Wondeful if Hub Would let Us know what was Wrong with our Articles

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   Pianotekposted 6 years ago

   I am hoping the Hub staff read this. I get so frustrated when my article does not pass after trying
   everything I can think of to fix the problem. It could be as simple as changing the photo but instead I am re-writing my article, cutting out good stuff that might lower the quality, when nothing is wrong with it. But I don't have a clue what the solution might be. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were told what the problem was? Maybe the unacceptable stuff would be marked or something. This would be so relieving and mean more great Hub pages and a win win for both the writers and Hub.

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      Christy Kirwanposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I just took a look at your article "Revelation 13, The United States in Prophecy," and it looks like the product and the link to your other article are the issues preventing it from being featured.

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         Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks for your reply. I do have some questions.  The link is to another Hub article so why would that be a problem?
         The product goes right along with the article.  Why is that not acceptable?

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            Christy Kirwanposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            We require products to be necessary to the reader. If the reader must have this book to understand your article, you need to talk about why and what your personal experience reading the book was like. If readers can understand your article without it, you need to leave it out.
            
            Basically the same is true for the link. Links included must be absolutely necessary and directly related or should not be included.

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               Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

               I will take off the link and product.  But I do have some concern since the link is related to the subject and the book is mentioned since the study is not complete and the book will complete it for those who want to research farther. 
               Thanks

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                  Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                  Oh, I have another question.  When I first put up this article I put in a link to a complete study on the subject.  While trying to fix any problems, I removed this link thinking that maybe Hub didn't want a outside link.  Should I put the link back in when I remove the product?

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                     Christy Kirwanposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                     You can always attempt to put the link back, but if the article does not pass it will mean the moderators had an issue with it and you will need to remove it.

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                        Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                        Thank you for your help.  This give me something to work on.  I get so frustrated when I have no clue on what the problem is and finally have to give up after ruining my article in the process.  I then stay away for awhile thinking that Hub is not working out for me.  Hope that Hub will consider letting us know the problem.  We would be happy to fix them and continue writing.

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                           Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                           I wrote a Hub which summarises all the rules you need to follow.   It sounds like that might help you get clarity on what's wrong.   You'll find it on the slider on my profile (Basic Rules).
                           
                           Also, instead of struggling along trying to work out what's wrong, follow the advice in the email you get - use the link you're given in the email to post and ask for help on the forums.

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                              Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                              Thanks, I will check this out.

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                              Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                              Marisa, I noticed on your Basic Rules Hub that it is good to put some information about any product that you put on.  However I can't add any writing, except for the title to a Amazon product.  How do you do that?

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                                 Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                                 Providing information on the product is absolutely crucial.   You can do that in your text - but i f you do that, it MUST be in the paragraph closest to the product.   The alternative is to put the description in the Amazon capsule, which I think is what you're asking about.
                                 
                                 I'm guessing you may be using keywords instead of picking a specific product.  I wish HubPages would get rid of the keyword option because you shouldn't use it!   When you use keywords to choose the product, you don't control what appears in the capsule - Amazon does.  That means there may be times when an irrelevant product appears in the capsule, causing your Hub to get unFeatured.
                                 
                                 So, you need to pick a specific product.  Then, you'll notice there is an "add a description" link.  Click on that and you'll be able to add a paragraph within the capsule.

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                                    Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                                    Thank you, I will give it a try.

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                        dmrlowdposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                        Christy, is there any way to interact with a moderator and discuss suggested or forced changes to a hub?

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      If you read notes from editors carefully, you often can get a clue as to what they're talking about. For example, when they say check for spelling and grammar...that means exactly what it says. You have to go through your article with a fine tooth comb and correct any error you see.  Using a word processing spelling and grammar tool helps a lot with this.
      
      After you've been here awhile, you get a feel for what a moderator wants, but when you're new, it can be very frustrating, I'm sure.
      
      Links and ads are usually the culprits, so you need to be very careful when using them.  HP really does not want your article to take readers away from the site, and even linking to your own work can be problematic at times.
      
      One thing you can do is write an article on a word processor, then let it sit for a day or two. Read and analyze it, and if it seems good...post it.
      
      Good luck!

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         Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         When I get a email saying this, "Your Article Could be Featured!".  Isn't the email always the same?  I have never taken these seriously thinking that it was a general email sent out to everyone who fails to get a article featured.

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            Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            Last night I tried fixing up 3 articles and 1 passed.  I checked the emails that came in and found that they DO offer different information on the two that got rejected.  So I am going to read them very carefully and see if I can get them both to pass.  I will have to let you know how this turns out.

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               lori811posted 6 years agoin reply to this

               Best of luck Pianotek - You will be fine. Rome wasn't built in a day - but I say it was - they brought sandwiches.

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                  Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                  Well the two I just fixed up did NOT pass.  Then the two emails I received soon afterwards said the same thing and seemed to be a form letter that didn't tell me much.
                  In the last emails I received before fixing them they said, "A moderator made the following suggestion for your Hub:" which had personal information on what I needed to do to fix them.  So I made the suggested fixes.  But this time they didn't tell me anything.
                  Well back to finding the problem...

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                     Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

                     Remember you are allowed to post a link to your Hub in the "Improving your Hub" section to get help from other Hubbers.  If the Hub wasn't published, then you need to use the link in the email they sent you so that we can see it.

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      lori811posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I would email helpt@hubpages and ask them, rather than driving yourself crazy. I's a shame and sincerely hope everything works out in your favor.

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         Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you.

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2. 88

   Jan Saintsposted 6 years ago

   I understand it's a lot of work for the editors to reply to all hubs that don't get featured everyday, but concerning the ones submitted to niche sites, I think they should try to give real reasons not just a block of general reasons.
   
