End of My Online Dream

1. 57

   sid_candidposted 13 years ago

   Hi Hubbers.
   I know this is not the best of times for most of us after the recent Google updates but things seem to have hit a dead end for me. Right from childhood I had a dream of making it big in the online world. But as I was from a poor family didn't have computer at home. This severely affected my research as I used to go to internet cafes where I hardly could find a good way to make money online. I don't know why but I had made up my mind that I would never pay a dime to get an online money making opportunity. This saved me from being a victim of online scams.
   
   Then I finally purchased a computer and came to know about adsense. I knew that you need your blog or website to get adsense. I did not have one or did not have the funds or technical knowledge to build one. At this point I came to know about several revenue sharing websites. Hubpages emerged as a clear winner and so I decided to write for it. I had applied and got adsense through a different website and associated it with my hubpages account. Initially I had no idea of SEO and keyword research but still managed to earn a about $2-3 every month for the first 6 months. But after I had over 100 hubs and still wasn't making money I knew I may be doing something wrong. I started to work on my SEO skills and keyword research and in October last year I saw an increase in revenue and I earned almost $25 for the month. Things continued to improve and by end of January I was at almost $40/month. But then came the month February when Google decided that it need to update something which severely hit my page imp and revenue.
   
   I have still not recovered from the Google slap and don't know what to do? Sometimes I think because English is not my first language people don't like to read my hubs but I may be wrong. At this difficult times everyone is speaking of diversification but most of the options are closed for me.
   
   Option 1: Make you own website.
   This is great idea but difficult for me at this point because:
   
   i) I don't have $100 to invest to build a website.
   ii) With minimum SEO skills I may struggle to get my website to rank in search engines.
   iii) I have no technical knowledge so designing the website seems an impossible project.
   
   Option 2:
   Work at other revenue sharing website.
   This is another great option but:
   i) If I could not take advantage of the wonderful platform of Hubpages not too sure if other lower ranked revenue sharing websites would be of much help for me.
   
   I cannot go for a job due to some issues at home but my online money making dreams seem to have been shattered after the recent Google update. Is this the end of the road for me? Any suggestion or advice would be highly appreciated. If you want you can even contact me through my hubpages profile page.

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   1. 67

      Joy56posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      it is never the end of the road......

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   2. 0

      ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Don't write off your hubpages yet, the official response only started two days ago. Just trust the team, give them a couple of months.
      
      Earnings for the last few days have been lower than normal too, as a result of YieldBuild needed to configure itself properly (or something like that), or AdSense needing to work out what ads to display.
      
      Hubpages will probably recover to a certain degree, three weeks is not a long time, they have responded to the algorithm change with a change in policy and a change in ad layout. The recovery isn't going to be instant, in fact more changes will undoubtedly present themselves as neccessary.
      
      Ensure that you comply with the new product rules, remove any news capsules, and then start backlinking. And then backlink again, and then again. That is the key to your recovery, backlinking. Snipsly, Excerptz, SheToldMe, Redgage, wherever you want... every single hubpage, multiple times. That is just what you are going to have to do.

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      1. 67

         Joy56posted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I still dont understand all the jargon, but always nice to see you do.......  There will always be a Hubpages, and hubbers.......... Hopefully

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      2. 57

         sid_candidposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Ryan,
         I am happy to see that you have responded as you are one of my inspiration at hubpages. I am getting just around 125 page imp daily at hubpages so even when I get the invite for hubpages ad program that may not be of much help. I don't know but I think I have done something such terrible results from 300+ hubs.

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      3. 0

         TopUniverseposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I think there is no need to remove the news capsules. What is the reason that you stated to remove the news capsule?
         
         I have news capsule in almost all hubs but that comes only at the end of the hubs.

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         1. 72

            Barbara Kayposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Google has stated that they don't like automated content. I'm not positive what they mean by this, but the news capsule is automated.

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            1. 0

               TopUniverseposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Even google blogger blog have news capsule. So automated content should have different meaning and not this one.

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   3. 0

      TopUniverseposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Don't give up as early. I hope hubpages will recover very soon.

