HP Traffic Down - Loss of 10% of Quota, Mobile Decline in January

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   janderson99posted 9 years ago

   The 3 month Quantcast data for HP - US Pageviews is shown below. Looks like there has been an average 10% loss of 'Quota', (average traffic) since the start if the year. There is a significant loss in mobile traffic (down more than 10%) with PC traffic up a little.
   => Has there been and Panda or Penguin update?
   => What does this say about the new layout?
   => It will be interesting to see the effect of the Squidoo article upgrades now the grace period has ended (15th Jan).
   
   

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      calculus-geometryposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I think many people will remove their Squidoo transferred articles to their own sites because they don't want to lose the income from their affiliate links that HP deems in excess.

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      Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      On August 14, 2014, HubPages was ranked the 60th most visited site in the U.S. on Quantcast.com.  Today, it fell to #84.

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         rebekahELLEposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         That's quite a fall.  There should be no question as to why HP is clamping down on spammy content.

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            Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Today it fell to #88.

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               paradigmsearchposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Life is not fair. Google should think of HP as an alternative to Wikipedia, except with ads. Well, there are those pesky sales hubs... Oh, well...

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               Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               It's now down to #92.

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                  Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Now it's down to #93.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      We have to remember that HP is still in a state of flux and has been since September.  It is going to take time for this site to regain its ranking, so we should not get too upset about the falling numbers.
      
      The team is working hard to get rid of spam, many authors will be leaving shortly for a variety of reasons and when there is another Panda and/or Penguin, once the ashes settle, that is, I think, where we will see the results.
      
      It is far too soon to start worrying.

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   aesta1posted 9 years ago

   We, as writers in HP, have sort of responsibility in helping boost this traffic. Time to do some promotion as well as enhancing the quality of our hubs.

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   LeanManposted 9 years ago

   We are always going to be on the Google roller coaster and that will never change.
   
   That being said I think that the site is on the whole making the right changes to secure its future and of course ours.

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   moonfrothposted 9 years ago

   I discontinued active posting on HP about a year ago because of the host's unresponsive attitude towards the appeals of poets re:  their special formatting needs.  I gather from the comments here that considerable changes have recently taken place at HP.  Could someone provide me with a list--or direct me to a link--where I could have a look at the changes?  Many thanks.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I suggest you contact the HP team for guidance on this issue.

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      rebekahELLEposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I suggest reading through the 2014 blog entries which cover official announcements and community news. If you scroll to the bottom you will see links to monthly archives and specific categories.  Everything is there.

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   clivewilliamsposted 9 years ago

   ranking 88 out of a million website is not that bad. It takes hard work. Not to mention the Panda is still kicking. If not for panda kicks hub-pages would have probably been in the top 20's. Great Job Hubpages. Keep up the good work.

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   pumpkincat210posted 9 years ago

   my numbers are strange too.   every other day... Facebook will be 39% of audience and google will be 24% and the next day the numbers switch...its like its con a timer.  so odd.

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   makingamarkposted 9 years ago

   What has happened very recently is that Google is on a major drive to improve Mobile Usability
   
   See commentary here from:
   * Search Engine Roundtable - "Google Sending Mass Scale Warnings To Non-Mobile Friendly Web Sites" https://www.seroundtable.com/google-fix … 19732.html
   * Search Engine Land - "Google Sending Mobile Usability Warnings To Huge Number Of Webmasters" http://searchengineland.com/google-send … ers-213113
   
   Plus here's Google's new page on Web Fundamentals: Best practices for modern web development https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/
   
   Sounds to me as if Google may have also adjusted the search algorithm too with respect to whether or not a site is mobile friendly or not - and I guess within that there may well be scaling in relation to gradations of mobile friendly.
   
   Who knows if and whether this will affect HubPages? I guess we will just have to wait and see

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      paradigmsearchposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      HP saw it coming and got on the mobile bandwagon sometime back. This could be good for us as Google goes around bumping down those websites who did not.

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         makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I'm well aware that HubPages devised a mobile site some time ago. The issue is whether it is fully compliant with all the new Google Guidelines.
         
         The issue is also whether or not Google has devised scaling within the algorithm in relation to gradations of "mobile friendly".
         
         If I was somebody who bets (which I'm not) I'd say it's a pretty good bet that they will make assessments about the extent to which a website is mobile compliant and rank a website in the mobile search accordingly.
         
         For example this Google blog post "Tracking mobile usability in Webmaster Tools" http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot. … aster.html makes it very clear that there are a range of usability errors that they will be monitoring - and the results of which are accessible via the Google Webmaster Tools website (for your site)
         
         
         
         So the reality is that it's not just a simple "Yes or No" answer to the question of whether or not a site is mobile compliant.
         
         Plus we can't assume that the downgrading of HubPages by the Quantcast website is purely due to spam. It's at least possible that it may be due to other issues relating to mobile compliance. I mention this since the original post noted a drop in mobile traffic during January.
         
         Bottom line - this information re. Google developments is also relevant to every other website or blog that Hubbers may be maintaining - or developing at the moment.

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            TheDragonBringerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            A majority of my readers are smart phone and tablet users. My traffic is at an all time high. January is my best month yet. I have no errors in Google Webmaster Tools under mobile usability. Hubpages must be doing something right in the mobile arena.  My mobile users seem happy. Good job Hubpages.

