What Changes Would Improve This Site for 2015? Suggestions?

1. 81

   Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years ago

   Do you have ideas on ways HP could improve the site or its usability in the coming year?  No flaming, please; hoping to have some serious and helpful suggestions for staff to consider.
   
   Please share your ideas on:
   
   -  How the site can improve Google rankings?
   -  How the site can drive more traffic to hubs?
   -  Usability improvements?
   -  Other ideas?

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   1. 89

      Jackie Lynnleyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I really hate you can't go in reading not signed in and be able to click on hubbers. I mean you could see someone you might follow and want to check out their hubs and you have to sign in to do that. Much trouble when you are in and out a lot as I am. That makes no sense to me. I also would like to see them do away with the vote down buttons. What really is the point of that? If someone breaks some rules someone can and will report them and if they are no good they won't be featured so why allow terrorists on HP to vote down someone they simply do not like?

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      1. 86

         Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I agree they should do away with the vote down AND vote up buttons.  HubPages has said they have litle or no effect on HubScore and they take no action on them either.

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         1. 81

            Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Good point on the up & down buttons.  If those buttons do influence things, it would be good to know to what degree.
            
            Maybe their sole purpose is to give readers a sense of interaction?  If so, and if there's no harm to the writer, then I'm okay with it. I guess.

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            1. 86

               Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               I recall many months ago, Paul Deeds stating categorically that they have virtually no impact on anything.   I suppose they do make a visitor feel they're interacting - but if they weren't there, perhaps the visitor would feel more inclined to do something more useful to interact, such as sharing (which would give us a benefit)?

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               1. 81

                  Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Maybe the arrows help add to the amount of time visitors spend on each page (which, overall, adds to Google ranking and ad revenue, I hope?).  I need to check a hub and remind myself of what they look like; I'm not casting a vote one way or the other - just talking out loud. (Virtually).

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         2. 82

            2besureposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I think this idea is to vulnerable to the whim of the voter.  If they vote down, they should have to leave a reason.  That way the writer can challenge any unfounded down votes.

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            1. 86

               Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               What I'm saying, 2besure, is that the up and down arrows have an infinitesimal effect on your HubScore.  And that's all they do.   So it would be really pointless to expect writers to put more effort into something that's already pointless! 
               
               I'm saying they should be removed altogether.

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      2. 67

         stevemorgan1005posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I like the vote up and down buttons myself. I am very new to hubpages, but I can see using it as a useful tool on the effectiveness of my writing.

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         1. 86

            Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            You can't see how many up and down votes you've got, so not much use for that!

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      3. 93

         LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I vote to have the 'up' and 'down' buttons restored to active duty. I'm sure there are many people (like me) who would be happy to vote up - without having to identify if I think a hub is funny or interesting or whatever. Why can't I just vote it up?
         
         And, more importantly, why can't I vote 'down' if I come across hubs that I don't think are worthy of a place on hp? Hitting the 'report' button feels mean and unjustified in many cases so I don't report them.  However I would happily click the 'down' button ... and let hp respond appropriately once the down clicks reached a certain level.

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   2. 47

      Doodleheadposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      When I log in I feel "hit" by "housewife" hubs.  Not being a housewife, I am bored with a lot of the stuff that comes up.   I want to see stuff I am more interested in .   The problem is that then the housewives would be bored with my stuff.   What am I interested in?   AhhhhhhhhhFINANCE AND BUSINESS.

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      1. 93

         LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Doodlehead, you should be able to lose the 'housewife' hubs from your feed. The next time you're looking at a hub title that you really would like to avoid, scroll to the right of the title in your feed. You'll get the option to hide stories from that author, hide stories on that topic, or change your feed settings.
         
         I think you could choose to only be alerted when finance and business topics are published ... but your feed might be pretty light if you do.

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   3. 83

      AustralianNappiesposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      The most important thing I could suggest is blocking the ability for the public to copy/paste each page.  I spend more time off this site reporting copyright infringement than I do writing new Hubs, it is a constant battle.
      
      I'd also like to see more restrictions placed to prevent spam Hubs, I would suggest you can't be part of the advertising programs unless you have 20-50 featured Hubs.  I think this would be a serious deterrant to those who join and create spam Hubs, and make our own Hubpages more Google friendly.  I also want to see the removal of links to other peoples Hubs from my Hubs.

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      1. 97

         aesta1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I support this idea of blocking the ability to copy hubs, or pictures thereof or paragraphs. I also get tired of seeing my work copied and no link to the hub is included. Filing reports is not fun.

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         1. 90

            wildernessposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Unfortunately, no site in the world has succeeded in preventing copying.  HP engineers, as good as they are, are not likely to make a breakthrough like that.

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            1. 86

               sparksterposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               I have been on sites which prevent you from copying and pasting content by disabling the copy/paste option in your browser when on their pages. I have no idea how they did it and I was quite baffled... but they did it.

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               1. 36

                  ChristinSposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                    That doesn't stop content scraping software.  In fact, it doesn't stop savvy web browsers, you can download extensions that will allow you to override any "no right click" scripts etc.

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   4. 81

      peachpurpleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Try the bubblewsmethod, create challenges like the song challenge according to yr name, lots of people love challenges and contests with winnings

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      1. 88

         Jodahposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Yes everyone likes challenges. A lot of hubbers have been going out of their way to issue hub writing challenges and these seem very popular even though there is no prize.