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   4. 47

      iQwestposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Sid,
      
      First and foremost, I hope you can find it in you to put away your despair.  I understand exactly what you're feeling and it's not a fun place to be.  I've been there a few hundred times myself, as recently as last week!
      
      I've been self-employed for a good number of years now and when it's going good, it's too good to be true and when it's going bad, it's seemingly impossible to do anything right.  Everything you touch crumbles.
      
      Having gotten used to the roller coaster, I can say, as many other Hubbers have posted, that the most important thing you can do is to take a deep breath, relax, and learn as much as you can about the next steps needed to right the ship.
      
      Secondly, having learned about it here in the HubPages Forums, I highly recommend using Google's keyword tool for basic keyword searching.  It's free, too.  If nothing else, the tool shows you, if you click the "Exact" box on the left sidebar, the exact terms people are using when they're searching.
      
      It's amazing that the search terms I would use are often completely different than the most popular searches being used by the masses.  On a Holiday Hub, I focused on an 8-word keyword phrase that I found using Google's keyword tool and was receiving up to 300 organic searches a day on the exact 8-word keyword phrase and a few variations of this longer keyword phrase.  I haven't been successful in getting it right very often, but I believe with 100% surety that I wouldn't get it right at all if I didn't use the tool.
      
      As you and many other Hubbers have lamented, I've been frustrated by the recent changes, too!  I've been on HubPages since the beginning of January 2011 and I have now written 74 Hubs.  Outside of my two other business, I've been spending 7-days a week, often between 8:00PM and 2 or 3:00AM in the morning writing.
      
      My Adsense earnings were increasing, I was consistently making a few Amazon sales, and poof, the algorithm change.  Fortunately, my Adsense earnings have been steady and slightly increasing as I've added Hubs, but my Amazon sales have fallen off the cliff!
      
      I've also been fortunate enough to have one Hub generating roughly 400-600 hits a day that survived the algorithm change and it was a Hub written around another keyword phrase that I found using Google's keyword tool.
      
      Again, my success has been limited, but the few bright spots that I've had are the result of using Google's keyword tool to point me in the right direction to say the same thing a little differently.
      
      Additionally, with all the chaos, I set out to diversify.  I started three new blogs over the past month and really ramped up my efforts on those blogs to where I have written more than 30 articles that average between 200 - 600 words per post.  The Amazon sales that I lost with HubPages have been replaced by the sales I've made on these new blogs.  In fact, my Amazon sales have surpassed what I was earning on HubPages.
      
      Best of all, in addressing your sentiments, all three of these blogs have been started at Blogger, for free.  I know Blogger is not for everyone and there are some downfalls to using this platform, but it has helped me increase my Adsense and Amazon earnings despite the algorithm change.
      
      My combined HubPage earnings for January were less than $3.  In February, starting the Blogger Blogs towards the middle to the end of the month, my combined earnings (HubPages and Blogger) were up to nearly $60.  My combined March earnings (HubPages and Blogger) are nearly $70 to date.
      
      Of course, I can't earn a living off of this, but, if I can keep the pace up, it will soon pay for my oldest daughter's monthly preschool tuition.
      
      All of this pertains 100% to you, because I haven't spent a penny, outside of what it costs me to operate my computer.  With that said, I have literally spent hundreds of hours working at this in the hopes of figuring it out and trying to get it right.  Secondly, I'm fortunate to have countless experiences to rely upon to know that even though working on your own ventures can be very rewarding, it can also be very volatile and very trying at times.
      
      What's here today, may be gone tomorrow, and may return the next day.  Knowing that this is the constant, I don't get too happy when times are great and I don't get too sad when times are bad.  Instead, I try to figure out what's going wrong, make the necessary changes through trial and error, and get inspired by tiny successes along the way.
      
      Of course, it helps to come to the HubPages Forums for reassurance, too, as many successful Hubbers take the time to share their experiences with us and simply reinforce that earning online can be done, but it's done with a lot of hard work, a lot of learning, and a lot of simply trying to figure out what works.
      
      Just remember, you've already figured out how to earn over $40 in one month, you've certainly got it in you to figure it out again.
      
