Traffic moan.

1. 94

   FatFreddysCatposted 7 years ago

   Yeah, it's another one of "those" threads. I don't usually b*tch like this but ... Good Lord! My stats these past few weeks -- which, mind you, have never been much to scream about anyway -- have suddenly sunk low enough to limbo under a knock-kneed caterpillar.
   
   I have 160-some-odd Hubs and they've all been tweaked, updated, edited, and re-formatted at least once over the past year or so. Everything is featured, but that apparently doesn't matter because Google obviously doesn't give a rat's flying #$%@ about me or my articles.
   
   (SIGH)
   
   Eff it, I give up.  I'm tired of chasing Google and their ever-changing a$$hole algorithms. Henceforth I'm leaving my Hubs the way they are. If they get unfeatured, fine. I am obviously too dumb to get the hang of this SEO stuff you kids are so crazy about. Therefore I have officially stopped giving a @#%&.
   
   I have always tried to treat HP as a fun hobby but over the past few months it's been turning into a grind that I've devoted entirely too much time to and stressed too much over.
   
   Anybody else starting to feel like Wile E. Coyote, constantly getting crushed by that falling boulder?
   
   Sheesh.

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   1. 83

      gmwilliamsposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      It is another neverending battle.   
      

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      1. 58

         Rodeonposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Great pic.

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   2. 89

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I took a look at your profile and it seems that you are writing mostly about entertainment...movies, and such, which is an extremely competitive area.  Also, it is not evergreen...which means that trends come and go, and once they're gone, people don't really want to read about them.
      
      What may have worked well for you before, may now have become outdated, so maybe it's time to get rid of the older stuff and write about something different...something that will endure and keep those pennies rolling in.
      
      Hope this advice helps.

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   3. 88

      Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Well, that's precisely why HubPages are creating the new sites - because the  main site as a whole was getting dismal traffic and Plan A made it worse. So now we're on Plan B and the best we can all hope for is to be part of the new niche sites, because I doubt there's a Plan C.

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   4. 95

      Tinskyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      My meagre hubs have been performing well consistently for the last two years with little intervention and while my scores seem to be the same, the traffic has dropped since Hubpages reverted away from the subdomains. I was in the process of repurposing content from a domain that I closed on a particular topic (because I didn't have the time to manage it anymore) and thought the content would compliment other articles that I've published here, but I'm not sure if I will continue that project at the moment. I'm going to reassess where it's all at later this year (currently studying and doing other freelance work). I don't see how my articles will fit into the niche sites at present. I'm just about to get my first $100 cheque off Google for my own websites, so I may end up putting my effort into these rather than here once my studies are over.

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2. 49

   GiftsByDianaposted 7 years ago

   I wrote most of mine to teach others about natural living; about my little town; some business tips learned along the way or about my hobbies... and would love to have them be popular and maybe even make some money from them, but thankfully, it isn't the main reason for them.  Good thing - LOL

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3. 89

   Buildrepsposted 7 years ago

   Competition is growing every day, as well as all the bullshit on internet. How can any sane person profile himself between all this nonsense?
   
   I mean type in something useful that you need to know, like how to grow a pine tree or how to change a car wheel, or name something useful. You'll find truck loads full of garbage without hardly any useful information. When you find a useful site, you'll first overloaded with pop-up banners. Getting them away is like chopping a way through the jungle with a machete.
   
   After trying countless sites, you might finally find something useful. The question is - who is benefiting from this useless frenzy megabyte party? Google maybe? Is this what Panda is about?

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4. 94

   FatFreddysCatposted 7 years ago

   Yep, and I totally understand all that ...but I've also always been told to "write what you know" and those subjects are my "thang," they're the only thing(s) I've ever been any good at writing about! 
   
   Historically my traffic has never been anything to shout about, so I've always kept my expectations low...therefore I'm rarely disappointed (haha). However, this most recent decrease in views from my normal piddly average was so extreme and out of nowhere that it felt like a sudden punch in the nuts. Haha.
   