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   5. 70

      Don Fairchildposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Somehow raise the intellectual level of the writings in both the Hubs and Questions area.
      It is disturbing to have to sift through the chaff while looking for informative and interesting material.  Your advertising ratings would go up as well.  Eliminate the hate mongering political discussions, promote the well researched and expertly written articles that have true value by giving prizes or an increase in payouts for quality material.

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   6. 91

      DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Without HP having a mole inside Google, I don't see how they can do much more to improve Google rankings than they are currently doing, which of necessity and secrecy by The big G, seems to be a hit-or-miss system that is reactionary rather than pro-active.

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   7. 79

      H.C Porterposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I work for a website design and development company as an Online Marketing Specialist (Basically, my job is all about Search Engines and driving traffic to sites). So my suggestion stems from things that I know I consider and work with to rank my customers sites.
      
      I would like to see some features that are in Google Analytics implemented into HubPages,
      
      - When I go to traffic sources, I can see that the majority of my views come from Google Search, but I do not know which hubs have pulled these views, nor do I know what people are searching for (keywords) when they come across my hubs.
      
      If I had this information available to review with the rest of the hub stats, it would be beneficial and allow me to better optimize my hubs.
      
      I would know what is not being found on Google as well as polish the ones that use to be searched, but have since fallen in ranking and continuously be building and improving my hubs to continue ranking.

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      1. 93

         LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         H.C Porter, we already have the ability to identify search terms etc for individual hubs. It stopped working for a while (which frustrated me enormously), but has been up and running for a while again.
         
         For those who are unaware of it, here's how it works ... You go to your stats page (under 'my account') and identify which hubs have had traffic in the past day, week or month. (To get them in order of most viewed to least viewed, click on either 1 day, 7 days or 30 days TWICE. This will be helpful for people with lots of hubs.)
         
         Open your most viewed hub in a separate tab (saves from having to go back and reload stats to see your next high traffic hub). Just right click the hub title to do this - don't open in 'edit'.
         
         In the black bar at the top of your hub, click 'Stats'. There you will see the Day, Week, Month and Total stats for that individual hub ... complete with the traffic sources. In addition to seeing 'google' and 'bing', you'll see google from different countries, hubpages, websites that show a link to your hub etc. (Remember, if you see an individual hubbers name as a source, that doesn't mean they've been reading your hubs. It indicates they have a hub on a similar topic - and people have clicked to your hub after reading theirs.)
         
         The next button in that section is 'Search'. That's where you'll find your Search Term Data. It shows search terms for the past 30 days and is updated daily. So, for instance, I have just opened one of my hubs and it shows me Google, Yahoo and Bing search terms that brought traffic to that hub in the past 30 days.
         
         I have 12 search terms from each of those search engines (a total of 36 very good clues about what's working in that hub) plus the stats for each one. (Not every hub gets so many search terms listed. It depends on the success of the hub.)
         
         Next to that is the 'Hub Metrics' button. Also very helpful. It shows you a graph indicating the rise and fall of your traffic ... clearly indicating the top traffic sources.
         
         Hope this helps.

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         1. 89

            MariaMontgomeryposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Thank you, LongTimeMother. I had no clue about most of what you described. That is so very helpful.

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      2. 84

         Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         If you go to an individual hub, and click on the stats link at the top, you will get some of this information.  The search terms only appear if there is a substantial number.  I agree that it would be nice to get that information on a more global basis instead of having to go to the individual hub.

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         1. 89

            MariaMontgomeryposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            It certainly would. That's what I am accustomed to being able to do.

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      3. 76

         chezchazzposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I agree - would love to know search terms. Great idea!

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2. 58

   Dale Hydeposted 9 years ago

   I would still like to see a doable app for the various platforms out there.

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   1. 90

      Sue Adamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      The current layout works fine. I can edit hubs, respond to comments,  contribute to forums without any problems on a 7 inch Android. However, I would always use my laptop, never a mobile, to write a whole new hub.

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3. 56

   mio cidposted 9 years ago

   It would be a positive thing if they went back to updating every two hours or so as it was before .

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   1. 97

      aesta1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I support this, too. I just like to get the updates regularly.

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         Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         +1

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   2. 93

      LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I have noticed the updates are far more regular than they were. It bothers me however that often the stats indicate a more recent time - but the actual stats are exactly the same as the 'update' one hour, four hours, or more hours earlier.

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4. 60

   missoliveposted 9 years ago

   Hi Marcy! I guess this would go with 'usability'.
   I like how the new template is designed, but I'd like to see the social media share buttons a little closer to the top quarter of the page. The share icons don't emerge until about half way down the page and there is just something about that that seems off. Perhaps this is meant to alleviate Google 'bounce' rates???? I'm not sure what the reasoning is but most sites tend to have the social media share buttons toward the top of the article and/or right at the end of the article.

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   1. 91

      DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'm seeing them most of the time all the way at the bottom of the page or article!  Very annoying!

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5. 73

   word55posted 9 years ago

   A simple consideration with respect to our hard thoughts, research and time spent by adding pay raises! More for poetry, recipes and good music.

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   1. 73

      LeanManposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      word55,
      
      HP do not control what the advertisers pay, nor do they control what traffic you will gain.
      
