Let's Share Some Topics Not to Write About

1. 74

   Barbara Kayposted 12 years ago

   What hubs have you written that don't rank and don't get any traffic?
   
   I'll share that most of my dog hubs get very little traffic.
   Neither does my hub about being addicted to Farmville.
   
   From your experience, what topics shouldn't we write about?

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      SmartyPensposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      The more specific I get on a topic, the less traffic I get.

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         robynaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         That just completely contradicts everything you learn about longtail SEO doesn't it? How confusing!

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            Aficionadaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            It's hard to know how to evaluate that, isn't it?  Especially when SmartyPens has only been here for five weeks - at least, in that account name.

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      Shinkickerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I think titles go a long way to determine the rank and traffic

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      waynetposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      No lets not....high and low traffic hubs could change with regards to traffic.

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         Barbara Kayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         You are right. I had some recipe hubs that didn't get any traffic. Now a year later they are getting good traffic. As hubs age they do better at Google.

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      gabgirl12posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I haven't written many hubs, but I know what I won't click on. I don't like hubs that are too long in content, or have too many pictures in them. I also don't like long-winded posting. It has to catch me and keep me.

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         CyclingFitnessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I suppose barbara- pictures must reflect the content and some people are more visual in their approaches.
         
         I love to see lots of photo's about a place if it's a travel hub. Or diagrams and pictures if it's a how to/ instructional hub- as long as the photos are relevant of course

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         jfay2011posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         that's so true gabgirl12.  the ones that are really long I find I'm skimming through to get the idea of the story.  I tend to write some that are sort of lengthy but I try to write really good so I can hold people's attention and I never try to make my chapters in my books super long.  Good advice, so I'll try not to make mine really long.  I'm sure I have a few that are kind of lengthy.  Poetry is nice, because they're short and sweet and are very meaningful.  A lot of people like to follow that stuff.  When hub hopping I also only respond to things that interest me or an article that I would like to know more about.

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2. 88

   CyclingFitnessposted 12 years ago

   I think what you write has more influence than the subject you write about.
   
   If you basically copy what someone else has written there's a likelihood that you've wasted time that could have been spent more positively. However if you put a slightly different slant on the subject you have potential to gain views
   
   I have some hubs which get minimal traffic however I never expect that they will get huge traffic. My main belief is that those people that do read them appreciate what has been written
   
   Sometimes what you write about could be too unique- for now. Maybe in future trends will change and you'll already be established in the search engines at that point so patience is often required.

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3. 73

   Quilligrapherposted 12 years ago

   Personal opinion and personal experience hubs are my worst performers. Hubs containing facts, people, and events from the past do best.

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   twodawgsposted 12 years ago

   I don't know if I've published enough hubs to find a pattern yet, but one thing I myself almost never click on is anything with a title that begins, "How To...".

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      Barbara Kayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I have a lot of How To articles. I'll try taking the How To off and see if they do any better, because most are just information hubs anyways. A few of these do really well though.

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         Rochelle Frankposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I have about 15 or 20 hubs that are "How to". Several of them are among my most viewed and best earning.

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         Aficionadaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I hope you haven't made those changes yet.
         
         Please, please, everyone - before you make any drastic changes, get a second opinion.  At the very least, read or watch or listen to what the staff has put together on the subject (along with hearing the experiences of other Hubbers).  For example, the staff podcast How to Write SEO-Friendly (but AUTHENTIC!) Online Titles recommends using "How to" in the title, when it is a How-to article.

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            Barbara Kayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks for your advice.

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   Mighty Momposted 12 years ago

   I've noticed a big drop in traffic on my Sarah Palin hubs (written in 2008:-).

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      Barbara Kayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      You don't hear too much about her on the news anymore either.

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      jenuboukaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      May do an update, are you pro or con sarah?  That could be a biggy then again it could drive traffic because you pissed of people to the point of reading the entire thing and commenting.

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6. 73

   ubanichijiokeposted 12 years ago

   Hubs about my personal experiences on issue irrelevant or unknown in general gets little or no traffic

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   G Miahposted 12 years ago

   Personal experiences for me too! It's probably because i'm boring! On the other hand, someone who travels a lot and writes about their travels and their experiences must do well.
   
   Best thing to do is use the Keyword Tool, you can't fail if you use it right! In other words, keyword research!

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   Millionaire Tipsposted 12 years ago

   Great topic Barbara Kay.  I am a little concerned about the how to comment from twodawgs, because I write a lot of how to articles!  That's how I would search for something online. Do How To articles generate less traffic than general information articles?