   
   
   That thought has crossed my mind a lot lately... as much as I would hate to do it. I'm not gonna do anything rash though, I'm going to wait awhile and hope this is just another one of those pesky periodic slumps....mostly cuz I don't have the patience to start a big spring-cleaning project like that right now...(haha)
   
   It's not even the lack of earnings that disturbs me so much, I've never made more than occasional beer money from this place, but for Pete's sake, I just want my stuff to get read....lately I feel like I'm standing on the side of a busy road, jumping up and down and screaming "LOOK AT ME!" as the cars whizz by without even noticing. (sigh)
   
   Thanks for responding to my rant. You've given me food for thought.

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   1. 89

      NateB11posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I'm thinking it might be that the move to niche sites is shaking things up. I experienced a drop in traffic and earnings and then they came back up; then they'll drop again. Maybe a sudden move of content to another site has created some kind of a void. Don't really know why or how but noticeably this drop in traffic coincided with the niche site thing.

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   2. 89

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I have found that doing periodic cleanups raises my ratings as well as my income.  If hubs have barely been getting views for at least six months, it may be time to toss them.
      
      I've gotten rid of tons of articles over the years, and the result has always been good.

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      1. 85

         Wesman Todd Shawposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         I've done the same thing. I have several blogger accounts, but finally decided to just concentrate on three of them.
         
         Something isn't doing much, then I delete the amazon or ebay or whatnot capsules, copy and paste it to blogger.
         
         I'm certain I'd have much prettier statistics, or at least I've thought so, had I left everything here. But I'm truly just here to compete for dollars, so my little digital medallions ought to come second. I never know if I'm being wise with what I'm doing or not. All I know is this site used to pay for my internet connection, and leave me some extra change too. Now, it isn't doing it, and I want my cheese back one way or another.
         
         Hopefully they know what they are doing with niche sites, and come up with some where my stuff fits in.
         
         If that is what is going to happen - then the wise thing would be to just deep popping out decent or really good articles right here and now, and they'll get a transfer to the optimum place later.

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5. 85

   Wesman Todd Shawposted 7 years ago

   It is not just you. My stuff certainly isn't getting the love it once did at present either.
   
   I don't know why Google would disfavor this website. This site is a much friendly site to the eyes than are many generic looking sites I see.
   
   Then again, we've seen slumps like this before. I am feeling discouraged too.

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6. 94

   FatFreddysCatposted 7 years ago

   Well then I hope they hurry up and start some niche sites devoted to rock n roll music and/or trashy movies, cuz suddenly I'm dyin' over here!!

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   1. 85

      Wesman Todd Shawposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Keith. I'm a nobody around here and my pages are sucking at the moment too. I do think your content would improve with Google were you to title your picture capsules with proper descriptions using keywords.
      
      ....but that's my thoughts, and I'm definitely not the guy making money around here.

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      1. 94

         sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Worst traffic ever, maybe the niche sites are doing the damage.

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         1. 85

            Wesman Todd Shawposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            What I think would be ideal would be for me to just come here, like always, write whatever it is I'm writing, then the hub fairy comes and takes the page and puts it on the niche site were it belongs.
            
            
            Yeah, that sounds nice.

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            1. 94

               sallybeaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Sounds good to me.  I would like to see some stats for the new sites.  I am seriously concerned for those articles which are being left behind, mine included.

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            2. 93

               Jean Bakulaposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               That's not such a bad idea. Back in the days when we were all busy writing on several sites, so "all our eggs would't be in one basket", I found my stuff so scattered, this is the only place I made any money at all.
               
               I am unsure if the change to niche sites will help, probably only if you happen to write in that niche. I never thought recipes should be on a writer's site, food blogs are everywhere.
               
