Search Engine Land says Hubpages may be a "Big Loser" with Panda 4.1

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   misterhollywoodposted 10 years ago

   
   
   Just so people don't think it's just a fluke with our drop in numbers on the hubs. I'll give you the link but clearly, it's starting to become clear something's up with Panda or a migration issue.
   
   
   
   http://searchengineland.com/games-lyric … ers-204504

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      Jayne Lancerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I'm not drawing any conclusions yet. It's far too early. Let's just pray the losses are down to migration issues and not Panda.

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      Kathleen Odenthalposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      You cannot deny facts, and these are facts.

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         lisavollrathposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         While some of my lower quality (transferred from Squidoo and as yet unedited) articles have taken a hit, my top-ranked ones are still doing as well, or better, than they were before. They're still well-placed, above the scroll, on Google, exactly where they were prior to this roll out, and where they were when they lived on Squidoo.
         
         I think if good, strong content is what Google wants, we should just give it to them!

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      NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      It's too early to tell. Something like this always happens when there's another Panda update. We're going to have to wait until near the end of the month to know how it's going to be when all is said and done.

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2. 84

   misterhollywoodposted 10 years ago

   Here are the metrics - Terrible!!
   
   http://blog.searchmetrics.com/us/2014/0 … oogle-u-s/
   
   -46%!!

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      lisavollrathposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah, those numbers don't tell an accurate story. If you click through to the SearchMetrics page on HubPages, here's what you'll see:
      
      Traffic on 9/7 - 152,179
      Traffic on 9/28 - 163,458
      
      So, over the course of the month, HubPages gained some traffic. People are running around saying the sky is falling, because in September, there was a sudden, huge uptick in traffic, followed by a decrease. But that decrease was to a level that was higher than at the beginning of the month.

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3. 88

   Kathleen Odenthalposted 10 years ago

   awesome, thanks hubpages for merging with a terrible site filled with wannabe writers who cant comprehend what spelling and grammar are!
   
   looks like its time to publish elsewhere....

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      Rhonda Lytleposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I don't know.  That seems kind of harsh considering the lower case letters at the beginning of each sentence.
      
      Obviously, there's a big problem going on as folks that were native to HP and squids are tanking in traffic land including many who were both all along.  The situation brings to mind many questions though.
      
      First, did Seth see this coming and unload to the tune of nothing small I'm sure.  Second, if that is the case, how did he see this coming and HP staff not.  Third, If HP staff did see it coming, which would be logical, what's the plan to fix it? 
      
      That brings to mind the business end of all of this in a larger perspective than writers both those good and bad, good spellers and those who use ebonics religiously.  HP can only exist as long as it makes a profit or at the very least breaks even.  With that being the case, it breaks down to a percentage game.  What's the percentage of traffic loss site wide and what percentage of revenue loss does that come to.
      
      It stands to reason HP staff would be scrambling to come up with a solution for the site will not survive without one. 
      
      Many have theorized that the new roll out is gigging diversity though not phrased that way.  They are saying niches and experts are wanted.  Since many writers here have a diverse portfolio, straight down went the numbers for them.  If that is the case, I don't see any way to fix it unless those writers are willing to delete everything that can't be related in a niche or the site does a reorganization in grouping.
      
      Regardless of those and many other questions, it comes down to everyone that doesn't want to move better start working as a team to figure this out and get it fixed.
      
      As it is now, everyone is guessing and theorizing.  We need definitive, concrete, non spun answers as to what happened, why and how it is to be corrected and we need them now.  It is my sincere hope that we get them soon for I would very much like to see Hubpages thrive on top of survive and that means all of us.  We are linked here like it or not.  We will sink or swim together so we might as well get to it.

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         Kathleen Odenthalposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Really? Have you read ANY of my hubs? Im sorry if my anger causes me to type quickly in the forums, not focusing on capitalization. Let me spend more time focusing on that. Im sure it will make a difference.

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            Rhonda Lytleposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            While I certainly understand your anger and was being a bit sarcastic with my first sentence, you need to understand this merger is a done deal.  There's anger on both sides, I promise you.
            
