Hubs Unfeatured Due to Engagement - Why?

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   lovebuglenaposted 9 years ago

   I just logged into my account and noticed that I have close to 30 hubs that are unfeatured due to engagement? Why did this happen all of a sudden? Is there anything I can do to make them featured again?

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      calculus-geometryposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Sorry that your hubs got de-indexed temporarily.  The good  news is that if you make edits to them (even minor edits) they will be resent through QAP and come out featured again.
      
      "Engagement" is HP's way of saying traffic, so when you go in and edit them you can try to add/fix things that might help them appear higher in search results.  Or if you don't have the time to invest now, just fix typos and add a few words here and there.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      "Engagement" means traffic.   It's odd that so many became unFeatured at the same time - perhaps they've done a tweak to the traffic threshold. 
      
      That's not under your control so there's not much point fretting about it.  The question is, what to do about them.
      
      As calculus-geometry says, if you make a small edit to those Hubs they will go back through the QAP and will probably pass, so they'll be Featured again.  However if they're not getting traffic now, they still won't get traffic and therefore they'll eventually drop out again - so that's not a solution.
      
      I wrote a Hub on what to do with UnFeatured Hubs, you'll find it on the slider on my profile - it's relevant to your situation.

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         Jayne Lancerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Good grief--that on top of the recent hub score adjustments, from which I still haven't recovered.

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      Ericajeanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I just noticed that at least five of mine are not featured "due to engagement" and after tweaking just a couple of them, they are back on a roll again.
      
      I am also hoping to revisit a few of those hubs and either delete/or edit fully the content within the hubs. Hopefully this helps.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         When you edited them, that sent it back through QAP and it passed - so that's why it's Featured again.  The problem is, that won't help it get traffic, so it will lapse back into unFeatured again - and again and again.   What you need to do is work out why it's not getting traffic, and do something about it.

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            Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I think you only need about 10 visits sent by search engines a month to keep it featured. People have mentioned before on the forums that they only get traffic from Pinterest, so you might just try posting some of your images there and see if that brings in some visitors.
            
            However, if you're not getting traffic on that Hub, you're not making money.  Maybe the best answer is just to think of something else to write a Hub about.

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               The Examiner-1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

               I am trying different things to see what works better plus I place my Hubs on Pinterest and G+. Some have been read and sent to FB and Twitter also. I have only been her 1 year so far so I was not worried.

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               Rochelle Frankposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               I have about 60 hubs that have had less than 10 views this month (and some other months), but they are still featured.

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                  Jayne Lancerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  I also have hubs that have less than ten views a month, but are still featured.
                  
                  But I remember what Paul Edmondson said regarding the recent hub score fluctuations. If I recall correctly, he said that data is processed in batches of hubs over time because there are so many hubs. How much traffic hubs get (engagement) is obviously data, so the same must apply for this issue. If so, this will affect us all eventually.
                  
                  I really don't have time for all this nonsense. I can't edit or write hubs at the moment because of other commitments, and I'm starting to dread looking at my account page for fear of what I might see.

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                     Rochelle Frankposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     That may be the key-- and I ,too, don't have time to reinvent many hubs which still could be helpful or interesting to people. Maybe the thing is::: hubs can be "good-- even excellent", but if they are not promoted, linked or SEO optimized, they are not being viewed.  I have at least eight "Editor's Choice" plus several high hubscore articles in my lightly viewed list.

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                        Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                        There is an explanation from Matthew M. on this thread:
                        http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/122451#post2595401

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                           Jayne Lancerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                           I don't think that tells us anything we didn't already know, or am I missing something?

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                              Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                              No, I think you're right.
                              
                              To summarise:
                              
                              Hubs go through the QAP when they are first published, and every time they are edited.   If they pass QAP, they are Featured.
                              
                              Then they have a period of time to gain traffic.  If they don't get enough traffic during that time, they will be unFeatured for "lack of engagement". 
                              
                              You can trick them into getting Featured again by doing a small edit so they go back through QAP, but that's only a temporary solution.  To fix the problem, you need to work out why it's not getting traffic. 
                              
                              I wrote a Hub on how to approach that - it's in the slider on my profile.

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                  jansharesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  I recall reading some time ago that if your hubberscore is at a certain level, you are exempt from the dreaded unfeatured status, regardless of lack of engagement. Is this true or conspiracy theory rumor?

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                     Jayne Lancerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     I wonder what score that would be. Lovebuglena has a hubber score of 92 right now, which isn't regarded as low as far as I know.

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                        jansharesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                        I don't recall what score was discussed in that particular forum. I'm just wondering if that might be a factor if it is true.

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                           Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                           I must admit, I thought I'd read the same thing at one time. However it must be a very high bar, because I've had a couple of Hubs unFeatured recently.

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            Ericajeanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I never thought about that- the process was a mystery to me. But that is a question to consider. Whatever is not getting traffic, I may just delete.

