The ol' views conundrum again...

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   stuff4kidsposted 10 years ago

   
   I've been here for almost two years now and have published 25 featured hubs. I calculated my average views per hub per day as 4. It is actually a bit better than that because the numbers involved the beginning period when I had only a couple of hubs and no views at all. But you Hubbers out there who are getting 10,000+ views per day, would you advise me what I might do better? I welcome critique as well as general advice. I won't be offended. On the contrary, I will be grateful.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      If you only want to speak to people with over 10,000 views a day, I don't think you'll get many replies to this post...

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         stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I'm happy to speak to anyone with goodwill and good advice! I said those with 10,000+ views (I meant per day overall, rather than per hub) just because I have seen here and there folks on the forums talking about views in that region and I just wondered how it was done.
         
         I'm no internet guru. When I started out here, I read carefully pretty much the whole LC back to back and have tried hard to follow all the guidelines. I'm not unhappy with the results. Maybe, because I'm not writing about high-traffic, high-earning subjects but rather fun/educational stuff, for me it's more about productivity.
         
         I maybe need to turn that 25 hubs into 1000 or something. If I live long enough!

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            Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I can think of only two or possibly three people who are anywhere close to that number!   They are exceptionally knowledgeable about SEO and keyword research and skilled in online promotion.  So if you want to emulate them, you need to do a lot of study in those areas.

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               DrMark1961posted 10 years agoin reply to this

               And write a lot more.
               She would need to get 400 views per day for every single hub if she wanted that many page views with only 25. Not impossible but certainly not likely.

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                  stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Okay, I've set myself a new target of 100 hubs by this time next year. In theory, I am retired and should have all the time in the world. But in practice...

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               stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks, Marisa. I guess I have my work cut out!

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      Kylyssaposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I only get that many views in a day when an article suddenly goes viral and none of mine have since I joined HubPages two months ago. 
      
      I assume it's pretty much just WriterFox and Relache you're interested in hearing from then.

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         stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I guess in part, I was just trying to get a measure of where I should place my expectations. From what you say, there may be only a very small handful of folk here doing well in the sense of getting reasonable traffic.
         
         Have something go viral would be nice!

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      NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      It is very possible to write an article that gets hundreds of views a day. But it would have to be titled with a keyword phrase that gets a lot of searches and has no reputable competition. I've actually written articles like that, on another account. I have to say though that I found the keyword phrases from Wordtracker's keyword tool, when they were offering a free version for awhile. Most of us, including myself, can't pay for a keyword tool, but if it's an option for you, you should do it.
      
      Also, of course, those articles have to be thorough, easy to read, well-written and accurate. People will want to read such content.
      
      I've written articles that get dozens of views a day. And for those I used Keyword Planner and just hunting around for ideas that I figured would work and also I found some keywords accidentally.
      
      Right now I'm testing out some keywords that I discovered that have a good amount of search volume and limited competition. It's already going well, I think it's going to pay. I arrived at those just by surfing the Net, checking out various sites, boards, etc. and found out what people are interested in; and then I researched the viability of certain keywords through keyword planner.
      
      The other thing is you have to really narrow down a keyword phrase. Nothing too general, something very specific. It's been said over and over, but I know from experience it actually works. So, not "what do I do if I stain my pants" but, rather, what's the best soap to wash my pants stained with coffee". That's just off the top of my head, hypothetical, made up thing, but I think you get the idea.

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         DrMark1961posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Most of this advice is good but I disagree on the last part. I have many articles that get hundreds of views a day and have titles of only three or four words. I think Relache also has a hub on selecting concise titles to get better traffic (I would put the link on here but I do not remember it. All of her HP articles are worth reading though.)

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            NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

            You're right. I didn't mean so much a long title, though my hypothetical was long, I was just trying to convey the keyword phrase title should be pretty specific. Probably I exaggerate a bit too. Doesn't necessarily have to be as specific as my hypothetical.
            
            Also, while I'm about it, even an article about something pretty specific should be pretty well fleshed out and thorough; without overdoing it of course. It's a hard one to explain. I'd say it this way: You discuss in the article all the various angles and things pertinently related to the main subject.