            However, while the merger may have caused this, it's not because all squids were bad writers and all hubbers are not good writers.  I know.  I've been on both for a long time.  The merger was not something any of us on either side had an ounce of say in.  Moving now would frankly suck for a writer with a large portfolio here be they former squid, hub native, or some hybrid that did both all along and now has yet another split in their cyber personality due to the none merger of individual accounts.
            
            I understand and empathize with your anger.  I am in no way saying it is not merited or justified in any way.  I'm saying it's not fair to speak down to all squids.  I'm further saying we, as a collective, have to get to the bottom of this now and we have to fix it.
            
            The ambiguity of causation is not helping.  When trying to decide is it PANDA or is it the merger, it  becomes a chicken and the egg kind of exercise that results in nothing getting done at the now.  It is at the NOW that things must be fixed.
            
            Further, to save the site as a whole, good writers such as yourself must be retained.  I don't blame you for wanting to bail.  Don't think I'm not having the same thoughts.  I honestly believe the more prudent course to be to give the staff at least a week or so to come up with definitive answers, a concrete, well laid out plan with immediate implementation across the board and then judge for ourselves if we think it can be a fix or not. 
            
            HP sent out an email today that addresses fast fixes for former lenses that were product heavy which is a good start that addresses that small fraction of the problem.  While it touches not on any issues that would have been addressed by PANDA native to HP, I have no doubt it's coming.  I hope you hang in there for a little bit just to see what if anything will be done to correct this fast.

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               lisavollrathposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               I didn't get this email.

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                  Jayne Lancerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  It's the HubPages Weekly. We all get it. The subject is HubPages Weekly: Lens-Hub Updating Tips!‏

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                     lisavollrathposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     Nope. Sorry. No HubPages Weekly here.

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                        Jayne Lancerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        Very strange--but what isn't on HubPages nowadays? Let the team know you haven't received it. It also lists some account statistics you might find interesting.

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                        Arachneaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        check your feed settings. i believe that's where i made a change a week or so ago then started getting it. it's not automatic.

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                           lisavollrathposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                           Thanks, A! "Keep me up to date with HubPages news" was not checked. I'm betting that was the reason I didn't receive it.

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                              Jayne Lancerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                              Haha--that explains it!

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                              Arachneaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                              yw

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                              Christy Kirwanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                              Hi Lisa,
                              
                              You can also check out any previous Newsletters you've missed in the Newsletter Archive.

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                                 Arachneaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                                 Thank you, Christy Kirwan. This link will be quite useful.

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                  Rhonda Lytleposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  It was titled "HubPages Weekly: Lens - Hub updating tips!"  I got it at 8:24 this morning.  It has four pretty obvious tips.  Check for warnings first and then style tips.  Next was learn the overly promotional rules.  After that, read the Amazon and Ebay best practices and lastly consult the forums for help. 
                  That addresses those type of lenses but not the ones that had no products and still saw a traffic tank nor does it address that tank in traffic for some who have only been on HP all along but hey, how much can you put in one email?  It's a start.

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      Shorebirdieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hmmm,  I also write professionally as well as on HubPages.

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      minababeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Who's to blame for all the times HP was heavily slammed by Panda in the past, especially back in 2011 when it lost 62% of its SEO visibility and 50% of its traffic? HP kept getting hammered so much that it regularly made headlines across every single SEO and tech industry website on the internet. Even the Washington Street Journal wrote about HP--that's how hard this site was repeatedly getting hit over the years. Were Squidoo's "wannabe writers" responsible for all of that, too?
      
      Another thing: people have the right to call out those who are abusing the site--i.e., spammers or plagiarists or content spinners. But no one who writes for HP or any other content farm is in the position to start playing the elitist "I'm a real writer and you're not" card. As long as someone spends the bulk of his or her writing efforts at a content farm, that person is an amateur.
      
      I don't care how good this self-ascribed "real writer" thinks he or she is or how high their score is at a content farm or how many accolades they've earned. In the grand scheme of things--when you factor in the big, wide world of freelance writing and publishing that includes books, magazines, advertising, ghostwriting, etc--the content farm writer is as much a "real writer" as a person who writes fan fiction and is at best, a really good amateur.
      
