Idle Hubs

1. 71

   Routledgeposted 11 years ago

   This system is genius. If you have a complaint, it is because your writing is uninspiring or in a topic that is just for fun, in which case Google doesn't matter.
   
   Hub Pages has a few options.
   1. Ban people who post bad content.
   2. Enforce strict posting laws so people who post crappy content don't affect me and others trying to write quality content.
   3. Idle Hubs.
   
   
   If you write bad content, understandably, Hub Pages doesn't want it. Go post it on wikinut.
   
   
   Thank you.

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   1. 89

      WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Bull. Good writing, or seasonal writing can be idled too.

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      1. 85

         Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         +1
         
         I applaud any efforts to remove spam and low quality Hubs, but the Idle Hubs feature is hitting far too many good Hubs too.

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   2. 80

      cactusbytheseaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      There are still plenty of very low-quality Hubs that are passing just fine through the new 24 hour "Pending" check, so why would I assume that every Hub marked as Idle actually deserves it?   I don't trust that the Idle checker actually knows what qualifies as a good Hub.

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2. 84

   rebekahELLEposted 11 years ago

   But not all good writing and seasonal hubs are idled.  So what's the difference?

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   1. 85

      Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It's obviously a combination of factors, but "freshness" seems to be a big factor.
      
      I had several idled Hubs, so I went in to edit them. I found it very difficult to update a couple of them - I changed one or two sentences, then couldn't think what else to do.  So I hit "done editing", resigned to the fact that they would probably stay "idle" because I hadn't been able to do anything meaningful.
      
      Guess what?  They all came out of "idle", even the one where I changed only one sentence!  Clearly, the quality of the writing, the number of backlinks and the level of traffic hadn't changed.

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3. 57

   Dame Scribeposted 11 years ago

   I would think it's the quality of backlinks, earnings, and traffic but there is no set answer  

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   1. 84

      rebekahELLEposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      That's probably about it, DS, quality backlinks and earnings/ potential earnings, a decent flow of traffic? Regardless of what is said about backlinks, they still play an important part in ranking and showing up in search.  Who really knows..?
      
      I'm puzzled by the entire idle feature, and I have none.  It's sad to see hubbers deleting their work and moving to other sites.  I'm even more disheartened that all it takes for an idle hub to wake up is by a simple edit.  Then why was it idled for such an insignificant issue as changing a word or adding punctuation?  Why not a simple 'freshness" warning before deindexing a hub?

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      1. 85

         Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         ...because the problem wasn't the word or the comma, it was the fact that the Hub was "old".  Squidoo does the same thing, apparently - it's now perceived that Google prefers material which is "fresh", so HubPages are taking steps to ensure that Hubbers will keep their Hubs "fresh".   Sounds like evergreen has gone out the window!

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         1. 84

            rebekahELLEposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I'm skeptical. I see hubs that aren't fresh that haven't been idled.  I also see search results that aren't 'fresh'.  Although I understand that online writing requires that we think about SEO, it shouldn't be our focus. Even Google says that when giving tips on publishing quality content.

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            1. 85

               Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I agree, freshness obviously isn't the only factor, because I have some older Hubs that aren't idled. 
               However, if I can get something out of "idle" simply by changing one sentence, then clearly the only thing that's changed is it freshness.
               
               
               
               Yes, and that's  why I question why HP seems to have given such weight to freshness in their "idle" algorithm (based on this experience).

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4. 71

   Routledgeposted 11 years ago

   Seasonal does not.
   Good Hubs do not go idle. If it is getting no views and nothing happens to make people want to see it. It is not good.
   
   Views are not everything, but if it interests...
   
   NO ONE to read it
   
   
   it is bad

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   1. 89

      WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You do realise that if Shakespeare published all his work online today, chances are no one would ever read it right? Good content has nothing to do with people reading it.... that's why so much spam ranks well. All you need to do is know how to backlink or keyword research and you can get absolute crap bringing in search engine visitors.

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      1. 94

         thooghunposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         You're absolutely right. I think Hubpages' reached a fork in the road and decided that they ought to develop a strategy that coincided as closely as possible, not with content at the forefront, but with what Google seems to like. This choice is partly blind because it factors in variables which are irrelevant to article quality such as ranking and traffic, over quality control measurements such as bounce rate and voice.
         
         I say party blind because I'm sure some indicators of quality such as article length and module use are probably factored in.
         
         Ultimately I feel that this shift towards catering to the search engine rather than the end user is one which HP feels will safeguard both subdomain authority as well as side-wide domain authority. It's a risk. Personally, I feel that it should be offered as a possible "recovery attempt" for those who have seen their subdomains slapped. It's a little like saving a forest from a flashfire by cutting down a large portion of the trees, it might just work -- we'll know soon enough. But if it doesn't work, it comes with a heavy price, even to those who are willing to watch their carefully crafted hubs idle in return for a surge in traffic.
         
         To those who aren't here to make money or get as much traffic as possible, but are just looking for a pure publishing platform, it's a pretty big slap in the face.
         
         Sorry about rambling there, wow!

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5. 68

   waynetposted 11 years ago

   Are you a HP staff member Routledge? Your verbiage reminds me of someone! It must be great to be the all seeing eye and make sweeping statements like you have just stated! So if we write crap, then we shall get Eric Idled!!

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   1. 0

      EmpressFelicityposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      You've just invented a new piece of rhyming slang: "I've been Eric-ed".

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