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      Barbara Kayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I have some that do really well.

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      twodawgsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Maybe I should clarify my earlier comment.  I read a lot of "how to" articles, but the ones I read have more imaginative titles than "How to..."

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         Rochelle Frankposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I cant resist: Have you read mine about how to eat a buffet or how to use garden gnomes for self defense?

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   schoolgirlforrealposted 12 years ago

   Personal experience is my best actually...but I'm not making any money even thou I got tons of views...(?)

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      formosangirlposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Why aren't you making a lot of money? Please define. In the short couple of weeks or so and not too many hits, I have made 24 cents. What's even better is Redgage where with even less effort, merely linking and upload some pictures, I won the daily $25 drawing and 68 cents in three weeks.

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         Jean Bakulaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I looked at your hubs and they seem good.  But in your profile you are mostly listing things you wrote on Squidoo, so you may be sending people there without meaning to, instead of keeping them reading on HP. Google is awful lately. Are you signed up for the HP ads? I do better with them. Best Wishes.

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            formosangirlposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks for taking a look at my profile. You made a good observation.  I am torn right now. I started with Squidoo, but then some of those writers are here, too. Although it's disconcerting to see the lensranking rise and fall, I have realized that there is some predictable aspect as well. I have one (Cute Halloween Cupcakes) doing well there (15 visits per day), but I wonder if that would have done well here. I wouldn't have been encouraged to write it if it weren't for the "quests." So, in a goofy way, these quests push me to write.
            
            So, since the profile allows cross-promotion, I have decided it's worth a shot to send people over there if they see a topic that they find interesting rather than leave because I have 6 articles.
            
            My 24 cents are from HP ads. Adsense shows one cent, and that drew from another site.
            
            You give me something to think about. Thank you.

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      Millionaire Tipsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I had some issues in setting up my adsense.  When you click on the earnings link on your account page, click on configure, and make sure there aren't any error messages.  I got held up because I hadn't put up my profile picture yet.

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         formosangirlposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I don't get much with adsense. Am I supposed to put in my own ads? I am referring to Hubpage Ads pool. None of these writing places are very clear on any basic matters.

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            Millionaire Tipsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I think they all show up on their own once you get everything set up correctly, but sometimes getting all that to work right takes some doing.  I was just supposed to wait, I think, because somehow things worked themselves out, and I think everything is set up ok now for me.

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            Barbara Kayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            As long as you entered your adsense ID, the ads should be appearing on your hubs.

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10. 81

    Mark Ewbieposted 12 years ago

    After my top seller, gay dwarf porn, the how to's are my best subjects.

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       Barbara Kayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Mark, You're so funny.

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11. 63

    Greek Oneposted 12 years ago

    The Life and Times of Elmer Fudd

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12. 88

    CyclingFitnessposted 12 years ago

    I've found my personal experience hubs do fairly well if they're a product review.

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13. 89

    Victoria Lynnposted 12 years ago

    I thought "how to" hubs usually do better, because that's usually what people type into a search engine. I know that I do. My saving money hubs have done the best. Poems don't generally do as well, except within HubPages, although some of mine with explanation to go with them have done much better.

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       LindaSmith1posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       How To was hot at one time. I think it has burned out. Look on internet, everything you find is how to, how to, yet no real substance.  I hate how to articles. Problem is that you cannot tell someone how to lay a floor, replace a window in 400 words. People cut these articles short, out of laziness.

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          twodawgsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          I guess that's an underlying problem I also see with how-to articles, Linda.  Too many of them are either too simplistic to be of any value, along the lines of "how to boil water" - du-uh!  Or else the title suggests really valuable information, like "how to harness the power of social networking", and ends up just being 2 or 3 paragraphs stating that you should, but doesn't tell you how.
          
          After wasting way too much time loading that kind of tripe into my browser, I'm just a little more picky about what I see in the title and article summary.  In other words, does it look like the author really put some serious thought and useful content into this article?  The title doesn't always tell you that, obviously, but the really bad ones are getting easier to spot all the time.

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             Barbara Kayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

             I have how to articles that are 1800 words long, like my article on how to grow hostas. It is broken down into sections though. like how to choose the right one, how to plant, how to care for, and diseases. Maybe I should break these up and make more than one hub out of them.

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    Victoria Lynnposted 12 years ago

    I did a hub on texting, and it didn't do too well, but it was mostly from personal experience. I think that when personal experience is used to benefit the reader, it's more effective (rather than just being informational), such as using personal experiences in giving people examples of how to save money, or the personal touch in a recipe, etc....

