Trying To Understand How Google compares EC URL To My Own

1. 88

   Cardisaposted 10 years ago

   I did a little experiment with opting into the EC program for three months. To begin with,last year one of my better performing hubs become Editor's Choice. That hub was getting an average of 20o+ views per day, peak. The day after being selected as EC, the views dropped to zero. I watched it for a few days and then opted out, and the hub in quested gradually picked up traffic again.
   
   After hearing that other people were experiencing positives with the EC, I opted back in. I had four hubs become EC this trip including the same hub as before. I watched the hub struggle to gain five views per day for three months, while the others barely got up to nine and at times ten views.
   
   Last week I opted back out of the EC program and by the next day the hub in question had two red arrows. Traffic jumped from almost zero to nearly 100 in less than a day. Since then, traffic has been steadily climbing.
   
   I have to wonder if URL in question was still highly ranked in SERPS. I thought the old URL would be de-indexed and be replace with the new. I am confused. Does anyone know exactly how this works? Why did traffic pick back up so suddenly?

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   1. 80

      RachaelOhalloranposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I have one hub in EC on this account, my Steve Jobs hub, which only became EC about a week ago. I was thrilled to see it go EC and still happy to see it get recognition with that accolade.  However, the hub views stopped increasing the day after it was made EC.
      
      You can only opt back in to EC program every 60 days, so I hesitate to opt out to do any experimenting because 60 days is a long time to wait to get back in again.
      
      On the other hand, awordlover has 4 EC hubs and only one has lost traffic. The others have picked up, and one considerably by over 600 views in less than 3 months now.
      
      So I too am curious to know how the EC program helps or hurts our hubs and why certain hubs come to a standstill in views and others do not.
      
      Good question. I'm going to follow it to see what others (maybe even a moderator) have to offer .

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   2. 83

      tsmogposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hmmmm . . . I had one EC hub, but deleted when I deleted all hubs a ways back when I pondered staying at HP. I will have to submit it again as a hub. But, I learned today. I did know you had to opt into the EC as a program. I will have to search out  how to do that next. Maybe I am not in the program.
      
      Thank you for sharing this valuable information everybody. Even though I am not new I am relearning everything

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      1. 88

         Cardisaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Tsmog, you can check if you are in or out by clicking the edit button on your profile and scrolling to the bottom of the page. You will see the option of opting in or out. You can only change these options every two months.

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2. 91

   jansharesposted 10 years ago

   Good question, Cardisa. I opted out initially. Then, as you did, opted in after 3 months just to see what happens. I think I ended up with 6 ECs over that period. I did not see any advantage. I opted back out and have been out every since which is now nearly six months. I don't plan to opt back in because I don't understand it.
   Edit: My traffic is good. If it ain't broke . . .

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3. 70

   John Serpicoposted 10 years ago

   I've been wondering about this because on one of my accounts I'd opted into EC and one of the Hubs went EC and gets hardly any traffic while my other non-EC Hubs do really well. That Hub that's EC should be getting way more traffic than it does, but it's nowhere to be found on the SERPs. Thanks for bringing this up, I'd been thinking of bumping another thread on the subject just to see if anyone had any updates on how their EC Hubs are doing. I'm thinking it's best to opt out of the EC thing.

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4. 0

   Buyprecioumetalsposted 10 years ago

   I have to start using hubpages more often because i have no clue what you guys are talking about; however, it does sound like something i need to learn.

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   1. 77

      LuisEGonzalezposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      You can opt to be included in the editor's choice category and any hub deemed worthy can be chosen to be an editor's choice (EC) by the staff or nominated by others, at which point it supposedly becomes featured more prominently on HP.
      
      What is being pondered is the amount of traffic increase/loss that an hub undergoes once it is an EC as opposed to not being an EC hub.
      
      For my part , one of my hubs was selected to be an EC and I must say that the views have remained stagnant since then.

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   2. 92

      Jayne Lancerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      As I understand it, if a hub is chosen to be an EC, its URL changes to the main HubPages' domain, which explains the sudden loss of traffic--according to my logic. But, it should pick up again and, in theory, do better than it did on the hubber's subdomain.

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      1. 88

         Cardisaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         We know that in theory, but it really doesn't address the question...sorry.
         
         The question is, how does Google compare the both URLs and why wasn't the old URL de-indexed? I assumed the hub would have to be re-indexed once it returns to my subdomain but it seems that it picked up exactly where it left off three months before. I am trying to understand why.

