Heads up! HubScore Update

1. 77

   Marina Lazarevicposted 9 years ago

   Over the next few days, we'll be rolling out an update to HubScore. Read more about it in today's blog post!

   replyreport
   1. 75

      Sulabhaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hope this works in my favour!

      replyreport
   2. 81

      Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Question for Marina -
      
      The 'before' graph in the blog is very enlightening - will we see the 'after' version as well, to give us information on where our overall quality falls in terms of the content on the rest of the site?

      replyreport
      1. 77

         Marina Lazarevicposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Here is the 'after' distribution:
         
         
         
         edit: made the image bigger

         replyreport
         1. 81

            Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Way cool - to see the contrast!  When will the new numbers kick in and be visible to us?  Maybe already?

            replyreport
            1. 77

               colorfuloneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               My hubscores have all changed recently (for the better).

               replyreport
               1. 81

                  Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Mine have gone up and down a bit because I updated, edited and added content. As has been mentioned elsewhere, the system penalizes us for those things.

                  replyreport
                  1. 77

                     colorfuloneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     My scores are going up and down with yours.

                     replyreport
   3. 72

      brakel2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for listening to the input about the scores. It never made sense to count traffic in hubscores and then in hubber scores. So many people have become stressed out over this factor, and, hopefully, morale will improve. Traffic from Google is so insane with so many copied and off the wall hubs. I have a hub with many pages of sites using my info to get their own traffic, as someone has recently pointed out in a forum thread. I am surprised that 70 is a good average score. That is nice to know, but I much prefer to not always be average. I am looking forward to this change.

      replyreport
   4. 77

      CatherineGiordanoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Well now, I finally know what a "good" score is.  I had no idea before if 70 was good or not. When a hub dropped below 70, I used to try to update it. I stopped trying to "fix" it because I figured the lower score had to do with traffic and there was not much I could do about that.  The quality of a hub is exactly the same if no edits were made so why should a score go up and down 20 points. Maybe scores will not vary so much now.

      replyreport
2. 91

   jansharesposted 9 years ago

   Bravo! If nothing else, this will help us stress less over hubscores and what they mean. By taking out the traffic factor (the lack of which does not always correlate with the quality of the hub or the writer), we can focus more on making quality hubs knowing that the scores they receive reflect our work and not the ups and downs of fickle readers, i.e., traffic. Thanks, Marina, for the heads-up. Timely heads-up saves everybody a lot of angst, frustration, and unnecessary stress, not to mention a lot of forum and Q&A posts looking for answers.

   replyreport
3. 81

   Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years ago

   This is good news (I think) - but I do have a few questions:
   
   Since the amount of traffic is deemphasized (this is good), how does the 'consumer' element get calculated.  A hub can be very good, but have low traffic. 
   
   It appears that internal traffic will be a factor in the 'consumer' element. This might encourage more incestuous viewing and sharing.
   
   Does the 'consumer' factor relate to the thumbs up & down thing, and the buttons about 'useful, funny,' etc.? 
   
   Will the historical data of the mysterious 'consumer' factor be included in the calculations?
   
   If a hub has not been through the QAP (if it predates that process) how will the 'quality' be determined for the hubscore ratings?
   
   Thanks!
   
   Marcy

   replyreport
   1. 94

      SmartAndFunposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Great questions, Marcy. I agree; we certainly need a definition of "reader consumption." To me, it sounds like it might have something to do with traffic, however, traffic is going to be de-emphasized and "reader consumption" will be emphasized in regards to determining hubscore, so obviously they are not the same. Perhaps it is time a reader spends on a page and/or bounce rate?

      replyreport
      1. 91

         aesta1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Or maybe the reader shares it to different social media. There is also the voting. These are just speculations, of course.

         replyreport
      2. 77

         Marina Lazarevicposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Some questions that we might ask when determining the HubScore include: Does the typical reader actually read most or all of the Hub? Does he vote in a poll, leave a comment, rate the recipe, take a quiz, or leave feedback (useful/funny/awesome/interesting)? Does she share the Hub on social media? If the reader was referred by a search engine such as Google, did he find the information that he was looking for?
         
