Any advice on what to do when no more tweaking is possible?

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   Angie Jardineposted 11 years ago

   Any advice on what to do when no more tweaking is possible?
   
   You’ve got the dreaded Zzzz’s and have tweaked and tuned some particular hubs to the ’nth’ degree. They’re well-written, grammatical and erudite but, thanks to the vagaries of Google, they may not get the views they once got. Further tweaking is just not possible. What now? Is deletion the only option.

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   DrMark1961posted 11 years ago

   Even the writings of Hemingway could use some improvement. Are there not other writers that would look over your hubs and give you (constructive) criticism? I have read several of your articles and you are obviously a good writer but surely other viewpoints would be of use. Personally I feel the comments section should be more constructive and there should be less "good hub".
   When I had an article with a Zzz, I improved it but also asked a friend to pin it, tweet it again, and post it on scoop.it. (Also post it on Facebook, stumbleupon, Flipora, chime.in, and any others you can think of.) I also tweaked it and pinged it again, then uploaded the address to Bing and Google. I think if a hub has more backlinks (even on the social sites), and has been recently updated so that it has a current date when it is searched for, it is unlikely to be idled again. Marisa commented in one of her posts that idled hubs would just be idled again, but this was several months ago and it has never been "picked on" again.
   The only hubs I have deleted have been a few of my recipe hubs that were getting no traffic.
   Good luck. I enjoy reading your hubs.

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      Angie Jardineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for this answer …  it has made me aware of how little I know of how to actually promote my hubs. I also agree with you about the comments section but you can’t control what folks write to you. I also need to understand more about back links

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   chef-de-jourposted 11 years ago

   It depends on the time factor. If you're absolutely certain that no more adjustments or improvements can be made, no more promotion via social sites is possible and you've had no views in 30 days then it's logical to consider deletion - only as a last resort mind you.
   
   In my experience (which is similar to DrMark's) it is possible to revamp an idle hub and get it back to fitness again. If you take the time you can resurrect it! But I admit it's a fine balance between spending even more time on an already written hub and wanting to dump it forever! I wish you all the very best no matter your decision.
   
   Start with the title - it's surprising how much you can get from so small a change. Even one word may help. Or add an extra one or two?
   
   Introduction/1st text capsule - is it too long? Does it have a keyword or longer chain keyword phrase included? Is it overstuffed as they say? I'm no expert but learning something new about SEO and putting it into practice in an idle hub may prove fruitful.
   
   Other text capsules - go through the paragraphs with a fine tooth comb and look for opportunities to improve the content.....more information, facts, experiences and so on.
   
   Photographs -  have you exhausted your search for good images? Can you use your own? Have you researched hubs that show you how to enhance images?
   
   RSS - have you included RSS feeds into your hub so the content is at least partially refreshed?
   
   Links - can you add more? Are the current links relevant?

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      Angie Jardineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Like Dr Marks, another useful answer. I just do not understand about links and RSS feeds … I’m sure I don’t over stuff but don’t completely understand SEO so who knows. Feel I need to learn a lot more about all this stuff to help with my hubs. Thank

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   lrc7815posted 11 years ago

   There are other things you can try besides tweaking the text.  Try some of these:
   change the category
   rewrite the summary
   add a video or new pictures
   revamp the tags
   add or edit the ebay or amazon capsules
   add a linkback to another hub
   break long paragraphs into separate capsules
   check for text you can link to exterior sites
   
   Just offering some ideas.  Hope you find something that works.

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      Angie Jardineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Wow … yet another brill answer. Thanks, lrc … I shall keep this list close by for my next attack of Zzzzz’s.

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   duffsmomposted 11 years ago

   I hear you.  Sometimes, whether the Hub is getting activity or not - it is the way you want it and more tweaking might ruin it. A temporary fix, short term, that is...is just to add a comma, or change one tiny character in your Copyright notice....and it is off the ZZZZ list for a bit...maybe long enough for views to pick up.

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      Angie Jardineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes …  you have understood me exactly. I think there is definitely a danger of over tweaking

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   TIMETRAVELER2posted 11 years ago

   One thing I've done that seems to work is to actually try to make the title much more specific and sometimes I even change the thrust of the entire article so that it is not even the same article I originally wrote but does have some of the same content.

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      Angie Jardineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Many thanks, I have done this too.

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   Rosana Modugnoposted 11 years ago

   I never delete.  Add a video, change the pictures, re-edit like the whole thing if you have to, change title or subtitle, summary, add capsules.  Don't give up Angie!!! lol

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      Angie Jardineposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, Rosana … these are all things I have done. I don’t get many Zzz’s fortunately but I just wondered where you went after you had done all the tweaking possible.

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