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         1. 92

            Jayne Lancerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I was actually addressing Buyprecioumetals and adding to what LuisEGonzalez said. I assumed you knew how it works.
            
            I'm following the thread, because I'm as interested as anyone else to know why the EC program isn't always working as it should.
            
            "...  how does Google compare the both URLs and why wasn't the old URL de-indexed?" Are you sure the old URL isn't deindexed?

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            1. 88

               Cardisaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               No it wasn't. There was no way traffic would pick up back immediately as it was before if it was de-indexed. The hub in question is still on the first page in SERPS for its search terms. While it was EC, it was nowhere to be found. I admit it dropped from number one to number four on the page but if this hub was de-indexed it would have to start from scratch to get recognized...I think.

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               1. 92

                  Jayne Lancerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  You mean the old URL isn't deindexed, or that only yours wasn't? I can't imagine it would be common practice. Did you see your old URL in search results while your hub was published under HubPages' main domain?
                  
                  If not, and if the old URL wasn't deindexed, I can only think that your old URL was omitted from search results because of another similar entry--that being your hub with its new URL. Could it then be that your old URL was omitted because of your subdomain's lower Pagerank score? Did it then not do as well as it did on your subdomain because it's regarded by Google as copied content, although by the same author? If a searcher did choose to repeat the search with the omitted results included, would the link still lead to your hub? And if not, wouldn't the link eventually disappear from search results altogether?

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      2. 92

         Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I'm only hazarding a guess here, but maybe it depends on the subject of the hub and what is displayed with it on the main hubpages domain? For example, if I had an obscure hub as an EC, then maybe related hubs on the page might appear differently to the hubs normally in related hubs on my subdomain and this could affect the overall relativity of all words to the topic in question.
         
         EXAMPLE:
         
         If I wrote a recipe hub, on my subdomain it might show related hubs that are very closely related to the recipe in question.
         
         1. How to make pumpkin soup
         Might have related hubs of:
         - pumpkin soup recipe
         - pumpkin soup with garlic
         - how to make carrot and pumpkin soup
         etc
         
         If it is EC, then maybe the other recipes displayed might not be as specifically related because there are only a certain amount of the same type of recipe on HP main area?
         
         1. How to make pumpkin soup
         Might have related hubs of:
         - turnip soup
         - how to make French onion soup
         - tomato soup recipe
         etc
         
         It's only my guessing here. But if this was the case then hubs that have lots of good related content at EC would do better, as only prime, low bounce articles would be shown instead of the usual subdomain mixed bag. But anything too obscure might lose traffic.
         
         FYI, my personal experience with EC is that I had maybe 5? picked but traffic went down for awhile (maybe 2 months?) and I lost patience and opted out. A lot of my topics are obscure, hence my conclusions.

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         1. 80

            RachaelOhalloranposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I believe the problem with the views not increasing on my EC hub is this:
            
            My hub is on a subject 
            1) who was (and is still) much written about (no matter if HP granted me the accolade thinking my article had merit),
            2) has as much if not more links to other hubs and articles,
            3) has a reference and resource list
            4) has multiple videos
            5) has many properly attributed photos,
            6) has eye catching keywords and
            7) contains well written text
            8) subject is presented in a easy to read format with many text capsules as opposed to just a few
            9) engages the reader with polls
            10) is evergreen
            
            The hubs which are shown in "related hubs" in my opinion is unbelievable OVERKILL on this popular subject and an assault on the readers senses, so that readers will only randomly click a title, not knowing WHO the author is, because author name does not accompany titles unless readers hover over the title and unless that title is still listed with the hubber's subdomain URL, only then will the reader know who the author  is and whether they want to choose to click the title.
            
            My EC hub was on Steve Jobs. A quick HP search will spit out 4 to 6 screens of hubs  about Steve Jobs.
            
            A Google search spits out 100 times that many.  Why did I choose to write about him?  Because I thought I could present a side of him that would make him likable.  From the comments I received, I think I met that goal.
            
            But when  readers get inundated with 5 to 7  hubs - all on the same or similar subject, especially after they just got done reading a hub that likely had links to other hubbers who wrote on the same topic, I think readers are apt to not click anything at all rather than click several titles in the related hub section.
            
            Most readers who are dedicated to their followers and following lists are more likely to click to read those hubbers' hubs than to surf HP reading related hubs of hubbers they have no vested interest in.
            
            My views are bound to never increase or only slightly increase when I view the competition in related hubs.
            
