Over 34,000 reads with low hubscore

1. 89

   Jackie Lynnleyposted 9 years ago

   I cannot understand how my most read hub never makes it to the top and just stays around 75 and never to 100 as many of my less popular ones do? How can this be?

   replyreport
   1. 87

      Faith Reaperposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Wow, Jackie, that is a lot of views!!!  Yes, that one should be skyrocketed to the top, one would think, being it has been how the hubs were scored until just recently where they are now basing it on hub quality and not views.

      replyreport
      1. 89

         Jackie Lynnleyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I know and it is evergreen so I don't get it.

         replyreport
   2. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Traffic plays a very small part in HubScore now.   Have you tried looking at the "Need Some Goals?" section when you're in edit mode?  That tells you the kind of things HP is looking for - getting more boxes ticked can help push the score up.

      replyreport
      1. 95

         PegCole17posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         You would think that's true, Marisa, but I have many hubs with all blocks ticked on "Need Some Goals?" and show a message of "Great Job" when I hover on the multiple photos image. Yet many of these have low scores despite being both EC hubs and featured. It becomes frustrating to try and figure out what works and what doesn't.

         replyreport
         1. 94

            Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Have you looked at your view duration under your stats > hub metrics? A short duration can be a reason for a low score no matter how much traffic you have.  If you see people are dropping out early, try to discover why they are not reading all the way through.

            replyreport
            1. 95

               PegCole17posted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Glenn, Hi. I have hubs that are five years old and still say "still collecting data". Since 2010? What's up with that? That's showing on the one at the top of the list today with the highest score. In fact, I just checked and that is the message on the highest scoring seven hubs.

               replyreport
               1. 84

                  rebekahELLEposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  I wonder if in moving to subdomains data used for view duration started over on hubs that used to be on the main HP domain.

                  replyreport
                  1. 94

                     SheilaMilneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     I would have thought they can only calculate duration if the reader clicks on something within the hub.  If they finish reading by closing the tab/window or hitting backspace, there is no way of picking up how long the reader stayed.

                     replyreport
               2. 94

                  Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Hi Peg, That's strange. It seems to be the reverse of the explanation in HP's blog, if I understood it correctly. Maybe you might want to email staff and see if they can chime in on it. I also have several still collecting data but they are not at the top of the list.

                  replyreport
                  1. 94

                     Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     Peg, I have to correct what I said in my last post. I just found a few of my hubs in the 90s that still say "still collecting data." It seems that hubs need to get at least one view per day for an entire month for the stats to reflect the view duration. But that's just a guess based on my review.

                     replyreport
         2. 86

            Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Things like comments and bounce rate make a difference too, so it's not all about ticking the boxes, unfortunately.

            replyreport
            1. 95

               PegCole17posted 9 years agoin reply to this

               You mean like those with five stars on duration and over a hundred comments? Because that's the case with some of mine whose scores have recently dropped with all the boxes ticked.

               replyreport
   3. 94

      Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      With the latest changes to the algorithm, the hub score is more effected by how much of your hub people read (how long they're on the page ) rather than how many people read it. See the blog explaining this...
      
      http://blog.hubpages.com/2015/02/26/an- … -hubscore/
      
      The latest weekly newsletter also gave some useful ideas how to improve this.

      replyreport
   4. 84

      peachpurpleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I have a hub with 5800 views the most views but stayed at 70, i think it is not the editors choice hub?

      replyreport
   5. 81

      sallybeaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I have one which has had a score in the upper nineties for two years with over 30,000 views but since the last debacle over scores it  has a score of 78.
      Hubs which have received little traffic over the years now have very high scores.  None of this makes any sense anymore.

      replyreport
      1. 94

         Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         It makes perfect sense. As explained in HP's latest blog, your hubs with low traffic and high scores probably keep your reader's attention all the way through. Even though the traffic is low, the long retention of those who do visit is what's raising those scores.

         replyreport
         1. 92

            Titiaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Keeping the reader's attention all the way through? Then please explain to me how it can be that 6 out of 7 of my unpublished hubs (unpublished by me several months ago) are scoring in the 70s and 80s? Nobody but me can see those hubs, yet they score way higher than a lot of my published and featured hubs.

            replyreport
            1. 94

               Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               There are many parts to the algorithm, some of which probably affect unpublished hubs. If you're interesting in knowing how the algorithm is applied to unpublished hubs, ask the staff.

               replyreport
   6. 73

      Uzochukwu Mikeposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I think hubs scoring is confusing and automatic. I have a hub with over 70,000 views but those with lower views have higher hub scores.
      
