Editor's Choice? Worth it or not?

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   Lionrhodposted 9 years ago

   Now with all the fantastic hubs here, the likelihood that I'll be picked for Editor's Choice is pretty low.
   
   I've seen some scattered mention of how it works, but no definite clarity.
   
   So, for those of us who are new immigrants from Squidoo, and any other newbies, could you explain how it works.
   
   I can imagine that getting Hub of the Day would be a great traffic boost (and it's certainly an up for someone's head) but since Hubbers can't click on ads, does it help our revenue in any way? Also it's my understanding that they take the HotD off your subdomain and stick it in some other subdomain, where you have less control over it and can't see your own stats. Is that correct?
   
   What's your advice on whether or not we should opt out?

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      Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I opted out of the program.  Here are some discussions:
      
      http://blog.hubpages.com/2013/08/announ … oice-hubs/
      
      http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/115372
      
      http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/115406
      
      If you are a transferred account from Squidoo, I should think that the last thing you would want right now is another 301 redirect on an article's URL.

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         Lionrhodposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Eeek! I could imagine another 301 redirect would be a nasty surprise for visitors via squidoo links.
         
         Reading through the links you offered and happened to find this quote from you:
         
         WriterFox wrote:
         "Time will tell. (I opted out of the program.) On the weekends, my traffic always goes up on my 'Quotes about Divorce' and 'Killing Rats' Hubs.  I always hope that the same people aren't looking at both of those articles!"
         
         LOL!!

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            Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I remember that post.  I also said I should link those two Hubs together! (But, I didn't.)

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         Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I agree with WF, there is no way ex-Squids should take part in Editor's Choice due to the risks of multiple 301 redirects.

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         DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I don't know what you mean by this!
         
         I just signed out, and then looked up one of my EC hubs as an outsider would see it.  It went right to it.  There was no 'redirect' message.
         
         (But, I, too, have been wondering about benefits vs. deficits, as I have a good number of EC hubs, and my earnings are waaaay off.)

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            Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Your EC Hubs used to have a URL like this: dzymslizzy.hubpages. com/hub/Title-of-Hub.  Now, the URL is: hubpages. com/Title-of-Hub.  There is a 301 redirect code going from the original URL to the new EC URL. A user doesn't see this, but search engines do. Try searching on Google for an EC Hub on the old URL which uses your subdomain and you will see that you are automatically redirected to the new URL.  Also, EC Hubs will probably not show up in your Google Webmaster Tools account because they are no longer on your subdomain.

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               DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Ah, thank you, WF.
               
               I guess, then, while it is in some way flattering to have a number of hubs so chosen, if it is detrimental rather than beneficial to my traffic, I guess the smart thing to do would be to opt out.

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      sheilamyersposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I can only speak for myself, but my hubs that have been selected as EC haven't seen any significant increase or decrease in traffic. If it was for the "Editor's Choice" logo next to the titles in my list, I wouldn't know whether or not they were EC.

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      Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      The OP is showing some confusion between Editor Choice and Hub of the Day.
      
      The Hub of the Day is simply featured more prominently on the site - on the home page and the feed page.  It will get more traffic, but most of that traffic will be internal. You will get slightly more money if you are a part of the HP Ad program, because you will have more impressions, even if you don't get clicks from Hubbers.
      
      The Editor's Choice hubs get moved from the subdomain to the main domain. I'm not sure if HubPages provides extra marketing by featuring it higher on the explore section or on their Facebook posts, but from reading the forums, it doesn't seem like it.  The goal was that moving to the main domain would give the hub the advantage of being in good company, with other hubs that get good traffic or are otherwise deemed to be good quality, and therefore get more traffic by being in the good graces of the search engines.
      
      These are two different, exclusive things. So your hub can be one, both, or neither.

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         Lionrhodposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks much for clarifying. I was under the impression that only Editor's Choice hubs were eligible for HotD. If that's not the case, I'm very happy about that.
         
         Because of Squidoo's RocketSquid program (which I otherwise loved) my hub subjects are presently all over the map. I've just finished 2 articles in one of my niches in the past couple days, and 3 in my other niche last week. It seems to me that if I want Google to see me as an expert in my niches, then I probably don't want some of those articles divided off and placed in another area where that expertise will be diluted.

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      Jenn-Anneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      My Editor's Choice hubs get very few views. I'm considering bailing out of the program since I don't see much benefit.

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      God shetposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It's difficult to provide an easy solution here.

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   Stacie Lposted 9 years ago

   Funny thing, my EC hubs don't get as much attention as other hubs.

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      Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Do you mean from traffic, Stacie, or from being "featured more prominently on the HP site and in social media" which is what the program promised?

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         Stacie Lposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Traffic, is almost nill.

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            Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            You can opt out of the program if you've been on it for 60 days.  Here's two more forum threads where people give their experiences with EC Hubs:
            http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/115537
            
            http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/116372

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   psycheskinnerposted 9 years ago

   It doesn't seem to confer any benefits to be EC

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   Lionrhodposted 9 years ago

   Thank you everyone for your input.
   
   I've just opted out. I'd rather not deal with more redirects, and I'm not seeing a lot of stories of benefits with this program. Maybe I'll consider it once Squidoo is less of a factor in my hits, but I'm honestly not impressed with the EC program.
   
   The biggest factor for me is that it could take my best articles away from my subdomain. This just doesn't seem like a wise choice.
   
   If HP subdomains were by subject, I might be willing to go with it, but as it stands...?

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      jansharesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It's a very individual decision, Lionrhod, as some people say they've benefitted. It appears most have not. I opted out Dec. 2013. Good luck to you.

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   athulnairposted 9 years ago

   By being in EC, initially you may get more traffic since it will be shown up in the feed.

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   sparksterposted 9 years ago

   Do you use Twitter?  Another option instead of trying to get HOTD or Editor's Choice is to mention Hubpages (@HubPagesDotCom) each time you tweet a link to your hub.  If you look at their Twitter profile you'll see they retweeted my hub on recognizing covert narcissistic abuse on 17th October... and they have over 13,000 followers!

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   DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years ago

   Very interesting.  It has been 7 days (1 week) since I opted out of the EC program.
   
   My earnings per day are now about double what they had been.  (Which is not saying much, mind you, for it's still under 50¢ per day.)
   
   But, it seems to be a  trend, so fingers crossed.  Gee--I wonder how much I've already lost/missed out on, with almost a year of EC hubs; 36 of them to be exact....
   No matter---it's the proverbial water under the bridge at this point.

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      Lionrhodposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I have doubts that EC hubs and actual traffic are tied, but congrats anyhow.

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   ecogrannyposted 9 years ago

   I'm too new to answer your questions about Editor's Choice, but I can answer the one about Hub of the Day. I had a selected for HoD, and the domain did not change. It is still in my subdomain.

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      DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      That is true of HOTD selections; they remain in your own subdomain.  The only ones that get switched out to Hub Pages own main domain are the Editor's Choice ones.

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