Question about earning with Hubpages Ad Program?

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   Cardiaposted 6 years ago

   In the past I relied solely on Adsense to earn income from Hubpages, however this year I was able to finally open a PayPal account, so I signed up for the Hubpages Ad program. As expected, I saw a drop in my Adsense earnings, but now it's practically non-existent. I was earning a couple dollars every month, but now it's barely a penny or two (not figuratively, I mean literally).
   My earnings with the Hubpages Ad Program have been much lower than expected - frankly, I'm disappointed. I had understood when signing up for it that yes, I would have seen a drop in Adsense earnings, but I would've seen an increase in my overall earnings from the site, but frankly I have seen a decrease.
   
   Basically I wanted to know if there's any way that I could increase my earnings with the Hubpages program? I'm trying to clean up my articles, update and review them, and add in more images and links. but it doesn't seem to help. I'm wondering if I should wait until I reach payout amount (I'm still eons away unfortunately) and then drop out of the program and go back to my Adsense.
   Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
   Thank you!

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   1. 70

      makingamarkposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Are your hubs on HubPages or the Niche sites? Or how do they split between the two?
      
      Did you have your Google AdSense account before or after you signed up for the Hubpages Ad Program?

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      1. 75

         Cardiaposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         it's a mixture - some are on niche sites, but most are still on HubPages. I'm going to try and review some of my articles again to see if I can submit to more niche sites.
         I've had the AdSense account way before the Ad Program.
         thanks for responding

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   2. 84

      Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Some people earn more with Adsense, and some people earn more with the HP Ads program.  It depends on the subjects you write about. 
      
      You may just be one of those people who is better off sticking with Adsense.

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         makingamarkposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         How do people know which subjects do well with which program?

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         1. 84

            TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

            trial and error.  You give adsense a try for a week or two and see how you were doing with the HP plan.  If you're doing better, you stick with it.  If not, you go back to the HP program.
            
            I do think that topics that "sell" are the ones that attract advertisers who pay more, which means they do better on Adsense.
            
            I think, for example, a topic such as "fishing" would do well because there are so many people who love this sport and are willing to spend tons of money on equipment, boats, etc.
            
            On the other hand, a topic like "relationships" might not do as well.  How many products are there that deal with this topic that will encourage advertisers to spend more to have their ads placed on people's hubs?

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   3. 84

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I looked at your profile and see that most of your topics are more or less generic, meaning that you have lots of competition out there.  Also, very few of them lend themselves to placing Amazon ads on them.  You can use Amazon with either program, and you might be surprised to see how much you can earn with them if you write on good topics and place your ads correctly.  Sometimes I make more in a month from ads than I do from either program.

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      1. 75

         Cardiaposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         I had had quite a few Amazon capsules in the past, but I was told that it could come across as 'spammy' and could discourage clicking, so I greatly reduced the amount.
         I'll try and add them back in, hopefully it'll get my clicks up again!

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         1. 84

            TIMETRAVELER2posted 6 years agoin reply to this

            I wouldn't do that.  One good one, or possibly two, per article is more than enough.  If you add more back in, it will be considered as spam.
            
            Remember that ads must be relevant to the topic and must be well placed in order to work well.  Also, your topic must lean towards ads...many do not.  If you just throw an ad in to make money, you'll have problems.
            
            When I made that comment, I was unaware that you had a lot of ads on your hubs in the past.

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               makingamarkposted 6 years agoin reply to this

               Only HubPages considers it spam. It works fine elsewhere.
               
               That might be because Google now has a completely different attitude to how many adverts you can have on a page. For example they lifted the limit on only three Google AdSense units on a page a year ago
               
               Google's AdSense emphasis now is on adverts being highly relevant and there being lots of content relative to adverts (i.e. the adverts never swamp the content)
               
               Google states https://support.google.com/adsense/answ … t_per_page
               "Advertising and other paid promotional material added to your pages should not exceed your content. Furthermore, the content you provide should add value and be the focal point for users visiting your page. For this reason, we may limit or disable ad serving on pages with little to no value and/or excessive advertising until changes are made."

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         2. 84

            Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

            Cardia, Amazon ads are not spammy.   What's "spammy" is when you use them incorrectly.
            
            The rule is that if you're going to include an Amazon product, it has to arise naturally from the Hub.   So for instance, you might write about a project and mention a tool you need to do the job - it's natural to provide a link to that tool.  Or you might write an introduction to how to do quilting, or where to visit in Italy - if people want to know more in depth, it's natural to include a book so they can learn more.  As MakingAMark says, if the advertised product is truly useful to the reader, Google won't penalise you for it, and the reader will thank you!
            
            In practice, you'll find that means you may not get the chance to include a lot of products in any Hub - and for some Hubs, you won't be able to think of a product that really belongs. 
            
            Once you realise you need to include a product, the other rule on HubPages is that you MUST explain WHY you're recommending that particular make or model of the product.  And it mustn't be a sales pitch, it must be a genuine opinion of your own.

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2. 75

   Cardiaposted 6 years ago

   Hey everyone,
   Thank you for all the tips and advice. I'm going through my hubs now, seeing where I can edit and make them better. I'm also going to try and start publishing more hubs, probably with Amazon ads in mind.
   
   Another question I have is the following: I'm trying to update my articles, especially the ones that are no longer Featured. How can I get them featured again? I'm adding in better photos and editing the language of the articles so it reads better.
   
   Thank you in advance

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   1. 84

      Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      It depends why the Hub was unFeatured.
      
      If it was unFeatured for Lack of Traffic, then all you need to do is change one sentence.  Yes, literally one sentence!   That will reset the traffic counter, your Hub will be Featured again and it will get another chance to attract traffic.
      
      However, something to watch -  if it's an old Hub, there may be things in it which break the new rules.  If that's the case, then it won't be Featured again - instead, you'll see the symbol change, and it will be "unFeatured for Quality".  If that happens, then you need to go through the Hub, work out where you've broken a rule, and fix it.   
      
      I have a Hub on the Basic Rules which would be worth a read. You might also find my Hub on what to do with unFeatured Hubs useful.  Both are on the slider on my profile.

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      1. 75

         Cardiaposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         Great, thanks Marisa! I'll definitely give your hub a read.
         Thanks for the help!

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