Can We Include Self-Promoting URLs in Our Profile Bio?

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   Fiction Tellerposted 8 years ago

   Hi all,
   
   I'm having some trouble communicating with the HubPages team. Can we include URLs for self-promotion in our bios on our profile?
   
   Has anyone heard that it's okay from HubPages?
   
   Not talking about the About the Author bios.  Talking about our regular profiles. I'm not talking about the active links in the links fields. I'm talking about using the bio section to include URLs - web addresses. Not what I think of as links.
   
   The HubPages help text on the profile editing page is ambiguous. It says "the text of your bio may not contain links," but it's not clear whether they're talking about actual URL addresses (www.myblog.com) or just active links.
   
   Thanks!

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      Christy Kirwanposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Fiction Teller,
      
      The correct way to link to your blog or website in your profile is to use the "Also follow me on:" section. Simply edit your profile and add your blog or website to the "Website" field of the "Links" section.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Unfortunately if you have more than one website, you're stuffed.

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   Marisa Wrightposted 8 years ago

   We used to be able to put active links in our profile but when they changed the design, all the hyperlinks were deleted.  I don't think there's any way to add active links to the text of your profile now. 
   
   There is nothing wrong with putting a link in your profile text but it won't be clickable.

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      Fiction Tellerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, Marisa.
      
      I just heard back from HubPages and I think I've managed to get what they're saying now.
      
      They said no, we can't put web addresses - URLs - whatever - in our profile bio text. It's not allowed. Even if they're not clickable.
      
      They said:
      "Links refers to any URL (web address, etc.), no matter if it is hyperlinked or not...."

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         Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Wow.  God forbid we let people know where else we write!

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            Stacie Lposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            I guess that's why we are allowed to link to other social sites to list our other writing pages..

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3. 59

   Fiction Tellerposted 8 years ago

   Hi, Christy,
   
   Marisa is exactly right. As I said in the first post, my post was not about the active link allowed.
   
   I cover several different topics, so when people come to my profile, they might not be interested in the one website I'm allowed to promote. Because I have limited self-promotion options on the hub, itself, I must offer them all somewhere, and the most central place to do that is my profile.
   
   It's a serious hindrance right now. What are our profiles for, if not to promote ourselves? It is not spammy. Is the HubPages team under the impression that Google thinks of including other URL addresses in our profile as spammy? If so, what's the basis for this?

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4. 59

   Fiction Tellerposted 8 years ago

   Hi Stacie L,
   
   Yes, I agree that helps. But that's too many steps readers have to take to dig up our information. Promotion is all about access. Traffic flow. The tighter the bottleneck, the narrower the flow.
   
   We used to do mall craft fairs back in the day. You show up early to get the best spot - in high-traffic through-ways - because that makes or breaks your weekend. Doesn't matter how many spiffy signs say, "More Crafters Down This Aisle."

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      Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Exactly.    With the website link hidden under "Also Follow Me On", readers have to go looking for it.  And I would argue it's not a natural fit - for one thing, if I have a website not a blog, it's not strictly a "follow".

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