Tips for articles being picked for niche sites

1. 58

   Dinaasposted 5 years ago

   Hi,
   
   Do more experienced Hubbers have any useful tips for getting your article moved to a niche site? I kept seeing advice that goes something like "make sure you write a high-quality article" but it just seems so vague to me.
   
   I have 9 articles now and the only one that was moved to a niche site was the one I actually like the least. Also, I have to admit that this was the one I put the least effort in.
   
   So I'm guessing me and HubPages are not on the same page when it comes to what a high-quality article is like.  
   
   So again, do you have any concrete useful advice?
   
   Sorry if this thread already existed but I didn't find it anywhere.

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   1. 95

      greenmindposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Hi -- First, you're a really solid writer, which basically means everything will be okay eventually. I think you're in a bit of a rush to get established, and it really does take a long time. Keep doing what you're doing, and next year when you have 100 articles you'll be in great shape!
      
      As far as the niche sites go, I'm having the same frustrations myself (after 5 years). Some articles just never get selected, while others pop right in without you asking. I have kind of learned to just not worry about it and keep on writing.
      
      Looking at your articles, I can suggest a couple of things that might affect being chosen for a niche site:
      
      -- Health articles are not doing well these days, no matter how good they are
      -- HP views any outbound link with suspicion, so I would take those out
      -- I assume you're getting images from Pxabay; as long as they're free for your use, you could use a few more
      -- Polls, quizzes and quotes don't hurt
      -- A "Sources" text block at the bottom with the deactivated links for authoritative sources is a good idea
      
      In the end, all you can do is write a lot of good articles. That's the only thing truly in your control, so take control of it!
      
      Good luck to you.

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      1. 58

         Dinaasposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Hey greenmind,
         
         Thank you for your always encouraging words.
         Ok, that's some really great advice you offered, especially the bit about outbound links—which I honestly didn't know about until now, though I guess they would consider them spammy.
         
         It kind of does suck that you're struggling after 5 years.
         I get that getting picked depends on the topic you're covering too, but I think that some general guidelines offered by HubPages would be helpful so you know what they're looking for.
         
         Good luck to you too!

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   2. 94

      Glenn Stokposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I haven’t looked at your hubs, but since you’re asking for advice, I have to say that if you use incorrect grammar in your hubs as you did in this post, that would be a reason for rejection. Saying, “So I'm guessing me and HubPages are not on the same page” is poor grammar. The correct way to say it is, “So I’m guessing HubPages and I are not on the same page.”
      
      As far as other advice being vague, as you mentioned—the HubPages Writing Style Guide has full details of what you need to do to create stellar quality articles:
      
      https://hubpageshelp.com/standards/HubP … tyle-Guide

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      1. 58

         Dinaasposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Glenn,
         
         LOL, for some reason my original post got stuck in my head and I suddenly realized... oh, did I really write "me"? Just didn't have time to edit it.
         
         In my defense, English is not my first language so mistakes happen when I don't pay a lot of attention to what I'm writing/saying, but my articles I always double-check (that's an understatement actually), though there may be some incorrect grammar that I don't even detect.
         
         Thanks for the link, I'll make sure to read through it carefully!

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   3. 75

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Every one of my hubs is on the niche sites.  I  have never found monitor comments to be vague.  They are extremely clear if you pay attention to what is being asked.  When they say they're looking at spelling and grammar, this means you need to go back and review what you've written, find and correct errors, etc.  You cannot submit work that has flaws.  Your photos must be appropriate, well placed and accurate.  You should avoid key word stuffing.  There are many small issues such as these that people ignore but all can be found in the learning guide.  Best advice?  READ THE LEARNING GUIDE AND FOLLOW IT SPECIFICALLY.

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   4. 92

      MizBejabbersposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      You may think my advice is strange, but it's from experience. I've been here for about 9 years. I find that the best way to kill traffic on a good hub is to move it to an obsecurity niche site when it's new. I'd prefer that my hubs aren't moved to niche sites. I haven't published anything new in a year because of my last hub. I worked so hard on a travel hub for a beautiful glass chapel in my state, and it was getting good traffic...for 3 days. After the third day, the hub was moved to WanderWisdom, and the traffic abruptly stopped. It gets  a trickle every now and then, but not much.
      