         We can’t always know these things directly, but we try to infer them from information that we do have. For Hubs that don’t have traffic, HubScore will mostly reflect the QAP component of quality.

         replyreport
   2. 86

      NateB11posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      My understanding is that HP measures consumer satisfaction at least partly with a survey readers can take when/after they read a Hub. Also, I'd think the length of time they spent on the Hub is factored in.

      replyreport
      1. 77

         colorfuloneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         That would make sense that there is a pop-up survey for hub readers.

         replyreport
   3. 77

      Marina Lazarevicposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Since the amount of traffic is deemphasized (this is good), how does the 'consumer' element get calculated.  A hub can be very good, but have low traffic. 
      
      This is a great question. The more traffic a Hub has, the more information we’ll have on that Hub and the more accurate its HubScore will be. (This is because a Hub needs to have some traffic in order to have data on reader interaction.) A major difference with this HubScore update is that simply having traffic will not positively impact HubScore; and conversely, having no traffic won’t negatively affect HubScore.
      
      It appears that internal traffic will be a factor in the 'consumer' element. This might encourage more incestuous viewing and sharing. 
      
      Internal and external traffic both matter for calculating the reader satisfaction factors, and we have safety measures in place to mitigate the effect of gaming our systems. Ultimately, everyone's time is better spent improving their Hubs rather than trying to game HubScore.
      
      Does the 'consumer' factor relate to the thumbs up & down thing, and the buttons about 'useful, funny,' etc.?   
      
      Please refer to my post here.
      
      Will the historical data of the mysterious 'consumer' factor be included in the calculations? 
      
      Yes, both historical and recent data will be factored into the calculations.
      
      If a hub has not been through the QAP (if it predates that process) how will the 'quality' be determined for the hubscore ratings? 
      
      We are more certain of the quality of some Hubs than others, but by now we have some notion of the quality of every Hub. Hubs won’t be assigned a HubScore until after they’ve been through the QAP. Until then, the HubScore column will show a ? while the Hub is pending the QAP (this is not new).

      replyreport
4. 86

   NateB11posted 9 years ago

   Cool. I like that quality is emphasized as well as reader experience.

   replyreport
5. 0

   swilliamsposted 9 years ago

   Thanks for the update Marina!

   replyreport
6. 66

   seraphicposted 9 years ago

   Perhaps doing away with the public score would be a better plan as it deters' the public from reading if a Hubscore is not a higher level one.
   
   I understand the concept of increasing involvement within a website, however, this is a dis-service for the Hub Community as a whole with traffic.
   
   Perhaps if you increased the Hubscore on an internal page for the writer and not a public one, it would increase reader engagement and time on a Hub.
   
   Also, it would appear if a Hubber goes in to correct a hub (or edit) it is penalized for a period of time on the system and it takes a few days for the revisions to truly impact the Hubscore.
   
   Over time as I breeze through articles here there are wild fluctuations that I have seen in Hubscores, the lowest I have seen for a HubberScore is 39.
   
   Now, if you have an individual who has written on the same topics and their over-all score is that low, why not delete those articles or send a message to the user (writer) to revise the article or it will be deleted from the system? Gobbling up titles just in the name of selling products for Amazon or Ebay with a low-quality Hub is upsetting for those who can write well on a particular subject.
   
   I have seen some Hubbers with very over-all low Hubscores and they have like three or four hundred articles! Peeking into those articles, it looks like they have written 400 words and have posted many products to sell.
   
   Perhaps a moderation button is needed?

   replyreport
7. 55

   paradigm searchposted 9 years ago

   
   I hope the far right trumps the left top.
   
   All in all, the blog post gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling with my first-cup-of-coffee Friday morning. All appears well.

   replyreport
   1. 81

      Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'm trying to decide what the difference is between 'traffic' and 'reader consumption.'  I guess reader consumption means the length of time spent on the hub and any interaction, such as taking quizzes, clicking on a link, etc.
      
      Not sure if they mean 'ad clicks' - that one would certainly spin things the wrong direction in terms of quality. 
      
