What is is more valuable: updating several hubs or starting a new one?

1. 89

   Room of My Ownposted 11 years ago

   I'm sure all of us have felt time-crunched while working on our websites, articles and HubPages. If you have a limited amount of time, what do you think will make your site more valuable in the eyes of Google (i.e. increase traffic): writing a brand new, high word count hub or spending the same amount of time updating multiple hubs with smaller amounts of fresh content?
   
   If you have a limited amount of time to work on your page and you want to increase your traffic, where do you like to focus your energy? Thanks in advance for contributing to the discussion.

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      Simone Smithposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It really depends on whether those existing Hubs have potential- whether they contribute something of unique value and have odds of beating other already-available online articles on the same subject (and that would be accessed by searching for the same keywords).
      
      If those existing Hubs cannot be beat, it's best to create a Hub that addresses an entirely new subject (ideally, one that contributes unique value to the online world and has good odds of beating the competition).

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   2. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      If you have Hubs that don't get much traffic, there may or may not be any point in updating them.  You need to do some keyword research - is anyone looking for those topics?  If not, there's no point in spending any more time on them.  If there is search traffic, how many other articles are there already - if there's already lots of competition, it's probably not worth spending any more time on them. 
      
      If a Hub is doing well, it may be best not to tinker with it - you may destroy the magic!  Write another Hub on the same topic instead, and interlink them.

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   3. 60

      MelissaBarrettposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Sometimes it's just a little change that helps.
      
      I have one hub that was unfeatured for traffic.  I literally did nothing but change two words in it's title and it's getting 200 views a month now. (Thank you title tuner)
      
      Not that 200 views per month is anything to write home about
      
      Good luck.

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2. 76

   Robbie C Wilsonposted 11 years ago

   I would work on new hubs if I had limited time. I am currently aiming to write and publish a hub a week and if I have any time over I will re-write a hub. 
   
   In terms of how Google would see it, I think it would depend on just how much of a re-write it is. I am working on a re-writeat the moment that is very extensive with new photos and almost 100% new text. I think Google's spiders would almost consider that a new site.

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   1. 87

      Jean Bakulaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Sometimes you don't have to change an old hub that much to make it popular. If it is one of your first hubs, you probably learned a lot of tricks by now. Some of my older ones have better scores just because I updated the pictures, or wrote a new paragraph to keep it current. When I began we were allowed to take pictures from Google Images, so that's my biggest issue. As I go back I get all new images for the older hubs. But sometimes I get a new idea about the layout, and before I know it, the hub looks so much better. I don't know if it works for everyone, but I notice if a hub isn't getting love, I feature it as one of the 6 we can feature on our Profile page. I had one that was unfeatured, and with some new pics and by showing it on my Profile page, in one day it was saved and is featured again.

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3. 86

   WryLiltposted 11 years ago

   It depends. Say I have two hubs:
   
   1. How To Lose Weight
   2. How To Wash Flease Out Of A Scottish Dog's Hair
   
   The first one, I could probably throw 100 backlinks at it, hours of tweaks etc, and it would still never get good traffic (as it's a highly saturated topic and thousands of older and higher quality articles are likely out there.) The second one, I might be ranking top of Google for, but if only 3 people a month want to know how to wash a scotty dog, it's just as pointless as the first hub.
   
   I find the best approach is to make a hub that works BETTER. As shown above, some topics are too saturated or too niche to ever get traffic, no matter how much you tweak. If you ARE getting traffic, that's usually a sign that you can get MORE traffic.
   
   So I tweak my high traffic hubs and mostly ignore the low traffic ones. And write lots more hubs - I'd rather spend 10 hours writing 10 new hubs which could POTENTIALLY get great traffic than spend those ten hours promoting or tweaking a hub which seems to not be going anywhere, anyway.

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   1. 0

      Ethan Greenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Please, please, please teach me how to write 10 hubs in 10 hours;-)

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      1. 86

         WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Some of the old hands used to do a "30 minute hub challenge". They were fun
         
         Do you have a good typing speed?

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         1. 0

            Ethan Greenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            No way! Wow - did any of them ever do any well?
            
            My typing speed is pretty good. I don't think I'd make a very attractive secretary though...

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            1. 86

               WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Well for me, writing a hub is quite easy. Once you learn how to set them out and just go for it (I like to write 3-5 at once), it's easier.
               
               Insert all your capsules, with subtitles and image boxes. Then fill it in once you have the general layout in place.

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                  Ethan Greenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  I guess that's one way of doing it in a nice organized fashion. Was kind of hoping you were about to reveal where I could get a magic typing wand from though;-)

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                  1. 86

                     WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     I have no idea... but once I get on a roll, I need to get all the information out, so it just pours! lol

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4. 0

   Ethan Greenposted 11 years ago

   Personally I take it in turns so I don't get bored. One day I'll write a new article here, or on my websites; another day I'll go back and review struggling articles and pages. It feels different to do each thing, so it keeps me happy.

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5. 85

   rebekahELLEposted 11 years ago

   I have a very limited amount of time to devote to hubbing.  I am trying to focus on keyword themes and update the hubs I have that are grouped accordingly. If one has the proper time to publish new, unique material that can possibly rank well, great.  But it requires looking closely at your competition.
   
