Uh-Oh, Hubber Score IS Important

1. 59

   paradigmsearchposted 4 years ago

   We've been telling each other for years that our Hubber scores are not important. We were wrong. From HubPages Weekly:
   
   """
   Congrats, Your Article Is Featured! Now, Here’s How To Keep It That Way...
   So, your article needs to have some search traffic to stay Featured. The amount of traffic it needs and the length of time it has to accrue that traffic is determined by your Hubber Score. Usually, an article will have a full year to spread its wings and start raking in the dough.
   New Hubbers are given a generous grace period, even if they have relatively low Hubber Scores, as we acknowledge that it can take time for new Hubbers to get their bearings and for their Hubber Scores to normalize.
   """
   
   Apparently, newbies don't have much to worry about; but us old timers beware. Personally, I already consider myself a candle in the wind; so one more thing to worry about ain't going to hurt. However, I will continue to try and behave myself.

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      OldRosesposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I saw that too and finally figured out why my hubber score had improved dramatically.  Under the old guidelines, I was a 70 to 80.  Under the new guidelines, I am 95 - 100, I assume because my hub traffic has increased tremendously since they were moved to the niche sites.

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      1. 59

         paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         I noticed that Hub Score affects Hubber Score which affects Hub Score affects Hubber Score which affects Hub Score which affects Hubber Score which affects Hub Score which affects Hubber Score which affects...

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      2. 93

         robhamptonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         I don't even pay attention to it. Seems as though it fluctuates for no rhyme or reason. I just don't care about hub score at all

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         1. 59

            paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

            You stole half my profile pic, but I'll let it go.

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            1. 89

               lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

               Hahaha

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   2. 60

      TessSchlesingerposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      No,hubbers haven't been telling themselves it's not important. We all knew it was, otherwise it woudn't be there.
      
      Now that I know that it's a prediction of how well the articles will do, I can see what the common denominators are and write acccording to that.
      
      Now wouldn't it have been nice to know that years ago. We could have written more targeted articles and not wasted our time.

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I always thought that scores increased when traffic increased and not the other way around.

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   4. 81

      samanthacubbisonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      The "grace period" doesn't really change that drastically depending on your Hubber Score (unless it is extremely low). From the same FAQ entry: "...a Featured article will have at least one year to generate some traffic before it could be de-Featured because of traffic."
      
      You can brush up on the FAQ entry for clarity: https://hubpages.com/faq/#search-traffic-to-be-featured

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      1. 59

         paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         "Featured vs de-Featured" is really just a euphemism for "We're gonna slap a noindex tag on that sucker." This really is only an issue for those with hubs on the hubpages . com domain.
         
         The real question is, "How does Hubber Score affect all things niche site?"; particularly, does it affect grace times before being kicked off for no or low traffic? And for that matter, re: niche sites:
         1. Regardless of Hubber Score, what is the grace time in general for no traffic?
         2. What is the grace time in general for unacceptably low traffic?
         3. What is considered unacceptably low traffic?

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2. 93

   ziyenaposted 4 years ago

   Now I remember the reason I left the dreaded corporate world.  Micro Management is a huge  pet peeve of mine.  Leaves a bad taste in the mouth and not so desirable to chew on either.  Something to write about!

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   1. 59

      paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Me being me, I'd probably remove a non producing hub long before HP got around to it. As for micro managers; yep, I've had a few of those in my time. I'd make a few succinct comments about those managers, but I don't want HP thinking I'm talking about HP.

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      1. 93

         ziyenaposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         Wiseguy 

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3. 93

   FatFreddysCatposted 4 years ago

   How much Hub Score would a Hub Score score, if a Hub Score could score Hubs?
   
   ...or somethin'....

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   1. 59

      paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Now that I think about it, I do believe I'm probably being subjected to a spiral effect as we speak; reason being my lack of producing new hubs.

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4. 73

   shanmarieposted 4 years ago

   Yes, Tess, saying it doesn't matter was merely a means to console ourselves for not knowing how to improve it or what factored into it. It would have been nice to know years ago WHY it is so important. And I'd still like more specifics about how to improve the score. We have more information on how to improve article score than we do the hubber score.

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   1. 60

      TessSchlesingerposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Yup. I guess staff were scared that if they told us what it meant, then we would maniulate it in some way...

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5. 96

   OldRosesposted 4 years ago

   That's how it has worked with me.  My traffic increased and then my hubber score increased.  Although I should probably also add that I have been writing new hubs pretty regularly also.

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6. 95

   RonElFranposted 4 years ago

   This is not new information. I remember reading in the learning center years ago that the grace period given to new hubs is affected by the hubber score of the author. So, the idea that hubber scores don't matter has never been accurate.

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   1. 59

      paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I remember when our only concern was whether the Hubber Score was above or below 85. That was the demarcation point for whether links in hubs were follow or no-follow. What with HP exterminating all personal site links when the niche sites came along, that's when the old timers started telling the newbies that the scores didn't matter whenever newbies asked about raising their score.
      
      Based on previous threads. That grace period thing didn't happen until sometime between now and 3 years ago; I have no idea when. Be interesting to use the wayback machine to try to find out (I'm assuming the Learning Center doesn't require sign in, too lazy to check).
      
