gold, poop diamonds and are the darlings of the hubpages team. I am at this very minute getting into a private jet provided for me and flying out to pull the wings off butterflies for the afternoon with Simone.

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                Mrvoodooposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                Yes, very droll.  My statement was a general one, and was not aimed at you.  And despite your 'humour', still holds true.  Online, and offline.
                
                As for your internet-wide recognition, well, I guess I don't read that many food reviews.

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                Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                I knew it!

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24. 60

    Jason Menayanposted 12 years ago

    A point of clarification about the success stories: they were chosen by me, based on their traffic/financial success, their success beyond just the earnings, and the quality of their Hubs.
    
    They were not successful because they've been featured on the Success Stories page, but rather the other way around.

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25. 64

    Wayne K. WIlkinsposted 12 years ago

    I haven't been hit by Hubpages changes at all. I have never really earned anything from here Adsense wise but have been earning decent with the Hubpages Ad Program. On other sites however my earnings have dropped majorly because of the changes. A bit annoying, but nothing that can't be adapted to in time I suppose with a few tweaks and changes. I have adapted to change in the past and still managed to make a living from my writing, all from revenue and incentives. We will have to wait and see...

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