      I would prefer that HP leave my hubs alone until they are at least six months old before them  move them to their "fabulous" niche sites.

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      1. 89

         Jodahposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         I tend to agree, MizB. As I have said before my article with by far the highest traffic and still increasing has never been selected for a niche site and I am happy with that. I have a lot on niche sites but only about three of those get consistent traffic, and then only about a third of that of the other hub mentioned.

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   5. 75

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 5 years agoin reply to this

      The requirements for being moved to a niche site are very clear if you read the learning center section on how to write a stellar hub.  High quality articles are correctly written, have good and appropriate images, are focused on the topic, support the title use capsules and ads correctly, etc.  There's no mystery.  Take the time to read some of the hubs that have been accepted and focus on how they are formatted and make changes on yours where appropriate.

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   6. 0

      Alma Evansposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      I am a newbie and I'm also looking for some tips and tactics to get more traffic to my sites. I also need suggestions on how can I use HubPages to bring traffic to my blog site.

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      1. 88

         theraggededgeposted 4 years agoin reply to this

         I already told you, you can't. All you can do is add your blog url to the relevant section on your bio. You cannot use HubPages to drive traffic - it's a site for writers.
         
         If it were possible, I'd be doing it.

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2. 89

   Jodahposted 5 years ago

   Hi Dinaas,
   I read your hub “Learn the Difference Between Confusing Words in English.” It is well-written and I can’t see a reason for it not being selected for a niche site. I have approximately 400 articles here and many of the older ones have not been moved, however almost every new one I write is selected within a couple of days.
   
   Funny thing is my most popular hub, that has by far the most traffic over the last 30 days and was written four years ago, has never been selected. I even submitted it for a niche site and the editor declined it because it was a recipe hub but contained a poem. They said if I removed the poem it would be selected. As I am chiefly a poet and just wrote a recipe hub as an experiment that poetry and recipes could co exist, I refused to remove it.
   Maybe I will resubmit it with the hope of being reviewed by a different person. Good luck with yours.

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   1. 95

      Titiaposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Jodah, I have the same experience. As soon as you put a little rhyme in an article, it's a no no.

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      1. 89

         Jodahposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Hi Titia, Thank you for confirming I am not alone in that.

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   2. 58

      Dinaasposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Jodah,
      
      Sorry for replying a bit late.
      Thank you very much for taking your time and taking a look at my article.
      
      With regards to your particular problem with the poem-recipe article, I think it's best to keep writing in a way that reflects us as writers and not to try to adjust to the criteria for niche sites because there really are no rules. Sure, a niche site would bring you even more traffic, but you're still doing fine and your article is exactly how you wanted it.
      
      I recently had one of my articles picked for a niche site. I am still happy about that, but they brought in an editor to edit the article.
      Though I think the editor did a great job and improved my article, it just doesn't feel like the article is mine anymore, and I don't really see why certain things were deleted, replaced, added or restructured. 
      
      So, basically, I guess every situation has its downsides and upsides.
      
      I only have a problem with their criteria not being clear enough and I think that there may be a problem when someone with 400+ articles doesn't know what to expect to happen with their articles.
      
      In his reply, Glenn posted a link to HubPages style guide to a stellar article. I can tell you that improving my old articles and adjusting the new ones according to their tips did bring in more traffic, but did nothing for the articles being selected.
      
      So, I guess the lesson is — do your best and enjoy the journey of writing for the sake of writing!

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      1. 89

         Jodahposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         No problem, Dinaas, and your advice is very wise. You make good points and we have to sometimes decide whether we want the article to retain the feel of being totally ours or embrace an editor’s changes. Good luck with having all you future articles selected.

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         1. 58

            Dinaasposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks, Jodah, and good luck to you too!

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      2. 88

         Jean Bakulaposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         Dinaas,
         If an article was edited so much you feel like it's not yours anymore, you CAN change it back. Sometimes they leave it alone, but sometimes not. Also, you can write in to Team@Hubpages.com, if you feel they overdid it and explain your point of view. I have done this often, usually with good results.

