Please Help Me Give This Hub a Makeover

1. 86

   Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years ago

   My hubs don't get enough traffic to be in the HubPro program, but I think they could use some help.
   
   This hub gets Pinterest traffic but it does not get much search engine traffic.  Please tell me what I can do to improve it.
   
   http://millionairetips.hubpages.com/hub … ing-Budget
   
   I really appreciate all your help.

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   1. 82

      peachpurpleposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      how about making the picture big i n the centre? I like the poll to be on top. Your tips would be nice if categorized like numbers. Oh yes, more photos perhaps

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      1. 86

         Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Those are all great ideas.  I'll work on getting better photos and make them full width, and numbering the ideas into a list.  I'm not sure about the poll though. I guess I always thought that the poll would be good to put at the end so people can provide their input at the end, but maybe moving it up would get more interaction. Have you found you get more interaction if the poll is farther up?

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   2. 0

      BarbaraCaseyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'd put more of your own experiences in the article. Right now, it's rather generic-sounding. Good tips, (actually some excellent ideas) but without the energy of a person passionate about the subject.

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      1. 86

         Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         You're right, when I wrote the hub, I was trying to sound all professional, but providing real life examples would make it more engaging.  The issue I have is that the homes I have worked on are lower middle class homes, and I wanted the hub to be useful for a wider class range. Some of the contractors that I worked with or got estimates from had obvious bias against this class range. I don't want to lose readers that decide that this hub isn't useful to them when it is.

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         1. 85

            Sherry Hewinsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            I think that, because of the fact that your title is about redecorating on a shoestring, it is the budget conscious people who will be looking for it, and there are plenty of them. I wouldn't worry about turning others off, they won't be searching this anyway.

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            1. 86

               Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               That's true Sherry, the topic of the hub is geared towards people who want to save money so it wouldn't apply as much to higher price ranges anyway. Thanks for the reassurance.

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   3. 60

      missoliveposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hi! I took a look at your hub and you have very valid information. My only suggestion would be to take a closer look at your subtitles - don't forget those text box titles are searchable. For example, you could possibly change the 'Budget' sub-title and retitle it to something like, "cheap ways to increase home value". This is a highly searched item and it would compliment your original title. Plus, that particular text box could be expanded with additional information. In addition, I've had good social media traffic with pictures that relate to each sub-title...so make them all 'pinable' by adding wording to the image.
      
      As for the poll, I believe those should be kept toward the lower quarter of your content.
      
      I hope this helps!

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      1. 86

         Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you Miss Olive.  This is great advice. I did notice that my capsule titles were not being used effectively. I hadn't thought about making each photo pin-worthy, just the first one, but will be doing that when I makeover the hub.

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      2. 86

         Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Miss Olive, I looked again at your suggestion, and I don't see a "budget" subtitle.  The subtitle for the hub is "Cheap Remodeling Ideas".  The conclusion subtitle is "Remodeling and Renovating on a Budget" is that what you were thinking of? Those were my efforts at SEO, but they have apparently failed since there aren't any search term metrics for this hub.  I would be happy to try your subtitle instead.  I was wondering what additional information you were thinking of.
         
         Also, when I turn the suggestions into a list, how do I make the list items search friendly?

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         1. 60

            missoliveposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            yes, it was the , "Remodeling and Renovating on a Budget" subtitle I was referring to. I was thinking you MIGHT want to alter that to the suggested title of, "Cheap Ways to Increase Home Value". If you enter the latter in Google you will find an article on HGTV with a variety of useful tips that you could use as an idea for that text box...in your own voice of course.
            Whenever I am looking at subtitles I will usually run a few different variations in Google and see what pops up as well as how many searches it gets. Then, I'll scroll down to the bottom of that first page on Google and see what else people are searching for. It is a great way to inspire a text box and subtitle.
            
            I hope that made sense.

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            1. 60

               missoliveposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               I went ahead and played around with some other potential subtitles/text boxes:
               What Kind of Home Improvements Increase Value
               What Home Upgrades Increase Value
               Cheap Home Improvements
               Cheap Home Renovations
               Cheap Home Renovation Ideas
               
               Each of those garner a variety of views, it's just an example of how I play around with Google search to find different ideas, titles and subtitles

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               1. 86

                  Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Thank you for all of your help.  I will work on these changes!

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   4. 78

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I took a quick look at this one, and my first impressions are
      
      Your title is too wordy.  Something like "Cheap Home Remodeling Ideas" would get the idea across more effectively.
      
      Also, the piece seems somewhat unfocused.  It seems crowded with too many ideas, some of which go off topic.  Removing clutter, for example, is not a way to remodel, but rather a method you might use to make your home more livable or easier to sell.
      