      I hope to get an answer to the question about longterm historical values on those things vs values that only reflect recent history.

      replyreport
8. 62

   tlcsposted 9 years ago

   I love this, especially the advice to look at the lower scoring hubs and maybe improve on them other than looking at the higher scoring hubs. I tend to look once and that is when it is originally posted and given the score and leave it at that, now I will ensure that I check the scoring more frequently.

   replyreport
9. 77

   colorfuloneposted 9 years ago

   It should be interesting to see how hub scores are going to shake out with these changes.

   replyreport
10. 90

    Rochelle Frankposted 9 years ago

    Will this change the distribution graph significantly?  It looks like hubs scores might go higher, shifting the top of thr curve to the right.

    replyreport
    1. 81

       Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Rochelle - if the system has good filters, the shape of the curve may not be the issue so much as where a given hub falls on it after the change is implemented.  If hubs get good traffic, but have quality issues, they might get lower scores. One nice result might be if enough writers are aware of it to prompt  them to go in and edit their content.

       replyreport
11. 81

    Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years ago

    Thanks for the helpful information, Marina!

    replyreport
12. 61

    Cheryl Reneeposted 9 years ago

    I'm pleased that the quality of our hubs will be evaluated and not how many views we get.  They're many a great hub, that unfortunately  does not get a lot of traffic.

    replyreport
13. 55

    paradigm searchposted 9 years ago

    I've noticed much hubscore fluctuation, but the average has not budged. I strongly suspect the critter doesn't update at the same time the individual hub scores do.

    replyreport
    1. 82

       sallybeaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Me too but profile score has plummeted - here we go again!!

       replyreport
       1. 55

          paradigm searchposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Such is our lot in life...

          replyreport
          1. 82

             sallybeaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

             I am seeing some startling changes, though my average has stayed the same, I am seeing hubs which have not really done much for ages are appearing as high scorers.  One hub which should reach 30,000 views tomorrow is no longer sitting so pretty.

             replyreport
             1. 91

                aesta1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                This is also true of my own hubs.

                replyreport
                1. 90

                   Rochelle Frankposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                   Yes, there has been a shuffle in the ranking. (So many of us have said that it doesn't matter, but we are still talking about it, aren't we?)
                   I was actually pleased to see some of what I consider my better quality hubs go up despite low views.  My first impression is that the ranking is a little more indicative of  overall quality. Again, of course, "it doesn't matter" very much.
                   I hope the main effect is to make people stop stressing so much about the scores.

                   replyreport
                   1. 77

                      CatherineGiordanoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                      My average score has dropped 1point yesterday, another point.  Hubber score is down also. I wish HP would spend their time updating the stats instead of up-ending the hub scores.  I'm feeling so demoralized right now, I doubt that I will write anything new for a while.  And I am certainly not going to waste my time editing old hubs.  If they were good quality yesterday, they should be good quality today.  Besides, I don't have a clue about how to make them better.

                      replyreport
14. 87

    Kathleen Odenthalposted 9 years ago

    my highest scoring hubs have become my lowest... my highest traffic hubs have also tanked... all i can do is laugh honestly.

    replyreport
    1. 0

       Lorelei Cohenposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Exactly Kathleen. I am not sure how this is reflective of a good article.

       replyreport
15. 81

    Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years ago

    I'm seeing the same odd fluctuations.  Even in hubs already noted for having high quality and with a history of high traffic.

    replyreport
    1. 82

       sallybeaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Sometimes it is best to let sleeping dogs lie.  On a positive note, a change is as good as a holiday.

       replyreport
16. 92

    Jayne Lancerposted 9 years ago

    My hub scores are all over the place and as nonsensical as ever. And since posting a new hub last night, my hubber score has dropped by five points. It feels like a huge slap across the face. Doesn't HubPages want us to publish new hubs???

    replyreport
    1. 82

       sallybeaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Really demotivating, perhaps it is an April fools joke.

       replyreport
       1. 81

          Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Well, if it's April Fools, they're a month early.  Heaven help us when the real day rolls around.
          
          I agree with you - the drops in certain things as a 'reward' for editing, improving, publishing new work, etc. are demotivating. Hope someone is reading these comments.

          replyreport
       2. 92

          Jayne Lancerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          It doesn't really help anyone, does it?
          