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         stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you for that insight and advice. I really need to try and understand the keyword issue a bit better, I think. I remember reading a Relache comment somewhere about just how important the title can be.

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            NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

            The basis of using keywords to drive traffic to articles is finding out what is actually being typed into the search engine, how much a keyword is being searched for and how much and who the competition is for the keyword or keyword phrase. On how much a keyword is searched for, you need a keyword tool. On if it is being searched for at all, you can find out through such things as Google's auto suggest that pops up when you are typing into the search engine and also the search suggestions that are along the bottom of the results page when you enter a query. On competition, you have to enter your keywords and hit search and see what comes up; looking for how much competition there is and who the competition is. I have ranked well going against dozens of millions of results, so it's not always about how much competition there is. But I usually won't try for a keyword if results come up with 100s of millions or more. Mostly you have to look at who the competition is. Reputable sites will be hard to beat.
            
            Wordtracker, by the way, does the whole thing for you. It will show you search volume and competition (the KEI) in one sitting.

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   Dressage Husbandposted 10 years ago

   I agree with Marissa. Most Hubs will get low numbers of traffic as there are many on similar topics. A really well written Hub with good SEO may see 100 or so. More than that requires a lot of activity on social media and great publicity as well as a really exceptional Hub that is extremely well written. The person would need to be a bit of a celebrity too to get 10,000 views in one day.

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      stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks.

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   DrMark1961posted 10 years ago

   You might want to read this thread.
   http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/123438
   As Marisa points out, you might also be more open to learning from everyone.

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      stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, that's an interesting thread. So there is one Hubber making millions of views a day. Gosh.
      
      I'm happy to take advice from anyone kind enough to give it. I'm actually quite nervous about being on the forum and thought carefully before posting. I would be very sad if my question had been misconstrued. I guess I didn't put it right.

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         DrMark1961posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         There are a few hubbers with that kind of traffic. I think crazyhorsesghost is one of them, and his advice is good but he really, really works at it. I think he makes this (and some other sites on the net) a full time job.
         I have had over a million page views in about 2 years but am still not making those kind of numbers, and am glad to get advice from anyone who is working to increase traffic. I was a newbie to the internet when I started here a little over two years ago, and from what I have learned it is not about writing about high-traffic subjects. There are all kinds of people who come on this site and pick a few swamped high-traffic subjects and then never get any page views.
         I think you are on the right track but I do think you need a lot more hubs in your niche.
         This thread is about 5 months old but I learned a lot from it. It is definitely worth the time.
         http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/122199

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            stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Thank you so much - that's very encouraging and helpful!

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         Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Where did you see the comment that one Hubber is making millions of views a day?  I think you misread that.

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            stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            On this thread: http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/123438
            
            And here, the Hubber says he earns as much as the President: http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/122199
            
            Maybe I misunderstood.

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               Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               That was CrazyHorseGhost and what he said was "I have some individual hub pages with a million or more views per hub page,  with some having that many in a few weeks" 
               
               So he definitely didn't mean a million views a day!    While I know he is hugely successful, you will note that he's been working online "since the early days of blogging", he treats it as a full-time job, and he has over 1,000 Hubs.   
               
               I can't help noting that if some of his Hubs have had a million views in a few weeks, many of his Hubs must be getting no traffic at all - because if you do the maths on his average views per Hub per day over the time he's been here, it's not unusually high.

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                  stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Ah yes, that makes sense. Thanks for clarifying that.

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   colorfuloneposted 10 years ago

   I only experienced incredible views for one article on another website years ago.  It got over 75,000 views within hours from fans and followers of the man of the hour who became a millionaire when he won on one of those TV talent shows. It was big news world wide, and I had the right keywords on a fan page people were searching for. All because I followed a feeling that the guy was going to win.
   
   My hat is off to writers who can maintain large numbers of views on a daily bases. It has to be a lot of know how and hard work, plus, plus, plus.

