Hub traffic

1. 96

   Carb Divaposted 10 years ago

   What is going on? One week ago I received notification from HubPages that several of my hubs would no longer be featured because of declining traffic. I suppose this means that I should jump in and recast, reformat, and re-invent what had previously been a fully accepted and supported hub.
   
   Well, I didn't have time to do that and, GUESS WHAT!? Today I've checked back and those formerly "unworthy" hubs are now again "featured".
   
   WTF!
   
   I'm ready to abandon ship and stop wasting my time on this sinking/rudderless boat. Does anyone else feel this way?

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   1. 73

      Barbara Kayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      It may have gone through the QAP and they passed it. Old hubs are being assessed now.

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   2. 77

      bgpappaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I know I am too.  What happened to you shows you just how arbitrary the new standards are.  No consistency and really just depends on a ever changing computer alg. or the mood of the reviewer.

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2. 60

   ameliam.michelle1posted 10 years ago

   Well Diva, it is a bit confusing, but do not worry, just revamp your hubs, brush up the content, actually hubpages have been monitoring and evaluating the hubs of everyone, and it is quite natural that scores fluctuate and sometimes even your best hubs may go into danger zone. My advise to you would be to remain patient

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3. 74

   Andy McGuireposted 10 years ago

   I've had a similar issue, and I am always looking to increase my traffic (hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge). I don't know why it does these things.

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4. 57

   ossmediaposted 10 years ago

   Well being non featured , quality is the main issue.  Just make it more optimized and you will get your hub featured.

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   1. 87

      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Not quite right, ossmedia.  There are two possible reasons why a Hub can be unFeatured.  They're identified by different symbols on your Account page.
      
      One is if it fails the Quality process.  The other is "lack of engagement" - which means, pure and simple, insufficient traffic.
      
      In the future, HubPages says it will improve the "lack of engagement" measure to include other factors as well as traffic, but right now it's just traffic.

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      1. 57

         ossmediaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Well  you are absolutely right but i think quality is the main factor to get it featured. In case of second reason "Traffic" it is the reason to increase hub score but if your hub is of low quality and title is not cachy then visitors cant get back easily. According to me quality is the main factor and traffic is the second issue which need to be take care of.

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         1. 87

            Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            The point I was making is that a Hub can be unFeatured for two specific reasons, and if you hover over the symbols on the Account page, you'll see which Hubs have been unFeatured for quality and which for lack of traffic.
            
            I think what you're saying is that if a Hub isn't getting enough traffic, it's probably because it's not good quality. I disagree, because on the internet there are far more likely reasons.
            
            The main one is poor SEO, which just means that the writer hasn't asked himself, "What would people be most likely to type into Google to find this Hub?".    If the writer doesn't include those words, and variations on them in the title and in the text, then it won't get traffic even if it's of spectacular quality.
            
            The other possible reason is that very few people are searching for the subject in the first place - if that's the case, it will never get traffic whatever you do.
            
            Then there is competition - if there are already thousands of articles on that topic on the internet, then your brand new Hub is unlikely to get noticed.
            
            That's why it's important to check why HubPages says it has unFeatured a Hub - because if it's Quality, then you need to address the Hub's quality. But if it's Engagement, then you need to check those other factors first, before you start expanding or rewriting.

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            1. 57

               ossmediaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Well, agreed  with your facts, but i have seen so many hubs which have daily 30-40 visitors but still in unfeatured zone. If i am getting your point ( Hub can be unFeatured for two specific reasons, and if you hover over the symbols on the Account page, you'll see which Hubs have been unFeatured for quality and which for lack of traffic.) then acquiring traffic increase day by day doesn't affect the hub. If the hub in of low quality then why visitors are visiting hub frequently.
               
               Let me tell you one more eg-  I have submitted hub and it get featured in 4-5 hours but still not acquiring traffic . According to your point "featured  hub" depends upon both facts-  traffic and quality. If my hub is not in state to get featured due to quality then why hub is featured.  If hub is featured then it means hub passed the quality test , still not acquiring traffic.

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               1. 87

                  Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Hubs are given time to get traffic.  Obviously, it would be silly of HubPages to unFeature a Hub before they've given it a chance to get some visitors.
                  
                  So yes, if a new Hub is Featured, it's because it passed the QAP.   If it is unFeatured, it's because it's failed the QAP.
                  
                  It is only older hubs that can be unFeatured for lack of traffic - and in that case, as I said, it is more likely to be other factors, not quality, that are the problem.