      So don't think you're such a big shot that you can start sniffing with derision about all the "wannabes" that are dragging you down. You're just as much an amateur as anybody else here or at any other content farm, including Squidoo. You may think differently because you have better spelling and grammar than the average content farm writer, but all that does is make you a better amateur writer than most, not a more authentic writer than most.
      
      BTW, there's a lot more to being a good writer than having proper spelling and grammar. A person could be the best speller and grammarian on the planet, but if his writing is boring, unoriginal, hackneyed and trite, that doesn't make him better than a writer who may not necessarily have the best grammar and spelling in the world, but has something interesting, compelling and informative to say. In fact, there's a special term for writers like that, people who are technically proficient in writing but write uncompelling fluff--hacks. Are they "real" writers? Not by any stretch of the imagination.

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         Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         "Who's to blame...."  I have never told anyone this before.
         
         I know the answer to the blame - it was me.  I joined HP in 2010 and it took me six months to get half an idea of the 'game'.  So I started writing that stuff - you know the thing - get a keyword, scrape some Amazon.  At the time pretty much anything got extra ranking because Google favoured big sites with lots of links.
         
         Just after I made my first Amazon sale Panda struck HubPages.  I felt terribly guilty and started drinking.  Six months later nothing had improved.  So I logged on when no one else was around and deleted a lot of my pages.  They all went.  The Barbie hubs, the Halloween hubs, those recipes with the ads for KitchenAid mixers - the whole lot.
         
         Nothing happened.  Traffic didn't recover and I carried on drinking.  My guilt got so much I tried committing Hubicide.  It was at that point that I wrote a hub about it.
         
         Sadly it has now been deleted but it was quite good in my opinion.

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            Solarasposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            That's funny, I wrote a hub about it too. What's behind the Guilty Dog Look. lol

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            colorfuloneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            "Hubicide"? Did you spell that right?
            That's not in the dictionary.
            Did you mean Herbicide instead?

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               Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Committing Herbicide would just be silly.

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                  colorfuloneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  What was I doin' thinking?

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                     spartucusjonesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     Thinking always gets me into trouble as well. I have to stop doing it.

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         Ann Hindsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I wish there was a like button!

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         CassandraCaeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Thank your for writing this.   It seems some are getting a little too big for their britches.

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         Arachneaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Well, written and to the point. Refreshingly so.

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      KathyMcGraw2posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Kathleen.....when it comes to the how's and why's of lost traffic, it doesn't matter really.  The only thing that matters is the reality of "it is."  I hope it comes back, and you and every other person on HP can continue on especially after all the work of recovering from the last big hit.

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   jennabee25posted 10 years ago

   Well said, Rhonda.   I think it's important to realize we are all in this together, rather than create division between those of us who did come over rather than those who have been here a while.

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      Kathleen Odenthalposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      How are we all in this together exactly? Except for the fact that bad writers impact good writers, we all pretty much are left to our own devices here, and I have seen nothing but negative results since the merger.

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         lisavollrathposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         If you really feel this way, and you're not just venting because you're frustrated right now, then you're right: it's time for you to go.

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            Kathleen Odenthalposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Why, in your opinion Lisa, is it "time for me to go"? Is it because I want my writing to be surrounded by high-quality, well written content? Is that asking too much? I guess it is time for me to go if assuming a website for writers would contain good writing. My sincerest apologies for having such extraordrinary standards, such as knowing grammar and spelling.

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               lisavollrathposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Extraordinary standards such as misspelling extraordinary...
               
               I'm saying it's time for you to go because you've posted above that it "looks like it's time to publish elsewhere". You've posted that sentiment in several threads today, and you seem very angry. If you can't live with being surrounded by writers you feel are your inferiors, and your best solution is to stomp around and be mad about it, it's time to pack up your toys and leave.
               
               The merger is a done deal. HubPages was no shining paragon of perfect content prior to it, and it's not one now. A few days of bad stats aren't going to change that, but maybe a few hundred good writers asking for changes that benefit all of us will. I'm sorry you don't feel you can be part of the solution.

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            Kathleen Cochranposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I've been here for three years, and in the Hub Pages world I've experienced, it is no hubber's place to tell another hubber "It is time for you to go."  If this is what Panda is bringing us, HP will never be what it once was: a place of encouragement for all writers.

