What if I really like my spammy hubs?

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   JenwithMistyposted 9 years ago

   And why can't I add any Amazon capsules?  If they're not allowed, then why are they even an option? 
   The word count doesn't seem to matter because I can have over 2,000 words but have to remove them all before the hubs will become featured again.  Either way, I like the color and brightness that the ads add to the hubs.  I've deleted a lot of them and only leave a very few but it still doesn't seem to matter.  I really like what some of them add to the pages so I'm kind of frustrated with this.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Personally I do think HubPages is unnecessarily strict about Amazon and eBay capsules - but that's the price you pay for being able to write on a free site. 
      
      You CAN add Amazon capsules, but the rule is that they must be directly related to the subject of your Hub. So for instance,if you're writing about grooming for a horse show, you can have Amazon capsules for grooming products, but you can't have Amazon capsules for a book about horses or riding boots. 
      
      It's also best not to group all your Amazon capsules together, but spread them over your Hub.

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      flycatcherrrposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Jen, I remember your work from back on Squidoo, and just had a read through some of your hubs here.  Frankly, "spammy" is not the word that leaps to mind regarding your work!  I really don't have anything helpful to add to Marisa's sound advice, unfortunately, but did just want to send out a little moral support - it's very understandable that you're feeling frustrated, and you are certainly not alone.

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      Lady Loreleiposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I empathize and so agree. There really does need to be a better balance and a better guideline on Amazon usage. The current situation is very frustrating.

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      Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Do you have any other links to any sites other than Amazon?  If so, these other links may be the cause of your frustration.

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   Esperantaposted 9 years ago

   I normally hate advertising, but paradoxically if I am looking for a product to buy on Amazon, I really welcome articles on other sites that list lots of the options available together with links to buy. This is because the Amazon search is so useless I often get frustrated trying to find what I want and end up buying from another site even if it is more expensive. Seems like massive opportunity is being lost through HP policies.

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   Dressage Husbandposted 9 years ago

   I agree with all of the comments made here. Several of my former Lenses that were featured here have recently been un-featured due to lack of quality. This appears to be solely due to Amazon modules and even when I strip them back to just one relevant product they still fail the QAP. I get the feeling that ex Squids may be being targeted? I hope this is not the case and that they are just trying to up standards, however I do wonder.

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   Fiction Tellerposted 9 years ago

   Yeah, I'm having a real problem with this, too - specifically, how HubPages is now requiring demonstration of personal experience with each product linked to.
   
   On the "spammy elements" page, HubPages says:
   "If the Hub is about the product(s), then the Hub provides significant, useful information or opinion about the products beyond what could be found on Amazon's (or other seller's or manufacturer's) web site."
   
   Paul Edmondson himself (sorry, Paul) has grandfathered hubs that don't comply with current standards and would get unfeatured if he edited them now, but that aren't truly spammy in my view. 
   
   Like:
   
   http://pauledmondson.hubpages.com/hub/G … -Old-Girls
   
   In this one, there is no demonstrated knowledge of the promoted basketball hoop, and there is no personal input adding extra value beyond what Amazon has on the iPod touch. Yet this doesn't read as spammy to me.  Yet if I edited a hub like this, it would get unfeatured.
   
   This hub...
   
   http://pauledmondson.hubpages.com/hub/L … packs-Bags
   
   ...has  descriptions of the linked products that are researched with retailers, but not used. I've had similar types of hubs, plus ones that offer more personal experience value, unfeatured because of too many products (we're talking thousands of words of high-value text, and only two products permitted, though all of them I demonstrated direct experience with).
   
   Maybe these hubs are an experiment Paul E is conducting.  I dunno.   But I'm really struggling here with these new standards.

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      DzyMsLizzyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I'm not sure what is meant by "demonstration of personal experience with each product linked to," because I have not had this problem.
      
      I do use Amazon capsules very sparingly, rarely more than one on a hub, and not on all my hubs.
      
