Bringing search engine traffic to poems.

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   sereseusposted 11 years ago

   There are lots of fellow poets in here at hubpages some do not even focus on getting search engine traffic to them but writes to enjoy.If you have an idea on increasing traffic to poems please share.

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      larakernposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I just ran across a hub by another hubber, Cardisa. Her hub provides a lot of great tips to make your poetry or creating writing more SEO friendly. Good luck!

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         WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Link: http://cardisa.hubpages.com/hub/SEO-Tip … nd-Fiction

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      CrescentSkiesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Even if you made your poetry SEO friendly and Google ranked it super high, the problem is that people would need to search for the exact poems or poem subject you're writing about. It's a difficult genre to get high SEO traffic from, you'd do better with social media.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The big problem with poems is that they're short, so they are less likely to be found by the search engines.   You need to "beef up" your Hub with more content somehow.  One way is to create an "anthology" Hub (i.e. several poems on the same theme in one Hub).  The other is to add context, images etc.
      
      This is a good Hub on the topic:
      <duplicate link removed>

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         jansharesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         +1 I was so against this initially believing the poem should stand on its own. But I'm so over it now, realizing and accepting the fact that I'm not writing a book, I'm writing online.

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            AliciaCposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            +1 This describes exactly how my feelings have changed about the poems that I've written.

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            Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I've never really understood why poets found it so hard to accept.
            
            After all, you wouldn't expect to get a single poem published in the real world, would you?  It would be in an anthology of verse.  So why expect to get a single poem published on its own here?

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               Writer Foxposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Single poems are published in literary journals and magazines and the poets are paid for poems published in the top ones.

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   yupperclubposted 11 years ago

   Poems are just an art form of expressive composition.  Just let it ride...as more and more people read the poem(s) and like it they will probably recommend it to others and the traffic will eventually increase.  If not, try working on the poem more.  Like a picture piece of artwork...sometimes the artists  keep improving and improving on the work until it becomes a masterpiece.

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      sereseusposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Well said yupperclub.

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   paradigmsearchposted 11 years ago

   I've actually got a "poem" on the front page of Google. Unfortunately, it...
   
   A. Is right behind CNN, Foxnews. and the like.
   B. Nobody looks for those keywords anyway.
   
   Tough town the internet...

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4. 94

   jansharesposted 11 years ago

   Poems tend to be abstract and relatable primarily to the poet and a few others. For a poem to get traffic, it has to have universal appeal. The subject matter has to be about something most people can relate to, have a question about, and are looking for answers for, in a poem. For example my poem on sudden death gets regular traffic with spurts when there is either a natural disaster involving death, a shooting spree, or mass murder. I got a lot of hits during the school shooting in Newton, Conn.
   
   Unfortunately, most people nowadays can relate to murder which happens more frequently and suddenly in terms of the impact it leaves. So it's a popular subject matter and therefore, gets traffic.
   
   Poem titles tend to be obscure as well, making them hard to find because no one is searching for "The Murderous Night My Brother Passed Away." Cardisa's hub will give you more details about why the title of your poem hub is not so much about the poem as it is about the search and how people will find it.
   Hope this helps.

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      sereseusposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for your opinion.I know that the titles matter much my poems receiver traffic from google when i started using titles like " poem on birds".Its not much but 1 or 2 views per day but its much encouraging than nothing..

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         jansharesposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I think that's great, sereseus.

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   Writer Foxposted 11 years ago

   You need to optimize your poetry Hubs for search engines the same way you do any other webpage. The URL you choose and the Title of the Hub should reflect the subject of your poetry, not the creative title of a poem. 
   
   For instance, there are 33,100 searches every month on Google for 'poems about dogs' or 'poem about dogs'.
   
   If you are writing a poem about the death of your dog Fido, title your Hub 'Poem about Death of a Dog' (5,400 monthly searches on Google), not 'Bye, Bye Fido.'
   
   Then, write a few paragraphs introducing your poem and using other keywords to help searchers find your Hub.

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      sereseusposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It has been a tough break that they removed keywords.I have not written a poem in a long time I hope I can get back to writing.I need  to find the mood.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         They didn't remove keywords.  They removed tags.  Keywords are words that appear within your text.  Tags are words that you add outside the article to help readers find your article or poem.
         
         However, tags on HubPages were always different to tags on blogs.  Tags on HubPages were always for internal use only, and used to create things like "related Hubs".  So removing them has made absolutely no difference to the chances of your poem being found by search engines.

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            WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Moot point seeing as they're gone... But weren't there claims that the first page of tags was indexed?

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   rebekahELLEposted 11 years ago

   It can be done, but it's definitely not a money maker.  It is rewarding intrinsically when someone does a search and finds one of our poems via a search engine. I'm always happy that anyone finds one of my poems with a search query.
   Titles are the key.  I need to change the tile of one of my hubs because it's simply too general, although it is exactly what the title states.  The other one is more targeted and receives mostly SE traffic.  It also has a generous number of comments which are always nice to read on a poetry hub.

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      sereseusposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Writing poems gives you far much enjoyment from the comments it receives.Its not about the money all right..I hope  I can get back on track.

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7. 91

   Will Apseposted 11 years ago

   I would urge all poets to head over to http://www.poeticrepublic.com/.
   
   Partly, because they have standards.
   
   Partly, because this site is for can openers.

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      Writer Foxposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      No quality poet would enter that contest:
      1) the contest is over
      2) the contest charges an entry fee
      3) the judges have no 'standards'
      
      I don't know what your sudden interest in poetry is all about, but I suggest you concentrate your efforts today on your own content.  At least two of your Hubs have been plagiarized and I urge you to head on over to file your DMCA requests.

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         Will Apseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I don't think you have grasped what the competition is about.
         
         The judgement is by community acclamation over three rounds of voting. And yes it is too late to enter this year. But reading previous year's entries will get you moving. Not all poems are retained on site but many are, with community comments.
         
         Enter and you will get something you will never get on HP. Some attention from people who genuinely care about poetry. And not being a pro is not the disadvantage it is in other competitions.
         
         If you can't afford a few pounds for a shot at the two thousand pound first prize, it is obviously out of the question.

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         WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Bahahaha WriterFox, please don't look at my hubs. I think there must be about 500 plagiarized copies floating around the interwebs. Luckily for me... I don't really care

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         sereseusposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Writerfox ..Can you explain what is meant by placing a DMCA request and for what?plz explain.

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      sereseusposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      What has been your experience in this competition you talk about?

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         Will Apseposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Second hand, I must admit. A friend has gotten a lot out of it in the last couple of years. Her stuff was good enough to get through at least one round last year (think it was only one). She is semi-serious in her writing ambitions, member of the local poetry society etc.
         
         I imagine fashion and the zeitgeist have a lot to do with it.
         
         Anyway, I only got into this because of Petra Vlah's rant, and energy levels are falling so best of luck if you get involved.

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            sereseusposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            ok....(y)

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   chef-de-jourposted 11 years ago

   It's possible to get reasonable amounts of traffic to your poems if you bunch them altogether into one hub. At least that's my experience. For example my hub Bird Poems has been Google page 1 for months at a time in the recent past but is now page 2 I think?
   Poetry readers sometimes need a good 'shot' of poetry and having several of your pieces on one hub can provide the stimulus.
   I hope this helps. We poets need all the help we can get!

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   1. 69

      sereseusposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks for the advice...(y)

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