Hub Titles

1. 71

   galleryofgraceposted 10 years ago

   Duplicate hub titles should not be allowed!  What I'm saying is - higher scoring hubbers should not be allowed to come in here and make duplicate titles even though the content is different. It completely blocks the lower scoring writer from being found in search.
   Totally not right!

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   1. 0

      calculus-geometryposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Your Hubberscore on HubPages has zero effect on Google indexing and rankings.  It's a completely internal "measure" that seems to measure nothing as far as anyone can see.
      
      If the other writer's hub is ranking higher than yours for certain key word searches, then its because Google deemed that other hub more relevant -- at this time.  Sometimes webpages get a boost just for being fresh.  All you can do is edit your own hub.

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      1. 71

         galleryofgraceposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I'll be the first to admit that the other hub is much better than mine. I know that many hubbers came in here and  copied titles from hubbers who  at that time had high scores -they thought they would be more successful. Over time scores drop and now those hubbers who wrote better articles are more successful.
         I still think that the exact title wording should not be duplicated.
         Thanks for  all comments.

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         1. 86

            Everyday Miraclesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Who's to say that they "copied" the title of the hub a lower-scoring hubber wrote? It's possible that they chose to write about a relevant topic and titled their hub the same.
            
            The best hubbers should be using long-tail search terms in their titles, which reduces the risk of this kind of thing happening in the first place. Think about about it: Users love titles that indicate a list post (because lists are easy to read) or which give some detail regarding the specific content of the hub. How likely is a higher-performing hubber to use a title with none of these elements, and how much more likely is a lower-performing hubber to struggle with strong titles?
            
            My (recent) titles are all relatively long.  You can see the list of them on beckisgiftguides (dot hubpages dot com) if you're interested in an example of what I'm talking about. If I'm using titles that were used by lower-scoring hubbers, that's purely coincidental as I typically avoid doing this whenever possible.
            
            If you're worried that traffic is being taken from your hubs and directed to higher-performing hubbers, improve your hubs. I've spent years wondering why I wasn't making "Hub of the Day" (or Lens of the Day), improved my writing and my layouts, and now look at the previously mentioned account (and take into consideration I have two more on two of my other accounts).
            
            Everybody can do it. The question is if you will do it. Hubbing can be serious work.
            
            ETA: You can reach the beckisgiftguides account easily enough from the main page as my hub is currently Hub of the Day.

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            1. 71

               galleryofgraceposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Everyday Miracles: In reference to your first paragraph: I'm saying that "at  the title was copied -it was a new hubber taking titles from hubbers that had high scores at that time.

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               1. 86

                  Everyday Miraclesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  But how do you know that they saw those titles at the time that they used them? I tweak my titles all the time to make them more search-friendly when my hubs aren't getting the expected traffic. At any time they could change to be similar or identical to other hubs already on Hubpages.
                  
                  My Hub Author scores are relatively high across the board, with my lowest being somewhere in the eighties, unless I'm mistaken. My hub scores are all over 75 with a small handful being 100.
                  
                  In essence, I'm one of those "high scoring hubbers" here on Hubpages, and I'm not browsing Hubpages to look for highly-ranked hubs so that I can steal their titles. I spend too much time focusing on writing to make that work for me.

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   2. 85

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      As far as I know, duplicate titles are not allowed.  I have tried to title a hub numerous different times and a warning shows up saying that the title is already being used...so I'm not sure what you are referring to.

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      1. 90

         spartucusjonesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Titles can be duplicated, but the URL cannot. Many times your URL will be the same as your title, but not always. Also, you can change your title, but not your URL.

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2. 69

   sehrmposted 10 years ago

   survival of the fittest? My next hub: "Beaded Safety Pin Patterns for Teen Crafts"
   
   [just kidding]

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   1. 85

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      This is kind of funny in a way because we do not necessarily just compete with each other...once your post hits google, you are competing against tons of writers from all over the world.  So, even if someone does duplicate your title...so what?  If it's good, people will read it because it will rank higher anyhow, and if not...someone who writes better or more informative hubs will index higher.

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3. 60

   lmoyer92posted 10 years ago

   I don't believe duplicate titles are allowed. I had to change the name of my first hub because it said the title was already taken.

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   1. 90

      spartucusjonesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      It would of been the URL that was taken (which starts off as your title). You can change your title (which could make it duplicate), but you can't change the URL.

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4. 60

   peejay1980posted 10 years ago

   This kind of thing always reminds me of musicians who cite material as their own.  It can be so easy to assume that the other person has purposely took a title, but it can be so easy to duplicate.  I've lost count on the number of subject matters I though to be unique that had already been covered.  But as people say Google tends to stick to relevant material at the time.

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5. 57

   JayFSposted 10 years ago

   Wouldn't this benefit more established hubbers even more? All the established hubbers would take all the good titles and all the new people are left with having to create unique titles that aren't taken.
   
   Like what calculus-geometry said, having duplicate titles does not affect your Google ranking. If your hub is truly great then you're going to get the traffic in the end. Google favors length and quality so focus on that for your hubs.

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