      If you want more money you have to learn how to generate traffic to your hubs through google or social sharing. It is up to you how much you can earn - you put in the work and you will earn; but that does mean finding out how the internet really works.

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      1. 93

         LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         True, LeanMan. HP provides a venue ... but authors are ultimately responsible for the success of their own hubs.

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6. 75

   Barbara Kayposted 9 years ago

   I'd like to be able to add a Table of Contents on my hubs that would with the click of a title take the reader to the section that they are interested in reading.

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      missoliveposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      That is a great idea!

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   2. 81

      Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with Miss Olive that this would be a great feature - I seem to recall someone posted a 'how-to' thing on it a few years ago.  Cannot recall who, but perhaps we can already do that & just don't know how?

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      1. 38

         Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/113669#post2419013
         
         (It would be much easier if the process were automated but, yes, you can do it yourself.)

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         1. 81

            Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Yay!   Thanks for posting that, WF - I knew I'd seen it somewhere.

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      2. 78

         TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I was investigating that not too long ago and stopped once I learned that a clickable TOC slows down my site.  No thanks!

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         1. 38

            Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            It doesn't seem to hurt the traffic and popularity of Wikipedia articles (most of which have TOCs).  Plus, it's great for SEO because each TOC entry can be a keyword phrase link and you can bring in search engine traffic to different sections of longer articles. Just sayin'.

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            1. 91

               DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Agreed--for some types of articles, a TOC would be very helpful.  I could simply be a capsule type.  I'm sure the smart programmers at HP could fix that up handily.
               I know there have been a couple of folks who have written hubs addressing how to do this, but it seemed very complicated for this non-techie person.

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   3. 91

      DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      +1

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   4. 93

      LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      While I can see the value of TOCs in principle, I suspect they would just be used inappropriately by lots of hubbers ... creating yet another headache.
      
      Most hubs should be able to be quickly scanned with prominent capsule titles giving the 'clue' about where to find specific information.
      
      I see a danger in TOCs in the sense that readers would spend less time on the hub ... which really doesn't help if a hub is to be viewed positively by search engines.

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7. 60

   stuff4kidsposted 9 years ago

   I'd like to see the profile page developed so that it was more of a 'home page' for each subdomain, formatted in a way that doesn't hide most of the bio/intro from the visitor. I know, I know, I should go and set up my own website. But still, I'd like that.   

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   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Our profile page used to be exactly like a bio on a website.   HubPages stopped that because people were using it to promote their own websites and their writing on other sites.  They want visitors to stay on HubPages, not go off to other sites which they can't benefit from.   So now, you can't put links in your bio, and the bio is shortened so visitors can be enticed by the Hubs on your slider.

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8. 92

   EricDockettposted 9 years ago

   For a long while (years) I've hoped the area immediately beneath a Hub's content would be cleaned up. I'm not expecting HP to have a revelation in 2015, but since you asked . . .
   
   When a visitor finishes reading a Hub they are immediately greeted with a disgusting minefield of advertisements. This has only gotten worse with the new layout. We now have video ads that blend in and look like they are part of the Hub content, and another ad carefully positioned in the list of Related Hubs.
   
   I would really like to see Previous and Next grouped Hubs, as well as Related Hubs appear BEFORE any advertising. Both are attractive segments that encourage readers to click through to more content, but they are buried beneath the ads.
   
   It seems to me that when readers click through to another Hub it is a strong indicator of user satisfaction, and this is a metric HP would want to improve. As it is, instead of moving on to another Hub I'd guess a huge percentage readers hit the back button when they see the piles of ads.
   
   I'd also like to see Hubbers have control over which Hubs appear in the Related Hubs section. Many Hubbers complain that they don't like seeing content they would never personally endorse appear there, and I agree.
   
   However, I think it's even worse when another Hubber has a Hub on the same topic as one of yours, and with nearly the same title, and their Hubs shows up instead. In at least a few cases I believe a Hubber used one of my Hubs as a template to write theirs, yet theirs shows up in Related  Hubs instead of mine. That's just wrong.
   
   Anyway, as it all stands I've been routinely including text links at the bottom of each of my Hubs in order to get readers to click through to more of my related content. I would love to stop doing that, but this means HP needs to clean up the section beneath the Hubs. Stop gunking it up with questionable advertising that makes readers want to run away.
   
   Even more importantly, start using those beautiful Related Hubs and Previous/Next grouped segments in a better way. Allow the Related Hubs and grouped Hubs to appear immediately after the main Hub content and before advertising, encouraging readers to click through to more content.
   
   And, for the love of all that's holy, give us the ability to choose which Hubs appear in Related Hubs. 
   
   That's all. Thank you.

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   1. 76

      stricktlydatingposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'd like to see the related Hubs at the bottom of each Hub page show my related Hubs, ie: My traffic to my Hubs, rather than linking to other Hubbers pages whose content I have no control over (I've clicked on the related Hubs a few times and felt embarrassed by the content, why should my traffic be potentially feed to poor wording, or inaccurate information?). I worry what affect these links have on my Page ranking too. So long as you are linking to other Hubpages Hubs they should be your own pages before others. Readers could still browse using topic selection, but if they select my Hub to read I want the links on my page to show my own related Hubs, of course for more views for me! I estimate that the related Hub capsule with other peoples Hubs highlighted by icon costs me at least 2000 views a day.