      The one that probably has the most is my camping for beginners hub, and the Amazon capsules each accompany a text capsule about that general type of camping equipment.
      I may not have 'exact personal experience' with that precise product; rather, I offer it as an option and example of a product similar to what I am writing about, in case someone wanted to equip themselves for a camping trip.  Those particular Amazon capsules run the gamut from sleeping bags to camp stoves, and the hub has never had a problem remaining featured.

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   JenwithMistyposted 9 years ago

   Thanks everyone!  I was a little worried that I was going to be bashed for suggesting that Amazon modules can add something good to a hub so I'm glad to hear that other people feel the same way. 
   
   Dressage Husband - I feel like you might be right. It sure seems like it.  About half of my hubs were just unfeatured. The strange thing is, my hub with the most traffic was one that was hit. 
   
   Oh well, I better get back to updating!  Thanks again everyone!

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   Fiction Tellerposted 9 years ago

   Hi DzyMsLizzy,
   
   Have you tried to edit that hub in the last couple of months?
   
   It may be different for other folks. For me, in recent times no matter what the guidelines and rules outlined on their help pages, I haven't been able to get a hub featured after an edit without text that demonstrates personal experience with every last Amazon product, AND I haven't been able to get a hub through that has more than 2-3 Amazon.com links, even if I have experience with every single product and the hub is quite long and detailed.
   
   I was told in an email where I asked for more details about why a hub was unfeatured that the "best performing Hub that discuss products include one or a few very targeted products that are helpful to the reader and include original hand-on experience with the products featured." [sic] The way it's worded, this statement sounds like advice, not a hard-and-fast rule, but given that it was written to explain why my hub was unfeatured, it appears to be an unwritten one.
   
   If y'all edit a hub and it passes the QAP even with Amazon products for which you don't demonstrate personal experience, do tell. 'Tain't happening for me, and I can't take the risk anymore of updating the more popular hubs that Google likes.

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      JenwithMistyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I have a few that have gone back through QAP and passed with one or two Amazon capsules but then I have others that keep getting unfeatured until I take them all out.  It's so random that I don't even know what to say is causing it.  I'm really curious as to whether they are being looked at by a person or an automated process. Does anyone know?

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         Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I'd second Solaras's suggestion.   There are other things that could be a problem - for instance if you're including a link to an unrelated blog, or maybe you have a promotional paragraph about you as a writer, or you're linking to your other Hubs which are not related to the topic?

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         1. 70

            JenwithMistyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Nope, it doesn't have any of those.  I have one hub that I've been working on for 3 days.  When I started, it had around 900 words and 5 Amazon capsules.  There's 2 links to completely relevant well known websites - Official Coca Cola website and Honest Tea website and a link to an Amazon product with no capsule.  Every day I have deleted an Amazon capsule and added more words.  I now have 1024 words, only 2 Amazon capsules and those 3 other links.  That's it.  No random information about myself or anything like that and it still isn't passing.  I also have 4 pictures but they aren't linked to anything.  The hub is about gluten free drinks so Coca Cola and Honest Tea should both be relevant.  Today I will try taking out the Amazon link with no capsule and see if it passes tomorrow but I doubt it.  I'm afraid that I simply can't use Amazon capsules which is really frustrating.

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               Solarasposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               Drop the coke and honest tea and see what happens.  You don't need to link to them. Anyone can find Coke if the need to learn something about their products.  You are making your hub "spammy" with those two links. Overly promotional.

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                  JenwithMistyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                  Ok, thanks!  I'll try that.

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                     JenwithMistyposted 9 years agoin reply to this

                     Yay!!! It worked!! It's finally featured today with 2 Amazon capsules!  Thanks for the help everyone!  I'm going to see if I can figure out what's wrong with another one now following all the great advice

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               Marisa Wrightposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               I second Solaras' suggestion.  You are not earning any income from the links to Coca Cola and Honest Tea anyway - and I doubt there are many people who don't know what Coke is, so the link to their website is NOT adding value to your readers. 
               
               It may also be the link to the Amazon product with no capsule, as that bypasses HubPages and means they won't earn money from the link.
               
               I would try removing all your in-text links, and putting that Amazon link into a capsule instead.

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