      Frustrating for sure, but just a minor blip as you work towards ultimately achieving your dream!  Don't quit as most people do.  These tough times make us that much better.  We may not taste success today or tomorrow, but it will come in due time with persistence and continued hard work.
      
      I wish you the best of luck!

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2. 59

   paradigmsearchposted 13 years ago

   Just don’t do anything rash as others have done.
   
   Take a week’s vacation from all this and see what your subconscious comes up with during that time.
   
   Hang in there!

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3. 68

   Aiden Robertsposted 13 years ago

   You are not alone feeling this way but consider this before you give up.
   
   Every journey involves detours (algo slap), if you turned around and went home every time the lights were on red you would never get out of your road.
   
   Hubpages has too much invested and too much techno knowledge to give up, we as freelance writers would be premature to jump ship before we let the captain have a go at navigating the detour.
   
   Many hubbers are feeling the same way as you, especially relatively newbies like myself but I do not believe for one minute that Hubpages will fold without at least having a go at resolving the situation and I for one am going to be there when they do.
   
   Stick with it, who knows what the future holds!

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4. 68

   Bill Manningposted 13 years ago

   I think everyone needs to take a break and relax. This stuff happens every 6 months or so, this one was just more severe to Hubpages.
   
   It will bounce back, everything will that complies. In the meantime you should study up more on how wordpress works and how you make money off your own sites.
   
   In time you will be able to do your own sites. It only cost around 25 bucks to have your own site up and running. Take a break and chill for a bit.

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      sofsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      This is the best advise yet on this thread I think, people just need to take up's and down's as a part of life..
      End of the road? why give up so early?
      stop focusing on your problems and start working on the solutions is what I would say.
      The best is yet to come!!

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      1. 67

         Joy56posted 13 years agoin reply to this

         the best is yet to come, was my dad's philosophy in life.  We even had it put on the front of his songsheet when he died, with his picture.  He always believed it.....

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      TopUniverseposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I too have little knowledge about wordpress. Any idea about blogger blog and adsense earnings.

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      1. 68

         Bill Manningposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         You can make money off blogger. But it's always best to get your own paid site.
         
         Everyone says they don't know much about it. I did not know anything about them either. You just start learning about them, like anything else.
         
         The sooner you do it the faster you'll make money, that simple.

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            prettydarkhorseposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Agree. Put up a well thought of site(s), think about a niche which interest you most, do some keywords research. You can monetize blogger blogs. You can learn as you go along, don't you lose hope. I guess sites are like wine, age and content matters.

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5. 68

   ThomasEposted 13 years ago

   OK. Lets assume hubpages is dead. It is never going to recover. It is finito*.
   
   Do you need $100's to set up your own website?
   
   Do you need vast technical skills to set up you own website?
   
   Er... no. You need the price of a domain. Which is a few dollars. And then you go over to weebly dot com, and get their free hosting with their free blog, associate your domain with it... bish bash bosh.
   
   Own website.
   
   Cost: one domain.
   
   Even if you just post content on it, and don't monetize it, it will be worth more in a years time than the cost of the domain, simply because it has been active for a year.
   
   Limited cost. Own website. Free hosting. And I'm not even giving you an affiliate link to it.
   
   You are giving up too fast. Both on hubpages, and on your own future.
   
   * And that is a big assumption. I don't believe it for a second.

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6. 78

   kirstenblogposted 13 years ago

   I can sympathize with your frustration, I imagine there are quite a few of us here working toward self sufficiency online without the know how to build successful websites and self hosted blogs. I felt myself to be in a similar situation to yourself, I have since played with word press websites (post pages instead of blog posts) and while I don't have the content and patience to get a site out there I imagine I probably could just about muddle my way through when I have the time to focus. You might try re-investing whatever money you do make here into buying web space or hiring an SEO person to help with a site?
   
   Thing is, there are always options but they usually require patience (something I struggle with lol). You can also try print on demand sites to sell products?
   
   I too will not spend money from my day job on online stuff because of the scams but I would consider buying an article or using it to buy web space, maybe buy a few good posts and web space and be able to focus on the SEO stuff like article marketing or something? Just thoughts

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7. 78

   skyfireposted 13 years ago

   You don't need 100$ to host your own website. Take a look at some of the hosting companies with US data centers - hostcats, xisto and bigrock. If you need help with installation or other technical glitches, ask for help in forums.
   
