As a HubPages writer, what's more important, presentation or content?

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   Joel Diffendarferposted 8 years ago

   As a HubPages writer, what's more important, presentation or content?
   
   

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   Jodahposted 8 years ago

   Content is much more important. Unfortunately, it is the presentation that keeps HubPages management and Google happy so you sometimes have to spend even more time on that than the content.

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      Joel Diffendarferposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Hi John, yes, I sometimes get that feeling, thanks.

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   tsmogposted 8 years ago

   Both!!! Remember . . . the business goal is to get views on an online article!!!
   
   Views are determined by reader engagement or length of time on an article. That is also an element for ranking articles in Google searches. The goal of course is to be on page one. Google measures both content and context (Presentation).
   
   There is an adage 'Content is King'. That is why HP has the Quality Assessment Process. For what HP looks for (Informational / Creative) see: http://hubpages.com/help/hub_hop_table#informational
   
   But, since before '97 research / statistics point out web readers 'generally' don't read beginning to end (Analytical Reading). They scan / skim an information article and may spot read. So, context is as important. Footnote: That method is taught today in schools for reading for information.
   
   What is context?
   
   *** Title - key words and length. (Recommended is 60 characters or less. 55 characters are displayed by Google)
   
   *** Opening paragraph
   
   *** Images
   
   *** Sub-Headings
   
   *** Call Outs
   
   *** Paragraph structure - Topic, supporting & concluding sentence
   
   *** Paragraph length
   
   *** Article summary
   
   For Elements of a Stellar Hub see: https://hubpageshelp.com/content/Learni … tellar-Hub
   
   Hint: Mobile viewing is on a steep rise.
   
   So, review your Hub in Mobile Preview. That is available in Edit mode at the Top Left. Easily seen it is linear and narrower. Consider a mobile reader will scroll through the article first.
   
   That is where call outs and images are important. Today it is recommended to center images and not off-set to the right. Of course the total length of the article with images in mobile view will become longer.
   
   Interesting facts:
   
   *** The average viewer stays on a page for 15 seconds to decide if to read.
   
   *** They scan / skim or scroll to see if it will answer their question / interest or perhaps to get the jest of a How-To article. Average time is 60 seconds.
   
   *** The average reading speed is 200 - 250 words per minute.
   
   *** The optimal read time for reader engagement is 6 - 7 minutes
   
   *** So, the optimal word count for an article is 1,200 - 1,500 words

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      Joel Diffendarferposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Excellent!  I will be reading this more than once, thanks.

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   alancaster149posted 8 years ago

   In layman's terms presentation helps get a good idea or message across better than bare facts or suggestions. I don't mean 'razzmatazz' and all that jazz, I mean clear presentation, i.e., simple and straightforward. If sub-titles are needed they should be added to enhance the article.
   When I put one of my pages together I think of the reader. Copy or text should be broken down into 'bite-sized' sections, not because I think readers' attention spans are short but to put them at ease. The intro should draw the reader in to unfamiliar subject matter, the writing style engage the mind.
   Which brings me to phrasing. Often writers are tempted to patronise an audience they suppose will be unfamiliar with what they read and 'talk down' or 'dumb down'. That's a classic mistake. If your writing is understandable and you illustrate your article/page what you mean should be self-evident. And don't repeat yourself too often unless you've written poetry or song lyrics. And don't get too wrapped up in technicality or jargon.
   Try not to use too many passive verbs, all these '-ing' endings are tiring after a while. Use straightforward English, keep the prose alive. Instead of 'we were thinking' or 'we have been looking' say 'we thought' and 'we looked'. It moves your prose along at the speed your readers think.
   Illustrate your pages adequately, but not with too many images. If you've written about a location - historical, geographic - add maps, diagrammatic, physical or political. Use the Google Maps feature supplied if it serves. Blank map outlines are available on the Web if all you want to do is show where places are, transport diagrams are also available - and add sources.

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   walmart cherposted 8 years ago

   hubpages is very much form over function. they will hold hubs back from being promoted to a niche site if the formatting is ugly or there are too many grammatical errors.  but they have many factually incorrect articles on niche sites that look super slick and are well written.  there are no fact checkers here, only grammar and formatting checkers.

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      Joel Diffendarferposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I especially like the idea of fact checkers.  As a new writer, even though I love it, I have learned a lot from these answers.  I have a lot to learn.  Thanks, Joel.

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      alancaster149posted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Trouble is, fact-checking is a thankless task if you haven't got a team with an exhaustive knowledge of all things. That's like expecting them to be god-like. Give them time...

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