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         Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Yep - I don't exactly get that.  I mean, I don't go round writing stuff for people or gratefully accepting style tips.  Neither do I feel the need for a group hug every two minutes or ever really.
         
         It's a writing site with rules.  They provide a place and we share the rewards.  A business deal.
         
         It's good to be back.

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            Solarasposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Welcome back Mark!
            
            If you are concerned about quality surrounding your hubs - go to the Hub Hopper and report crap, copied content and that which is overly promotional.  That's the only positive action I can think of...griping gets us nowhere.

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               Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks for the welcome Solaras.  It is taking me much longer to write a post because I am now checking each one with my pastoral advisor.
               
               On balance I prefer griping to hub-hopping.

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                  snakeslaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  And you're darn good at it too Mark!

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                     Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     Lol. Nicely done.

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                        snakeslaneposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                        Couldn't resist...

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   FatFreddysCatposted 10 years ago

   (Shakes fist angrily) CURSE YOU PANDAAAAAAAAAA!!!

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   misterhollywoodposted 10 years ago

   Honestly, I think it's logical to conclude both Panda and the merger caused the numbers dive. Folks, I have a hub the regularly was getting 15000 visitors a week. It's now struggling to get 1000 and it's dropping. That's one example but I have other hubs that are shadows of their former selves and they are on death's door. Finally, I have one hub that is on life support, going from 700 visitors a day down to 30.
   
   That's really hard to take.

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   jennabee25posted 10 years ago

   We're all writing here now.  I'm sorry if others don't live up to your lofty standards.  And it may help to use apostrophes, too.

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8. 94

   jansharesposted 10 years ago

   My traffic is down 69% according to the HubWeekly report. My best money-making hubs are down more than that, at least 80-90%. This is so sad, will never be able to make up for what is lost. Well, I guess this is my first Panda crisis with a measurable loss. I've heard so much about them since joining HP 2 years ago. Now I know.

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      jansharesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I'm seeing a little recovery, views creeping up, several single and double red arrows. I hope this is a good sign. (10:42am EST)

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   Arachneaposted 10 years ago

   As long as we keep level heads and observe the situation as it progresses, it will be more possible to deal with the problem as a cohesive whole. I would like to think that PANDA isn't the cause and that something else is causing many of the problems.
   
   As far as the merging of HP and Squidoo writers, I think that much of the effort so far to join forces has been positive with only a few very vocal dissenters stirring the pot and creating unnecessary tension.
   
   I'm learning a lot from the discussions regarding PANDA and appreciate the individuals who are actively providing information to keep everyone informed. I'd like to think that the powers that be will dispel any information that isn't true or accurate.

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10. 79

    Solarasposted 10 years ago

    My views, according to HP analytics, are off 30% today, and I have not had an Amazon sale since the server migration began. Although my views had improved, according to GA, over the last few days to just 15% off, so I am surprised to take another hit.
    
    Having said that, I am sitting tight and waiting for all of the engineering feats to be accomplished, and for the Panda dust to settle.
    
    Too many things were up in the air at once to say what our trouble is.  Some of my hubs remain at the top of their search terms - at 1 or 3.  Others are hit hard.  Oh well that may change in time, as it always has.
    
    One thing that does concern me is that my pageviews on Google Analytics seem higher than what is currently being reported on HP.  I will have a better grasp on that over the course of a few days, but I am not yet trusting of the new "counting company." Especially since some folks experienced a backward slide in total views once the migration began.

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       Rhonda Lytleposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Now, that is interesting, the reporting side of the numbers.  My stats finally updated, dismally I might add but that's not the point.  The point is I'm showing negative numbers in some traffic columns.  How can I have negative numbers in views?  How is that physically possible?  Hopefully, this obvious bug will be corrected soon.  Negative views is a physical impossibility.

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          Nell Roseposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Someone's sneaking in, in the night, and snatching your stats away Rhonda! LOL!

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             Rhonda Lytleposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             Right!  It's some Halloween ghoul gobbling the goodies!  The fiend.

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    misterhollywoodposted 10 years ago

    My numbers are in the negative too in some hubs. This must have just updated because and hour ago I wasn't showing this.

