Hi Hubpages Community!
I started my account last Fall because I like to write and I also hope to earn a little extra income. So far I've written 12 hubs, and all of them have been selected for niche sites but I'm still not getting much traffic.
I've been reading through the forums because I hate to ask a bunch of questions that already have answers posted. I was just reading through a thread about titles and realized I have been titling my hubs very ineffectively to attract traffic from Google. I now have plans to go through and replace those titles with more effective terms that people are likely to search.
So if I was striking out on something as basic as the title, I'm wondering if I'm missing other obvious stuff.
I realize creating quality content on uncovered topics and being patient are both requirements, but do you have any other tips for increasing traffic and finding success through hubpages?
Thanks!
Hi -- you obviously have the talent and the right attitude to do well here. Speaking from experience, I can suggest two things:
1. Write a lot more articles
2. Have a lot more patience.
It can take a looooong time for an article to gain traction, and then it can take off and suddenly be getting serious traffic. My rule of thumb for my articles is to wait between one and two years before I make any decisions about whether it's a winner or a loser. And meanwhile, write, write, write!
Hope this helps,
GM
I would also like some tips on this. Some of my titles appear on Google search results, but the chances of people actually typing that into the search bar are extremely low. I've heard from people that promoting on pinterest helps, but I still have no clue how to do that.
Pinterest is easy. Just join and post your articles on one of your boards. Mine are on a board called "My Stories" or something akin to that. (Just FYI, I don't get a lot of traffic from Pinterest.) You can got to my page on Pinterest if that helps (Sue Pratt). Good luck!
Thanks Marsei! I've avoided Pinterest so far in my life because I was afraid of it consuming too much of my time... but I guess now from a posting perspective it might be worth it! You also gave me the idea to try some cute text on my photos so they're more pinterest friendly.
I looked at your "Easter Traditions: Bunnies or Bells?" article. Based on the title, I scanned it looking for the significance of "bells." I didn't really get that question answered. I saw only one subhead that mentioned bells and the paragraph under it didn't immediately tell me about bells. If I were a reader who clicked on your title out of curiosity, I probably would have clicked away at that point. I'd recommend insuring that your subtitles clearly point a scanning reader to the specific information that answers the questions your title raises.
Also, I don't see the relevance of the map in that article. Maps should be included only when they provide the reader with needed information or context.
Thanks Ron! The article describes how bells are part of the Easter tradition in Belgium. The map of Belgium was directly under a childhood memory I have in Belgium because I know a lot of people aren't familiar with where it is.
That is a helpful reminder to make sure my subheadings help people who are skimming. The section you are referring too did talk about the bells, but not until the end. Maybe I will add a callout there so people can find that information more quickly. Thank you!
RonElFran, Bethany must have updated her hub since you read it because I just read it and got the point she was making about bells being in mourning. I believe the map of Belgium is appropriate because she wrote about childhood memories in Belgium.
Thank you revmjm! I'm glad the point was conveyed.
I saw that Easter Traditions: Bunnies or Bells? was a winner in the recent Easter Writing contest. You are probably doing better than you think for HubPages editors to select your article as a winner. Also all of your articles are on network websites and that is also a good thing. Just keep in mind the things people mentioned here like having good Hub titles and subtitles.
As for Pinterest serious people on Pinterest do need to be active everyday but you can just save your Hubs as pins and slowly add other boards and pins. I am currently doing this and I get a very small amount of views occasionally about one every other day. I love to use Pinterest anyways though so it is fun for me.
If there was such a thing as "rule of the thumb" when it comes to traffic, I would size things down to 2 things: 1) a good title pertaining to the content), and 2) a content giving practical advices.
Opinions, speculations, critics, stories, poems, etc---good as they may be won't beat a good advice about how to fix your faucet without a plumber, for an example.
And guess what---I still have to start using my own "rule of the thumb", LOL.
Greenmind gave some good advice: have patience and keep at it. And hey, your early material is legions better than mine was, being worthy of the niche sites. Also, your profile says you joined about 4 months ago; often, I find articles start gaining traffic months or even years after their original published date, which I believe has something to do with an age-related quirk of search engines.
Here's a tip that may help: some of your articles (like the recipes) are a bit short. There's nothing wrong with that (especially when dealing with recipes), but I can say from experience that my longer pieces tend to attract more hits because more words = more chances to ping with a searched word or phrase. Something to keep in mind and good luck to you!
Hi: It's late for me so I will be brief. Be sure what you are writing about is something people are searching for.
You can write lovely articles, but if they are not answering a question or need to the general population, you just won't get traffic. I would suggest for each of your topics that you do a
"Google Suggest" to see what long tail keywords people are searching for. Start to type in the topic you are promoting/discussing, and see what google suggests as possible topics of interest to you. It suggests those because people are typing those phrases in as search queries. That is where search/reader interest lies.
Those are the titles and subtitles you need to be placing in your hubs. If they are not there, add them with content to support those titles. That is how you will get trafic. Don't be afraid to have a 2500-3000 word article; they succeed. Keep adding a little every week (one new paragraph addressing a search topic) and you will keep your article fresh.
Also , seasonal hubs will be just that, seasonal. You will get Easter views up to Easter, and then you will wait 11 months for it to be topical again.
Thank you! I hadn't thought about progressively adding to my articles... now that you mention it it seems like an obvious option but I totally missed that idea.
Your articles look good! I would re-title most of them to be more search-friendly, keeping in mind that the subjects you're writing about are very niche and may not garner huge amounts of traffic for that reason.
But seriously, it's obvious you've put a lot of work into your articles and they're high quality. Have you tried Pinning any of them, especially the recipe ones?
Thank you Kierstin! I have never gotten on Pinterest before but I might take the leap now to promote my hubs. I will definitely be re-titling, as that was the flaw that made me realize I needed to reassess how I was writing.
Thanks everyone for the advice. I really appreciate people taking the time to respond.
From all of this I will definitely be looking into the SEO of my titles and subtitles and using the Google tools to make my choices more precise. And I will also try to be patient. It's not my strong suit but I see how patience and persistence have paid off for a lot of people on HP.
I have a few hubs in Delish, Holihappy and FeltMagnet. None of them get many views, even after 1 to 1 1/2 years being in a niche. It is disappointing. Food, family, and crafts are very saturated subjects with a wide range of topics. One given search word or topic in our interest range isn't going to bring in views by the hundreds.That is what I think. Many of keywords in our niches are seasonal. They do better each season after two or three years. My only hope is that I will have enough views with all of them rolled together to make a difference in earnings. Keep writing because you will get lucky with that one hit topic that will bring in the views.
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