Got rid of RSS Feeds

1. 97

   Jean Bakulaposted 5 years ago

   I had RSS feeds on almost 100 hubs, and gradually took them all off, a few every three days, once we got the memo that they were going to be deleted by 2/1/13. I knew it would mess up the formatting on quite a few of my hubs. But I have experienced a pretty big drop in views, between 1,000 and 2,000 a week since I did it, when I was finally getting the best traffic I ever had. I can put regular links on some, but I don't know if it's worth the trouble. I don't want to put links on and be told they have to come off in a few months. It's a lot of work and very time consuming. Anyone else experiencing a drop after deleting feeds? And any advance warning about links to our other hubs which are about the same or a similar topic? The ones HP is putting on my hubs have absolutely nothing to do with most of them. I wish somebody would look up Metaphysics in the dictionary. Here's a clue--it is exploring topics that go beyond what is known. Any topic that seems "New Age" or downright strange gets put on my profile page, and I resent that.

   replyreport
   1. STAFF

      pauldeedsposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      There are strong signs of a google update of some kind about a week ago.  It believe that is more likely the cause of any traffic change than removing of RSS feeds.  So, I would probably just sit tight.
      
      If you are going to add links to a hub, it's probably both better SEO and a better  experience for your readers if they are integrated into the text of your Hub in a natural way (as I did with the link above), rather than isolated off in a separate capsule.

      replyreport
2. 87

   somethgblueposted 5 years ago

   I have RSS feeds on all of my Hubs and rue the day in February when I must delete them. I think it sucks that they are deleted them 'supposedly' because some writers don't use them.
   
   They have greatly contributed to my traffic and I find it most distressing that I will be forced to take them down.

   replyreport
   1. 60

      janderson99posted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I agree - I have them on over 600 hubs. They were condemned because they were unpopular!!!!! I too believe that they boosted my traffic and reputation. If I see a drop of traffic in Fed 2013 I'll be out of here as well. No consultation with those who had the most to lose.
      
      " There's nothing wrong with RSS as a feature/concept. We're just removing an antiquated capsule that very few used."

      replyreport
      1. 98

         wildernessposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         I expect you will see a drop in traffic come Feb., but it probably won't be from removing RSS feeds.
         
         I used to have one and usually two on each and every hub, with 4-5 links in each one.  Last April/May I deleted every one of them.
         
         My traffic had been in a long, slow slide and a month after RSS removal it began a long, slow increase.  I don't attribute removal to the increase in traffic although I suppose it is possible.

         replyreport
      2. 97

         Jean Bakulaposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks for answering me so quickly, everyone. I tried to do it little by little, to shield myself from a big change. I understand it is not easy for us to know what is causing some of our difficulties. I really thought the RSS feeds helped, since most people (myself included) tend to be lazy, and if they like your hub, and see another on the topic because of the feed, they are more likely to click it. Thanks for letting me know you did see a general increase in time, Wilderness. Janderson, that's so many, I would try to do it in stages. I had a steep learning curve when I came to HP, and kept changing my layouts as I learned more, so if I had let the administration just take them, my hubs would have looked awful, I had to do it myself.
         
         Paul, thanks for letting me know there was a google update a week ago, that could also be the cause. I'm seeing two up arrows on a few of my more popular hubs today. I have been using hyperlinks on my own blog, and although I'm not making money yet, agree that they are easier than making the links in the link capsule. Perhaps I'll consider doing that on the hubs in the future. Thanks all, and I hope we can gain some traction and find what works for us here if we decide to stay. Even when I don't write here, I can't seem to stay away, because the community is nice!

         replyreport
         1. 60

            janderson99posted 5 years agoin reply to this

            @ Jean Bakula - I'm simply going to let them go 'poof' in Feb. I started editing them out, but up popped all this issues (old ones that were resolved long ago, but because I edited them they resurfaced).  May as well get the traffic benefits while it lasts!

            replyreport