Fewer people using comment capsule

1. 81

   Whitney05posted 15 years ago

   Have you noticed it or is it just me?
   
   Do you think it's beneficial to not put the comment box? Or does  the comment box help you?

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   1. 82

      wesleycoxposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I like the comment box personally.  I like to read what people think of what I wrote.

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      1. 67

         Laura du Toitposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         I agree with you Whitney. Its nice to know who is reading your hubs as well as any feedback is welcome.

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2. 56

   shamelabboushposted 15 years ago

   It's essential for people to express their opinions!

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3. 81

   Whitney05posted 15 years ago

   Yes, but is it of any benefit to have it there or not?
   
   I see the main benefit of it not being there is no spamming, but other than that is there a good reason for it not to be there.
   
   I just removed a few from my more recent hubs because there's really no reason for those to be there, but they didn't bother me there, either.

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4. 0

   ralwusposted 15 years ago

   I haven't noticed a decrease, I think maybe most are about 1/3 of the viewers though. I would be lost without my fans opinions, it really adds to the hub too at times I think.

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5. 49

   HealthTipposted 15 years ago

   I like it in the fact in recent hubs of mine some people have added good advice that I didn't have in my hub. I find some of the comments left are actually long and offer as good advice as that within my hub so yeah I think it's a good benefit.

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6. 0

   Crazdwriterposted 15 years ago

   I like having it though not a lot of ppl do comment on my hubs. I'm still going to post them on my hubs

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7. 60

   Herald Dailyposted 15 years ago

   I thought that the comments offer more chances of getting your keywords on the page.  Is that incorrect?

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8. 84

   Sufidreamerposted 15 years ago

   Not sure about this one, but I seem to remember one of the SEO experts mentioning that comments count as new content, which Google likes.
   
   Maybe Sunforged or Relache might have more idea
   
   Personally, I like comments - a few people have given me some excellent feedback.

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9. 0

   Scott.Lifeposted 15 years ago

   I always include it, but I've noticed that most readers choose not to comment so I have to wonder if its practical, after all when you read a magazine is there space at the bottom for comments or likewise on the back cover of a book. I have noticed that all to often people seem to mistake comment for debate and will leave ramblings longer then the original hub itself.These same commentators seem to have an inability to write their own hubs too, just an observation I have noticed.

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10. 81

    Whitney05posted 15 years ago

    I like comments, but lately all I've been getting is 1) your hub is great or 2) a question that I've already answered a ton of times.

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11. 83

    earnerposted 15 years ago

    Comment boxes are good for the following reasons:
    
    - people LIKE to interact and you'll make the day of your visitor that can comment, this is more likely to encourage them to come back and use hubpages more in the future and tell more people.  This results in a higher popularity, more hubpages traffic and eventually, potential for higher earnings for the writer
    
    - people leaving a comment will be adding new content to your hub, for free.  It's like they're working for you. Having new content added regularly keeps the hub high in google's eyes as it's not gone out of date.
    
    - In replying, you get the chance for a bit more keywording
    
    - replying to a comment is good because the person who wrote it knows you care enough to respond and are more likely to come back to hubpages/become a fan
    
    - comments left might make you realise the potential for a new hub, linking to this one.  Or, you might just want to update your current hub a bit.
    
    I'd not get rid of a comments box unless there was a strong business case for doing so... you don't have to "accept" the ones you get, but it's good people get the chance to write to you immediately.

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    1. 85

       Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       All good reasons to keep the comments box.  It's always right at the very end of the Hub so I dont feel it's "clutter".

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       1. 60

          JYOTI KOTHARIposted 15 years agoin reply to this

          I agree with you Marisha. You are not only wright but right. It attracts traffic throw RSS feed and catters the search engine new contents.
          
          Thanks,
          Jyoti Kothari

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12. 60

    Fiction Tellerposted 15 years ago

    While comments capsules are beneficial for, say, 90% of hubs, some types of hubs do not naturally attract comments. When a reader sees a blank comments area, it's just clutter on the page.  Clutter encourages content-blindness.  A good general rule is to not encourage content-blindness in visitors.

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13. 0

    girly_girl09posted 15 years ago

    I have been debating whether or not to remove them on a few of my hubs that tend to attract lots of spammers. I think it depends on the hubs.

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    1. 62

       Lisa HWposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       I think it depends on the Hubs too.  Some Hubs seem to invite spam comments.  I have one that's about news on a new product.  For a while it was getting a big flood of spam and little else.  I think some Hubs are enhanced when people contribute different ideas or elaborate on the original ones.  Sometimes, though, if a Hub is "big, deep, serious" or "very scientific", I think comments can make it look a little less professional.   Not long ago I wanted to - for once and for all - "say my piece" about religion; and I didn't put the comment box on that one because I wanted the last word.      In general, I think they help the Hub.

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14. 82

    Chin chinposted 15 years ago

    I think the comments capsule is helpful to encourage feedback on hubs.  If there are spams, it will be up to the hub owner to just disapprove the comment. 
    
    So what if nobody comments as Fiction teller suggests that it creates content-blindness, would it be better to remove the comments capsule? or leave it as is?  I haven't seen a hub with no comment capsule.

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    1. 95

       rmcrayneposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Check out Isabella Snow.

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15. 81

    Whitney05posted 15 years ago

    I guess I'll keep adding them, and just add them back to the ones I deleted. I'll just delete the no-content comments, such as 'great hub.'
    
    Chinchin, I've seen several that I'm fans of stop putting comment capsules. At first, I thought it was by accident, but then one person in particular continues to exclude the comments capsule. I've seen many only use them for advice hubs, so that people can still comment, but not for other hubs- reviews and such.

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    1. 60

       JYOTI KOTHARIposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Hi Whitney,
       
       Besides many other benefits described here in this forum thread, there is another.
       
       There is an RSS feed for comments. You will lose this if you delete comment capsule. RSS is an excellent way to get back links.
       
       Why do you want to lose that? You are getting tons of comments. Much more than many others.
       
       Thanks,
       Jyoti Kothari

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16. 68

    Jerilee Weiposted 15 years ago

    I've gotten some writing jobs as an indirect result of hubpages comments so I think they are really important. 
    
    Also have noticed that comments have generally dropped off both on some of my hubs and the hubs of others, not sure why.

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