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   2. 70

      makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      You are actually expressing the sort of sentiments which led Google to start targeting sites which got the balance of adverts re content wrong (ie too many adverts) - and also got their adverts in the wrong place (too many above the fold)
      
      Sites now ignore Google's injunctions about adverts at their peril

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   3. 88

      Jodahposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Some great suggestions here .

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9. 88

   lbrummerposted 9 years ago

   I love it here at HubPages and want to become more involved in the programs that make it great. For one thing I'd like to "Hop" more hubs in 2015, but I have questions about what use the hopping is.
   I’d like to know how “Hop some hubs” really works.  Does the author get feedback from having their hubs go through this process?  Does a human read the grading results or is this something done by a computer program?  What actually happens to a hub after it’s been hopped?  I’ve been very reluctant to “hop” because I’m not sure that I’m not doing more damage than good. 
   I’d like to see some changes made to “Hop some hubs.”  I like reading the new hubs, but I’d like the chance to explain what I like, or possibly don’t like, about a hub.  I think it would be so much more advantageous to the author if there was a way for them to receive some feedback from the one critiquing their work.  I don’t like to find fault with someone’s work and not let them know what I don’t like, or do like, about it.  I’ve read some that were very informative, but spelling mistakes ruined the reading experience. 
   Also, sometimes the hub is about some subject that I know nothing about, so I immediately exit the “Hop some hubs.”   Is there a way to just bypass that particular article and go on to the next?

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   1. 91

      DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I hate the new 'hub hopper' format, so I no longer hop hubs!

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10. 92

    Kylyssaposted 9 years ago

    In my opinion, de-bugging and repairing existing features should hold priority over any improvements, unless those improvements involve removing and replacing existing inefficient or buggy features.

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11. 0

    calculus-geometryposted 9 years ago

    Allow us to see earnings per article.

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    1. 36

       ChristinSposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       That would be a cool idea - although I bet it would be a pain to set up that way unfortunately.

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       1. 67

          relacheposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          That's how all the earning stats were until HubPages invented their own ad program, and decided to not then share any details.

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       2. 86

          Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          We already see it to some extent.
          
          The HubPages Ad Program pays per view, so you can tell the percentage of earnings from each Hub by the views it receives.
          
          You can also tell exactly which Hubs are earning Adsense revenue through your Adsense account.
          
          Amazon and eBay are the mysterious ones.

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          1. 91

             DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

             Exactly!  I've had exactly only 2 Amazon sales, and the first one, it took some very serious digging to try and discover which hub had the Amazon capsule that triggered a sale; in the second instance, I have NO clue, because the item purchased does not seem to bear any relation to anything I would have put in as being related to any of my articles.

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             1. 81

                Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                Lizzy - doesn't Amazon pay if someone lands on the site from your link and goes to another product & buys it?  It's been a while since I checked out that whole process.

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                1. 67

                   stevemorgan1005posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                   AS part of the amazon affiliate program in the past, i was under the impression that it only counted if the user purchased the item they clicked onto.. It could be different now though..

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                   1. 90

                      Sue Adamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                      No Steve, Marcy is right in her answer to Lizzy.
                      
                      
                      You do get paid for indirect sales. Hence the seemingly unrelated products.

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                      1. 67

                         stevemorgan1005posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                         Awesome. Thank you for clearing that up. That is certainly helpful. I have clicked onto ad ad for something on Amazon before and ended up purchasing several items.

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                2. 91

                   DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                   Ah--okay--I was not aware of that.  Thanks, Marcy--that clears up the confusion.

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    2. 78

       LouCannonposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I sooo agree!

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    3. 91

       DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Oh, yes!  I LIKE that idea!!  It is so hard to tell which of our writing is actually making us our money. Such a feature would do a great deal to help us decide future topics!

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12. 81

    Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years ago

    Suggestion to Staff:
    
    This is based on comments on another thread - why not add feature similar to the HOTD that recognizes creative work? We have wonderful poetry and short-stories here, and those writers feel left out of the spotlight.  Even if it was a weekly honor, it would be a wonderful way for us to spot and read some artistic work we might otherwise overlook.
    
    If it's not doable to add yet another accolade to the mix, can you at least include creative hubs now and then?

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    1. 91

       DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       +1

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          Jodahposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          100% agree. Best suggestion yet.

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    2. 93

       LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Marcy, I wonder if there's a way to divide hp into 'creative' and 'informative' sections that would benefit everyone. It would probably mean that our profile pages would be divided into the two sections as well.
       
       Don't know how it would be achieved, but in an ideal world ... lol.

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          Jodahposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          I wish.

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13. 76

    ologsinquitoposted 9 years ago

    Maybe allow our hubs to be edited by the new editors individually, rather than allowing this throughout our entire account. This way we could pick and choose which ones can be changed.

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14. 81

    Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years ago

    Another Suggestion For Staff:
    
    It's too difficult (IMO) for newcomers to find content on this site.  Although some find specific articles through searches, some also come here on the front page.
    
