Fix Your Summaries ASAP

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   TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years ago

   I strongly urge every writer here to go into your hubs and check your summaries for keyword stuffing.  There is absolutely no reason why a summary should repeat a key word more than twice, and even two times is too many.  This issue is harming all of us, so out of a sense of decency, check yours and fix them as soon as possible.  This may be one of the reasons why so many here are getting poor views from Google!

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      Elsie Hagleyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      What do you mean by check your summaries for keyword stuffing?
      How do I do that?

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         TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Go into the edit mode on your posts and check to see what you wrote in your summaries at the top of each article.  If you have some that repeat keywords often, you need to reword them.  It may take some time to do, but it will really improve things for all of us here.

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            Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            You can see your summaries from your profile page. No need to go to each hub one at a time.

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               TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

               MT   Now why didn't I think of that!  Excellent info, thanks!

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                  Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  You're welcome.  I think you have done a great public service to let people know to check for this.  Although the majority of people who wrote this sort of summary are people who are spammers and people trying to get undue influence from Google, some of them may be misguided or following some very old SEO guidelines.  Letting them know and asking them to correct their own work is much kinder and gentler than specifically looking for these kinds of things and reporting them.
                  
                  But it does remind me of being yelled at in class when one student or a small group had unruly behavior.  I didn't do it, but I was being yelled at anyway, along with the whole class.  I do hope that most people realize that if they are reading this forum and care enough to check their summaries, they probably aren't the ones causing the problem.

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                     jansharesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     So true, Millionaire Tips. I've never even seen a summary like that until relache pointed out those extreme examples. It's so blatant. You're right. The hubbers who do that are probably not reading this forum any way and don't care about rules. They probably just feel like they're playing the game and winning.

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                        TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                        Check a few of them yourself as per Relache's instructions and you will find plenty of them. I started looking and found all sorts of things...many keyword repetitions, summaries and hubs written in foreign languages and also hubs written by people who signed up, wrote one article and then disappeared!  It's quite an education, really!

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                           jansharesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                           Wow, will do.

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            Ilona1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

            thanks for the heads up and the explanation - will keep this in mind as I update

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      peachpurpleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      okay, i will check it out but one hub per day, i have 120 hubs and lots of reading to do, can't do that all in a day, thanks for th notes

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      Christy Kirwanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Good suggestion TIMETRAVELER; thanks for making this PSA.

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      Barbara Kayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I wonder if twice is considered by Google to be too much. Where did you get that information?

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         TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I saw a video by Matt Cutts awhile back that discussed the use of key words...he would not give a definitive response regarding a correct percentage that one would use.  It was my estimation that 2 in a summary would be max, but obviously one would be better.  I am seeing summaries with 3 or more in them, and those I think are far too many for just 160 characters or less...so you are right, I think...more than one would be too much.

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   Fred Arnoldposted 9 years ago

   Where did you read this at?

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Check yesterday's forum threads by Relache.  She discovered a major problem with articles due to the fact that people used keyword stuffing in their summaries.  This can negatively affect the entire site because Google frowns on keyword stuffing.  We cannot see them in the articles themselves, but if you follow the post, you will see how to check them.  Authors can check their own simply by going into the edit mode and checking what they wrote in their summaries.  Repeating a main key word over and over is stuffing and people need to check their own and fix them as soon as possible.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/128079  This is the forum thread that explains the problem.

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         Barbara Kayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         But just twice?

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   naturegirl7sposted 9 years ago

   In edit read the summary that you wrote at the top of each of your hubs. Count the number of times that important or "key" words appear. If a particular word appears 2 or more times, then you need to replace this word with a synonym.

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      Elsie Hagleyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you I understand now. I will check them.

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   relacheposted 9 years ago

   Just for the record, as much as I found the problem, I do not support TT2's decision to order the entire wiring membership to go check their summaries, and any statements about said summaries or web advice in this thread are TT2's own.

