Huge Volatility in the Search Rankings

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   PaulGoodman67posted 11 months ago

   This is according to SE Round Table. I'm seeing some big fluctuations in my views, I hope it settles out well:
   
   Immense Google Search Ranking Volatility; The Tail End Of The Product Reviews Update?

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      hclpdposted 11 months agoin reply to this

      The traffic is down overall, but the disappointing slump is something I have gotten used to now.

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      Kenna McHughposted 11 months agoin reply to this

      My site is up. It could be the topic, movies. HP is down. Easter holiday? Spring break?

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   PaulGoodman67posted 11 months ago

   My traffic generally is fairly poor. Any rises have mainly been with product reviews, which suggests it's related to the recent algo update?

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   PaulGoodman67posted 11 months ago

   Traffic's bad right now, some of it's probably caused by Easter, but not all of it. There are some exceptions, though, articles that are doing much better since the last update. Unfortunately  it's not enough to offset the general trend.

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      DrMark1961posted 11 months agoin reply to this

      Glad it is not just me. I am seeing tons of blue arrows this morning.

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         PaulGoodman67posted 11 months agoin reply to this

         The last big update finished on the 11th April and was called the Google Product Reviews Update, but the general consensus is that it affected much more than just Amazon review articles.
         
         A few of my Amazon hubs are doing better post-update, but traffic to the non-Amazon articles, which are the bulk, is generally down.

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         hclpdposted 11 months agoin reply to this

         Yeah, well. It has been the case for the last year or so.

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   eugbugposted 11 months ago

   Yes. Down 10% to 20% compared to last week and 30% compared to last year. I didn't have a drop in stats for the Easter period last year. Some guides have lost 65% traffic since last week.

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      SerenityHaloposted 11 months agoin reply to this

      I’m also down about 20%. March was an improvement for me over January and February. I’m worried April is sagging to be with the first two months of the year.

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      charlesnuamahposted 11 months agoin reply to this

      Yeah, my traffic has never been this bad for quite a while as well. Wonder, if google is targeting HubPages specifically for something.

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   alexadryposted 11 months ago

   I had too look twice at today's statistics...

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   eugbugposted 11 months ago

   Traffic has dropped another 10% today compared to yesterday. Strangely, one of my guides called "Gardening for Beginners: How to Sow Seeds in 10 Easy Steps" is ranking in 3rd place on the US on Startpage.com for "How to Sow Seeds". This site is supposed to show results that aren't dependant on a searchers previous searches. Yet traffic is plummeting and is about a third of what it was for last year.

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   Jan Saintsposted 11 months ago

   This is serious! Are some sites down/going offline or something, cos traffic has more than halved for my top hubs in the last three days?

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   theraggededgeposted 11 months ago

   I think it's across the board. Medium traffic is down as is my own site today. Is it to do with Easter?

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      eugbugposted 11 months agoin reply to this

      My stats don't show a drop for last Easter (Easter Sunday was 4th April). Maybe it's just several factors occurring together that are causing this.

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         PaulGoodman67posted 11 months agoin reply to this

         I suspect that Easter plays a minor role, but the major issues are technical, it's likely the last the algo update was a big factor.
         
         Easter can be difficult to judge. Workers don't get public holidays in the US, like they do in the UK (and presumably Ireland?) but children do get holidays, so people can go on vacation. The timing varies, though.
         
         What is certain is that my views and earnings are dreadful right now, I'm back down to January levels. It's appalling and dispiriting.

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            Solarasposted 11 months agoin reply to this

            Appalling and dispiriting...I don't think I can look at HP for another month.  I am going to have to come up with something else.  This just goes from bad to worse, with no one investigating how to make a real difference in our rankings vs whatever the competition is getting right.

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            hclpdposted 11 months agoin reply to this

            I'm thinking about not putting in any effort for the time being, at least until things improve.

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               chef-de-jourposted 11 months agoin reply to this

               Yes, it's a difficult choice to make. HP isn't the earnings site it once was that's true but there are still positives  to consider - longevity of this site, editorship, ease of access, potential earnings etc etc -  I've been writing fresh articles on a regular basis throughout these hard times, and updating existing articles in order to stay competitive. More experienced writers have always advised me that the god Google likes fresh, quality material to feed on!!  I keep feeding it. I keep earning! Plus, after so many years I feel I've a duty to keep my readers happy and wanting more.

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   eugbugposted 11 months ago

   I wonder does Hubpages have any stats for visitors that back out before a view is registered? I reckon lots of people leave because of the site video obscuring pages and it not being possible to close it and the slow load time of images and ads producing blank spaces which causes confusion.

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      brittpinkieposted 11 months agoin reply to this

      I've been wondering this a long time, too.  I really hate the videos on the niche sites.  A lot of my articles are on LevelSkip and the video there on every article is so obtrusive.  If I was a reader, I wouldn't stick around

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    PaulGoodman67posted 11 months ago

    There was another algo update that rolled out over Wednesday and Thursday that seemed to mitigate some of the negative impacts of the "Product Review" update.

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       eugbugposted 11 months agoin reply to this

       Traffic for me seems to have recovered somewhat today. Currently it's as "good" as it was in March, but nowhere near last year. Maybe it's just because it's a public holiday here.

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          charlesnuamahposted 11 months agoin reply to this

          Same for me as well.

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          SerenityHaloposted 11 months agoin reply to this

          If April continues on the same trajectory, I'll be making about 80% of what I made in March. I'll be making about 50% of what I made in 2019.

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             hclpdposted 11 months agoin reply to this

             Yep. Same.

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                brittpinkieposted 11 months agoin reply to this

                Same here   I'd guess my traffic is also similar to 2019...really surprising as I'd been earning quite well for a long time.  That being said, I'm not doing dismally, but my earnings this month are shaping up to be last of half month, and a quarter of what I made at my peak.

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11. 91

    AdeleCosgroveBrayposted 11 months ago

    My earnings have dropped significantly, too. Here's hoping things improve soon, for every writer here.

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    PaulGoodman67posted 11 months ago

    Yet another Google update on the 20th and 21st, lets hope this one is more positive for us. It's too early to assess at the moment.
    
    I'm hoping that the arrival of more HP editors improves things. I've never been confident that leaving updating to the writers is a good idea, when Google craves "fresh" content nowadays. I guess they've got to balance it against the financial outlay, though.

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       DrMark1961posted 10 months agoin reply to this

       I am seeing positive changes and I hope it stays that way. The 20% decline in Google search due to the last update has now come back.

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          PaulGoodman67posted 10 months agoin reply to this

          Overall, April has been a bad month for me and seemed worse because it followed a period when things seemed to be improving a little.
          
          I guess, there are a few causes to be optimistic if I force myself (it's not so easy nowadays):
          
          1. Some of the traffic lost in the "Product Review" update seemed to return recently (as you mention, Dr. Mark).
          2. The (modest) improvements in Amazon commission rates was a nice surprise. I thought that the percentage movement was only ever going to be downwards.
          3. More editors could mean that HP have identified some of the bigger issues and are attempting to rectify them.

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             Kenna McHughposted 10 months agoin reply to this

             I am up as well. But the formatting needs to change.

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             eugbugposted 10 months agoin reply to this

             For me, only 3rd party home & garden sales increased from 3%/4% to 5% commission compared to pre-April figures."Normal" commission rate for this category remained at 3%.

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