   I don't understand why a hub on a subject that's not saturated would not be picked for a niche site. It has a bio that demonstrate author's level of expertise, has at least 3 photos, it's well structured and has an excellent layout, not stuffed with keywords and meets other requirements and it just gets rejected and no real reason for the rejection.
   
   I have had two of my hubs rejected and it's not a good experience considering the time I used on them. There are many hubs without bios on the niche sites, and some are just blocks of texts stuffed with keywords. I think hubs should not be rejected for minor mistakes. The editors can correct them or notify writers to do so, and not just rejecting them and giving general reasons.

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      Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I agree!  It would sure help if we were given helpful information.

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      Barbara Kayposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I agree. Getting a form letter makes you feel like the editor never even took the time to read it. Plus the form letter gives so many reasons it might not have been ready for a niche site. Why not just list the reason it wasn't?

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   Erin K Stewartposted 6 years ago

   I'm on board with you. I have several articles that are hit or miss when it comes to Hubpages accepting them. I don't get it. I even just revised an article I've had up for over a year to make it cleaner and and more in depth. I didn't change the source links to the pictures that had already been there and I even took away an affiliate link that they allowed the first time I published it. Now it's considered to be too "spammy" even though I have over 16,000 hits on it and it was allowed up for more than a year prior to me revising it. I'm afraid that now they wont accept it since I do end up having to use a lot of the same words in each block of text such as, "This card represents" because it is an article on a type of tarot cards. I just don't understand how it could be perfectly fine when I first posted it, warts and all, and now that I've cleaned it up it is unsuitable.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Erin, if an article is considered "spammy" then it means there's a problem with a link.  It has nothing to do with keyword density.

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      Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I once published a article and it passed.  Then I added a link to see if that would pass.  It did not.  But then when I removed the link it still did not pass.
      I wonder if once a article fails that will make it harder to pass the next time?

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   pen promulgatesposted 6 years ago

   You make a good point about removing the link but the article remaining unfeatured consequently. I am curious to know responses.

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5. 69

   Pianotekposted 6 years ago

   I just got some good news.  One of my articles that I have been trying to get passed was just fixed up by hub-pro. They removed my only link and that is ok, but without the link there is no products here as promised in the introduction.  I could add a couple of Amazon products instead. However I am afraid to add anything in case this makes my article fail again.  What to do?

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      lori811posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      YAY!  Keep it going, Pianotek!!!

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         Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         I might give it a try but hope that if it does not work and I have to remove the ad that it will be featured again.

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   Jesse Drzalposted 6 years ago

   Just leave it be.

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   JR Cuevasposted 6 years ago

   Some problems about hubs not being featured are the links in photo capsules. I think it is not advisable to put the specific link of pictures.Or if ypu want to take time to inspect the link of the photo. Solution to this is to just write the url of the main site because there may be problems with the pictures used.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      The important thing with photo licences is that you MUST credit the photographer, not the site.  So giving up and linking to the main site is not the right thing to do, and could result in you being sued.
      
      Just make sure you fully understand the legalities of which sites are free to use and which aren't, and when you need to credit and when you don't.
      
      Pixabay doesn't legally require you to credit anyone, you can put the name of the source in the "source" box but don't fill in the "source URL" box. 
      
      Flickr requires you to link to the photographer who took the photo, and you MUST be sure that the photographer allows the photo to be copied (many don't). Flickr is exempt from the link limits on HubPages so you can link as much as you like. 
      
      I have a Hub on how to use photos legally, you'll find it on the slider on my profile.

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8. 69

   Pianotekposted 6 years ago

   Taking a lot of the Great advice (thank you to all of you!) I found in this discussion I applied it to the 2 articles I was trying to get featured and fixed them up last night. This morning, much to my delight, I found both of them being fixed up under Hub-Pro.  The only changes they made so far are in the titles.  There was a repeated word that I did not catch and some minor thing in the other title.  It would be great if all our mistakes were highlighted so these things could be fixed right away.  However I am happy with them now and plan to keep writing. 

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      lori811posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Kudos to you!) Keep it going. God bless!

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         Pianotekposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you!

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9. 69

   Pianotekposted 6 years ago

   Thought I would give a update. 
   Two hubs that I was trying to get featured finally got a Hubpro on them and I found out they were fine except they both had a problem with the title.  The emails I got for them were the basic form letters that said spammy and such.  No hint what the problem really was.  I was so focused on the body that I wasn't even looking at the title!
   Now I am trying to get two more featured and one got a personal response that said I needed to proofread it.  So I found a free place to do that and found several problems that I had missed.  It was a great program.
   But then a let down.  The hub still did not get featured and I got the same old form email.  So I tried something else to see if that might work. 
   I sure am wasting my time and hubpages time with all these tries. 
   Wouldn't that be great if the problem on our hubs were shaded in a different color when we go to edit them?  It would sure speed everything up. 
   However, ending on a good note, I am getting more hubs featured as I slowly learn what works and have 15 going now.

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      pen promulgatesposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      True. It would be a lot better if moderators give a specific reason.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      As soon as you get an email with that phrase "spammy elements", you know the problem is one of the links.  That's what it means (assuming it's not just a generic email with several other possible reasons, too). 
      
      However, I repeat my advice. Rather than struggling along and posting a general question on this thread, use the link in the email and post it in the Improving Your Hub section, so people like me can tell you exactly what 's wrong and you can fix it first time.

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    gmvposted 6 years ago

    Well for one, you can't spell the word "wonderful."

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