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       Jayne Lancerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       There's a thread about the negatives: http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/125438

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    Kathleen Odenthalposted 10 years ago

    I have no negatives. Guess I'll chalk that up in the pros column for today. (Note the capitalization and proper use of apostrophes)

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    CMHypnoposted 10 years ago

    Anybody who fancies a stroll down HP memory lane to see some of the dross of the past that is still lurking
    
    http://hubpages.com/authors/best/?page=4121
    
    There are many, many pages of this stuff.  I have often wondered if accounts should be closed if an author cannot achieve a certain score or quality level within a generous set period of time and lots of support.  A bit Draconian perhaps, but quality is becoming more of an issue.  Many of these are abandoned accounts, not touched for years some of them.  Should they just go?

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    religions7posted 10 years ago

    Personally I'm interpreting that SEL article to say that there are too many factors at play right now, to know what's going on with Hubpages. It could be post-migration ups and downs (and those tend to be temporary, if annoying while they last) or it could be Panda.
    
    The stats are pretty clear on one point: traffic is constant between August and October - with a bump for September when the Squidoo material was imported. So, despite importing 175000 (published) articles, traffic (on balance) stayed put. This means less traffic for most of us.
    
    There is - us all being in the same boat together - only one thing we know: quality works. So yes, hubpages might tighten their standards a bit  and we should each check our pages.
    
    For the record: many of us were seeing improving traffic on Squidoo, over the last few months. Which seems to me to mean that Squidoo (like hubpages) survived the previous panda update just fine.

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       Jayne Lancerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       That's how I interpreted it.

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       NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Yes, there are too many factors involved, which both makes it confusing and also means we have to wait to see what happens. I just realized yesterday that what's happened is traffic has remained the same but spread out to more people, as you were saying. At the same time, there's a Panda update which is always unsettling at first and, historically, settles down and things get somewhat normal again, depending (not for everyone).
       
       This situation is like getting slapped on the back of the head and then slapped in the face while someone is pinching your thigh nerve. The thigh nerve is still being pinched and we're still thinking of the slaps to the face and head. And, to follow through with the analogy, we have to wait for the nerve pinching to end to figure out if it's leaving permanent damage or not.

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       rebekahELLEposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         That is my interpretation also.  I think the server issues play a big part as well as the repeated redirects, but until the dust settles, which may be months, we are only theorizing or guessing, as was mentioned previously.  And yet it would be foolish not to realize that some subdomains have been hit by this Panda.

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          Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          My reading says that Panda 4.1 favours small and medium sized sites over the larger ones - giving a broader variety of results in the searches returned.
          
          I draw my own conclusions from that.

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             rebekahELLEposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             Yes.  HP as a domain is a large site, yet subdomains could fall into small, medium sized sites depending on number of pages and quality of content.  Some of the winner sites include a variety of topical content.

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                Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                Sure.  I can't fathom it.  Time will tell, etc.  I need to do something else I think.

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                   rebekahELLEposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                   Time.  Makes me think of that Pink Floyd song!  I know that many hubbers love your work.  Somehow there should be a way that writers with your talent find a comfortable place to live online.  I know if I ever need a laugh or smile, your hubs will deliver.

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                      Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                      Ah... Floyd.
                      
                      Thanks for the comment, much appreciated.

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    Cari Kay 11posted 10 years ago

    I just don't think we can draw any conclusions yet about what is happening.  Insulting others and blaming them seems pretty unnecessary as well.  I have to tell you, there were some pretty amazing writers at Squidoo just as there are here.
    
    I am hopeful pages will bounce back and that that ends up being a little upswing at the end of my sessions overview there.
    

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       Kathleen Odenthalposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       How can we NOT draw conclusions from a chart you post that is steadily declining?

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          spartucusjonesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Actually that chart does show an upswing at the end of it (even though it is a small one). There are always high and lows in this game, so nothing new there. Personally, over the month of September both my traffic and earnings have been the best they have been in awhile. But it did take a hit the last few days, but it seems to be picking up again. But Google has unleashed a new Panda update, which is always going to have an impact on certain ones. Also it is possible that the merger might be creating some issues, but it would probably be a gross simplification to place all of the blame on it. I am sure there are a number of factors involved, especially in light of the fact that this is not the first (and I'm sure it will not be the last) that HubPages has been hit by Google.
          
