The Number One Reason You Don't Get Traffic

1. 89

   WryLiltposted 8 years ago

   Since I see this mistake being made again and again by new members (and a few older ones), I just want to remind you.
   
   The title of your hub is what makes or breaks it.
   
   The title:
   
   1. Is a big indicator of what it ranks for in Google.
   2. Is what teases people enough to get clicks on social media.
   3. Should be packed with keywords (or synonyms).
   4. Should match what people are Googling on your topic (and hopefully not finding answers to elsewhere).
   5. Should be as specific as possible, not broad.
   
   For instance.
   
   Bad title:
   Cat eats food.
   
   Good title:
   15 Reasons Cats Lick Cat Food From Their Paws*
   
   *Disclaimer: I know nothing about cats, cat food or paws.
   
   
   With the right title, you can get awesome traffic even for terrible content. With great content too - you're set!

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   1. 71

      galleryofgraceposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Don't you still have to have a hubber score of 85 or above before google will even look at your hubs???

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      1. 0

         calculus-geometryposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         no.

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      2. 89

         WryLiltposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         As long as your hub is featured, Google can see it.
         
         Hub and hubber scores are ONLY an internal ranking factor and are not seen or cared about by Google.

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         1. 95

            SmartAndFunposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            LOL. After all these years, hub/hubber scores remain the source of so much confusion and misunderstanding, even among seasoned veterans like galleryofgrace. I really wish HP would dump the scores already.
            
            Please excuse the mini-rant. Sorry to go off topic.

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      3. 88

         NateB11posted 8 years agoin reply to this

         You might be thinking of Hub Score, which affects backlinks. Basically backlinks in a Hub won't give link juice if your score is too low. Can't remember, I think this applies to Hubber Score too. If you don't care about backlinks, it doesn't matter. I don't think backlinking is all that good of an idea these days, after all Penguin penalizes artificial backlinks and also only counts a certain number of them.

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         1. 85

            Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            I think you're a wee bit confused, too. 
            
            It's not backlinks TO your Hubs that are affected, it's links WITHIN your Hub.  They won't pass "link juice". 
            
            If you're using your Hubs to promote your own website, you'll care about that.    If you're not, then it's not a concern and doesn't cause you any harm.

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            1. 86

               DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

               I thought self-promoting your own website outside of Hub Pages was a serious taboo....

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               1. 89

                  WryLiltposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  Not at all. You can have a maximum of two links to any outside site, including your own. It just needs to be a link appropriate to the content and providing further relevant information related to the topic.

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            2. 88

               NateB11posted 8 years agoin reply to this

               That's what I meant, Marisa. I probably didn't word it very clearly.

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   2. 84

      Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Very useful tips. I agree with it. But implementing them is a tough job.

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   3. 73

      brakel2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Is it true that using a number like "5 tips............" works well in getting traffic?

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      1. 86

         DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         I *think* I heard someone say (errrrr...'saw a post') .. that Google doesn't like numbers; that you'be be better off writing it out; "Five Tips..."
         I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong and misunderstood...

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         1. 89

            WryLiltposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            Google says a lot of things. However my 50 ways, 40 ways, 30 ways etc articles all do extremely well. Then again, I pretty much ignore most of what Google says and make stuff up as I go along, so who knows...

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            1. 92

               Chriswillman90posted 8 years agoin reply to this

               I've always wondered about the numbers in titles and whether or not they should be spelt out. I've been using the number and have no idea if that's a good or bad thing.

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                  paradigm searchposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  I am reasonably certain that...
                  
                  0-9 should be spelled out
                  
                  10 should be"10" if for no other reason than that is what the searchers type.
                  
                  11 and up should be the numbers.

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   4. 88

      NateB11posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Absolutely. Nailed it.

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   5. 86

      DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I am learning--albeit slowly.  I came up through the old journalism school, where you need a clever, 'catchy' title for a 'hook.'
      
      But people don't search for those kinds of terms.  It's an ongoing struggle for me to craft SEO-friendly titles.

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2. 0

   ahorsebackposted 8 years ago

   Does this also work with my poetry ? LOL

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   1. 89

      WryLiltposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Yes. People are going to find a poem titled "Poem About Roses & Love" more easily in Google than one titled "Ode to Elune".
      
      Cardisa has a great hub on SEO for creative writing, here.

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         ahorsebackposted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you !

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3. 84

   Au faitposted 8 years ago

   Agree 100%.  People think I'm crazy when I tell them basically what you've said here, but it's the truth.

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4. 54

   paradigm searchposted 8 years ago

   Yep. Whenever I update a hub, first thing I do is look at the new search phrases that brought the visitor to the hub. If the search phrase isn't already in the title, I usually add it.

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   1. 86

      DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I've tried that to some extent, but there are times when it doesn't work well; makes the title too long and cumbersome in order to fit the other words in, which in turn defeats the purpose.

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5. 87

   Sunshine625posted 8 years ago

   Excellent tips!!

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6. 93

   viryaboposted 8 years ago

   Thank you for these tips. Crafting a good title has been (and still is) a challenge for me.
   Will need to take a 2nd look at some of mine.

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   1. 90

      Patty Inglish, MSposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      +1

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7. 92

   Chriswillman90posted 8 years ago

   I've always believed it's all about the title and I'm starting to get it. I plan on doing a mass edit once I hit a 100 hubs and the titles will be a major priority.

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   1. 86

      DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I wouldn't wait that long, Chris; it gets to be a major challenge and a lot of time to do so many at once. 
      If it were me, I'd go ahead and work on that project now, while your numbers are still manageable.
      Trust me; I've got over 300 Hubs, and have learned this the hard way; still working on it, as a matter of fact.

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      1. 92

         Chriswillman90posted 8 years agoin reply to this

         Yes I suppose you're correct and my goodness over 300 hubs wow. I'm in the 70's now, and there's plenty to edit and it'll take a while.

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8. 63

   Lisa HWposted 8 years ago

   Good point about titles (especially the poem thing, although I don't write poems on here).  When I first signed up here (ages ago) I wrote so many Hubs based on the ideas I got from the "Requests" section and worried more about offering a solid answer than about the title.  Most are gone.  Some remain.    I used to try to use the old "title tuner", but it was so slow I couldn't be bothered.  (Maybe some of those non-SEO-friendly just kind of freaked out the title tuner - I don't know... - but it was un-usable for/to me.)
   
   Anyway, good point to remind/inform people about.  (I so often think of the words from one of the "adm people" on Helium, "a clever turn of a phrase is not enough".  )  These days (besides transitioning from the pen-name), I'm pretty much holding off on writing any Hubs that don't lend themselves well to getting their own traffic (with non-clever-turn-of-phrase titles) and according to HP's latest guidelines/standards (at least to the extent that any of my subjects would allow me to without making them look cheesy or inappropriate)..

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