    The first page is dull and empty - the main photo is pretty, but there's little to tell you about the site or to attract you to reading hubs.  A huge amount of space is taken by the 'sign in' block, which (again, IMO) drives people away - it can imply this is a paid subscription site. Readers should not have to sign in, but it appears they need to do so.
    
    What about having a display of several popular topics that includes carousels of good hubs. This would require creating windows such as the carousels on our profiles (that's work, but could be worth it) and regularly importing good hubs to rotate through each topic window.  The front page should also include a search bar - now, the search is at the top & seems more 'admin' related than placed where it would invite readers to search.
    
    The 'front page' would then look like an online source of interesting stories on good topics, and would entice people to click on topics. It would also show readers the great variety here. And, of course, it can include info on signing up.
    
    Finally - what about 'branding' the name HubPages a bit by having a slogan or motto that refers to the site as "Your Hub for Information and Entertainment" or some such thing? The word "Hub" may not mean much to many readers. Squidoo, despite having problems, was better branded - people knew it was out there and knew you could search for information on the site.

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    1. 36

       ChristinSposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I love all of these suggestions and I would add that instead of the tiny "help" at the top right - we place a prominent link to the learning center.  I believe it was you Marcy who also stated it might be helpful when people ask questions that are asked a lot to have some sort of pop-up or notification that shows them where they can also find that information in the learning center, in addition to asking etc.

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       1. 81

          Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          I like the "Help" idea, Christin - and yes, I mentioned that other idea in another thread - I'd forgotten, so thanks for bringing it into this thread!

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    2. 76

       stricktlydatingposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Marcy that idea sounds great!

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    3. 93

       LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I really like your idea about 'branding', Marcy.  To expand on my earlier comment about separating creative hubs from informative hubs, I think it would be great if there was a link from the key words in your proposed "Your hub for information and entertainment".
       
       Click on 'information' and go to informative hubs. Click on 'entertainment' and you enter a world of creative writing. At the top of every page (ie every hub), there could be a button to take you to the other 'world'. (Or perhaps the same line again, where people could easily change their option.)

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15. 76

    chezchazzposted 9 years ago

    My hubpages wish list:
    -- I would like to be able to put some sale and/or photos on the left side of a text capsule and not just on the right. It makes the page look more balanced to my eye.
    -- I also preferred the Squidoo video arrangement where there was one large on and a few other smaller ones under that. If you have a 3 part DIY video, for example, it would look better (IMHO). Or perhaps the ability to put two half-width videos side by side.
    -- Ability to use more than one of same recipe capsule in a hub. For example, some of my recipes include different versions or separate parts that should have separate ingredients and instructions. 
    --Would like to be able to limit comments to 5 or 10 with clickable option  to  see more. Since I will lose comments if editing older ones (transferred from Squidoo) I have been afraid to do that. Also you have options for 5 or 20 but no 10. Ditto for polls and similar capsules.
    --I realize this probably won't happen, but I would love some insight into the "ranking" system as some of my most visited hubs that also have the most sales are ranked lower than some with no sales and few visitors while I can see no difference in quality other than the ones with more traffic get more visitors from other sites where bloggers linked to them or otherwise promoted them. It seems that should be a plus, not a negative. Go figure. I can't.

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    1. 91

       DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I SO agree on the recipe capsules!!  Some recipes have two related parts, such as a main section, and a sauce recipe.  Having to send the reader to another hub to get the second part of the same recipe is not a "recipe" for keeping people on the site or on your hub.  It is counter-productive.
       It is also very un-professional-looking due to an inconsistent appearance, to have to add the second section of the recipe in a regular text capsule without the recipe formatting!

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16. 90

    Sue Adamsposted 9 years ago

    Get Rid of Multiple Product Sales Hubs
    
    We have a rule of not having more than 2 links to the same domain. However the other rule of 50 words per Amazon capsule seems to confuse some "authors" and negate the first rule. Many hubs are still a long list of product sales with over 10 Amazon capsules and /or text links to sales on a page.
    Some of us spend time reporting such hubs but is it our job?
    
    My suggestion for improvement in 2015:
    An enforceable rule of no more than 2 amazon or eBay capsules per hub would tie in with the 2 links per domain rule. The QAP could be tightened up to automatically  unfeature hubs that are exclusively written for multiple product sales.

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    1. 84

       Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       While I agree that we have too many sales hubs, and there does seem to be an influx of sales people who have joined this year, I don't agree that doing away with sales hubs completely are the way to go.  Maybe I'm saying this because I have sales hubs that do well (at least they do earn me a sale or two in December).  The sales hubs have to add some value instead of simply providing information that can be found on Amazon.  HubPages is already addressing this issue with the last batch of hubs that they unfeatured.

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    2. 47

       Doodleheadposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       How about those of us who don't use Amazon or Ebay be able to "auction off" our "credits" and sell them to people who want to use them?   Just an idea.  Sort of like CARBON CREDITS, YA KNOW.

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       1. 91

          DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          "Auction off our credits..."  I have NO idea what you're talking about.  What credits do we have that we could sell?  Hub scores, hubber scores, etc, are of no monetary value; our earnings are private, and paid directly, so what you're saying doesn't seem to make any sense.
          (Plus, if there was such a thing, it would probably be against the rules to do as you suggest.)

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          1. 86

             Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

             MsLizzy, what Doodlehead is suggesting is that if a Hubber doesn't use Amazon or eBay then he/she should be allowed to sell  their "quota" of Amazon/eBay capsules to other Hubbers.
             