          I also agree about your concerns with poor content, but this was a concern prior to the merger. But it is a mistake to imply that most ex-squids are poor writers. I am sure there are a number of good writers that have migrated here, and they are now facing the same struggles that we are.

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             Kathleen Odenthalposted 10 years agoin reply to this

             If you read all that I wrote, I have mentioned that poor hubs were an issue BEFORE the merger. I am also saying that adding in more bad writers does not behoove us as a whole. No, not all Squidoo writers are bad, neither are all hubbers, but there are bad writers from both sites, and they are all here now. This does no good for anyone.

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                spartucusjonesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                But as you said there is good writers and more good writers can potentially help the site. Only time will tell and it is premature to draw any conclusions based on a short term drop (especially in light of all the other traffic hits that have happened pre-merger).

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    aexbushposted 10 years ago

    As someone who has long written on both HubPages and Squidoo, I am seriously disturbed by the ongoing venting about the Squidoo migration suddenly impacting the quality at HubPages. Seriously guys, HubPages had plenty of its own problems without needing to invent more due to Squidoo or otherwise.
    
    A case in point: Over a year ago, Google published a lengthy list of sites that appeared to be a preliminary group for possible de-indexing — HubPages (and Squidoo) were among several dozen prominent sites included. (No — I don't have the link to this, and it's old news in any case.) But, the point is that HubPages was on Google's do-not-like list long before Seth Godin decided to de-index Squidoo on his own.

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       relacheposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       This.

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       Lady Loreleiposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Thank you. Your statement really does matter.

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    Uzochukwu Mikeposted 10 years ago

    I believe things will be alright

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    Kathleen Odenthalposted 10 years ago

    I agree Kathleen. I find it disheartening and far from supportive. I will admit that I have contributed to the negativity, but I am not alone. Since I started here, all I have gotten was support from fellow hubbers. Now I am getting spell checks on my forum posts and snarky comments from people with grammar errors in their own bios. Im not going to say that I am a "prolific" writer, but I do take pride in my work. Despite this, the biggest reason I wrote here was the community, which is quickly turning into shambles.
    
    And Lisa, you are condescending and rude. You don't know me, and I don't know you. Keep your opinions to yourself while you continue to publish work that was already on your website since 2005.

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19. 88

    Kathleen Odenthalposted 10 years ago

    Oh, and one more thing. I never said that HubPages was free of poor writing prior to the merger.  I just don't understand why doubling, if not tripling our writers does any benefit to anyone but the staff. Now we have bad hubs and bad lenses, which doesn't benefit any of the writers. Period.

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    1. 88

       Jean Bakulaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       I have also noticed a sea of blue arrows on my account page in the last two weeks. I think it is because of the algorithm change, as usual.
       
       When summer is over in the U.S., normally traffic picks up for online writing sites, because people are indoors more and spend more time online. I have written on many other sites, though not Squidoo, but think it's ignorant to keep blaming our newcomers for everything that happens here. So what if somebody spells a word wrong? If we were all such accomplished writers, we would all be making millions, not trying to improve our craft on sites like this.
       
       Now that the two sites have merged, this is really the only game around. I never got paid on any other site, even though I had high scores, I never made much on my own site. We need to wait and see, and be patient. It would help if everyone stopped with the blame game. Each site has it's own rules, and the Squidoo writers need time to learn the ones at HP. Plus the rules at HP change so much, it's hard for hubbers to keep up too. Hang in there and be nice.

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    2. 0

       minababeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       It's what you implied. You didn't share the blame equally between HP writers and Squidoo writers. You put the blame of HubPage's recent penalization squarely on the shoulders of Squidoo's lensmasters. Their "wannabe writing" is what hurt the site, according to you--in other words, were it not for their lenses being merged with HP's, this heavy penalization would've never happened because HP has real writers. It's a ridiculous statement, because just a simple Googling of HP's history would've revealed that it has consistently been one of the heaviest hit out of all content farms, even more so than Squidoo.

