Do Categories Matter?

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   sannyasinmanposted 7 years ago

   If I have say, a creative writing hub, does it make any real difference whether I post the hub in the base category of "Books and Writing" or if I go all the way and put it in "Books and Writing"->"Writing"->"Creative Writing".

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      rebekahELLEposted 7 years ago in reply to this

      I would probably place it in creative writing as a separate category that you can add to.

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   2. 60

      sannyasinmanposted 7 years ago in reply to this

      What I mean is, is the hub more likely to be found (and therefore read) if it is in one category or another?
      Do people actually use categories to filter searches?
      Is my hub more likely to be displayed on hubpages home page if my hub is in a base catageory, or if it is 5 levels in?
      Does anyone know?

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         lrohnerposted 7 years ago in reply to this

         The answer is yes. It does affect your hub.
         
         There are different levels within categories, as you noted. Let's say you put a hub in "Books and Writing". There are probably gazillions of hubs in that category. So the chances of you showing up on "Related Hubs" for other hubs in "Creative Writing" is pretty slim. (Disclaimer: I don't know what HP's algorithm is.) Basically you have that much more competition.
         
         There are probably many fewer hubs that went all the way down to "Creative Writing". So less competition, more chance of you being seen in "Related Hubs".
         
         I also don't know how HP selects hubs for the  home page, but doubt it has anything to do with category. Don't worry about how people search, IMHO. Worry about what is placed in front of them when they're reading other hubs.

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2. 60

   Cagsilposted 7 years ago

   Interesting question and very valid.
   
   I would say, put it where you think it would be most effective.
   
   I would also guess that if you really want to get creative, you could make two slightly different topical pages, which would refer to both, books and writing, and creative writing.
   
   I'm somewhat new to hubpages, so I'm exactly sure how categorization of hubs works. But, am learning.

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3. 0

   Janettaposted 7 years ago

   I agree with Irohner--it will definitely narrow the search for someone looking for your type of hub. There are instances where either no category seems to really fit your hub, or you just aren't sure where to put it, or, even, you feel your hub falls into more than one subheading. In those cases, it may be more beneficial to leave your hub categorized only under the main heading of, say, "Books and Writing" instead of possibly placing it under an incorrect or misleading subheading.

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   rumblingposted 7 years ago

   Agree with Janetta , sometimes when you are not sure it is better to leave it under the main heading. Also if it is not a category that is getting lot of traffic breaking it down further might even decrease your traffic

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      sannyasinmanposted 7 years ago in reply to this

      Many thanks for your help everyone!
      rumbling - how do you know which categories are getting traffic?

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   69

   pauldeedsposted 7 years ago

   I'd reommend putting a hub in the most specific category that makes sense.  A hub can appear in the listings for the category it's in, plus any parent category -- so there is really no benefit to not doing so.

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