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                  1. 57

                     ossmediaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     @Marisa   Sometimes we are not able to understand the policies of hp as there are lots of eg which shows negligence of terms and conditions to get hub featured.
                     
                     I was thinking What we are doing here ? Do we post content here for visitors or we post here for brand image?  Do we post here to get hub featured only ? I think we have to post content for visitors/users  so that visitors can increase their knowledge and share thoughts with others.

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                     1. 87

                        Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        If your Hub is not Featured, virtually no one can see it.  So yes, you are posting here to get your Hub featured - there is no point otherwise.

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                        1. 57

                           ossmediaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                           Might be hubbers post their hub to get it featured but i prefer to share knowledge with others.  Featured hub is much more important to me as if need of hub should be completed.

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                           1. 73

                              Kangaroo_Jaseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                              @ossmedia,
                              
                              You do realise that if your hubs are not featured then those hubs do not appear in search engines, especially Google search.
                              
                              Unfeatured hubs can still get traffic, yes, but they need to then get traffic from 'other' sources not derived from search engines. Such as Pinterest, Facebook, Reddit, LinkedIn and direct emails, etc.
                              
                              Once they are featured again, then they will appear in search engines again.

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                              1. 57

                                 ossmediaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                 So @Kangaroo_Jase   Do you think getting traffic from other resources like pinterest, linkedin will be beneficial for us rather from google search engine ?
                                 
                                 As per my concern i highly prefer to get indexed by search engine (Google) . You cant get to next level if your hub is not featured. You cant get weightage in search engine until your hub is indexed by search engine. So getting hub featured and indexing is much more needed.

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                                 1. 73

                                    Kangaroo_Jaseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                    If your hub is featured, it will appear in the search engines and also from any other form of traffic promotion you do.
                                    If your hub is unfeatured you will only get traffic from any promotion you do yourself, and will NOT get traffic from search engines.
                                    Getting a hub from unfeatured to featured does not take too much effort and time per hub. This, of course, is a monumental task if one has 10s or 100's of hubs to update to get featured again, if unfeatured.
                                    For far too many users to count, their traffic is mainly derived from search engines. No matter who you ask, search engine traffic is top priority, then traffic from ANY OTHER source is secondary.
                                    As far as I know, less than a handful of people get more traffic from other sources than they do from search traffic. Bear in mind, that this happens sporadically and not often and it is not sustained traffic. An example of this may be a spike in traffic for a couple of weeks from Reddit or Pinterest.
                                    To answer your question, traffic from non search sources is good, but should NOT be your main goal. You still will get MORE traffic from search engines, especially Google, than any other singular source.

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                                    1. 57

                                       ossmediaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                       @Kangaroo  that exactly i wanna share with you. Getting indexed by google is very much essential.  From social media sites you can gain traffic but not as much benefit as you can get from search engine.

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                           2. 87

                              Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                              You do realise that if a Hub is unFeatured, no one will be able to share your knowledge because no one can see the Hub?
                              
                              The only people who can see the Hub are people you send the link to, and people who visit your profile (IF you have chosen to show unFeatured Hubs - the default setting is that they're invisible there, too).   So you are sharing your knowledge with hardly anyone!

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                              1. 57

                                 ossmediaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                 Exactly i want to share my content globally not with some particular communities or particular person. If your hub is featured then you can easily broadcast your content globally.

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5. 61

   Danielspages2013posted 10 years ago

   You could always go back and add some extra content to those "unworthy" hubs like; video, add some links to backup your hub, add more pics, ect, ect.

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6. 90

   Iammattdoranposted 10 years ago

   It's probably just a traffic issue.  Declining traffic made them unfeatured and then traffic picked up (this can be quite random) and they re-hit the target for being featured again.  Hey, at least you got them back to being featured without having to do anything.  I don't agree that this is a sinking/rudderless boat but if that's the way you feel...

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   1. 90

      Judi Beeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      If they've become unfeatured for lack of traffic ("engagement"), and you do nothing to them, I'm not sure how traffic can pick up - they're meant to be hidden from the search engines thereby ensuring that they don't get the thing they lack:  traffic.

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      1. 89

         SimeyCposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         There will always be a time delay between being unfeatured and de-indexed. So it's possible a hub can get extra traffic that will just 'tip' it above the engagement level required, thus allowing it to become re-featured.
         
         If a hub is in and out of featrued status then it's getting borderline traffic....