            This is just my opinion, but it is also my experience as an HP reader choosing which titles (if any some days) I want to click in "related hubs."

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            1. 92

               Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               I suggest that organic traffic from Google does not care about who we are, our name or our readership. All they want is to read the info presented. Google looks at all words on the page to determine how relevant the hub is to the search query. If hubs in EC do not have VERY SPECIFICALLY related hubs with related titles, then it is seen by Google to be not as relevant. That is my opinon anyways! (And I could be proven wrong on this).

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               1. 92

                  Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  PS - It is only a little bit useful if visitors click on related hubs because it keeps them at HP longer and lets them read someone else's hub too. It doesn't even matter if the next hub they read is good or bad, apart from keeping them at HP. So I wouldn't care too much about that. The important thing to remember is that they will read your hub first in order to get to the related hubs section! But related hubs in general are a very useful tool to HP, because they put SPECIFIC words on the page which add to your hub, and make it more relevant (and therefore higher ranked) in search results.
                  
                  If I had to write a blog instead of being on HP, to get the same effect, I would have to write a lot of articles that are very closely related in words to the original article and I would have to have them all linked on the page. I can't be bothered with all that, as I prefer to write articles about different topics. Hence, when I do at HP, the related hubs serve a useful function because they add value and useful words to my page, without me having to write related pages on the same subject. Google rates all this related article stuff quite highly and assumes the more related content you have, the more of an "expert" you must be.

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            2. 77

               LuisEGonzalezposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               I think you are correct. I opted out of the EC program and the views for that hub have been steadily climbing as opposed to 0 for a span of a week when it was an EC hub

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         2. 88

            Cardisaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I am not clear on the relation of your response to my query Suzanne...lol

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            1. 92

               Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               I was guessing that traffic might have died on your EC hubs because the related hubs were not as specifically related.....then when you moved them back to your subdomain (non-EC) traffic picked up because related hubs were more specifically related again.
               
               I'm not sure the loss of traffic is a URL issue at all....rather related hubs being displayed.

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               1. 88

                  Cardisaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  I see your point Suzanne, you're saying the unrelated hubs on the hub affected the traffic Google sent me?

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                  1. 92

                     Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     It's only my guess (and I could be wrong) but yes.

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               2. 92

                  Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Eg. - If you wrote a hub on our favourite horrible keywords "purple pigeon poop" and the hub was not EC, you might see the following related hubs (example only):
                  
                  - purple parrots
                  - why can't I poop?
                  - how to catch pigeons
                  
                  If this hub changed to EC, the related hubs might be:
                  
                  - purple monsters I love
                  - a visit to the zoo
                  - how to eat snakes
                  
                  Can you see that the first has very closely related words and the second does not? The reason all this happens is because EC hubs are grouped together on the HP domain. Non EC hubs can draw from all of HP, which is a HUGE number of hubs that might help yours.

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         3. 84

            Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I just checked, and the "related Hubs" on my EC Hubs are NOT restricted to other EC Hubs.  They're a mixture of Hubs from everyone, just the same as usual. 
            
            It does look like EC Hubs are being favoured where they exist, but that seems to be the case on all Hubs.

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5. 83

   psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

   I think it is comparing apples and oranges unless the hub is brand new and so you are comparing two brand new urls.

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   1. 88

      Cardisaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I see your point. But wouldn't the old URL need to start from scratch again since it was basically removed for a few months? When the hub becomes EC, it starts from scratch in getting recognition from search engines. So wouldn't the old URL become like a new hub again if changed back? Am I wrong or just plain ignorant when it comes to these things?

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      1. 92

         Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         When your hubs change to EC, it is redirected from the old URL to the new URL. This means you are still supposed to get the same traffic as before and the redirection happens for a long? period of time.
         
         Then the unrelated related hubs are added and Google doesn't think it's as relevant, so traffic drops. Or you get better related hubs and it increases. This takes a few days to a few weeks.
         
         No URLs are starting from scratch as there is redirection going on.
         
         When you change back from EC to your subdomain, all the old links to your URL are still there. It just takes Google a little while to "see" that. Hence, there can be a lag if you're on EC for awhile and opt off, before your traffic comes back. If you are only on EC for a short time (eg a few weeks), traffic can come back really quickly.

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         1. 92

            Jayne Lancerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            That seems to make sense.