      It would be great to be able to show some before and after photos that display how making inexpensive changes can improve the looks of a room.
      
      If you are going to put text on a photo, make it something different from the exact title to avoid duplicate writing.
      
      Perhaps it would be easier to organize a hub like this if you narrowed the topic down to redecorating one room, rather than trying to cover many.
      
      I love the energetic tone of this article and think your writing skills are terrific.  You just need to organize, narrow and focus  to make this into one of the great ones.
      
      Good luck.

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      1. 86

         Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you for your input.  I am going to work on incorporating all of these ideas into the hub, hopefully this weekend.

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2. 93

   Glenn Stokposted 9 years ago

   At first look I thought you did a great job. But since you're asking for help on why you may not be getting Search Traffic, here are a few points:
   
   Your images seem to be a little randomly placed.
   
   Use images that relate more closely with the subject text right next to the image.
   
   Use images that show good examples of what you are discussing.
   
   If you did your own home remodeling, use your own images of the work. That will show you have authority on the subject. That alone should have a strong impact on Google ranking. They look for authority.
   
   Preview your hub as it looks on mobile devices and make appropriate changes to be mobile friendly. Google said they may not show pages in mobile SERPs if they are not mobile friendly. I wrote a hub explaining how to do that with our hubs.

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   1. 60

      missoliveposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      +

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   2. 86

      Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Glenn, you've also provided valuable advice. I will work on my images, and make the entire hub more mobile friendly. Do you think showing a less expensive house being remodeled will hurt traffic for people who remodel more expensive houses?

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      1. 93

         Glenn Stokposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I saw your answer in a prior comment where you explained that you work on lower middle class homes. So if those are the pictures you have, I'd say "use them". They help show your authority because any reader of any value range will recognize that you are talking from experience.

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         1. 86

            Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Okay, thanks Glenn. I will dig out those pictures and see what I can use.

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3. 82

   Sylvia Leongposted 9 years ago

   Great hub!  I love hubs about home improvement.
   1.    Choose interior design pictures that are more neutral so that they appeal to a broader audience.  Dark green walls in a bathroom & orange-yellow walls in a kitchen will not appeal to all. Especially to those with limited imagination – which is why they’re reading your hub in the first place!
   2.    The word “cheap” has negative connotations (That dude was so cheap!).  Replace it with inexpensive, budget or money-saving – or some other positive synonym.
   3.    The first “don’t” in the article should be “doesn’t”.
   4.    Your advice is bang on (in my opinion). However it’s too general. Expand your advice with specific ideas.  Such as in the clean-up section - how should they clean up the place? How should they declutter? A few tips on re-arranging furniture. You get the gist.
   5.    Last month someone gave this great advice on the feed & I really took it to heart: Choose an amazing, clear, gorgeous picture & place it, full size, at the very top of your article.  Include a caption that encompasses the summary of your article.  I’ve made this change on all of my Hubs.  They look much better!  My traffic increased (just a little bit) almost immediately.
   
   I hope all this helps!  Good luck.

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   1. 86

      Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you for your advice, Sylvia. I will incorporate it in my changes.  I too thought that the word cheap made it seem inferior product/idea, but it turns out when people do searches, that's not what they mean when they say cheap.  I think because it is a short word and incorporates so many other harder-to-spell and not as common words  (inexpensive, frugal, budget-busting, shoestring, etc.) that people use it more often than the other variants. I had to force myself to use the word cheap in many of my hubs, but I always use these other words too, just in case.

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      1. 82

         Sylvia Leongposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Oh, thanks for letting me know.  I think about articles from a writerly point of view & should probably take in account what Google wants.  (Hence my low traffic, lol).  How do you find out what words people use for their searches?

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4. 78

   colorfuloneposted 9 years ago

   It is a great hub, MT. I see it is near the top of the first page of the Home Improvement category and that is no small thing with 2,657 hubs in competition.
   
   It put me in the mood to do some painting.

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   1. 86

      Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you! Painting does make a big difference in the look of a home.

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      1. 78

         colorfuloneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Yes, it does. I was a painting contractor / painter for many years.

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5. 96

   Phyllis Doyleposted 9 years ago

   Hi MT.  You have received some good advice here, so I will not repeat it.  The only thing  I did not see anyone suggest is that for a mobile friendly hub (which HP is pushing us to do) all capsules should be wide width. That includes text, images and Amazon / eBay capsules. And place the images / Amazon / eBay caps at the end of the text cap they relate to so it is clear to the reader as to how the capsules relate and endorse each other..
   
   I will repeat one thing: the word cheap tends to make one think of poor quality, so replace it with "inexpensive" or "less expensive". 
   
   I think your title is good and direct to the point.

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