   Join Fiver if you can offer any skills for small price.
   
   If you're good at illustration/image manipulation then joining zazzle, etsy, cafepress will also benefit.
   
   Text Broker/digital point forums and some other IM forums can be used to sell your articles and other stuff.
   
   You've a choice to stagnate yourself thinking about the problem or move ahead to find solutions.

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      Susana Sposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Some great ideas here from sky for you Sid If you do decide to sell any of your content, ask around here first for a realistic evaluation of what an 800 + word article is worth - don't sell yourself short!
      
      Also you don't need any money for a blogger blog and they can be just as successful as a website if you are willing to put the work in - just make sure you create one that is niche focused, as having a wide variety of topics published in one place doesn't seem to be working any more.
      
      Don't give up!

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         TopUniverseposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         How do you say as having a wide variety of topics published in one place doesn't seem to be working any more?

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8. 0

   Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

   Listen to the HP team and what they say about hubs that didn't fall as hard, then write some of those. Soon you'll qualify for the HP affiliate program, if you have paypal and adsense. Many are singing its praises.
   
   Read what Patty English and Len Cannon said about their work and the new program. You might even read some of their hubs.
   
   Snakebaby is reporting success with blogger blogs which are free. Have you looked at Squidoo? That's free as well.

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9. 62

   Daniel Carterposted 13 years ago

   From a lot of years of experience, it's interesting to watch a lot of people bail and run, and claim all their opportunities are now gone because of change. Change is the only thing that is real, as far as I can tell and if you don't adapt, you die. This may be true for online income sources as well.
   
   I've learned that anything valuable is worth the effort in riding out the storm. You have to sit securely through the storms to see what your investment in time, effort and talent will really bring. I'm a songwriter first and foremost, and I've written over 1000 pieces of music so far, and I can tell you that some of my pieces I thought would surely do well have not. Yet time has proven after decades have passed that my original impression about many of these pieces was correct. For whatever reason, many of those pieces are finding their place.
   
   So what do you do in the interim? Diversify by creating several streams of income. As odd as it may sound, I've painted houses on the side for 39 years, since I was a teenager, and I'm considered as good in color and design as I am in quality painting.
   
   You do what you have to. I never wanted to do several things in my life, but I did them because the opportunity was there at the time.
   
   So your dreams of an online income have changed, but probably not gone away. Adapt or die. Adapting can be creative and very exciting at times. Hopefully opportunities will make themselves available to you, and you'll be in a good place to recognize them as such.

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10. 70

    Eve Fossposted 13 years ago

    I am looking at this as an opportunity for expansion, rather than folding. I figure by the time I have a few projects like niche sites off and running, HP will have sorted things out, and perhaps generate better profits than I wad before the slap.

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11. 83

    CMHypnoposted 13 years ago

    Don't do anything rash sid, listen to what all of these experienced hubbers have said and think of a plan.  A lot of people fail because they give up too soon.  Have faith in your content, make any changes recommended by HP and keep on working.
    
    It's been very demotivating, but we all have to learn how to roll with the punches to keep moving forward

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12. 71

    tritrainposted 13 years ago

    I'm thinking a major part of my dream could be coming to an end too.
    
    Minnesota is again pushing for Nexus law.  This time it has a lot of energy, including support by our idiot governor.

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13. 74

    Hauntyposted 13 years ago

    I would advise you to go for everything suggested here: free-hosted blogs on well-thought-out niches with lots of backlinks to them.
    
    Consider this scenario: a visitor lands on one of your blog entries that is somehow related to what he is looking for, but is not entirely that. You have the info he needs in another post, but what are his chances of finding it? Not many. He could use the search feature, if your site has one, but statistics suggest very few people actually use site-wide searches, they leave you site instead. A listing of related posts might help, but that's not always easy to do and a better solution is to have a good keyword-based navigation structure and static pages to help your visitor navigate the site. That's why I'm saying, do not have a blog, have a website that runs a blog.
    