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               makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Yes - but one swallow does not make a summer.
               
               Your evidence ranks alongside the evidence from the original poster about her declining mobile traffic. What I was offering was a suggestion linked to her problem rather than your success.
               
               Plus a pointer re anybody who has sites elsewhere which might not be compliant.

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               Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               +1
               I think some people just don't understand what it means to be optimized for mobile!  HP was one of the first websites to do this.

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                  makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  On the contrary I've delivered paid workshops and talks in the last year where I've made a major point of emphasising to people the importance of blogs and websites being mobile compliant - and checking out whether or not a host is compliant before starting to use it.  Just look at the number of website hosts out there who say not one jot about mobile compliance!
                  
                  Re. HubPages - Are you saying that the guidelines as to standards re mobile optimisation stood still at that point at which HubPages optimised?
                  
                  I thought we'd learned the lesson that Google is constantly changing and improving the factors it rates - and its algorithms too - in relation to its objective of giving those who search a good experience
                  
                  I'm guessing HubPages probably thought it was doing all the right things before it was hit by Panda the first time - but it was mistaken!
                  
                  To reiterate - all I'm saying it that it is very clear that Google is focused on mobile compliance right now - and it never does any harm to make sure your site is as mobile compliant as possible - according to the latest guidelines.

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                     Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     What makes you think HP isn't 'mobile compliant?'  Can you even name one specific example? Have you ever tried to access the site with a smart phone?  Have you used Web tools to view this site with different mobile displays?

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                        NateB11posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                        +1

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               viryaboposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               +1
               Mine too have been on the 'up' this month, for whatever reason I'm yet to fathom. I visit my hubs with a smartphone at times and even edit now and then from my phone, and all looks fine. And according to WMT, there are "no mobile usability errors".
               
               I do think HP is mobile friendly now, and as such mobile friendliness may not be the reason for the decline. Perhaps it's other factors.

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                  makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Mobile is not just smartphones - it's also tablets and iPads.
                  
                  The site is very definitely mobile (for smartphones) but I'm not sure it's as good as some other sites which are well used by a mobile audience.
                  
                  For example - the front page of the smartphone version has a very visible SIGN-UP link at the top of the page but no visible LOG-IN link. Customer-friendly?

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                  Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  We know the reason for the decline some people are experiencing and it is because of spam, not display on mobile devices.  Here is what Paul E. said about receiving a manual action from Google for spam content on HP:
                  http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/127101? … ost2681312
                  
                  HP is dealing with that now and has been unfeaturing spam on the site for the past six weeks.

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                     NateB11posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     +1

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                     janderson99posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     This is the link to the manual penalty reference by Paul E (the one above does not seem to work)
                     http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/127101? … ost2681440

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   makingamarkposted 9 years ago

   Obviously I am not spelling this out simply enough - or maybe you're speed reading a bit too quickly?
   
   1) I never ever said Hub Pages was not mobile compliant.
   As I have already stated (in this post http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/127992#post2698914) of course I am aware HubPages is mobile compliant.
   
   2) I know this from experience as I access HubPages regularly via my Mini iPad and my iPhone. Hitherto my only comment about mobile compliance was a wish that the site developed an app for use by mobile devices.
   
   3) You asked for examples. Interestingly on my Mini iPad, the website I see is a downsized full screen version. It changes size but doesn't change format and it doesn't change font size which does make some of the font sizes rather too small. This is one of the aspects now being monitored for mobile compliance by Google Webmaster Tools. The links under HubPages in Google Search do not provide a link for the mobile version - which rather suggests to me that the mobile version of the site is designed for phones rather than iPads.
   
   4) The point I'm making is to do with updating and full compliance with CURRENT standards.
   
   As I am sure everybody is aware, operating systems, webware and Google algorithms all update on a very regular basis.
   
   By the same token that also means there is also a constant need for all website hosts to maintain their operating systems for their site in a way which means they can deliver the best experience for all viewers - no matter what the type or size of device they use or what type of browser.  One of the benefits people get when they host their content on a site like HubPages is they don't have to bother with all that incredibly time-consuming effort required to keep up to speed with all relevant developments.
   
   That said, keeping up with every aspect of development is a VERY onerous task (the tech team very definitely have my sympathy!) and sometimes, when you have other priorities, a site owner can 'park' some aspects of updating so that they can focus on others which are deemed more important.
   
   One recent example of other priorities on HubPages has been the reworking of the advertisement size and placement - particularly with respect to mobile devices - in order to maintain income for the site. Possibly that resulted in a complete updating of all current templates for all current standards for mobile compliance. Possibly it didn't (eg. my iPad example)
   
   Speaking personally, my blogs are all mobile compliant, however my websites are not because I've been waiting for my host to update its templates - and for me to have the time to do the updating. Which is why I'm now addressing it - and why I became aware of the VERY NEW developments in relation to mobile compliance.

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      PaulGoodman67posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Ah, I didn't understand what you were saying, but now you've begun WRITING STUFF IN CAPITALS and emboldening phrases, it all makes perfect sense to me! 
      
      For the record, I think the problems are spam related.

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         makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Deleted
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            Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I think time has already told the tale:
            
            

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               NateB11posted 9 years agoin reply to this

               +1

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         NateB11posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         +1

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