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   Solarasposted 10 years ago

   Some of my articles take off, others, most in fact, just linger.  I think 15 of my hubs create 70% of my traffic. My favorite articles that have the most content of real interest, in my opinion, hardly get any views.  My point being, see what topics are working for you and go for those subjects; don't be lured by a subject that is of good value that only 2 or 3 people will be interested in, because that won't pay any bills.
   
   See what is getting your best views, and then research the Google word planner and your Google Analytics to see what search terms are bringing people in. Then capitalize on those search terms.
   
   Discover what topic is the most popular in your area, and explore how you can capitalize on that topic.  I stumbled upon my best performing topics by seeing what was successful on my HP account, and going with that, even if it brings you in a new direction (my most successful hubs came of one hub that took off when all others were lingering - once I saw its success, I examined its possible search terms on GA - why it might have taken off, and how to capitalize on those search terms with future articles) .
   
   You may find that a slightly askew topic from what you intended to target is of great interest to your potential readers.  I am still surprised by what gets readers and what sells products.
   
   I also find that it can be hard to replicate a successful article - all the best wishes to everyone writing!

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      stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, I'll look at what does work comparatively well and then see what other hubs I could build around that. But based on another comment, I maybe ought to keep bulking out my portfolio first. Then maybe, when I have 100 hubs I'd have something I could consider statistically useful in terms of figuring our what works and what doesn't.
      
      Thanks!

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         Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         The other thing to consider, as I've suggested before, is to start your own blog. You have a specialist subject, and it's a perfect one to engage with your audience and build loyalty. You simply can't do that on HubPages - your visitors are all anonymous, people can't sign up to be notified when you publish new work, nor can you collect email addresses and send out newsletters etc.

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            stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, I remember, and I've been looking into it. I have a lot to learn before I invest the time and money in that, however. I've started to think that a static website would be better than a blog, too. There's almost too much information out there. I am absolutely not being negative, and I value your advice enormously, I'm just pointing out that it is complex when you are 61 years old and new to the game!

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   Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years ago

   stuff4kids;  My traffic figures seem to be roughly similar to yours. I've got 123 hubs published, all featured, but total views from all are currently varying between about 400 and 600 per day. A few hubs, (some of which are not the best) get 50+ views per day, but the overall average is between 4 and 5.
   
   Quality obviously helps to establish a reputation, and may well pay good dividends in the long term, but I'm sure high overall traffic on HubPages is produced in three main ways - 1) selecting the right niche subjects, 2) very good marketing and publicity, and 3) a large body of work.
   
   Regrettably, low traffic has little to do with quality, and much more to do with marketing and subject matter (one only has to look at the banalities which attract most views on social networks and in Google searches to realise that!)
   
   Your work is of high quality, and the nature of the subject matter you write about really should appeal to a lot of people, especially those (as your username suggests) with children. I hope that in time, and perhaps with careful social networking, views will increase for you (and me )

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      stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Alun, and thanks for sharing that. I'm surprised that your traffic figures aren't a great deal higher than that. But I do begin to understand what you mean now about promotion and publicity for hubs being the likely key factor in driving traffic. I just don't have time to spend on internet-based social networks, generally. Although, I have finally opened a Facebook account. One small step!

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         Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         It sounds like perhaps you have an unrealistic view of how many views most people are getting.    500 to 1,000 views per day on 123 Hubs is pretty good.
         
         Just take a look at a few people's accolades and how long they've been here, and work out the daily rate.

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            Solarasposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            I am glad to hear you say that!  Some folks have been talking about getting 20K views a day on one hub.

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               Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               That makes news because it's so rare.

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         Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         My biggest frustration is not so much the total views I get, but the knock backs. When I first started I was getting hardly any traffic, but gradually this increased, and a slow but reasonably steady increase is gratifying.I'm happy with that. Briefly at the beginning of this year I did reach about 800 views a day, and looking forward to topping 1000, but twice in the last year there have been severe drops back to about 400, presumably due to changes in Google's search criteria. That's really annoying, and I do wonder why these updates always seem to have a negative effect on HubPages? Be prepared for those if you experience them!
         