      And I'm bolding this just for HP:
      I remember Google taking 1-2 years before making up it's mind about new hubs. Has that changed? If not, then HP may  be killing hubs just before the hubs are about to prove themselves.
      Just a thought, not my problem.

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   2. 91

      Sherry Hewinsposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I remember that too Ron. Having a high hubber score just keeps your hubs featured for longer when they have low traffic, it doesn't help them get more traffic. So, that's just been since they started idling low-performing hubs.
      
      Before all that, there used to be pages where all the hubs were listed within their topic, and they started with the highest scores at the top, so I guess having a hub with a high score gave it a little more visibility.

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7. 96

   PaulGoodman67posted 4 years ago

   Hubber score doesn't matter unless it's low, as far as I am aware. The thing's worked out using an algorithm incorporating a variety of factors and a fluctuation seems built in. HP are just trying to encourage "good behavior", I believe.
   
   What constitutes "good" traffic is relative, as it depends on the keywords, some keywords will attract a hundred views per month, some a hundred thousand. If you get 95 views per month out of a total of 100, to me that shows popularity in that (narrow) field!

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8. 91

   Kenna McHughposted 4 years ago

   How low of a score?

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9. 96

   OldRosesposted 4 years ago

   Well that explains why some of my hubs suddenly took off after languishing for 1 to 2 years.

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10. 61

    Randy Godwinposted 4 years ago

    I recently unpublished a number of low scoring hubs to see what would happen. If anything my overall Hub score dropped. I once stayed around 99 or 100 for several years, but now I'm confused as to what happened. It doesn't seem to relate to traffic in my case. Perhaps I'm simply a dumb ass?

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    1. 89

       lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       Nope you are not. It has nothing to do with traffic from what I see. The days I edit my hubs they go to 100 and stay there for a day or two and then begin going down and settling at 90. I usually do not edit in summer and that's when traffic goes 5x of the norm and there is no increase in the hub score.
       
       My hubber score is always +-5 of my average hub score.
       
       I got a few (3) low scoring hubs that I have not updated in years. They are in the mid-70s taking my average down.

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       1. 61

          Randy Godwinposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Yes, the ones I unpublished were all in the 70's as well. I thought  getting rid of the low scoring hubs would increase my Hub score, but it didn't.

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          1. 91

             Jodahposted 4 years agoin reply to this

             I thought the same but decided to add to and improve my lowest scoring hubs. Well, they jumped in score by up to 15 points, but it didn’t increase my average hub score at all. The scores of other hubs just dropped to take the place of the ones I improved and my average hub score stayed the same. It has never moved more than one point up or down for as long as I can remember.

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                Lady Loreleiposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                Did they start getting search traffic again? I'm wondering if once killed if they remain that way.

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                1. 91

                   Jodahposted 4 years agoin reply to this

                   A couple had traffic increases and were selected for a niche site.

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    2. 91

       GA Andersonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       Damn it Randy! You know I can't walk past an open door like that!
       
       Yep!, thatis it.
       
       GA

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       1. 61

          Randy Godwinposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Thanks GA, it's good to get solid info into my problem.
          
          Like my dad often said, "Two heads are better than one, even if one of them is a goat head.

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11. 96

    OldRosesposted 4 years ago

    I have to respetfully disagree.  My hub scores have always been low, between 75 and 85.  Yet my hubber score suddenly jumped.  Right now it's at 95. So hub score hasn't affected my hubber score.  The only thing that has changed has been my traffic.

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    1. 89

       lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       That's interesting. But my hubber score was in the low 80s or high 70s last summer when I was getting 6 times my current traffic. Forum activity etc. is pretty consistent, probably lower now, but the hubber score is in the late 80s early 90s.

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    2. 91

       Sherry Hewinsposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       I believe your activity on HP also influences your hubber score. Do you participate in the forum and comment on hubs? That's not really straight-forward either, because they penalize you if you are too active. Follow 20 people in a day and watch your score drop.

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12. 67

    abwilliamsposted 4 years ago

    No comment.

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13. 91

    Kenna McHughposted 4 years ago

    Thank you, Robin. I agree. It's good to refresh our memories!

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14. 91

    Kenna McHughposted 4 years ago

    Randy, That's good to know. Not the goat head adage but removing low performing articles doesn't help in raising views.

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15. 91

    Kenna McHughposted 4 years ago

    What is the mathematical equation for achieving overall Hubber Score?

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    Lady Loreleiposted 4 years ago

    At the moment I am trying to figure out how my traffic consistent for over a year has suddenly dropped in half as of last week. WTH? and this just about the time that this notice came out. It feels like sabotage.
    
    Do they still punish if you have an article left unpublished? I have a high research one I've been working on for a little over a week so am wondering if that killed me.

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       lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       They never punished us. Nope.

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          Lady Loreleiposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          Question then being: Why the sudden drop and how is this number now my new norm?

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             paradigmsearchposted 4 years agoin reply to this

             From what I've been hearing, a lot of people have had a recent 5-10 point Hubber Score drop recently.  As for the traffic drop, have you checked for stolen copies? Though rare, it wouldn't be the first time Google has ranked stolen over original.

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          2. 89

             lobobrandonposted 4 years agoin reply to this

             Your hubber score will not influence the traffic you get. You probably lost some rankings on the search engines.

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