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      naturegirl7sposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Relache, You are right. Most of the hubbers who are the worst stuffers already know what they are doing.

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         rebekahELLEposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         And most likely they're not reading the forums.  In relache's original post, she shows what keyword stuffed summaries look like.  Using a keyword twice in a summary is not keyword stuffed.  As long at it reads naturally and another word can't easily be used, it's fine.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, but where do you draw the line?  The examples Relache shows are extreme, but a good writer should never have to repeat a word again and again in a short summary.  Two is plenty and in some instances is too much...at least in my way of thinking.

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               Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               I agree. Try to limit to once, twice at most.  I don't think writing the same phrase more than once helps Google find the article better. And it probably is a detriment not just for that hub but for the site.
               
               It seems like it is a much better strategy to think of other ways people can find the hub - other keywords that will help define the topic.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      relache:  Obviously I disagree with your take on this thread, but I am not  "ordering" anybody to do anything.  What people do with this information is entirely up to them, but I do not feel it is harmful for those who are unsure (mostly newer writers here) to go back and review their summaries. 
      While I do think that many people keyword stuff on purpose, I also feel that many here who are relatively new do so without even realizing what they are doing.  Those are the people for whom this post is written.
      
      I think you discovered a serious problem and that all of us here should do whatever we can to fix it because doing so benefits everybody.

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         naturegirl7sposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Recently I read another thread about how slow the editing process has been running the last few days. It seems that when large numbers of hubbers are working on their articles this happens. Timetraveler, I agree that it is good that newcomers be aware of key word stuffing in summaries and articles, but if "every writer here" went into edit to check every one of their summaries HP may grind to a stop.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

            As someone on this thread mentioned, all people have to do is go to their profile pages where the summaries show themselves and then go into hubs and make corrections.  I do not see how this would damage the site and furthermore, what in the world makes you think that everybody here is going to be doing something like this at the same time?

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      Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      This sounds like another issue that should be addressed by the QA review process.
      
      I don't think summaries show up when they review, and I consistently see red flags in summaries, such as keyword overloads, or very poor language usage, in spite of having a hub that is 'oh-so-perfect' in grammar and spelling. In the latter case, it raises concerns about copied or spun content, but these are rarely addressed when they're flagged.
      
      A suggestion - the QA process should include reviews of summaries, both to check for keyword issues, and to check for inconsistent writing styles in comparison to the hub content.
      
      This does not, however, solve the problem of the huge number of published hubs that likely help bring the site down for these reasons.  It should be doable to create a filter that will scan all summaries and flag them for issues. Those hubs should be put 'on-hold' until those issues are resolved. And a Hubber with a pattern of offenses should be reviewed completely.

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         TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Exactly...which is why I suggested that writers should take the time to check and revamp their summaries unless they are certain they have not overused key words. I also think your suggestion about language use in summaries is important as well.
         
         It is unfortunate that the rules were so lax when HP first started up and is the main reason why now we are discovering so many problems.  If the site is to succeed, the team must shore things up as soon as possible so that we can regain our ranking with Google.

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         naturegirl7sposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I wonder if some of the improper grammar in summaries may be partially because of trying to fit what needs to be said with the maximum number of characters. Perhaps writers are leaving off and abreviating words to fit the summary into the small space.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Any writer who deserves to be here should never have to do that, and I doubt that is the issue.

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            Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            No, that is not the case - these are common ESL errors, and they are very blatant. The misspelled words are very obvious, and the phraseology has the awkward errors of someone without a grasp of English.
            
            If the hub also contains errors, then it's either really old or wasn't caught in QAP.  The ones that raise red flags for me are those that have very poor grammar and spelling in the summaries and 'perfect' writing in the actual hub. This is a huge sign that the hub was copied from elsewhere and the summary was added by the person registered on the site.
            
            We have 'hubbers' who copy textbook chapters or articles written elsewhere and publish them as their own, and then retrofit a summary that just doesn't match the writing in the hubs.
            