      Anyway, comments on hubs play important roles in hub scores.

      replyreport
   7. 96

      Phyllis Doyleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Jackie, one of my lowest scored hubs has over 123,000 views. I do not get it either - but, as long as all my hubs are featured and alive, I am okay with that.

      replyreport
      1. 89

         Jackie Lynnleyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I think it would bother you if you give a hub all that they ask for and all evergreen and you struggle to keep an 85 hub score. It really is like a slap in the face; especially when I see people doing short poems with one photo and staying in high 90s. It is like there really is no set rules while at the same time they put out these guide lines to go by but not everyone has to go by them and ones that do will not benefit. More than a little crazy and unfair.

         replyreport
         1. 94

            aesta1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I feel that way Jackie. I just do the minimal now. Last week, I did so much visiting hubs, participating but nothing changed.

            replyreport
            1. 89

               Jackie Lynnleyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               So you know how I feel. Well; if I find the secret, I will surely let you know!

               replyreport
   8. 0

      moviesreviewsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Not sure why this is unless the algorithm changed.

      replyreport
   9. 92

      Cardisaposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Jackie, my best trafficked hub at 107,000+ is 74 and hardly ever moved from there. So this baffles me as well. However, HP says hubscore is a combination of several factors (secret formula).

      replyreport
2. 53

   paradigm searchposted 9 years ago

   Writing for traffic and writing for hubscore are divergent goals.
   .
   .
   .
   

   replyreport
   1. 79

      Say Yes To Lifeposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      LOL!!!!!

      replyreport
3. 75

   Barbara Kayposted 9 years ago

   I've got you beat. I have a hub that has 53,740 views and it has a score of 60. I know what the problem is. I don't have any photos for it and can't find any free ones that would go along with it. The score is something to ignore.

   replyreport
   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'd say you're on the money.  Which Hub is it - could we help you find photos?  Have you tried Pixabay (all free with no need to attribute)?

      replyreport
      1. 89

         Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Barbara, I recommend sending a private message to Marisa if you want to take her up on the offer instead of posting to a public forum. You don't want to encourage more copying.

         replyreport
         1. 75

            Barbara Kayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Millionaire Tips, Thanks for the advice.

            replyreport
         2. 86

            Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Oops, quite right.

            replyreport
      2. 75

         Barbara Kayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Marisa, Thanks you for the offer. I will try Pixabay. At the time I wrote the hub, I didn't know it existed. To be honest, with the traffic I've gotten to it, I don't care much about what score it has. When they change our author scores according to hub scores, then I might be sorry.

         replyreport
      3. 69

         Judy Filareckiposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I'm not a fan of Pixabay. I've found several listing saying Paintings by Judy Filarecki, and they are other people's paintings with their name attached to them. I think they are using my name to draw my traffic to them. Very frustrating.

         replyreport
         1. 86

            Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Pixabay is owned by Shutterstock, which makes its money selling photos - so it's very fussy about Pixabay images and checks every one before it's uploaded (see attached forum post).
            
            http://pixabay.com/en/forum/help-me-ple … these-401/
            
            As they say, mistakes happen  - so if you're seeing something that shouldn't be there, contact them and they're quick to fix it.
            
            Their focus is on making sure the image isn't stolen, so perhaps they are not checking the names sufficiently.

            replyreport
4. 55

   wabondposted 9 years ago

   Is it to do with the adverts?  It might be decided on how many people click on the adverts in your hub. After all that is how Hubpages makes its money.

   replyreport
   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      No it isn't to do with adverts

      replyreport
   2. 94

      Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      No. If you keep up with HubPages' blogs you know how it works.

      replyreport
5. 91

   PurvisBobbi44posted 9 years ago

   Hi Jackie,
   I am sorry you are having this problem and I can relate.
   
   A hub of mine with 99,682 views had a score of 100---now it is at 75, and no matter what I do to it either stays or drops. And, my Hubber Score was 99 and it is now 87—this is disheartening, I hope no one else is having this issue.
   