             So say you've written 4 Hubs of 500 words each - you could've theoretically used 40 Amazon capsules but you haven't.  You could sell those to another Hubber, who wants to use additional capsules in his Hubs.
             
             It wouldn't work of course, because the whole point is that it's the number of products on any single post that matters to Google not the number of products on the site as a whole.

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    3. 70

       makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I rather suspect if you introduced a rule like that you might see a lot of income generating hubs disappearing from HubPages rather fast - which in turn might prove a bit of a challenge to HubPages Finances.  Don't forget that HubPages derives income which pays for the overheads of this site via income earning capsules!
       
       The issue is not about how many products - it's about the quantity and quality of the rest of the content on the hub which has them.

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    4. 93

       LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I would hate to see a rule of 2 amazon or ebay capsules per hub. When I write a 2,000 word hub I believe I'm entitled to more than 2 amazon capsules.

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       1. 70

          makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          You're not just entitled - you're also entitled to start thinking seriously about alternative places for your content if that sort of rule ever came into play.

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17. 86

    CassandraCaeposted 9 years ago

    I think an application for mobile would be nice.

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18. 89

    MariaMontgomeryposted 9 years ago

    I would like for my highest ranked hubs to be shown at the top of my profile page as they are on my dashboard. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to which ones are at the top of my profile pages, except that the ones written specifically for HP are shown first, then the ones transferred from Squidoo, even though the transferred ones rank higher.
    
    I would like to be able to place some photos on the right side of the page for a more balanced look. Before transferring to HP, I alternated from left to right with each photo.
    
    I would like the option to check the box to follow a forum or comment section rather than have it default to being checked, leaving me to remember to uncheck it.
    
    I would especially like for the hub to take up the entire screen, and be more colorful, instead of having so much boring blank space on each side of the screen. I know it was recently enlarged, but come on, it was very, very little.

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    1. 81

       Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Maria - I'm not sure if you're referring to the rotating images of hubs on your carousel, but if that's what you mean, you can edit which ones appear by editing your profile. Just go into the edit mode, and all the urls in for those hubs will appear, with a dropdown menu.  You can choose your best hubs or whichever ones you want to feature & they'll be prominently displayed & rotate on the profile.
       
       Regarding photos on the righthand side - are you referring to photos in hubs?  You can shift those to the right if you click on the edit mode & look for arrows on the bar at the top of that photo capsule. Sadly, the edit mode features no longer show unless you actually put your cursor on that bar.  There's an arrow to shift photos to the right. 
       
       Hope that helps - and if I had the wrong advice, please excuse!

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       1. 89

          MariaMontgomeryposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          I chose certain hubs for the rotating section quite some time ago. I am referring to the LIST of hubs. On my profile page, the hubs I wrote specifically for HP are listed first, then the ones transferred from Squidoo. None of them are listed according to the ranking that shows on my dashboard. The highest ranked hubs are pretty far down the list on my profile page. Still don't get that.
          
          I remember now, about the option to move the photos to the right. The are quite small, however. I write on other platforms, and I must have confused one of those with HP. My bad.

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          1. 81

             Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

             Not your 'bad' at all - you've got a lot going on, to publish on multiple sites!  Since I didn't come over from Squidoo, I don't know how the various hubs are lined up - but as I read your reply here, I wondered if the topic categories could be a factor?  Are the hubs on this site in different categories? Have you tweaked the topics in the ones that came over from Squidoo?
             
             I hope the staff reads this thread and adds your suggestion/comment to their mix of things to consider. I do know the staff listens - they work hard for us and for the site. They're all great people.

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    2. 93

       LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Maria, I think it would be a really big mistake if everyone's best performing hubs were shown at the top of their profile page. Life would become far too easy for thieves who steal hubs.

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19. 58

    retrojoeposted 9 years ago

    Hope nobody has mentioned this yet (I didn't read through all the comments before posting this)..  I propose that hubpages not only give hubbers the option to opt out of ads for a particular hub, but also, if they choose the later, they are also given an option to pay out of pocket to have their hub promoted by hubpages.  In other words, if you can light a fire under one or a few hubs, the rest may catch on and attract more visitors as well.

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    1. 38

       Writer Foxposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       You have the option to turn ads off on a Hub:
       Go into the Edit mode on a Hub and scroll down the right column until you see 'Display Options.' 
       Click on that and turn ads off.
       
       If you want to pay for promotion, buy some ads on Google AdWords program.

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       1. 58

          retrojoeposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          I knew about the option for opting out of ads; just was adding the promotion part as another extension or flip side of a coin.  The Google AdWords program suggestion I like and is probably a better idea than I came up with.  Thanks!

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20. 81

    Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years ago

    YET ANOTHER SUGGESTION FOR STAFF:
    
    Regarding copied content - now that we have the copied links available in our hubs, would it be possible for HP to aggregate information on repeat offenders and work with the site's upper managment directly?  Many of us have content copied onto blogging sites, and those sites aren't always responsive.  However, HP is in a position to circumvent things and go directly to the top.  I know this is extra work, but as it is, you probably have many dozens of Hubbers contacting sites or host servers individually about one or two hubs at a time.
    
