Is It Essential to Have Experience of a Product Advertised on a Hub?

1. 97

   eugbugposted 6 years ago

   So yesterday an Amazon capsule was snipped from a hub on a niche site. I replaced it with an Amazon link and this was snipped today.
   I specifically picked this product on amazon becuse of its features and the spec and readers bought two of the items in the last year. So why would it have been removed?

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   1. 78

      CatherineGiordanoposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      If you feel a relevant amazon capsule was snipped, you can email the HubPages team. A couple of times, I pointed out that the capsule was obviously relevant because people had bought it.
      
      A polite request can get your amazon capsule restored. I have been successful twice when I asked to have the capsule restored. I can't remember for sure, but I might have been turned down once.
      
      Also as other people have suggested, it must write a description which gives info from your own experience. You can look in the amazon reviews to see how users are reacting to the product. I do that sometimes to make sure I am not recommending something that people don't give good ratings to.

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      1. 97

         eugbugposted 6 years agoin reply to this

         I did email the team (using the online form reached from 'contact us' at the bottom of the page), but haven't heard back in a few days.

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   2. 78

      CatherineGiordanoposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I really hate that HP is so picky about amazon. Sometimes, a perfectly good product is snipped and I just let it go. I don't want to become a pest.
      
      Since ad revenue cpm has gotten really low, amazon sales are really needed. I read somewhere that cpm is low all over. I hope it is not just me!

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2. 85

   Marisa Wrightposted 6 years ago

   I'm sure a moderator will answer you to say that yes, you must have personal experience of the product.  However, in practice, the truth is that you must sound as though you have personal experience of the product.   
   
   The secret is to use "I" and "my" in your reference to the product, e.g. "I recommend this product because..."  or, "For my money, this is the best choice", etc.  That can be a perfectly true statement, if you've done your research properly on the item.
   
   Just be clear, of course - you did write some words about the product, didn't you, either in your text or in the description?  If you simply choose a relevant product and plonk it into a Hub without saying anything about it, it's very likely to be snipped.

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   1. 78

      CatherineGiordanoposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      I usually mention the product in the text and then I also put words into the description box. I'm usually selling books, often a book on the topic of the hub. Sometimes it is a book I actually used to research my article and sometimes a book written by someone mentioned in the article.

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3. 88

   Will Apseposted 6 years ago

   If you don't know what you are talking about, it will be apparent. Unless you happen to be a very talented faker indeed.

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4. 84

   Don Bobbittposted 6 years ago

   I've been on HP for over 7years, and they are obviously evolving towards not having Amazon ads on our Hubs.
   DON

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5. 87

   NateB11posted 6 years ago

   It's interesting, on a practical level, it doesn't matter. I've written articles on products I've actually used, made no sales. On one of my own sites, I wrote an article about a product I've never used and it's the only thing on the Web I've ever been able to sell consistently. Unfortunately the product only costs about $10 so I don't make a lot of money on it, but it's a success in terms of number of sales.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 6 years agoin reply to this

      Exactly.

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6. 97

   eugbugposted 6 years ago

   Well I've added more detail to the text module describing the product and pleaded my case in an email, so I'll see what happens. If I add the link back in and the hub gets "demoted" to the mother site and receives less future traffic, everybody loses out. So far this hub has had nearly 120,000 views.

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7. 88

   Will Apseposted 6 years ago

   The real question with Amazon ads is: do they serve the reader? If an ad gets clicked routinely that is good enough.
   
   Until eds have spies to send out and monitor us 24/7 they are not in a position to know which products we use or have used.
   
   Sticking with verifiable facts like clicks/sales, traffic and page dwell times is the only thing that makes sense.
   
   As to authenticity, if you do not know what are talking about the reader will know and user metrics will be poor.

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8. 83

   psycheskinnerposted 6 years ago

   It may not matter, for some hubbers, in terms of getting them sales.
   
   It may however matter a whole lot, as a rule for all hubbers, to keep Hubpages in Google's good graces.

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9. 97

   eugbugposted 6 years ago

   And so the purge continues! This time I have experience of the product, a long description was included, there was only one Amazon module in the hub and it got snipped. I'm going to replace it with an Amazon link. If this gets snipped, I'm going to keep putting it in, whether it's demoted or not.

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