How many hubs have you deleted thus far?

1. 60

   Randy Godwinposted 11 years ago

   So you've probably decided editing idled hubs is not worth the trouble on HP and began deleting them.  How many have you either moved to a more favorable or merely deleted?  I'm up to 30 hubs representing over 10,000 views in the past.  And you?

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   1. 83

      jimmythejockposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I have deleted around 500 hubs, but I have noticed an increase in visitors since doing so.....jimmy

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      1. 60

         Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Good for you, Jimmy!  I've seen absolutely no change in my traffic so far.  Perhaps another 99 will do the trick.

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   2. 74

      jacharlessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Including all accounts? I would be in range of 150-200. Presently down to just one last hub. After getting very good traffic, fun in the contests, but no earning outlet, less Amazon, pulled them off the shelf. Sold off more than 100 and now publishing them on my recently debuted platform: Authora.me. Was a real bummer to have to pull them but a motivator to create smarter. In the end, the scales balanced. HP is not alone in its struggle. Wizzley, Squidoo etc are facing the same hurdles. The schema has changed. And for all intents and purposes they will either ride the wave to glory, have a Duplex effect (merger) or change their entire approach to digital publishing.
      
      James.

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   3. 87

      bravewarriorposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I've only deleted one hub and it was because a family member was offended.  I've not deleted anything because of HP.  I see my old stuff starting to make the rounds on featured hubs.  Just unidle them and see what happens.  This is a good site.  There are so many great people here.  If you don't get banned or HP doesn't tell you one of your hubs is inappropriate, just give it time.  We're not making money anyway, what does it matter?

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      1. 0

         Beth37posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I asked that same question about 10 posts ago, but no one answered. I think it is a hub society secret. shhh

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         1. 60

            Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Just because you don't make money here don't think you will not make money elsewhere with the same subjects.  Google is ticked off at HP now and not sending as much traffic their way as in the past.  Why not simply move your stuff elsewhere when it gets idled.  It's clear it isn't appreciated here anymore.  It is an insult to any writer to idle perfectly good content and you should certainly treat it as such.  I know I do.

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            1. 0

               Beth37posted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I don't have any idled right now, but it has happened... where else should we post them?

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   4. 80

      2besureposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I do not delete a hub, unless it is salvageable.  I have deleted about 4 hubs, I felt were terrible, and didn't want to bother rewriting.

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2. 61

   paradigmsearchposted 11 years ago

   I'd guess I've deleted maybe half-a-dozen hubs. But they were true pieces of crap from my formative years, so I was fine with it.

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   1. 60

      Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Not so for me.  Other than a few pieces of fiction, all of my hubs were well researched subjects I spent quite a bit of time on.  Perhaps that was the problem.

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      1. 61

         paradigmsearchposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Have you started any of your own niche websites yet? From your non-fiction subject matter, seems to me you've got a couple really good options there!

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         1. 60

            Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Not as yet, Para.  I don't believe I'll fool with content farms again though.  So far, I've not found one trustworthy enough to waste my time on. I've other pans in the fire.  I'm thoroughly disgusted with HP at this point.

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3. 93

   habeeposted 11 years ago

   I haven't been keeping count. But I can tell you it's enough to be frustrating.

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   1. 61

      paradigmsearchposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Can I have them?

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   2. 60

      Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Frustrating is not the word I'd use!  It does start with an "f" though!

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      1. 93

         habeeposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Fun? Frivolous? Funky? Flattering? Fastidious? Frugal? Failing? Fabulous? Fallacious? Fanciful? Faulty? Fervent? Fitful? Fashionable? Flighty? Flippant? Foolish? Frantic? Futile?
         
         Pick an adjective...or two. Give me an "F"!!

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         1. 83

            Marcy Goodfleischposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Fecund? Frightening?

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            1. 83

               Marcy Goodfleischposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Wait - is that a word without the 'ity' at the end?  Let's make one up - fecundicious?

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            2. 60

               Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Getting close, Marcy!  Think  profane!

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         2. 60

            Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Many of these would fit very well!

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4. 74

   WriteAngledposted 11 years ago

   I've moved six hubs to form the basis of a new website of my own.
   
   My best performing hub of all time went to another website I had started previously.
   
   That makes 7 removed out of 30 written in total.
   
   I have also used ideas originally intended for hubs as articles on those two sites.
   
   I have a list of well over 100 ideas for articles, which don't fit either of my sites and have converted a few into lenses on Squidoo. I'm now waiting to see whether it is worth putting any more there, trying yet another revenue share site or starting more sites of my own.
   
   I do not intend to produce any more hubs under the current regimen because it does not support authors' interests.
   
   Actually, none of the hubs I moved had been idled as yet, but I was unwilling to wait for this to happen to them.

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   1. 60

      Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I'm considering moving my most successful hubs elsewhere or either selling them to another writer.  They still make a few bucks despite the horrible experience I went through here on HP.  Nothing to lose, apparently.

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5. 82

   CMHypnoposted 11 years ago

   Used to have around 260 hubs, now down to around 117 as well as about 10 on a small, second account.
   
