When do you give up on an old article?

1. 95

   Shesabutterflyposted 5 years ago

   At what point do you stop trying to get a specific article to the niche sites? I've been working on an article for over a year now with no luck. I've e-mailed staff to no avail and only get a generic "your article was not selected" e-mail every time I edit and try to re-submit this article.
   
   I've posted twice in the forums about advice on this article and tried to use the ideas/advice from others to improve it, but it still has not been moved. From what I can tell, there is not much on the niche site about this topic, so I'm not sure where I should go from here.
   
   At what point would you throw in the towel? I guess I'm just frustrated, because I've put in a lot of time and effort into this article and it was original given to me during the apprentice program many many years ago. I know standards where different then, but I've done a lot to it since it was first published and I'm still getting no where with it.
   
   Is it better to delete articles that do not get moved, or keep them around in the hopes that it will eventually get moved?

   replyreport
   1. 84

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Is the article featured or not?  If so, post the title here so that we can see it and help you.  You obviously are doing something wrong...main reasons might be
      
      too many links
      keyword stuffing
      poor formatting
      poor grammar and spelling
      too many ads or ads that are not relevant

      replyreport
      1. 95

         Shesabutterflyposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Yes it is featured and I've posted it a few times to get feedback, but not many people commented on it. I'd love for you to take a look if you don't mind!
         
         The only thing I can possibly think of from your examples is keyword stuffing, but I've edited the article a few times so I think I should have fixed that. Although it still might be pretty heavy.
         
         I did add two new sections today and a new photo, so the formating might look off now. I was just trying to incorporate some of Beth's idea's from this post. https://hubpages.com/community/forum/34 … lost-cause
         
         Here is a link to the article. https://hubpages.com/sports/Wilderness- … c-Overview
         
         I have not tried to resubmit the article since making some new changes today. Those changes include the 2nd photo and the two sections on moleskin and poison ivy soap (I know the subtitle for the poison ivy soap is probably not good, but I wasn't sure what to title it. Any ideas?). I also moved my last text capsule (Guide to using a wilderness first aid kit and the last two paragraphs) to the top.
         
         Any ideas you have would be greatly appreciated! This is almost a 2500 word article so I'm really at a loss.

         replyreport
         1. 92

            AliciaCposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            Hi. I expect TT2 will have some good ideas for you. Your article is very useful. One thing that I noticed is that although the article isn’t classified in the health category, you’ve turned it into a health hub by stating first aid procedures for bleeding and toxin exposure. Therefore I think you need to add references for your recommendations. Another point to note is that the abbreviation CPR is generally capitalized.

            replyreport
            1. 95

               Shesabutterflyposted 5 years agoin reply to this

               The toxin bit I added today, but I will try and find some good references. What references would you suggest for the first aid procedures? Never really thought of this article as a health category, but I can see where you are coming from.
               
               Edit: I just realized that I haven't used references in many of my articles. What is the best way to provide references. Especially when referencing YMYL topics? Should I use footnotes? Is it okay to simply put reference links in the middle of the content, either with actual links or linked words?

               replyreport
               1. 92

                  AliciaCposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                  Hi again. You’ll have to choose a site with first aid tips that make the best sense to you. I think St. John Ambulance is reliable, since they taught me first aid and they’re respected in Canada, but I don’t know how well known they are in the United States.
                  
                  As far as references on YMYL articles go, all I can say is that I add them in a separate “References” section at the end of the article and they are accepted. Other methods of adding references may work as well.

                  replyreport
                  1. 95

                     Shesabutterflyposted 5 years agoin reply to this

                     You've been very helpful thank you! I was actually just looking at St. John thinking I might use them. I preferred their content and pages to Mayo & I've never been a fan of webMD.

                     replyreport
2. 91

   Kenna McHughposted 5 years ago

   I would not put a lot of time on it. I would not delete it. Just move on and write another article.

   replyreport
3. 60

   paradigmsearchposted 5 years ago

   Whenever I reach an impasse with HP concerning an article, I simply move it to my own website. Even though it is a general topic website, I still find little gifts from AdSense on my back porch every now and then. Never going to get rich, but it's fun.

   replyreport
4. 81

   trusouldjposted 5 years ago

   I'm experiencing something similar.  I have two articles that have been published for three years.  Then when I went in to edit them, they were suddenly deemed substandard.  I didn't cut them in half, I added to them if anything. And after a another try, I resubmitted and got the same alert.  Which is weird because they featured several other articles of mine and  one of the so-called substandard ones seems better than a few of the featured ones.  But taking your advice, I'm going to move on.  Especially since no one cares to tell me exactly what the problem is and there is no direct email to find out ... Bless their hearts.

   replyreport