Old Articles and their Historic Views?

1. 77

   Don Bobbittposted 3 years ago

   
   We all know that we must keep our Articles fresh and up to date, right? Well, I'm sitting here staring at one of mine with the subject, "Idle Hubs". My problem is that for a while it managed to gather several thousand Views. But now, the whole Idle Hub scenario has been eliminated. SO, my delima is that I must do one of two things with the article; 1- I can bite the bullet and just delete the article.
   On the other hand, I can let it sit there, and my total number of historic views will not drop by these thousands of views; BUT I will take a hit for having an out of date article going against me.
   What to Do, What to Do!
   DON

   replyreport
   1. 74

      Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      It seems puzzling to the mind. But it's best if evergreen content is post quarter to give life and color to the article(s).

      replyreport
   2. 64

      OldRosesposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      What are "idle hubs?"  Is there any way to update this article?  Freshen it up a bit?

      replyreport
      1. 74

         Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

         +++++++

         replyreport
      2. 96

         PaulGoodman67posted 3 years agoin reply to this

         I looked it up and I think it was the term HP used to use for hubs that were not getting views and not getting edited by hubbers to improve them.
         
         It was used when HP first started to suggest updating and improving hubs. Before that, all the emphasis was on creating new material. I've not heard that term used for some time, so I'd forgotten it.
         
         The particularly confusing thing is that Don appears to have an idle hub about idle hubs. That is his quandary, I'm guessing?

         replyreport
      3. 87

         Sherry Hewinsposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         Back in 2012, HubPages started to "Idle" hubs that were not getting much traffic. It meant that they were not available to be indexed by search engines, but were still available to view from your account page and could be visited through links on social media.
         
         It was an effort to improve the site's reputation by eliminating low-quality articles from searches. They seem to have abandoned this practice some time ago.
         
         https://blog.hubpages.com/2012/08/27/in … g-on-idle/

         replyreport
         1. 74

            Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

            Thanks for the link. It's very informing.

            replyreport
   3. 83

      Kyler J Falkposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      If you feel an article has idled and isn't going to come out of it then there's no reason to keep it around, it is dead rather than idle. If you still get a trickle of traffic then there is no real reason to delete it, and perhaps updating it in some way would benefit it.
      
      If it is on a niche site then write an entirely new article around the same topic with a different angle, and link to that article to try to give it some life support should such an action be relevant.

      replyreport
      1. 74

         Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

         I completely agree.

         replyreport
      2. 77

         Don Bobbittposted 3 years agoin reply to this

         The Idle Hub nomenclature was a once active tool used by HP to label a writers article s being IDLE and no longer desired on the HP site. My article was written in protest to some of the arbitrary criteria they use back them.

         replyreport
         1. 74

            Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

            Oh!...that's why it looks puzzling to me(and the others?).                                         Back then I'm not on HubPages. I came onboard when Sqiudoo is being to transisting to  Hubpages.                                        Don, by the way what d'you eat regularly? You seems to bubble with life and energy. You look vibrant, cool, and cute. Happy and smiling Your big photo says it all. Pass 70 and you're feeling younger at heart. Tell us what d'you eat and do to stay that cute!?

            replyreport
2. 60

   Urwa786posted 3 years ago

   First of all Don, your big picture looks so cute. and secondly, I don't understand "idle hubs".

   replyreport
3. 91

   EricDockettposted 3 years ago

   Don, your Idle Hubs article isn't going to hurt you or count against you in any way. It isn't even on a niche site, and even if it were it wouldn't hurt you specifically, but it might have a very minimal negative effect on the niche site. The days when we had to worry about a few bad articles dragging our whole account down went out with the subdomains.
   
   You can keep it as is, delete it, or rework it as like a "Remembrance of the Idle Hubs Program". Totally up to you, but it isn't going to hurt you to keep it on your account.
   
   Hope that sets your mind at ease.

   replyreport
   1. 77

      Don Bobbittposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks!

      replyreport
4. 80

   Solarasposted 3 years ago

   Is idled hubs equal to featured vs. non-featured?  If so you could update the article to be about Featured and non-featured and make it relevant again.

   replyreport
   1. 74

      Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      That makes sense, and I completely agree. Updating an idle article with new content makes it relevant to search engine spiders.

      replyreport
5. 59

   FatFreddysCatposted 3 years ago

   I've unpublished a number of my old/outdated hubs, but I don't delete them outright, because their views would be subtracted from my total. So they sit on my list, in a sort of electronic purgatory, no longer alive, but not quite dead, either... (shudder)...

   replyreport
   1. 74

      Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

      That well noted. I marked down some articles in my data base to be delete. Now, I no longer will do it.

      replyreport
6. 93

   Glenn Stokposted 3 years ago

   Hey Don, as you said, the Idle Hub scenario has been eliminated by HubPages. So if I understand your question correctly, your main concern is about losing the history of views on that hub if you delete it. 
   
   I know, I made that mistake of deleting a lot of non-performing hubs years ago, only to realize later that it took longer to reach my next “views accolade.”
   
   It’s a grueling decision to make, to keep or delete an obsolete hub, when the history of views would be lost. However, there are two solutions.
   
   You can unpublish the hub but not delete it. That will allow the view history to remain intact.
   
   Or you can try to work out a related article that more or less fits with that subject and completely update the hub with that new content.  I actually did that once and I’ll mention it as an example.
   
   Ten years ago I wrote a hub about the method of applying Google Authorship, which included our avatar in the SERPs. But when Google eliminated that feature, my hub became obsolete. So I changed its entire discussion with a new title: “What Happened to Claiming Google Authorship?” I did have to delete all the reader comments since they didn’t relate to the new discussion.
   
   Maybe you can do the same with your hub. Change it to discuss why HubPages and Maven no longer need to tag hubs as idle because they just leave them on HubPages.com without monetizing them. That might take some research to gather all the details, but you could also add your own thoughts on the matter to educate your readers with the importance of maintaining obsolete articles. That would be a trick to bring new reader-value to your hub.

   replyreport
   1. 77

      Don Bobbittposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks Glenn!
      I like your point, and I guess I'll do the rewrite.  It seems the safest bet for me at the moment.
      Have a Great Day!
      DON

      replyreport
      1. 74

         Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

         I do likewise. So I'm not deleting any any of my idle or inactive articles.                                              Hey, who don't have any? Many big book writers have their books out of print due to being out dated and become obselete due to the issue.                                          Don, I'm after you and Glenn. Somewhere here along the line, I sound Glenn that I noted well the question. The next line is action, when editing my stories.                                               Don, when I log in this afternoon, I saw a picture of a elderly man pass 70 on my feed. I have no problem to note that it's you, Don. You're still full of life and always happy. What d'you eat and stay that happy being an old man? Thanks.

         replyreport
         1. 77

            Don Bobbittposted 3 years agoin reply to this

            I bite into my Pains every day, and I chew them until I can spit out the Bile, leaving nothing but the sweet flavors of Life for m to Savor.!

            replyreport
            1. 74

               Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

               Don, you're welcome. After you.

               replyreport
7. 96

   PaulGoodman67posted 3 years ago

   Or you could just not worry about the total views stat, which is what I do. It's only a number, after all.
   
   Hubs die and hubs are born, isn't that the natural circle of life?

   replyreport
   1. 87

      Sherry Hewinsposted 3 years agoin reply to this

      I agree. It may cause you to take a little longer to get to that next goalpost, but it won't cost you any money. and once you're past 100,000 views, it probably won't make much of a difference.

      replyreport
      1. 74

         Miebakagh57posted 3 years agoin reply to this

         This is an understanding and well noted.

         replyreport