    AND - any help you can offer in getting content removed from foreign sites would be greatly appreciated.  I have one hub copied by FIVE sites with urls ending in ZA - the sites are all registered to the same person.  I tried the web hosting contact and the emails bounced.
    
    AND - is there any way to cross reference copied content with persons who have accounts here? Can IP addresses be tracked somehow on the sites that steal (especially the ones that are impossible to contact) and checked against IP addresses of people who publish or post here?  Can we block known offenders, and can we use IP addresses to dig deeper into finding them? This is a very uninformed question - I don't really know how all of that works.

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    1. 93

       LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Yes! Yes! Yes! I would love to see IP addresses tracked so that the offenders can be prevented from following hubbers!
       
       I would also love to see a 'permanent' forum thread where we can list the latest offending websites ... and work as a team to file all our DMCAs together so the hosting site can't help but notice there's a problem - and close them down.

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       1. 97

          aesta1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

          ++++

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21. 75

    cheaptrickposted 9 years ago

    Bring back the old hub hopper...getting rid of it was a dumb move.

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    1. 81

       Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I agree - the "Classic" Hopper, as it was called after the new one was installed, allowed us to meet new people and leave comments. The new one is boring, not particularly relevant in terms of the slider ratings (it's too subjective) and doesn't invite participation as much.

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    2. 91

       DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       +1  I've mentioned this more than once.  I don't use the new one--ever.

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22. 90

    Sue Adamsposted 9 years ago

    As far as I am aware, the order in which our hubs appear on our profile page are by date, with the most recently written hub at the top.

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23. 79

    Sam Montanaposted 9 years ago

    Concerning links, I would like the option when creating links as to whether they open on the same page or a new tab, without having to do that with HTML.

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    1. 75

       Barbara Kayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       +1

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24. 81

    Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years ago

    A follow-up to an idea I posted earlier - if it would take too much tech juice to create a program that aggregates copied hubs into groups (based on the site on which they're copied) how about this:
    
    Could Paul (or some other elevated personage) request us to submit (privately - so we don't add online links) lists of hubs copied on certain sites?  I have several on blogspot, and have also been hit on Bubblews.  Perhaps if Paul were to approach the Blogspot elevated personages with a long list of offenders, it would help both of our sites clean up the issues.
    
    Once the urls are assembled in one file (the original content along with the url where it's stolen), someone could run the traps and eliminate a large number of copied pieces in one move, rather than the tedious and very frustrating way it's done now.  It might also highlight (for the other sites - or even for us) who the dishonest writers are on a site. 
    
    Please consider this, or some other way for HP management to help us get rid of copied content. As it stands now - hundreds of us are doing this, one by one. This is time we could spend writing new content and promoting our work.

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25. 85

    Kathy Stutzmanposted 9 years ago

    I would like to be able to "batch" my hubs on my profile based on the groups in which they are categorized with sub-headings so if someone goes to my profile or looks at one of my hubs in one topic, they could see other subtopics that I am writing about and enter into those hubs through a sub-heading - rather than looking through the entire list and seeing all of the various hubs listed in order of score (I think?)
    
    Absent a sub heading, I would like more control over the order in which the hubs appear so that I could devise some kind of grouping of the 5 topics about which I write.
    
    I realize that some Hubbers use different accounts, but my name is my work and my work is associated with my name and I don't want to hide behind pseudonyms or create any more confusion when people are searcing for something I created - often an entry into a facilitation article will begin with a recipe and then morph into inspiration...just my wish as a newbie here.

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    1. 84

       Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Kathy, there is something like that here.  If you click on the arrow by the Show All at the top of the list, you can select a topic.  I don't think that most people know it is there.  In the past, the hubs were separated by categories and I think it looked much better then.

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       1. 85

          Kathy Stutzmanposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks Millionaire Tips - I love learning something new. I think I will change my profile description to instruct people who visit who don't know about that tip how to use it so that others can find the categories. Now that I know that option is available, I can help others find my work. I am not convinced that someone coming to Hub Pages for the first time would know what to do or how to find that feature - I didn't. I still think it would be a usability or accessibility thing to make that more clear for our visitors, we do want them to feel welcome. Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it!

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26. 60

    HLesleyposted 9 years ago

    This is not really about usability, I guess, but more about writing revenue.
    
    HP Pages itself should be giving us something for our articles outside of AdSense. Otherwise, why are providing free content for the site just on the off chance that we may or may not qualify for an AdSense account?.
    
    I was previously a Helium.com writer and did fairly well there. The site itself offered up front payments for certain articles, writing competitions with cash prizes, and pay per click revenue, all up front without having to apply to any other program.
    
    I have written a few articles for HP, which I recognize is a quality site. However, now I have actually figuraed out how it works I am leery about contributing any more because the whole thing feels a bit scammy

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    1. 90

       Sue Adamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       There is nothing "scammy" about HubPages. Learn the ropes. Put in the quality work, and, over time, get quality pay.

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       1. 75

          Barbara Kayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          +1. I've never had problems with payment and I haven't heard of anyone else having them. The only time you won't get paid is if you close your account before you reach the $50 payout.

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    2. 86

       Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Helium went broke because it was paying writers revenue it didn't earn.
       
       The model used by HubPages, Wizzley and some other sites is actually MUCH more sensible:  you are being paid 60% of what your Hubs actually earn in advertising revenue.   
       