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20. 68

    lawrence01posted 10 years ago

    I've just been reading some of this forum and I hadn't realized the anger and frustration felt by some folks 'out there' after the merger.
    
    I'd been with Squidoo for a couple of years but because of commitments I only 'played' with the site. I did what I thought was some good stuff and it got me a few awards but nothing spectacular.
    
    After being away for a while I looked in an noticed that not many were visiting my sites! We'd all love for people to visit them often but not have to do much work after we've written the articles/lenses.
    
    When I got the email telling me that Hubpages had taken over I didn't do much until I got another email telling me that Hubpages liked my stuff so much that they featured ten of them! So I took a look and discovered that of the twenty five lenses I'd written (most were short book or movie reviews) Hubpages liked fifteen of them so I'm back to writing.
    
    One thing I have realized is that Hubpages likes different material to what I'm used to writing for Squidoo! Hubpages don't like too many adverts on their hubs (on Squidoo they liked it as that got more business from Amazon or eBay) so there's a bit of a learning curve going on and that's got to be good.
    
    I think the best thing we could do for each other is to work together and read other people's hubs, make polite suggestions for changes (especially on my hubs as I need the help!) and help each other become better writers, that way we all win!
    
    One question though Is there a structure for helping those who are learning to write the hubs?

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    1. 88

       Jean Bakulaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       Hi Laurence01,
       If you have already transferred a few lenses over to HP, you will see that while you are writing in edit mode, you get a lot of suggestions as far as the layout goes.
       
       Also, if you like the particular layout you used for a piece you publish here, you can opt to use that layout again for another piece. Again, at the beginning when you title your hub and begin to publish, you have the option to just choose the layout of a hub you can name, and it will come up right on the screen, with the Amazon, picture, text and comment capsules all where you had them in the hub you chose.
       
       And yes, HP does take a dim view of too many Amazon capsules, I saw a newcomer with more words from her capsules than her article the other day. It's one capsule for Amazon for each 50 words of text.'
       
       Best Wishes.

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    2. 85

       rebekahELLEposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         If you haven't visited the Learning Center yet, I suggest taking time to read through the contents.  It is very helpful.  Also, if you want to follow a suggested layout that HP has made templates for, you can select a topic from specific categories and use the topic template. 
       Not everyone is angry and frustrated.  HP is a great place to write with a great community.  A very small percentage of HP writers are represented in the forums.  Welcome!

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       1. 70

          Richard-Bivinsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          The voice of reason... There was a time when I was angry and frustrated.  In a previous identity, I was LiveWithRichard here on HP and have been a member since 2009.  When the first Panda hit I seen my traffic drop from 16000 views per day down to 200 per day with over 250 hubs.  I took some time off to cool my jets but I returned with this new profile a little over a year ago and have been pleasantly surprised at how well it is performing.  Even in this new Panda, I took a little hit but every single one of my whopping 12 hubs follows the parameters for a stellar hub and they are all holding strong.  HP may be having a few hiccups right now but they will resolve soon enough.  Adding the Squids was a good move from a business standpoint.  If HP ever wants to completely move away from the Google model it needs to have a very strong user base.  Advertisers love sites that have large amounts of users.  For all the crap people talk about Bubblews, they have a huge user base with zero reliance on Google.
          If I can offer a bit of advice I would say, be patient.  Don't make a hundred changes to your hubs, don't rush off and edit your titles, and strive to make each of your hubs follow the stellar hub model.

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          lawrence01posted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks for that. I've visited the learning center and found it really helpful. I've been having fun finding out just what I can put on my hubs and what won't go. I'll be working out more in future days but I think we need to give people the space to grow as writers. I think with Hubpages one of the keys is to specialize and that's what I'll be seeking to do.

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21. 61

    LindaSmith1posted 10 years ago

    http://hubpages.com/learningcenter/contents

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22. 86

    LisaMarieGabrielposted 10 years ago

    When my lenses came over I noticed that traffic initially surged, then the stats ground to a halt, then along came Mr Panda. Correct me if I am wrong but the figure of 46% is SEO visibility (whatever that means) - not traffic. Traffic is supposedly impacted by 3-5% and certainly not by the levels people are reporting. Since it crashed I have noticed my levels are actually about the same as they were on Squidoo which is mildly disappointing but not the end of the world.
    