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      The Examiner-1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      A few weeks ago there were 4 of my Hubs unfeatured and at the time I did not take notice why. I simply proofread them, and updated them to my best (adding tables, etc. when I could). They were republished and some were even given higher scores.
      Checking on something else, I recently noticed that the reason was "engaged" and as far as I know they get low traffic.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, the only way an existing Hub can get unFeatured is because it isn't getting enough traffic (that's what "engagement" means). 
         
         As I explained in my other post, if you make even a small edit, that will send the Hub back through QAP,  which it will pass, so it will be Featured again - but that's only setting up a cycle, because it won't get traffic again, so it will go unFeatured again, and you'll have to edit it again, etc.  And it still won't be making any money because it's not getting traffic. 
         
         What you need to consider is, why is it not getting traffic?  Can you do something about that?

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            The Examiner-1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I read your previous post about engagement. My Hubs have made little money or traffic since I wrote them. When I went over these I had discovered minor errors which I had made in spelling/grammar, plus I improved them in other ways.

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      lovebuglenaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      If I don't update a hub that is unfeatured due to engagement but promote it and it gets more traffic and comments will it become featured again?

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         The Examiner-1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         It should, I have done it.

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         Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I'm not sure of the answer to that one - but even if it did, there's a snag.  You promote it, you get a flurry of extra traffic - but then it falls back to normal again and it will eventually drop back to unFeatured.
         
         You really need to work out the underlying problem if you want a long-term fix.

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            The Examiner-1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

            How long does it take? Mine have not yet, it has been several weeks since I re-featured them.

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               Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               It does take several weeks.  However the other unknown is whether your Hub has actually started to get traffic for some reason!

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   relacheposted 9 years ago

   From the Learning Center entry that explains "engagement."
   
   How Much Engagement is Needed for a Hub to Stay Featured?
   
   Your Hub needs a heartbeat to stay Featured. We consider a heartbeat to be signs of engagement from readers (total Hub views, comments, and search traffic, etc.).
   
   The Hub initially gets a free pass for a certain period to get a heartbeat. We've seen Hubs that eventually draw attention typically start off with a little spike that would easily get them over the engagement thresholds we require. Even Hubs that don't get a lot of interest for a long time but do eventually get some traffic typically have at least a heartbeat while they are in their "dormant" stage. That's all we require.
   
   The period of time a Hub is given to prove that it has a heartbeat depends on our estimate of its quality, which is determined by a combination of HubScore, Hubber Score, and scores acquired through quality ratings (which are also utilized in the calculation of HubScores and Hubber Scores).

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      misterhollywoodposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Just a quick add on here to say I had this happened. I added some content and a poll and it got re-featured.

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         Seasons Greetingsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, it gets re-featured TEMPORARILY. That's what Marisa tried to explain. The problem isn't your post itself it is the fact that you aren't getting readers. Engagement comes from outside of your post.

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   LindaSmith1posted 9 years ago

   This link may help you.  http://hubpages.com/faq/#quality-assessment

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   The Examiner-1posted 9 years ago

   It probably happened because of the changes going on for everyone at the moment. Edit them (one by one) and look for warnings/errors. If none, then proofread, update content, photos, etc.

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   Seasons Greetingsposted 9 years ago

   Back links help. Open a blog with Tumblr, Google Blogger or WordPress.com, each of these are free and you won't need to pay for web hosting or domains.
   
   Turn this into a curated content feed for your HubPage posts, other relevant posts you find elsewhere and link to this on HubPages, Twitter, Facebook and other profiles and bios you have online.
   
   This works when you have a niche or theme for your posts. You can set up a couple of accounts, one for each niche, if you like. Not only are you building links back to your posts here but you will draw in readers from other sources like Tumblr, Twitter, etc who may not come to HubPages other wise.
   
   Spend some time on this, stick with it and you will get fresh readers.

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6. 77

   LuisEGonzalezposted 9 years ago

   Actually I like this one better................ It never hurts to have a sense of humor.                                         
   
   
   
   
   

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      Seasons Greetingsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'm actually not new here. I've been here 6 years on another account. I've been blogging more than ten years.

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         LuisEGonzalezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         BTW, I wasn't referring or replying to you specifically....Sorry.

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      Ericajeanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I like the cartoon!

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7. 81

   Nancy Owensposted 9 years ago

   Sometimes our hubs only attract interest at a certain time of year, like the Holidays, etc. You could try checking your titles and content and that could explain the reduction of traffic...

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   Dale Hydeposted 9 years ago

   This has hampered my Hubs as well, especially seasonal hubs which we were assured it would not hamper.  The result is I have pulled my material from here and posted it on my blog where is gets quite great traffic.   An example is ones I had on Samhain (Halloween) and Valentine's Day.  Both unfeatured for the reasons you mention.

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   ecogrannyposted 9 years ago

   Thank you for this thread. It is useful for a newbie like me.

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