          I've been trying to work out how the 'update to HubScore' is affecting my hubs. My best scoring ones now are those with a lower w/c, fewer images, and no videos, tables, polls etc. My 'stellar' hubs have very mediocre scores, so I guess that's not what HubPages wants anymore.

          replyreport
    2. 77

       CatherineGiordanoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Janye Lancer: I feel the same as you quite often.  I know the scores are not personal, but it does feel like a slap in the face sometimes.  I see a bad score and it is demotivating, I don't write for several days. I'm going to go back to ignoring the scores.

       replyreport
17. 91

    jansharesposted 9 years ago

    I agree with Catherine that we should try to ignore all scores, at least for now. After all, the purpose of this forum post was to forewarn us that we will see fluctuations in both hubber- and hubscores as this update rolls out. Maybe we should wait a week or two to see how our scores adjust to this change and not get too upset over it. My scores are all over the place, too. But I expected it. Maybe we should have a moratorium on editing or publishing new hubs until things stabilize.

    replyreport
18. 80

    CMHypnoposted 9 years ago

    I suppose it is like all changes in our lives - we love the ones which seem to go well for us and are not so keen on those that appear challenging.  So far this change has positively impacted my hubscores, so all is cool.  But it could all change tomorrow lol!

    replyreport
    1. 77

       CatherineGiordanoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Actually, my scores didn't change very much. Just a few points lower, but still, lower is lower.

       replyreport
    2. 94

       Susana Sposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Wise words indeed!

       replyreport
19. 94

    PegCole17posted 9 years ago

    One weird effect is that the score of all of my unpublished hubs have risen above those that were scoring higher. I now have unpublished hubs that out rank Editor's Choice hubs in terms of scores. I understand that the unpublished ones factor into the average total, but not how their score fluctuates without any changes at all in editing, quality, photos or otherwise.

    replyreport
    1. 81

       Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Peg, I noticed the same very odd change, too - I had unpublished some hubs that were not performing, and their scores went up.  The quality was good, but it's doubtful the traffic they had was useful at all.
       
       Meanwhile, some high performing hubs, also of good quality, dropped. There's something wrong, if this is the case.

       replyreport
       1. 94

          PegCole17posted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Marcy, I also noticed on a new hub I published yesterday that the related hubs were totally unrelated. My new hub was about animals and pets and the related ones were for meatballs and goulash recipes and how to make ink.
          
          

          replyreport
          1. 81

             Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

             Peg - these are insane - were they actually under the 'related hubs' section, or just off to the side?
             
             Regarding the scores (on anything), unless they offer information on actions we can take to raise them, they're of no use to the writers here.  It's fine if the staff wants to invent a number with a Super Double Secret code meaning they can interpret, but if we aren't privy to the secrets, then make them invisible to us.  It's like beating a mule - it wastes your time, and it annoys the mule.

             replyreport
             1. 94

                PegCole17posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                Marcy, This is an actual screen snip from below my hub about a dog support sling (still there today). I have the hub under my group heading Pets and Animals and under the HP heading Pets and Animals, Dogs and Dog Breeds, Dog Health. Perhaps these other hubs are under the same groups?

                replyreport
20. 92

    Jayne Lancerposted 9 years ago

    I was hoping our HubScores would become more useful to us through this algorithm change, but I'm starting to doubt it.
    
    As for hubber score: why are there hubbers with a score of 100 who have practically no activity? http://hubpages.com/authors/best/ Activity doesn't influence hubber score at all?
    
    The main messages HubPages seems to be sending out with these scoring systems are don't produce 'stellar' hubs (better still, don't produce any new hubs at all) and abandon account but leave hubs up.

    replyreport
    1. 86

       rebekahELLEposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       It still fluctuates so much that it's hard to determine why a hub has a 94 one day and somewhere in the low 80's a day later, or hours later.  As far as hubber score, months ago mine dropped into the high 80's and my average hub score is basically the same as it was when I was in the high 90's.  After being here 5 years with a high hubber score from the very start, I'm stuck in the 80's.  Paul E. said there were changes taking place with scores and that a score in the high 80's  is very good, but it remains a mystery to me why it dropped significantly.  As you've pointed out above, activity doesn't seem to be a huge factor.  I've decided that it doesn't matter, it's just a strange anolomy.
       
       @PegC0le17-  I now have unpublished hubs that out rank Editor's Choice hubs in terms of scores.  Very odd.

       replyreport
       1. 92

          Jayne Lancerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          I really don't understand the point of having scores that nobody seems to be able to make any sense of. In the past I've asked staff members about the scoring systems, but they don't seem to know how they work, either. The last reply I got went something like, "We know it's frustrating when scores drop, but it's best to just ignore them." Ummm ...
          