       You are not providing content on the off-chance you'll get an Adsense account.  Yes, you will need to write about 20 Hubs and be here about six weeks before you can apply:  but if you're a good writer, there's an excellent chance you will be approved at that point.  It's likely your Hubs will have earned less than 50c in their first 6 weeks anyway, so you haven't lost much. 
       
       Also, unlike Helium, if you do get turned down by Adsense you can delete all your Hubs immediately and use them elsewhere.

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    3. 99

       DrMark1961posted 9 years agoin reply to this

       If HP ever follows any of those other sites that you wrote for in the past they will probably go out of business too.
       Do you really think those scammy sites were an improvement over a site that pays based on performance?

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       1. 85

          NateB11posted 9 years agoin reply to this

          +1

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    4. 74

       Uzochukwu Mikeposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Hlesley, write more and keep editing. It takes time for Hubpages articles to update with search engines.

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27. 67

    stevemorgan1005posted 9 years ago

    Well, enough said.. forget my reply.. hah

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28. 94

    john000posted 9 years ago

    This is a great collection of ideas. Once I got started reading I kept going and going, yet when I started, I figured I would quickly move on. Nice to see folks are willing to put the time in commenting. Thanks.

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29. 79

    LuisEGonzalezposted 9 years ago

    How about just fixing the load times. From what I've been able to read on review sites, HP load times are getting slower.

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    1. 99

       DrMark1961posted 9 years agoin reply to this

       That is a good point. Do we have too many images on our pages?
       Also, do a lot of comments on a page slow down load times? If so, do you know how to collapse the comments so that only a few are showing?

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30. 38

    Writer Foxposted 9 years ago

    1.  Require that all Hubs use the NoFollow attribute on all affiliate links and unfeature all Hubs that violate this Google Webmaster guideline.  This kind of webspam hurts the entire site on search engine rankings.
    
    2. Provide the choice to NoFollow a link for Photo URLs.  Some people use Photo links for affiliate sites and these must use the NoFollow attribute, according to Google Webmaster Guidelines. Also, links to webpages unrelated to a Hub's topic should be NoFollow. 
    
    3.  Do away with duplicate Page Titles (titles of Hubs) across the site. This is considered webspam and is penalized by Google's algorithms.
    
    4.  Include a thumbnail photo for links to other Hubs in the link capsule.
    
    5. Encourage writers who bring significant page views to the site to write more Hubs by providing incremental increases to the HP Ad Program payout percentages as an incentive. 
    
    6.  Unpublish Hubs which copycat other Hubs.

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    1. 91

       DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Stop counting mandatory photo credit URL's toward "promotional" hits!  If you take a photo from a site that says you may use it, but it also requires that you link to that source by means of crediting the photo,  you are neither trying to sell something, nor providing an "unrelated" link.  It is unfair to have it counted against "promotional" links, as an affiliate link would be (and those are supposed to be no-follow in any case).

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       1. 79

          LuisEGonzalezposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          I agree. Most of the pictures that I use require that a link be added and this is often a pain since HP counts them as promotional links

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       2. 88

          Jodahposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          I agree with this too.

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31. 95

    Kierstin Gunsbergposted 9 years ago

    I agree about the promotional links issue. Also, if it hasn't already been said (though I'm sure it has) threaded comments, please! I have many commenters on my article about chemical pregnancies. It's a super sensitive subject and I would appreciate being able to comment individually to each respondent instead of having to reply in one huge comment.

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    1. 93

       LongTimeMotherposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Kierstin, you can already respond to comments individually. When you are signed in, click on your username in the top bar, then 'my account' (showing your stats). Near the top of that page is 'Comments'. Click on it and you'll get to approve or deny individual comments. Once you approve a comment, you get the option to click 'reply'. You can work your way through all your comments, replying individually.

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32. 93

    LongTimeMotherposted 9 years ago

    lol. I have just written 12 responses within this single thread. There's been so many things discussed here that inspired a response.
    
    Would someone please email me the next time there's such an interesting thread to read?

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33. 87

    wildsimplicityposted 9 years ago

    This is a bit late but I would love to see an option to batch delete capsules. When my lenses were imported from Squidoo and turned into hubs, most of the photos and captions were separated. This has left me with LOADS of capsules to delete and having to delete them individually takes so much time. If I could select all the capsules I wanted to delete at once and then delete them... that would be AMAZING.

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34. 74

    Uzochukwu Mikeposted 9 years ago

    (1)Hubpages should improve earnings through those that advertise with them.
    (2)The site should be redesigned so that we can at least add one advert code that will be paid to us directly by the advertiser.
    (3)They should not unpublish all hubber's hubs due to moderation without two weeks grace for editiing.
    (4) A unique site should be hosted for hubbers who have stayed on this site for 6 years with up to 1 million views.
    (5) Revenue sharing should be dependent on the number of years stayed on this site and traffic. what I meant is that it should sometimes be 60/40 in favour of those that that have stayed for years.

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35. 73

    Kathleen Cochranposted 9 years ago

    Would like to see more HODs by some of the hubbers who receive accolades each year when hubbers vote on their favorites.  HP has their standards for HOD (many only concerned with technical aspects)  but should consider the opinions of their writers.

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