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3. 82

   Doneta Wrateposted 5 years ago

   Jodah, it is interesting your top traffic hub is not on a niche site.  It is interesting a hub can get a lot of traffic without being on a niche site if everything else is done right.  I guess it can pay to keep on tweeking at articles already written.

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   1. 89

      Jodahposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, Doneta, that surprises me too going on all the advice to try to move your hubs to niche sites if you want them to succeed and get traffic. I keep updating older hubs even if they aren’t on niche sites and occasionally one suddenly gets selected.

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      1. 66

         OldRosesposted 5 years agoin reply to this

         You can submit older hubs to niche sites yourself.  You are allowed to submit one hub every two weeks.  That's to avoid swamping the editors with too many hubs to review.  I've been updating and submitting hubs every two weeks for about two years now.  I'm hoping to have all of my hubs moved to niche sites by the end of next year.

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         1. 89

            Jodahposted 5 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, OldRoses, I do submit one older hub every now and then. It will take me awhile but I am in no hurry.

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4. 82

   Doneta Wrateposted 5 years ago

   It is probably good to still get hubs on niche sites.  But until they do, try to get as much traffic as you can out of them.  For some reason, some never will make it to niche sites.

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   1. 89

      Jodahposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Yep, good advice

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5. 94

   daydreamsposted 5 years ago

   If you try submitting them yourself you will probably get a little bit of feedback about why if they are rejected which can be very useful.

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6. 82

   Doneta Wrateposted 5 years ago

   I have submitted 4 and heard back from only one in over a month.  And they said it needed to be heavily edited.  I don't have much time for hubpages right now and would rather spend my time writing new stuff and let them edit it.

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7. 82

   Doneta Wrateposted 5 years ago

   I have written for publication in magazines before. Whenever you submit something for publication anywhere, an editor gets ahold of your writing and changing things.  That is the truth of a writers life that gets his stuff published for reading.  The editor has the final say of what gets published.

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8. 68

   shanmarieposted 5 years ago

   I submitted an older one and then received an email telling me it qualifies. Also to fix something they didn't like. I did that, but it hasn't been moved yet. No idea if I'm supposed to resubmit it. I've been told for one of my articles that went straight over but was changed first that the guidelines had changed for how that type of article should be presented. So now I just do them all that way and they usually go to Spinditty quickly without asking.

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      Jodahposted 5 years agoin reply to this

      I think you have to resubmit it

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      TIMETRAVELER2posted 5 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, resubmit it with the correction.

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9. 100

   Eric Cauncaposted 4 years ago

   Hello, I hope you will help me too. I submitted two articles on the network sites, they are both accepted. However, editors sent it to the editing queue. The other one is already in its 3rd month. I have no idea what's happening to them and what is their position on the queue. I have no idea if editors choose articles that they only want to edit. I have worked as a data operation specialist before, I processed invoices and receipts. If the invoice is difficult to process or I don't want to process it, I would refresh the computer. It would transfer to my co-worker, however, if she/he doesn't want to process it too, she/he will refresh also his/her computer until the invoice is no longer processed. That's why I'm thinking if it is also happening in the editors' office. (Sorry about it.) They told me to reedit and to resubmit them to the network sites, however, I am afraid to do it because on their message they will delete the articles if still don't meet their standard. How long it takes to reach its position in the editing process? Thank you for your reply.

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   1. 88

      theraggededgeposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Eric, they won't delete the articles. If you can edit them, then do so. Especially as you now have a better idea of what works.
      
      The only times an article would be deleted would be if it was truly offensive, really poor quality, copied, spam, or otherwise against HubPages' terms of use.

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    Eric Cauncaposted 4 years ago

    I apologize for the misunderstanding of their message. They said that they will be removed or reject the article from the editing queue if there are no substantial changes.  I'm afraid if it will happen and my article would have no chance to move to the Networks Sites. They did not tell me the specific mistakes that I need to improve.

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    1. 88

       theraggededgeposted 4 years agoin reply to this

       There probably aren't any mistakes; just that the articles need improvement. Maybe more information. Perhaps better formatting. I don't know. Keep reading the articles in your niche sites and make yours be better than those.

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