          What they forget, I think, is how scores are perceived from the perspective of the hubber. I can't help but take them personally.
          
          Worst of all is hubber score, because that's displayed for all to see. I certainly judge other hubbers to a certain extent  based on hubber score, whether I want to or not. And I take it that my own score reflects how well my work is estimated by HubPages.

          replyreport
          1. 85

             Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

             +1
             
             I can recall some great discussions with Simone and Derek (former moderators) about the scores.  Both agreed they were too complicated to understand and were best ignored.    They both said HubPages knew they were flawed, but they weren't willing to remove them until they had something better to replace them with.  The calls to get rid of them were getting louder and louder -- then Paul Edmonson came on the forums to post about how great scores were, and suddenly all the staff stopped criticising them.  As far as I can see, the boss is still enthusiastic about scores so I don't think they will be disappaering.

             replyreport
             1. 55

                paradigm searchposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                Blue Eyes, I really think this will work.

                replyreport
          2. 69

             makingamarkposted 9 years agoin reply to this

             +1
             
             All the revision has done so far is persuade me that it's time to accelerate the removal of content from Hubpages. When a hub gets downgraded that has been extremely popular for many years I know that somebody somewhere has lost the plot.

             replyreport
          3. 86

             rebekahELLEposted 9 years agoin reply to this

              
             Jayne, you know as well as I do that a lot of hubbers with 100 don't know why.  There were times when I hit 100 and had no obvious measures to understand how or why. 
             And yet there are so many quality writers that may never get noticed because of the number on their avatar.  I haven't paid too much attention in that regard as far as judging quality to the hubber score.  I could list some of my favorite hubs here and have no idea what the author score is.  It doesn't matter.
             The only obvious place that we see scores are in the forums.  And sadly I'm sure forum posters have been ignored because of their score.

             replyreport
          4. 91

             aesta1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

             Hubbers have really been quite strong in suggesting to do away with these scores. I wonder why HP seems not to hear.

             replyreport
             1. 94

                Susana Sposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                They hear but it is their site so ultimately the decision is down to them.

                replyreport
21. 94

    Susana Sposted 9 years ago

    If hubscores are now weighted heavily towards reader satisfaction metrics then at least hubbers have a focus point to work from.

    replyreport
    1. 92

       Jayne Lancerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Yes - four or five stars for 'View Duration' on my top scoring hubs.

       replyreport
    2. 55

       paradigm searchposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Yes. If we can depend on a low hub score meaning the readers are not happy, it would be an awesome tool.

       replyreport
       1. 81

          Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          We need a score that tells us whether Google is happy.

          replyreport
          1. 55

             paradigm searchposted 9 years agoin reply to this

             One and the same we hope.

             replyreport
             1. 81

                Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                Wish I could feel that way about 'one and the same' - maybe HP is adopting a euphemism for that term, as when we see a website claiming to improve our 'reader satisfaction' - rather than telling us upfront they've crammed ads in in based on our search history.
                
                Otherwise, that term on HP could relate to the buttons, or the incestuous fan-group views and 'votes' we see in some cases.

                replyreport
                1. 77

                   Marina Lazarevicposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                   We don't know if Google is happy, but we have ways to measure whether readers are happy. Based on the data we do have access to, we have strong reasons to believe that over the long run, reader happiness will result in Google happiness. This is a key reason why we've been making a huge push to improve reader experience lately.

                   replyreport
                   1. 77

                      colorfuloneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                      Keep on pushing through to the happy zone HP.

                      replyreport
                   2. 53

                      janderson99posted 9 years agoin reply to this

                      Marina - I think downgrading traffic is a major error. Traffic is a huge tick that Google likes the hub and sends it traffic. Traffic is the best metric of what Google likes, particularly when you say "We don't know if Google is happy". More traffic means more readers and more happiness. I have looked at some of the Hubpro examples and the impression I have got is that they are so full of stuff that readers will take much longer to read them. The modern trend is to simplify, and deliver what readers want quickly and easily, especially on mobile devices. I trust that reader 'happiness' is not simply measured by dwell time, as more complicated hubs will 'a priori' take longer to read, though not necessarily provide greater reader satisfaction.
                      
