Hub for Hubbers...

1. 77

   DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years ago

   I fully realize that Hub Pages exists by promoting articles off-site, and from organic search results.  It is what makes both them and us income.
   
   Therefore, there is no monetary value for anyone in writing a hub whose primary target audience is only other hubbers.   I wonder, though,  if it might be worthwhile on another level, which ultimately might lead to income for all.
   
   That topic is the value of answering comments.  Since comments do get considered as content by Google, failure to reply to and acknowledge comments might well discourage people from coming back and commenting again, thereby losing money for that hubber, and in the end, Hub Pages itself.
   
   Since only a small percentage of hubbers are active in the forums, where this has been much-discussed before, do you think such an article would be beneficial and reach those who needed the information?

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   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Such a Hub is highly likely to become unFeatured due to lack of engagement, because the potential audience is so small.
      
      I have some which I've written for other Hubbers.  I have them on the "slider" on my profile so I can refer Hubbers to them, even if they get unFeatured.

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   2. 85

      Phyllis Doyleposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I agree that writing hubs for hubbers can at times be detrimental to our main purpose. I feel I am here to provide information and help to ALL readers. I have, a few times, written a poem or other hub, to hubbers, which is fun -- but, as a community we can gather and write to others mainly through the forums.

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   3. 94

      Cardisaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I wrote such a hub (The Value of Replying to Comments) long ago but removed it. All my other HP hubs get outside traffic but that has no outside value. It would lose traffic eventually and die so to speak.

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2. 74

   Adept2012posted 11 years ago

   I quite agree with you, I f you really want to make money then it better you write quality hub that is very visible to search engines. You can also promote your hub on social networks.  As for the article,  I think that such an article will be beneficial,  so you may write about it

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3. 66

   relacheposted 11 years ago

   I have some Hubs I wrote about making Hubs, and back when this site was on the upswing, they were extremely profitable, monetarily and otherwise.

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4. 74

   WryLiltposted 11 years ago

   I get dozens of comments from search and social traffic - most of whom will never visit my content again, anyway.
   
   Sure, comments can add some content, but the work of doing them is unlikely to weigh in against earnings, usually.

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5. 79

   Barbara Kayposted 11 years ago

   I wrote one on How to Make Money at Hubpages. I'm thinking about removing it. The hub gets almost no traffic.

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   1. 0

      epsonok0posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Modify it to be about blogging instead. But in that case you are up against some serious competition in the search engines.

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6. 77

   DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years ago

   Ok, I understand it would not make money.  That would not be my purpose in writing about that particular topic.
   
   It's just that I have read recently that 'comments count as content,'  but it was not elaborated upon as to how much weight that has.  I am thinking that hubbers who don't reply, and therefore effectively discourage further comments, may be shooting themselves in the foot, monetarily speaking.
   
   Again, for that particular topic, addressed as it would be to other hubbers alone, outside traffic is unimportant...and if it is accessible on the profile, then 'unfeatured' is irrelevant.
   
   Then again, I suppose I'd simply be preaching to the choir, and folks who don't care to interact with others on the site may end up leaving anyway, because they won't get much traffic, and will never know why...they don't participate in forums, and probably don't read or comment on others' hubs, either.

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   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at, MsLizzy.
      
      You are right, if you're writing the Hub for Hubbers, then it doesn't matter so much whether it's unFeatured or not, provided you have your profile set to display unFeatured Hubs. You do, don't you? 
      
      However, you then go on to talk about the value of comments.  If you're not worried about search engines finding your Hub, then the value of comments is irrelevant, surely?
      
      The value of comments is not their length, it's the fact that they contain more keywords relating to your content (which can be found by the search engines).  Therefore if a Hub has lots of social comments (great Hub, thanks for your comment, always a pleasure to read etc etc), they are not helpful in any way, shape or form.   In fact they could even be detrimental, as they dilute the concentration of keywords in the text as a whole. 
      
      The idea of "comments as content" comes from blogs. On blogs, it is not common practice for the blog owner to respond to comments unless he/she has something meaningful to add.  That's because on a blog, people comment because they want to express their view, not because they want to be sociable.  So on a good blog, the comments can be just as interesting as the blog, and the extra keywords add value.
      
      Why do you say people who "don't care to interact" won't get much traffic?  Surely you know by now, that traffic from other Hubbers is a drop in the ocean compared to the traffic from outside HubPages.  In fact, people who DO care to interact are more likely to get frustrated and leave, because the tiny audience of other Hubbers can't possibly satisfy their desire for a readership - and if they're spending all their time within the HP community, they're not reaching an outside readership.
      
      It's great to read and comment on other people's Hubs, and interact on the forums, because being part of a writers' community helps keep you motivated.  But we're your peers, not your audience.

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      1. 77

         DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Hi, Marisa,
         
         
         You said, "... If you're not worried about search engines finding your Hub, then the value of comments is irrelevant, surely?"
         
           It is not MY hub to which I am referring to in that case--it is the Hubbers to whom that specific hub would be addressed,  who will be missing out on extra search-engine traffic via keyword-laced comments/replies.   That is what I am getting at.
         The idea was to help those folks get more action out of their articles.
         But, in the end, I suppose you're right..it would be pointless, because the people I would be trying to help are not folks who participate in either comments or forums, and would probably never see the article written for their benefit.

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         1. 86

            Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            Ah, I see. 
            
            Comments are valuable to the Hub being commented on.  They are not of value to the person commenting.

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            1. 77

               DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Exactly.

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               1. 86

                  Marisa Wrightposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                  ...but I thought you originally thought the comments were of benefit to the person commenting? 
                  
                  The keyword value of the comments is because they add to the volume of keywords in the Hub as a whole.  It doesn't mean that comment will be found in search results and lead to the Hubber who made it.

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                  1. 77

                     DzyMsLizzyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

                     No, no.  I guess I did not make my point clear at all.   I was thinking that it would help the hubber who wrote the hub...I was thinking that if they replied to comments, it might encourage more people to comment, and thereby up their ranking.

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