            You can also spot warning signs in the text of profiles. Some people cannot construct sentences well in their profiles, and have obvious spelling errors, but try to pass off well-written 'hubs' on complicated topics as their own work.

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   Kierstin Gunsbergposted 9 years ago

   I don't keyword stuff anywhere. Nothing turns me away from a result in Google like reading the same word over and over again. If I've ever repeated a word in a summary or anywhere else it was out of necessity on the subject.

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   colorfuloneposted 9 years ago

   I sure will take a look at my summaries, just incase I have repeat a keyword more than once.
   
   Its a good suggestion, TT.

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   Sam Montanaposted 9 years ago

   I always thought keyword stuffing was the same as keyword density, meaning keyword stuffing is having a high density percentage. So 3 of the same keywords in a 160 word summary would be 1.875% density, which is supposed to be fine. Cutts has usually said that a density of 2-3% is about right.
   
   But I wonder if there is a difference between a small number of words like in a summary and an entire article. It should be more about how the summary reads. And using the same word three times in a 160 word summary might or might not look odd.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'd like to know where you found Cutts saying that, because in the video I watched he gave no percentages or numbers at all.  He did, however, say that the writing should flow smoothly and that awkward use of synonyms should be avoided.

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8. 92

   Phyllis Doyleposted 9 years ago

   Rather than panic and cause yourself a lot of work  - may I suggest that you check your saved copies of hubs on your computer or online word doc.   When you created a hub you more than likely first wrote it in a word doc and most likely your summary is there also. Checking your word doc where you saved your hubs would be quicker and easier.
   
   Also, if you go into edit mode on all your hubs to check your summaries, it may cause your hubber score to drop. A drop in hub or hubber score often happens when a hub is edited. If scores drop, we will have a lot of unhappy people here.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Since hubber scores basically mean nothing here, what's the big deal...and would we rather have a few temporarily upset people or get this problem fixed using the easiest method.  Most people probably only have a few, and it will be easy to spot them on the profiles.  That way they are just mostly "looking" and not opening hubs for edit.

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         Phyllis Doyleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Hi TT2, you are doing a good thing to bring this to the attention of everyone. I just felt a sense of panic in your original post and a few replies and your suggestion to "Go into the edit mode on your posts and check to see what you wrote in your summaries at the top of each article.  If you have some that repeat keywords often, you need to reword them.  It may take some time to do, but it will really improve things for all of us here."
         
         Thank goodness Millionaire Tips posted about checking the profile page which is quicker and easier. I did not see his post till after I posted.
         
         BTW - although scores may not mean anything to some hubbers, they do mean a lot to a lot of other hubbers, so to them, it is a "big deal". I cannot count the number of times I have seen forum threads from a hubber who is very upset and panicky because their scores dropped.
         
         Carry on, TT2 - your concern for the site as a whole is very admirable.

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            Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I agree that it is disconcerting to see a hub or Hubber score go down.  But my philosophy is that if what I am doing is bettering my hub, then my score should go up.  It may go down temporarily, but it is for the long term betterment of my subdomain.  For this reason, I don't worry about the score when I am doing something that will make my place better. I would never not make an edit because I was worried about the score.  If I think the edit makes things better, then I will do it.
            
            I only worry about hub scores when I am thinking about doing something I am not sure will make my site better, like writing a sales hub!

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               Phyllis Doyleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Oh! I totally agree with you, MT.  I was only referring to some who may panic and go into edit mode on each hub only to check their summaries, when your suggestion was to check summaries on our profile pages.
               
               It is good you brought that up, for I saw a possible panic on the rise.

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            TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks, but I cannot take credit for this.  Relache is the one who discovered this problem and showed us how to research this issue.  I only added my thoughts...but either way, I do feel it is up to all of us to work together to improve what we can here.  Our future here depends on things like this.

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      naturegirl7sposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Another option to check a hub summary would be to google the title and read the summary in the search results. If you see problems, then you can address them by editing the hub.

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