                      This hub
                      http://kiwisoutback.hubpages.com/hub/vanilla-cupcakes-2
                      quoted by Paul E as an example of a Hubpro makeover is very hard to read and is very complicated. Too many images and overuse of the 'callout' capsule IMO. Traffic is the best measure of what Google Likes. Traffic is the best measure of an author's success. Why not recognise it? Surely traffic is a good metric for the ways that hub score is used on the site for topic page ranking and the like.

                      replyreport
                   3. 81

                      Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                      Marina -
                      
                      Any information you can share on how writers can improve reader satisfaction would be welcome. I realize some measurements are kept confidential to avoid gaming the system, but if there are things we can take into consideration when we create content (or update it), that would be great!

                      replyreport
       2. 94

          Susana Sposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          It certainly would.
          
          I've done quite a lot of experiments with making edits to improve reader experience and have had startling results at times. If I get some time I'll start a new thread with my findings.

          replyreport
22. 55

    paradigm searchposted 9 years ago

    Hey, folks. I did some edits on 3 hubs this morning. All 3 went up an average of 6 points each. Happy Camper Day.

    replyreport
    1. 92

       Jayne Lancerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       So today is a good day for editing. Thanks for the tip!

       replyreport
       1. 55

          paradigm searchposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          You are right. Usually weekends have stabbed me in the heart. But when the first hub worked out, I went for the other 2.

          replyreport
23. 69

    makingamarkposted 9 years ago

    I'm finding it highly amusing that some of my highest rated hubs are now the ones which HubPages decided must be unpublished.
    
    I've got sites which year after year have survived (all 5 years+) and proved their worth in terms of Google ranking - but HubPages decides these now have to be downrated. 
    
    I can only conclude that the chances of there being a correlation between HubPages views as to reader satisfaction and the same assessment by Google is somewhat remote.
    
    It's beginning to feel as if the quality assessment is one which will be:
    * high if it pleases an individual in an ivory tower
    * low if it's a site which year after year has succeeded in attracting traffic from the masses and visitors who responded to calls to action - and visited again.
    
    Hubpages is rapidly losing its credibility in my eyes.

    replyreport
    1. 72

       brakel2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I keep trying to improve a popular hub to get a higher score - silly me - and it gets higher for a day and then goes down. It is difficult to know what to do anymore. My hubs used to have much higher scores, but admin says 70 is a good score. We just need to write and forget about scores,

       replyreport
       1. 77

          CatherineGiordanoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          The trouble is we all went to school where 70 meant "barely passing."  maybe the scores should be recalibrated so we don't feel like a failure when we see a score of 65 or 70. Yu are right. Ignore the scores, but it is easier said than done.

          replyreport
          1. 72

             brakel2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

             I don't like my scores in the 60s and 70s either, because in school they were not good scores. My scores in school were in 80s and 90s. It is hard to figure out. I know there is nothing I can do, so I am trying to put text on a bunch of pics and putting them on Pinterest to see if I can increase my traffic plus improving some hubs.

             replyreport
24. 92

    Jayne Lancerposted 9 years ago

    I'm wondering why/how my highest scoring hub is one that has had two views during the past 30 days, and is still collecting view duration data in spite of having been up for almost five years.

    replyreport
25. 69

    makingamarkposted 9 years ago

    Three questions I'd love an answer to
    
    1) Why would taking the emphasis off external traffic be seen as a good thing?
    Is an assumption really being made that none of us have any interest whatsoever in generating income (and HubPages isn't bothered about paying the bills)?
    
    Or as one person neatly put it
    
    
    2) Why would demotivating people by reducing hub scores be seen as a good thing?
    Away from this place all I seem to hear at the moment is how fed up people are with what their hub scores look like now they've been downgraded and how they've not got any motivation to touch a hub never mind create a new one.
    
    3) What's the value of a top scoring hub which gets no visitors? Seriously!

    replyreport
    1. 90

       Rochelle Frankposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       Good points!

       replyreport
       1. 87

          Patty Inglish, MSposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Agreed - these are good points.
          