    I think these two videos are good at explaining the basics of how this works. Just ignore the parts involving the use of the software and look for the basic principles to build a niche website.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttkcXRb0 … r_embedded
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuJkL1-v … r_embedded

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14. 58

    C.V.Rajanposted 13 years ago

    Don't take all the advices of SEO gurus! Don't do anything excessive (like back linking). I believe those who took things to the extreme were the ones sidelined the most in the Google update.

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       IzzyMposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Were they?
       
       I was of the impression just the opposite was the case. Backlinked hubs held up better than those without backlinks.

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15. 0

    Home Girlposted 13 years ago

    Earning online looks deceptively simple, but it isn't. Many people even with advanced Internet skills cannot do it. Not the reason to feel bad about yourself, sid. Try something else if you need money, not online. There is always something we can do.
    Do not jump from the window yet.   I work 7 days a week and none of those 2 jobs is my job of choice. I do not even have time to sit and think what I'd like to do. Just do what you have to until life gives you a chance. But it is not going to happen if you are not trying. That's the tricky part. YOU are the one who has to decide what to do. And remember Van Gogh (if I am not mistaken)sold just on painting during his lifetime and was widely unknown. And now his paintings cost millions. Life is such a b* sometimes.

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16. 88

    RedElfposted 13 years ago

    Sid, you received some great advice here. If it seems too overwhelming, ask someone for some help, and follow up on it.
    
    Check your tags - are there better ones you could use? If you need some help finding better ones, try using Google keyword Tool (FREE).
    
    My hub views are way down too, and I am in the process of removing all the news capsules. Some days I feel like I am going backwards because views and revenues will go up a bit, and then drop again.
    
    Hang in, and things will turn around - it may take some time, so don't give up. You're not alone, ya know.

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17. 61

    2patriciasposted 13 years ago

    We are in the process of trying to edit our hubs to make sure that they all comply with the new rules.
    
    We have a few tips for days when you feel uninspire: 1. work on backlinks
    2. Pick a few hubs with low viewing numbers and try to analyse what you could do to improve them.  We have seen some big improvments by doing that.
    3. Re-read the Hubpages tuition pages.  There is plenty of good advice there.

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18. 41

    110211posted 13 years ago

    thanks for sharing your story, I'm new to hubpages and through reading your post I see how I can improve my earnings on hubpages.
    I think the answer your looking for is out there, maybe you should try to compare notes to someone who has been here a similar amount of time as you.
    Maybe its time to monitor your sucesses, ditch the topics that aren't getting you the results you need and focus on the ones that work for you.
    Youv'e been here 17 months and I get the feeling you already know what is working for you, concentrate on that cause while you focus on being a jack of all trades you'll be a master of none, I call it like a see it.

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19. 60

    Delaney Knowsposted 13 years ago

    Just last night I saw a video clip interviewing the man who made Redbox (DVD rentals) a success. He says that most success comess from failure.
    
    This is a learning experience, and it's my opinion it's way too early in the game to quit. Figure out why you aren't getting more results, fix the problem and keep going.
    
    You can do it! Good luck!

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20. 85

    rebekahELLEposted 13 years ago

    It's just another twist in the road, no reason to give up your dreams. I think we have our dreams for a reason, but sometimes they're not easily brought forth. So we are forced to broaden our horizon.
    You have received some great advice. I saw this yesterday about Blogger doing some updates to their blogging platform. Maybe take a look and decide on a specific niche you would like to try.
    http://buzz.blogger.com/2011/03/whats-n … ogger.html
    I think for anyone working online, it's always learning and finding new ways to do what we want. Good luck, sometimes looking in a new direction is discouraging at first, but exciting also, for the possibilities!

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    FaithDreamposted 13 years ago

    I love the forums! You guys share so much knowledge. It gives me encouragement as I have felt the same as Sid. As a newbee here myself, my hubs were just starting to ramp up when all the changes hit.
    I see more blue down arrows on my stats that I care to look at. It is unnerving. I feel I'm in a constant chase trying to catch up. I read ALOT, some great writers are here at HubPages. I know change is good and we never know what's going to happen. Either way, I'm not giving up my dreams. This is my passion and I'm not done just yet.

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