    Meantime I have noticed - and mentioned here several times - that adverts I am running on Goodreads are only getting about 20% of the page views I would normally expect - not clicks, the CTR is the same - we are talking views. The internet is hibernating. This may not be a reliable benchmark figure as it is conceivable that Panda hates Goodreads too - but I think it is a factor.
    
    Traffic is down because of site issues, these also impact bounce rates because pages look bad and load slowly.
    Stats may not be accurate anyway, it is a new system.
    No doubt Panda will have had some impact.
    The only person who can improve poor content is its writer.
    Traffic is down because traffic is down!

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23. 88

    Kathleen Odenthalposted 10 years ago

    And you would be who? Before merger, I was earning steady income, now I have no traffic and pitiful earnings. Its not an assumption if there are numbers to back up my theory. But its irrelevant because I am in the process of moving all of my stuff to a place where I actually DO make money. A place where I wont be critiqued for my grammar in the forums. Mostly because these sites are so well run they dont NEED forums. So continue to point fingers at me and call me wrong as you watch your traffic drop, drop, drop. Squidoo failed for a reason, point blank.

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    1. 0

       minababeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       All the petulant bringing up of Squidoo's failure isn't going to change the fact that the latest Panda hit on HP is part of a consistent pattern that existed years before a merger that's only been in existence all of one month. Nor does Squidoo's failure validate you as a "real writer." You'll learn that harsh reality soon enough when you move your stuff "elsewhere" and it'll have to stand on its own two feet, without the benefit of HP's traffic and Google PR.

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24. 88

    Kathleen Odenthalposted 10 years ago

    And you would be who? Before merger, I was earning steady income, now I have no traffic and pitiful earnings. Its not an assumption if there are numbers to back up my theory. But its irrelevant because I am in the process of moving all of my stuff to a place where I actually DO make money. A place where I wont be critiqued for my grammar in the forums. Mostly because these sites are so well run they dont NEED forums. So continue to point fingers at me and call me wrong as you watch your traffic drop, drop, drop. Squidoo failed for a reason, point blank.

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25. 79

    Solarasposted 10 years ago

    Well I just got notice of a boost in Amazon sales, and I am very encouraged by it, having had no sales since the migration began.
    
    I hope others are getting happy sales notifications as well!

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26. 88

    Kathleen Odenthalposted 10 years ago

    Minababe, if only you knew how little I cared what you thought. Point blank.

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    1. 0

       minababeposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       If you don't care what I think, then stop responding. BTW, keep it up. As you get angrier, you reveal more and more to everyone here why your exit from HubPages will be of no great loss to the community. Godspeed on your new endeavor as a "real writer", and make sure to let us know when you finally earn that Pulitzer.

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          Mark Ewbieposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          I guess I am a member of the community.  Not of any particular cliques.  In fact I just have an HP account.
          
          But you don't speak for me in terms of how I might choose to judge the poster.
          
          I see an angry voice with few people listening.

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       2. 75

          Kathleen Cochranposted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Minababe:  This is my first exposure to you, but I've been reading Kathleen for a while now, and her departure would diminish HP.  I'm putting this as nicely as I can: Back off.

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       3. 60

          fpherj48posted 10 years agoin reply to this

          Excuse me please....but you are so very incorrect.  Kathleen leaving HP would be a serious loss of an extremely talented, hard-working and prolific writer.  Personally, (as well as a devoted member of this community for 3 & a half years,) I need to say that we have lost far too many of our very BEST.  I don't wish to see even one more leave.   
          This thread has gotten entirely out of hand.  Please stop.
          I ask that everyone take a break and try to calm their emotions.   Mr. Hollywood, Sir.....as the OP, it may be helpful for you to step in and suggest you are not accepting of the direction this thread has taken?  This would be nice.
          Let's all enjoy the week-end.....and try to put this behind us.  The reality is.....Those who are actually responsible and deserve to experience our wrath aren't here.....nor are they reading any of this.  They're out spending all the money OUR WRITING has made for them over the years.
          We all know what greed can do......don't let it.

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    Sunshine625posted 10 years ago

    Happy Weekend Y'all

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