          Interestingly, I just had a semi-truck load of Hubs rotate several times through scores between 91 - 99 -- It was like watching the carnival  Himalaya Ride in one of Ray Bradbury's stories race forward and backward. Maybe it was more like a slot machine. Anyway, it's starting to settle down again and editing to improve several Hubs right now has increased their scores by 10 points.
          
          Low Hubscores in my Hubs always means that the information is outdated and I wish a pattern showed up for other Hubbers.  I am eager to see what happens by mid-March.

          replyreport
    2. 95

       RonElFranposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       I'm looking at it a bit differently. Seeing that a hub that's not getting a lot of traffic nevertheless is rated highly in hub score assures me that the quality is there. So I start thinking about how to drive more traffic to that hub. Can I change the title? Do a better job of SEO (and many times I can)? How can I promote this high quality hub on social media? For me, having the hub score reflect quality more than traffic helps me determine which hubs to put more of my limited time and energy into. IMO that's a very positive thing.

       replyreport
       1. 94

          Susana Sposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          Oh yes.

          replyreport
       2. 87

          Patty Inglish, MSposted 9 years agoin reply to this

          That makes good sense. I have found that improving titles makes a drastic change to the good.

          replyreport
    3. 77

       Marina Lazarevicposted 9 years agoin reply to this

       1) Quality and traffic are not always correlated. We believe that a quality Hub (regardless of the amount of traffic it receives) is more valuable to the HubPages community in the long run than a high-traffic, low-quality Hub. A high-traffic, low-quality Hub can actually do damage to our community and our reputation with readers.  At the same time, we value an excellent, low-traffic Hub because of the work put in by the Hubber to create the Hub and the passion and/or experience that they chose to share with others. That is why we decided to deemphasize traffic in HubScores.
       
       2) You're making an assumption that HubScores demotivate everyone. (Remember that the forums represent a vocal minority of Hubbers.) Many Hubbers will actually see their HubScores improve with this change. I can completely understand why it's frustrating to see a score that you don't have much control over. Please use the scores to prioritize which Hubs to update and improve if you find them useful for that purpose. If you don't find them useful, then I recommend that you ignore them.
       
       3) I believe I answered this question in my reply to #1.

       replyreport
26. 55

    paradigm searchposted 9 years ago

    I have a particular group of 12 hubs that all went from mid 80's to mid 70's. I am saddened. Meanwhile, my one hub on this account seems to be a happy camper. Social media blitzed it this morning.

    replyreport
27. 92

    Titiaposted 9 years ago

    I never paid much attention to the hubscores because I never got to understand their meaning at HP and frankly that hasn't changed a bit.
    
    The rule today is that quality prefails traffic. The question is: who decides what quality is. The extern and/or intern reader? That sounds very subjective to me, very submissive to faul play (HP saying they have 'gaming the system under control' is a déja vu for me, being an ex-Squid). One might think a hub is a quality hub, but another might think it's rubbish. Maybe that's why the hubscores are flying up and down all the time.
    
    So I kept an eye on my hubscores for a few days. I have unpublished 7 hubs myself a few months ago, some because they were unfeatured due to low traffic, some because I hadn't found the time yet to work on them after the transfer, one because it got a red skull due to new rules.
    
    What amazed me the most and certainly was confirming my opinion that hubscores mean nothing at all, was to see just now that the one with the red skull had jumped to a hubscore of 86 and that 6 out of my 7 unpublished hubs had scores in the 70s and 80s and the last one close to 70.
    
    As for surveys (in general): I'm bad at those, I forget to click and should something pop up I click it away, because I don't like popups. I don't think I'm the only one who does that, so having less survey ratings on a hub doesn't mean per definition that the reader didn't like it (that is if it has a reader).
    
    So....my hub with a score of 81 is a true quality hub, despite the fact that it's violating TOS because it's still filled with way too many unrelated products, reason why I unpublished it until I have time to deal with it?
    Who decided that anyway, because nobody but me can see it.

    replyreport
28. 68

    sockiiposted 9 years ago

    I am LOL'ing because since the update, on my other (non-Squidoo transfer) account?
    
    My hub with the highest HubScore since the update, at 91, is the only one on that account "unfeatured for quality".
    
    (My "Editor's Choice" hub on that account is now sitting at 73...)

    replyreport