         All we can do is use every tool at our disposal to get our hubs known, and I'm sure promoting them on Facebook, Twitter and similar sites can only be beneficial, as well as following the good advice of those hubbers who know how to use Google Analytics, keywords etc to best advantage (something I'll really have to find the time to try and master one day!) Best wishes.

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            NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Good advice about the knock backs. I started doing rather well several months ago, then the latest panda update knocked me down a few notches; enough to drastically reduce my traffic. Total shocker. As is the case with yourself, it didn't totally annihilate me, just knocked me down a few pegs, so to speak. Which, in a way, I consider fortunate. At least there's still hope.
            
            Anyway, it's a good idea to understand that this happens; that you could suddenly lose significant traffic with search engine algorithm updates. And, unfortunately, it has nothing to do with quality, etc.

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            stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Hi Alun. Thanks for your words. I know about knock-backs. Before the recent Panda and Penguin updates, my traffic was at least twice what it is now. Which I don't understand, as it really is my genuine, unique, original work; my hubs are well over 1500 words a-piece, illustrated with good, legally attributed photos and video, tables, quizzes and all that.
            
            You certainly write quality content. Your hubs were and still are an inspiration to me - not only in themselves, but as exemplars of good writing, thoughtful composition and beautiful design.
            
            

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               Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               The most recent Panda update was designed, amongst other things, to give small to medium sized specialist websites a better chance in the search engine results.   Obviously if they gain, the larger sites have to lose somewhat.

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                  stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Hm. Another argument to leave Hubpages and set up my own site/blog maybe?
                  
                  Lol.  Are you trying to get rid of me???

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                  Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  That's interesting. If that is the case, then it is a shame. Whilst it is certainly the case that well written and well maintained smaller sites should be supported if they have real value, Google should also recognise the value of a content producing site like HubPages. Although HubPages may be a large site, in essence it is composed of a huge number of 'small and specialist' webpage producers, many of which are every bit as deserving of Google's support.
                  
                  Marisa, taking all aspects of this into account, do you think we are better off (traffic wise) writing on a site like HubPages, or setting up our own independent sites (which obviously requires a lot more work to achieve)? I write here, because I don't feel capable of setting up my own site, but is that the route we should really follow if we want more traffic?

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                     Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                     In my opinion, yes, your own site is the sensible thing to do.   There are several caveats, though.
                     
                     One is that you need a specialist subject, and it had better be something you know a lot about, because you're going to be writing about it for several years!    It's a myth that you have to add posts daily or even weekly, but you do have to post new material on a regular basis. 
                     
                     The other is that monetizing a blog or website is a big learning curve.   Adsense, Amazon, eBay and other affiliate ads are not enough - the percentage profit is just too low.  You need to attract readers to sign up to your email list by offering a regular newsletter, then you can use that email list to persuade advertisers to pay for advertising on your site.  Ideally, you need to identify products that you can sell yourself (either your own or in partnership with a supplier) so you get a bigger slice of the profit. All that takes research and effort and in the end, running a blog requires far more admin work than writing - so for writers who just want to write, a blog may not be the best option.

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               Greensleeves Hubsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               And thanks to you Amanda for your flattering comment in that post

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   Angel198625posted 10 years ago

   I'm not exactly receiving 10,000 views a day, but I do manage to reach pay out every month.  I think once hubs mature over time, that helps.  Also, it's just what you write about and the quality.  If you write about something people will search for, the traffic will come.  I've only done keyword research on two of my hubs.  I don't market them.  I recently made a pinterest, but I have two followers so I don't think that counts lol I don't advertise anywhere.  I seriously just write them, and there they are.  I write about things that I like, and that pertain to me.  It just so happens that other people are interested in the same thing.  I spent hours searching for tips on going tanning, and it was really frustrating. So, after going tanning and finally figuring it all out, I wrote a hub about it.  It's also the one that gets the most traffic.  Hope my story helps a little bit

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      NateB11posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      To make payout every month and use minimal keyword research takes smarts and skill, and good understanding.

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         Angel198625posted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks

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      stuff4kidsposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks. Yes, that's both interesting and encouraging. 

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