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         1. 96

            wildernessposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            There are other reasons, apparently lumped in with engagement, as well.  I've got one hub that gets zero SE traffic and is always bouncing in and out of featured, but never for quality reasons.  We know hubber score plays a part, for instance.

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         2. 90

            Judi Beeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Ah, I see.

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7. 73

   Kangaroo_Jaseposted 10 years ago

   Each time your Hubs go through the QAP process, they may fluctuate with a change and become featured or unfeatured. This happens often, and may also happen when you update hubs, or not.
   
   You can jump ship.
   
   Change your hubs or
   
   Do nothing or
   
   Write more hubs.
   
   This will continue for some time and may or may not change with future updates.
   
   No I don't feel I should jump ship as I know that change will be a constant on HubPages. How one deals with change and responds according is as unique as you and me.

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   1. 69

      Poshbytoriposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I have also found that linking to my hubs have help boost them back into "featured".  For example, I wrote a hub on "Can I Get Fired for Using Medical Marijuana" (As an employer it was a serious question I had and did a lot of research on so I could adjust my Employee Handbook).  Anyways, the Hub was rejected.  I then linked to it in probably a dozen other Hubs that were similar in ways, such as my Job Interview Tips, As Written By An Employer, etc.  In only a few days the hub started getting hits and it became accepted. 
      
      Also, keyword linking in your other articles works too.  For example, lets say you write an article like mine about Medical Marijuana and you also write other articles that you use the keywords "marijuana", "smoke pot", "weed" or even "fired for drug use", "fired for smoking", etc - be sure to link on these keywords to your article that you want to get read. 
      
      A final tip is to take a gamble and expand upon what you wrote with more linked article.  An example of this would be the Medical Marijuana / Employment article I wrote then writing a second article about "What Is Medical Marijuana" then a 3rd about "Medical Marijuana Growing Laws", etc.  OR if you're not at all interested in learning about Medical Marijuana growing / laws, instead write about more Employer / Job Applicant advice, such as "Should I Tell My Employer I Use Medical Marijuana?" or "Can I Get Fired for Prescription Drug Use?". (Of course be sure to link where applicable!)
      
      - Just my opinion! Hope this helps!!

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8. 80

   brblogposted 10 years ago

   I can't add much to the discussion but I do like reading everyone's thoughts and opinions on this subject. Thanks for asking the question . . .

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9. 57

   zanaworldposted 10 years ago

   I wonder, how much traffic is required to remain FEATURED?

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10. 87

    Robbie C Wilsonposted 10 years ago

    Hi Zanaworld,
                             Some of my worst performing hubs that are still featured get around 6 hits per month, so I suspect that it is very low indeed. I will look to improve their performance at some point, more SEO etc, otherwise I will let them bounce along the bottom...

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11. 85

    Hezekiahposted 10 years ago

    I have gotten that recently. I think it's actually a good thing. I encourage you to beef up your hubs, for better Google rankings and of course more money.

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    1. 60

       ameliam.michelle1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

       But beefing up the hubs sometimes result in sending the signals that you are manipulating the HP. HP is going through quality changes, that is the reason behind this fluctuation. But beefing up the content with loaded information will definitely help

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12. 58

    God is in kitchn2posted 10 years ago

    It's really tough time here!

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13. 83

    psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

    No one seems to have noticed that OP was not complaining about being unfeatured.  But about how arbitrary it was that he got unfeatured and refeatured again before he even had time to do anything.

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14. 61

    Elsy Chapmonposted 10 years ago

    I have tried once, I thought I was wrong but you let me know it is possible...

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15. 60

    ameliam.michelle1posted 10 years ago

    If a hub is getting unfeatures,, then there are couple of reason behind that. Declining traffic is a issue, however HP is going through some qualitative changes, someway down the line this is also contributing to hubs getting violently shaken and quality hubs getting unfeatured, however, it will subside in due course of time.

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16. 63

    Astra Nomikposted 10 years ago

    I revamped, re-worked some photos and artwork and improved my poetry hubs recently... and my hubs are back all featured. Poetry is tricky to revamp. You write the poem, and that's it, pretty much.
    
    Just update and retweet or bookmark and recommend it to your growing audience and hope for the best. It helps if the hubs are being read and getting traffic of course.

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       ameliam.michelle1posted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Yes Astra poetry or for that matter all creative works are slightly difficult when it comes to revamping.

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17. 85

    lovebuglenaposted 10 years ago

    Some months ago I had a lot of my hubs all of a sudden unfeatured. Then when HubPages brought back the QAP those hubs became featured again... and I don't remember revamping them in any way...

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