   I have an 'idle, gone' policy - if they really want to carry on with this unfeatured/idling programme, couldn't they at least send an email a few weeks in advance with some of an indication of what they see as the problem before they suddenly unfeature a hub that has been around for several years?

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   1. 60

      Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      HP isn't listening. CM.  They are now grasping at straws!

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   2. 90

      Rock_njposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I totally agree with you about having the courtesy to provide a warning prior to unFeaturing/idling a Hub and applying the toxic NOINDEX tag to it.  Recently, HubPages said they are looking into it, but it may be too little too late at this point.  Slapping a NOINDEX tag out of the blue with no warning is a harsh way to get your message across that you want the Hub to be revised to gain more traffic.  No doubt, this slap in the face has turned off many formerly happy writers here.

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6. 72

   relacheposted 11 years ago

   I've had almost none of my 200 hubs idled, and the handful it's happened to so far have all been easily improved and have (so far) stayed featured.  I did have a secondary account of about 30-50 hubs which I opted to just take down to simplify things.  Some of that content may get swapped in here, some has been moved to places it fits better.

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   1. 60

      Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I suppose those of us who experienced a drastic overnight loss of traffic, which has never returned, a year or so ago has been more affected than some hubbers.

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      1. 72

         relacheposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I've got plenty of traffic loss compared to past numbers.  Just not much in the way of idled Hubs.  So while the two may be related for some people, they clearly aren't entirely connected.

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7. 76

   Shanna11posted 11 years ago

   I think I deleted one. But it never even made it to the idled stage. It was just garbage from the get-go.
   
   I've been too lazy to delete or re-edit my idled hubs. They're just slowly rotting. They're mostly recipes from a bizarre cooking phase I went through and I don't really care enough about them. Curse my laziness....

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8. 88

   Cardisaposted 11 years ago

   Hey Randy, I am almost scared to post in the forums these days but I have removed quite a number of hubs recently. Not because they could not be improved but because of frustration. I moved the hubs on health to my health blog and viola... my blog stats shot up like rocket. These same hubs are getting very good traffic on my blog so I figure, what the hell...migrate all the idled hubs to my blogs and websites.

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   1. 80

      Healthy Pursuitsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Cardisa, do you mean your healthmsmart4u blog? If so, was the move worth it monetarily? I'm letting hubs become idled as they will, and am un-publishing them. At some point, I'll have to decide to move them someplace. I'm undecided about whether to start a blog or sell them someplace like CC.

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      1. 88

         Cardisaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Hey Healthy Pursuits. Monetarily no. I have no ads on that blog and only have a few affiliate products there, so I would go with CC instead. The blog will take some time to earn you some money. As far as I see it, the health articles are very evergreen so eventually the blog will make me some cash but not right away.

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         1. 80

            Healthy Pursuitsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks for the info. I have one on CC and thought about putting more.

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            1. 90

               Rock_njposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               What is CC?

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               1. 88

                  Cardisaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  Constant Content. It's similar to a freelancing site but you can write articles and sell them there.

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                  1. 90

                     Rock_njposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     Thanks.  The only CC I know is Constant Contact, but I figured that wasn't what people were talking about.

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9. 94

   PaulGoodman67posted 11 years ago

   I deleted 140 of my worst performing hubs, most of them before idling was introduced - so the number I had that were eventually idled was comparatively small.  Like Jimmythejock, I saw a (gradual but major) improvement in traffic over a period of 6 months.

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   1. 94

      PaulGoodman67posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I probably should add that after months of gradually rising, my traffic completely crashed last week and I lost 70% pretty much overnight.  This week, it suddenly returned.  I think the current instability is related to the upcoming Google algo update, however (see Paul E's thread). 

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10. 0

    Beth37posted 11 years ago

    All my hubs are still published, (the little h beside them). Some obviously don't get the traffic others do, but what does it hurt to just leave them the way they are?

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11. 92

    LongTimeMotherposted 11 years ago

    Just out of interest, how are people deciding which hubs to delete? To choose 140 'worst performing' hubs, for instance, means what? Hubs with a low hub score, or hubs determined specifically by numbers of visitors?
    
    If it is hubscores, what is the score you consider to be too low?
    Thanks in advance.

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    1. 94

       PaulGoodman67posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       There's lots of info in the Hub tutorials section.
       http://hubpages.com/topics/hubpages-tut … trics/2985

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       1. 92

          LongTimeMotherposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks, Paul. Looks like there's an entire day's worth of reading there. I am on 100% solar power living off the grid, and it is now quite late at night so it will have to wait for more sunshine.
          
          I had just hoped to pick up a couple of quick clues from those who are currently spring cleaning their hubs. Thanks though.

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12. 66

    LisaMarie724posted 11 years ago

    I've also deleted about 30 of them.  Most of them were poetry and short stories which don't seem to do too well here.

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13. 83

    PaoloJpmposted 11 years ago

    only one. because it kept on need revision though I am confident that it was great quality. anyway not good enough maybe.

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14. 81

    Mark Ewbieposted 11 years ago

    I had similar numbers to CM Hypno.  Was nearing 300 pages - now down to 120.
    