               FatFreddy,
               I have almost that many hubs too, and gave up "tweaking" them. I write to teach about certain topics, and the info is evergreen. Plus making constant changes because the admin can't decide what to do is a full time job. All my hubs are featured, but I always felt that they didn't like me. I've put a lot of work in and never really got much recognition. So it hurts when someone copies a recipe out of a magazine and it's a hub on the first page.
               
               I would leave your hubs about older movies, because people often have favorites they see over and over again. Just keep adding new ones.

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      2. 94

         FatFreddysCatposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         (shrugs) worth a shot. Can't hurt. Thanks.
         
         And thanks for checking out and commenting on a couple of my pieces today too.

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7. 80

   LuisEGonzalezposted 7 years ago

   

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8. 88

   Will Apseposted 7 years ago

   The change to categories from sub-domains did not help and seems to have accelerated the previous downward trend.
   
   The outflow of the best pages to the niche sites will also have a bad affect over time, but probably not yet.
   
   The pity is, that the best pages on this site are genuinely very good. Better hope the mothership has an escape pod with your name on it.

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   1. 85

      Wesman Todd Shawposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I'm flagging a lot of articles every day. That's not the type of person I want to be. I think the site needs to update the quality standards, and prevent things from being published that are sub-par.
      
      ....buuuut I'm no internet guru.

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      1. 87

         IzzyMposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         Me neither, but I did know a bit about SEO.
         Unfortunately, my most popular hub got 'edited' and although it reads beautifully now, the search engines can't find it.
         And I can't edit it back, I believe.
         I haven't written a new hub in ages. Why go to the bother? This site is just too open to Google's ever-changing whims.
         That said, my general traffic dropped away same time as everyone else, was it early December?
         It rose last week and collapsed again this week.
         Luckily I don't need to depend on the income from here, but in HP's favour I can add that last summer I bought an XP Deus from my HP accumulated earnings since I stopped editing or adding new content.
         Not bad for passive income, eh?

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         1. 85

            Wesman Todd Shawposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            I'm thinking of getting a job sacking groceries, or something - so I can pursue my interest at the leisure of not needing to make anything from it.
            
            Hey, like five minutes ago they announced the launch of another new niche site, this one for food and cooking.
            
            Me....I got animals, guitars, baseball...aaaand some other odds and ends.
            
            I'm hoping these niche sites do the trick, because the past two months I put nearly all my time and energies into new pages, after missing more than a year from being online at all.
            
            I look at some of the things that I did that used to be good enough.....and I agree, some of that stuff is pretty lame.

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            1. 87

               IzzyMposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               Your stuff was never 'lame'. It was of interest to someone. Feascinating, no doubt to others. Uninformative to yet others. (Because interests/knowledge/education vary so widely). But never 'lame'.
               Some of my most successful hubs were like kindergarten stuff to me, written for fun, wildly successful for a time. Embarrassing now because they lie there, unloved and probably unfeatured due to lack of traffic.
               And there is nothing wrong with them! But as writers we feel on a read-over that we wrote something 'lame'.
               What is lame is Google's search results.
               Recently I have noticed that search terms do not produce the expected result. They have messed up somewhere.
               As web content writers this is out of our control.

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               1. 85

                  Wesman Todd Shawposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Hey thanks for that!
                  
                  It's true. At least two of the most successful things I ever did here were pages I slung together inside of 30 minutes.
                  
                  So I guess working hard at something is only ever a crap shoot. Or maybe I should research keywords like everyone who says they are successful. Nah....I'll write whatever I'm into at the moment. At least I have to or I won't feel right about it.

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   2. 88

      Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      +1

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9. 90

   Millionaire Tipsposted 7 years ago

   I have a feeling that as the good hubs move to the niche sites, the quality of the HubPages site is going down proportionately.  I also think that at some point if the new sites are doing well, the staff may well decide to open up all the rest of the sites more quickly so that the good articles aren't dragged down too much by the bad articles.
   
   I can only hope that my hubs are worthy of moving when the niche site is created for them.

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10. 94

    FatFreddysCatposted 7 years ago

    Hear, hear!!

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