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15. 59

    LindaSmith1posted 12 years ago

    I have not done any hubs on travel. But my vacation site and travel articles get a lot of consistent traffic.
    
    Disability articles do well, but then again, it depends on actual topic.
    
    One thing I have learned, no traffic hub is next weeks hot hub, while popularity of hot hub drops.
    
    Write about your passion. Use good keywords, title and SEO.

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       klanguedocposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I find writing about life gets very little traffic. I guess maybe are so wrapped up in their lives that they have little for others.

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       Jean Bakulaposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       A good topic, Barbara Kay! I find "How To" either do or understand something hubs do best. But I am often surprised by what does well. I wrote about Fiestaware china, the last set of dishes I bought. They were popluar in the 1930's, made a come back of sorts in the 1980's. It's one of my best performing hubs. My Astrology hubs are popular too. I write book reviews, and while HP hubbers seem to enjoy them, especially if it's a book they have an opinion on, it does well here, but not on Google. I guess publishers spend lots of money on the books they decide to promote, so my reviews end up on page 10 of Google or there abouts. So I'm looking for a new topics or topics. I'm bummed out though, because I read alot and it's fun. Personal issues don't do well unless you really have good insight on a problem to share. And the romantic poetry about relationships gone bad is just tiresome.

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    David 470posted 12 years ago

    Writing about losing weight can be a tough topic to get traffic in. Not because of low searches, but because of HIGH competition

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       LindaSmith1posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       yes, health, pets  and babies are hot topics

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          Barbara Kayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          LInda, You're right about writing about babies. My granddaughter has just written 4 hubs and wrote about her baby and has earned $20 in the first month.

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    CyclingFitnessposted 12 years ago

    There seem to be so many weight loss hubs on HP alone, let alone the internet where it has a huge competition level. Therefore it'll always be difficult to get high up the searches.
    
    I think with weight loss you've got to be looking at things that are a step or two ahead of the game so that when something potentially becomes popular you'll already have a search engine standing.
    
    The same could almost be said with gaining muscle- unless you're writing something specific and targeted.
    
    Simple how to gain muscle and how to lose weight articles are almost destined to get lost in cyberspace

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       LindaSmith1posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Ok, everybody thinks there is an oversaturation of weight loss articles. The oversaturation is to sell pills, books, videos, equipment. Let me make a few suggestions:
       
       1. Are weight loss supplements safe?
       2. What are side effects of weight loss supplements?
       3. What are long term effects of weight loss supplements?
       4. Eating disorders
       5. How is this saturation of weight loss ads affecting our youth and teens?
       6. Is the new weight obsession in media healthy for our kids?
       7. Weight management for those with joint disease.   .
       8. Weight loss or weight management  for those wheelchair bound.
       9. Exercise program for disabled
       10.Exercise equipment for wheelchair bound
       11. Ways to get our kids to give replace junk food with healthy food.  Recipes that will make their junk food healthier.  Can you make healthy potato or corn chips at home.  Healthy pizza snacks, etc.
       Is low cal food really low cal?
       Comparisons of low fat foods with regular food. Which is healthier? Examples: Cheese vs cheese food products.   Butter vs margerine
       Frozen yogurt vs ice cream   
       Soda vs diet soda
       Safe ways to exercise
       Safe exercise programs for children
       How to motivate kids into exercisinga
       How to change eating habits of entire family
       Which diets are safe? Do you really need a weight loss diet, or do you just need to change the way you eat?
       
       Yes, cyberspace is loaded, loaded with products.  So, do product comparisons. Show ways to lose weight, build muscles, burn fat
       without wasting money on these products.
       
       I think you get the point I am trying to make.

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          Barbara Kayposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks for the ideas for everyone.

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18. 81

    Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years ago

    It should be obvious that anything concerning "news" is virtually worthless on Hubpages.
    
    People love to write about politics - but those hubs are dead two weeks after publication.  The only way you can create political hubs that will get lasting traffic is to use a LOT of historical details.

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    starme77posted 12 years ago

    politics  and religion - never write about em unless you want to invite conflict ... then ... write all you want

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    LindaSmith1posted 12 years ago

    Topics are difficult to figure out here. One day traffic is up, the next day traffic is down on one or more hubs. I am beginning to wonder if I should  not delete the hubs that seem to consistently go up and down, more down and use them elsewhere.
    
    When I get an idea, i hit Google Keyword tool to see what people are looking for and keywords where $1.00 or more is being paid, then i hit the search engine on those keywords to see whether it is commercial sites, articles or what.
    
    It is difficult, a crap shoot to say the least.

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