    The clearout was long overdue for most of mine.  I review my pages regularly - hourly sometimes - trying to see where I can tweak and improve, keyword and content, to get some more traffic.  I was getting fed up with constantly seeing the same old pages that never got any visits.
    
    But I needed a kick to get rid of them.  They were... oh so precious,.. you know.
    
    Maybe one or two could have gone to a blog or site or something, but for the most part they were not traffic friendly - wherever they went.
    
    Of the pages that HP idled I only winced a few times and felt slightly sad that my wonderful whatever was not good enough for the internet.
    
    The whole idling thing is an interesting debate.  Should a pure writer create his work even though no one will read it?  Probably.  But then it could just stay in a bottom drawer of a writing desk.
    
    I understand why HP did it.  They don't have time or resource to get involved in checking each and every page for 'quality' - whatever that is.  Google is making it's judgement.  If HP pages don't get Google traffic then they might be good or bad, but they still ain't getting traffic.  So clear the lot out and hope that Google sees this site as slightly less bad.
    
    It's probably the only hope they have.
    
    
    To bring some 'real world' into this overlong post.  Many years ago Oxford University Press got rid of their Poetry Division.  There was nearly blood on the streets - those poets get pretty pissed.  But OUP were sadly trying to make money and the burden of publishing content that generated few sales was too much for them.
    
    So it is not just HP who have to make hard calls.

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    1. 96

       wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       +1  One of my biggest fears is that the poetry, fiction, etc. will end up being a casualty of the Panda war.  I don't write any of those types of things, but very much appreciate that HP makes it possible to do so here.  It would be a real shame if google forces the decision that it can no longer be done.

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15. 90

    Will Apseposted 11 years ago

    I delete pages with poor read times and poor traffic as a matter of course.
    
    I don't want failed pages in my account. I should say seven or eight months of full time work got binned. But then the other months were worthwhile.
    
    This is a long term business. Obsessing over pages that never find a place for themselves is not worth the trouble.

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16. 60

    DTWJposted 11 years ago

    None. I don't write often, so I appreciate all the attention my hubs get.

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17. 68

    Angie Jardineposted 11 years ago

    I’ve only deleted about 5 but I must say I get sick of HP idling hubs that have plenty of views … some even have red ‘up' arrows and plenty of views and they have been idled!
    I’m beginning to think HP has lost the plot ...

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    1. 96

       wildernessposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Interesting - what are you calling "plenty of views"?  I have yet to have anything idled that is seeing more than 30 per month.

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18. 0

    Arlene V. Pomaposted 11 years ago

    I've deleted about 130 Hubs, and I still have some that are idled.  They can hang out all they want.  My account has been on "autopilot" since the idling began.  After about a year of chasing the online pennies and avoiding bowing to the Google gods, I'm finding other things to do in retirement.  I certainly don't want to WORK at this because it's no longer FUN for me.

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19. 88

    IzzyMposted 11 years ago

    "How many hubs have you deleted thus far?"
    Well, none since they brought in this idling thing. Three quarters of my hubs have been idled, even those that saw a glimmer of traffic.
    A lot are now unpublished, but they are still there.
    I was waiting for that magic 1 million views, which I thought I would have seen over a year ago.
    It finally arrived this morning, 10 days after the death of my father. He would have been so proud., more so than me.
    Now, I have all the time in the world to move those hubs to a new home, whether on my own blogs/sites, or someone else's.
    But, you know, I have no interest anymore.

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    1. 60

       Randy Godwinposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       I know what you mean, Izzy!  But I'll be damned if I'll let HP dictate which articles to pick and choose to feature either.  It's supremely insulting to me as a writer as it should be anyone capable of creating well researched articles.  They can just shove it as far as I'm concerned.

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       1. 88

          IzzyMposted 11 years agoin reply to this

          I understand totally what you are saying Randy. I,also, would have preferred if they had just come out and said "you can't publish that, it won't ever get views" but they didn't. Many of my unfeatured hubs used to sit at #1 on Google. Many more didn't. Google used to pick and choose, and sometimes they made the oddest choices. But we got on with it and kept churning out hubs.
          
          I have found that Google seems to like a whole subdomain, or not.
          
          So if you have a subdomain that does well, write new articles on it. Putting them on subdomains that don't get traffic doesn't work.
          
          Same writer, same writing style. I made a new subdomain and just for trial and error made a hub with an almost identical title (which I believe is against TOS, but I'm not in the mood for worrying) to one that had been previously successful on this name.
          
          That hub, with half the content, has far surpassed its original in terms of Google views.
          
          There is more at play here than writing ability, but frankly I am tired of the games we are having to play.

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20. 92

    LongTimeMotherposted 11 years ago

    I have only had one hub idled, and that was a while ago. I opened it up to edit it and discovered it had an unused photo capsule. I don't know what effect that oversight had. Can't remember if I put a photo in it or deleted the capsule, but I published the hub with no changes to the text and it has remained okay ever since.
    Because it was one of my first, I went back through other early hubs to make sure I'd not made the same mistake.

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