   I recently read an article that stated that, content without value is spam.  I love that.  Who wants to read another article that's already been spammed to death because of popular keywords...
   I would rather update hubs that add value to the themes I've chosen to write about, and that already rank relatively well.  I am going to publish new material over the summer when I have more time, but I've given a lot of thought to what it will be and how it will be incorporated into what I already have published.

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   1. 76

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      The answer is in your stats page.  I spend a lot of time analyzing my numbers, rereading hubs, etc.  Often I find that my article was a really good one, but there are so many others out there written by credible sources, that my hub does not stand a chance...so I get rid of it.  In other circumstances I find that I can compete, but I need better keywords or better titles or more information.  Those I keep and work on.  If my improvements do not bring them up within a reasonable amount of time, I get rid of them also.  My goal is to create a solid body of work that is not dragged down by poorly performing hubs, and I think it is working for me..but it is a slow, painstaking process and good analysis is the tool I use.

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6. 78

   EndaMacposted 11 years ago

   I think it depends on a couple of things really:
   
   For what purpose am I writing
   How much time I have available to write
   
   If my purpose is to make hubs that will get read and make me some money then I tend to favour new material in low competition markets where my hub has a chance of being found.
   
   My other hubs that I write to express myself I will update if I have something of value to add to one of them.
   
   The good news is that over a couple of years you do start to figure out where to spend your limited time available and if not, then you should think about that a lot.

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7. 62

   anaghamposted 11 years ago

   Even I'm confused about this one...Because I updated a hub which was not featured due to lack of quality, but even after I updated it, made several changes, it still is not featured.. So its bettet to concentrate on starting new hubs..

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8. 83

   Good Guyposted 11 years ago

   I only tweaked hubs that have been downgraded to "unfeatured" to make it "featured" again.  The rest of the time I concentrate on writing new hubs.

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9. 83

   peachpurpleposted 11 years ago

   with 110 hubs and 125 views per day, i don't think so writing new hubs would bring in any traffic either. I would focus on the un featured hubs by updating them. Hopefully the traffic will go back to normal.

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   1. 83

      Good Guyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      From my experience, if my hubs are not attracting traffic, no amount of editing will increase traffic drastically.  The more likely reason will be the title/article is not search friendly or not a popular topic.

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      1. 76

         TIMETRAVELER2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Good Guy:  From your numbers, I have no doubt that what you are saying works.  However, I have had it happen a number of times that I rework a low performing hub, and it then improves significantly.  Once I see this does not work I then delete the hub.  It is the only way that makes sense to me.

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10. 96

    PaulGoodman67posted 11 years ago

    I've gradually moved over the past year or so from spending most of my time creating new stuff to updating and editing old material.  It's a pity as writing new stuff is more fun, but I feel it's necessary.

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    1. 76

       TIMETRAVELER2posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       Paul, I totally agree.  There is no point in creating new work if your old articles are not effective.

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11. STAFF

    Paul Edmondsonposted 11 years ago

    I think the best strategy is to make your best pages better.  Let me outline a fairly simple strategy.
    
    1.  Create a set of 50+ hubs.  You need a fair number to learn. 
    
    2.  Look at which Hubs do best.  It's not uncommon for 20% of Hubs to be 80% of traffic.
    
    Make the top 20% of your hubs outstanding.  Frequently, it's more fruitful to make a winning Hub better than to try and improve a Hub that never caught on.
    
    I try and update my best Hubs regularly and make new ones to create new winners.

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       janderson99posted 11 years agoin reply to this

       While I generally agree with this, it raises the issue about what makes a hub successful. My guess is that it is 60% niche choice and title, 20% author's authority and 20% 'quality'. Despite all the efforts people take to find a vacant niche of topic in which they can compete - it is still a lottery. Making a good hub better may not improve traffic (expanded content complexity). I personally don't touch the best ones for fear of ruining them or changing Google's opinion of them. Sometimes it is the shorter hubs that do very well. The key to success in getting more traffic (IMO) is to find niche topics and titles that get traffic and in which you can compete sucessfully.  In my humble opinion of course.

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12. 76

    Robbie C Wilsonposted 11 years ago

    Paul Edmondson, that is great advice. I have updated a few of my hubs this year and from my experience I agree that it is better to update a good hub than to spend time updating a hub that doesn't get any traffic.
    
    Of course having said that, my standard of writing is so much better now than it was when I started o some of my old hubs may have failed because I didn't know what I was doing, so I do updates on some of my original hubs too if I feel they have a chance of doing well.

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    1. STAFF

       Paul Edmondsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

       We all have learned a lot.  I look at the Hub I published today and how much different it is than my early Hubs. Cheers to learning:)

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13. 76

    Barbara Kayposted 11 years ago

    I feel it is well worthwhile updating a hub if it is one that can get decent traffic. My first year here I spent time writing hubs that could never rank. A few I wrote back then are ranking well now and I am earning good money on those. The others have competition that is impossible to beat. I either moved or just deleted those. They were a waste of my valuable time.
    
    Since then I've learned a lot. Which subjects are worthwhile and which aren't. If you choose the wrong subject area, it just isn't worth the time.
    
    Right now, I'm finding it hard to find the motivation to write anything new. Finding keywords that I can rank for are hard when everything shows up in the search with millions of well written articles.

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