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            1. 92

               Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               NOTE: If you are on EC for a long time (eg 6 months), Google may lose some links from your old subdomain hubs, because when the redirection runs out and you are permanently on the new EC URL, some webpages might notice your backlink no longer works and delete it. But I don't know how long the redirection runs for.
               
               ALSO NOTE: that certain topics might do really well at EC, if there are lots of other relevant hubs, because EC hubs are considered "better" (in my opinion, better looking and more readable) and this would increase the readers staying to read longer, so more views could be gotten from other people's visitors. I suspect hubs such as relationships, popular crafts, human interest and popular health topics might do well here.

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               1. 92

                  Jayne Lancerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  I didn't consider redirection. But wouldn't that run forever? After all, we could opt out of the program at any time--even after years. But yes, if not, the vanishing backlinks could play a big role in search results.

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                     Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     Redirection could theoretically run forever. But it could be a real mess if thousands of redirections were stored. One day, someone might want to clean it up!

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                        Jayne Lancerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        I've been doing some reading. I'd imagine that HubPages redirects with a 301, which shouldn't harm the redirected page/post/blog/website at all. A 302 would only be intended for temporary or experimental purposes, and could damage a page/post/blog/website considerably. Or is HubPages redirecting with a 302, and later with a 301? Or are there other kinds of redirects?
                        
                        http:// seo-hacker.com/301-302-redirect-affect-seo/

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                     2. 84

                        Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        There are already thousands of redirects on HubPages, from the days when we didn't have sub-domains.  All the Hubs we wrote on the main site were 301 redirected to our sub-domains.

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                        1. 92

                           Jayne Lancerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                           That’s interesting. So, if a hub is selected for the EC program, the 301 is simply removed, and it returns to the main domain? That certainly seems the easiest way of doing things. Could it then mean that hubs written after the introduction of subdomains are also (actually) on the main domain and automatically 301 redirected to our subdomains? That would mean none of the hubs on the EC program are redirected. Or are hubs that were created after the introduction of subdomains on our subdomains from the start and redirected to the main domain when selected for the program? I initially assumed that was the case for all hubs.
                           
                           If some hubs on the program are being redirected and some aren't, it would be interesting to know if that's one of the reasons some do better than others.

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               2. 88

                  Cardisaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  The redirection makes sense Suzanne. Never though of how it would affect links.

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6. 92

   Jayne Lancerposted 10 years ago

   Maybe this thread sheds some light on the matter. It gets interesting on page 4. http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/115372
   
   This post on the same thread by Writer Fox is also interesting: http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/115372? … ost2451951 , as is this one: http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/115372? … ost2452478
   
   Of course, it's possible that something might have changed since that thread.

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   1. 92

      Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Interesting, it just seems to get more complex the further we delve....

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      1. 92

         Jayne Lancerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I wonder if those who aren't complaining are experiencing increased traffic through the EC program, or no difference at all except for the initial drop when the redirect is first applied. If that's the case, then there isn't really any point in opting for the program.

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         1. 92

            Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            It depends on if you have obscure hubs or not. I think popular topics would do well on EC.

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               brakel2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

               I thought part of the problem with hubs removed from subdomain was that the redirects sometimes discouraged traffic. When I go to pages on other sites that have redirects, I often give up on them, Some time ago, when some hubs went to main domain, that was one theory. When they came back, traffic improved for some hubs. Maybe we will never know the answer. Good luck, Cardissa.

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7. 96

   susi10posted 10 years ago

   I opted into the EC program when it was initially introduced. About three or four of my high traffic receivers were chosen as Editor's Choice. They were receiving well over 60 views each but when they became EC, they dropped down to about 15-20 views. I could not handle the low traffic so I opted out and now I am back to my 60-80 views a day each.

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8. 73

   brakel2posted 10 years ago

   I jus went to an EC hub on my iphone, and it went immediately to hub. No wait time existed for redirect. I just reinstalled Windows on my desktop, resulting in slowness, so redirects take forever for that reason.

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   1. 92

      Suzanne Dayposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Redirects can be quite fast. When  mine were EC, there was no lag time on a desktop computer and it functioned OK. I would only say that readers with ancient hardware/software might experience irregularity, but they would have this with all their browsing, not just HP.

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9. 84

   101Ways2Lifeposted 10 years ago

   I am glad that I read this thread. Some really useful comments by Suzanne, and also useful links to Writer Fox's comments on another thread.
   
   From SEO perspective, the change of URL is too much of a price to pay for "extra" exposure within HP community.
   
   With so many variables that decide SERPs, it is best not to risk a URL change.

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