   However, I will not give up—I will keep trying for a while anyway.
   
   Thanks for letting me have a Sunday morning vent.
   Bobbi Purvis

   replyreport
6. 88

   Jodahposted 9 years ago

   Jackie, everyday I check my accounts page and there are different hubs at the top of the rankings. Today the top two scoring hubs have a total of 8 views for the last 30 days between them. I have hubs with lower scores that have had 580 views in the last week, which is more than the top two have had in total since they were published. I'll check tomorrow and there will be different hubs on top again. It's also strange that my highest score has decreased but my lowest score has increased.

   replyreport
   1. 94

      aesta1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Do you think it is to ensure your average score remains? When I edit my lower scored hubs, my highest scored ones go down so the average remains. I wonder if this has to do with maintaining the normal curve distribution of hubs. I have tried deleting my hubs with scores in the 60s to raise my average, nothing happens except the lowering of the higher scored hubs.

      replyreport
      1. 88

         Jodahposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Maybe that's it aesta1, I don't know.

         replyreport
         1. 96

            Phyllis Doyleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I have often thought the same thing - that our average is maintained for some odd reason by adjusting scores of all hubs when one goes up. What's up with that?

            replyreport
      2. 75

         Barbara Kayposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         That's interesting. Then why worry about scores?

         replyreport
      3. 73

         Uzochukwu Mikeposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Aesta1, I do not think that deleting hubs with low hub scores is nice idea. What is more important is traffic and good earnings.

         replyreport
         1. 94

            aesta1posted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks Uzochukwu. I know but those scores bugged me and I also wanted to find out if I did it, my average score would go up. Besides, I really did not enjoy writing on those topics. You are right. Traffic is more valuable.

            replyreport
7. 0

   John Crawfordposted 9 years ago

   I'd say don't worry about view count and instead focus on quality of your writing and posting. That should be a writer's objective regardless the numbers, that you write to the best of your ability, or even challenge yourself to write better than you think you can. Otherwise, if it's all about the views, then you're not really a true writer, you're just a bean counter.

   replyreport
   1. 99

      DrMark1961posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Do not assume you know why other people are posting articles here. I want to reach more dog owners by publishing useful articles about health, and traffic lets me know if that is happening. If you want to write a novel and publish chapters, great. That is not what I want to do.

      replyreport
8. 0

   calculus-geometryposted 9 years ago

   Well, I have a hub with a score of 100 at the moment but far fewer views.  Want to trade?

   replyreport
9. 0

   John Crawfordposted 9 years ago

   Because the less popular ones are focused on quality and not monetizing and SEO. Really, there is a difference between quality and quantity. SEO reduces quantity because you have to resort to gimmicky key words and phrases, rather than focusing on good writing.

   replyreport
   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Nonsense.  Good SEO is not about using gimmicky keywords and phrases.  SEO means what it says - you are considering what your readers are looking for, and making sure you include that information in your article.    That's looking after your readers and can hardly be a bad thing. 
      
      If you are writing a comprehensive article on your topic, then SEO happens naturally to a large extent, because you are finding and using a whole variety of words and phrases relevant to the subject. These days, Google is looking for a keyword density of only 2% or so, which is a natural level of frequency.   Perhaps you've been reading very old advice on keywords which recommended shoehorning keywords in at a rate of 4% up to 7%.

      replyreport
      1. 0

         John Crawfordposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         That may be what you want to believe. But the truth is that it's all about trying to scam with spam. Looking after your readers is giving them quality writing, not making them suffer through talk about products that they didn't want in the first place.

         replyreport
10. 0

    John Crawfordposted 9 years ago

    *SEO reduces quality, therefore you're sacrificing quality for quantity.

    replyreport
11. 77

    Sam Montanaposted 9 years ago

    Just my opinion, but good SEO for articles just happens. If an article is good enough, in depth and gives readers a good deal of information, proper SEO just happens. The keywords will be there without any struggle, usually, since there are some exceptions.
    
    I like Pixabay and never found any problems. The first line of pictures they show will always be Shutterstock, and the rest is Pixabay. If they are stealing your pictures, you need to talk to them...right away.

    replyreport