"Welcome To" Videos Removed on PetHelpful

1. STAFF

   HubPagesposted 2 years ago

   Hi, Hubbers! The “Welcome To” videos have officially been removed from PetHelpful as part of an experiment to optimize reader experience. Within the coming weeks, we will be testing out an in-text video player that appears farther down on the page and showcases a slideshow of other articles on PetHelpful (with links).
   
   If the results are positive, we will be rolling out these changes on all of our Network Sites. Stay tuned!

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      jansharesposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Woohoo! Great news! Wow, this is fantastic. The horizon is looking good for HubPages with this major move.

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      chef-de-jourposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Very good, needs to be done. Will you please also consider moving all ads to the side of the text so they don't mess around with the reader's flow. To 'optimize reader experience' uninterrupted text has to be a priority.

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      viryaboposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      This is very pleasing to hear.
      
      Although I don’t have any articles on Pethelpful, this news is still uplifting.
      
      Thank you HubPages team. Glad to know we are not being ignored.

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      Brenda Arledgeposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Sounds like a move in the right direction.
      I hope it works.

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      bravewarriorposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Awesome news! Looks like things are moving in a positive direction.

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      Justine Guiaoposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      This is awesome! Thank you for this initiative.

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   7. STAFF

      HubPagesposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Quick Update: The "Welcome To" videos have now been removed from Dengarden as well!

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         Brenda Arledgeposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         Awesome!  Keep going.

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         eugbugposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         Does it take time for this change to percolate down through the site? I'm still seeing them. Also that banner ad looks OK if a reader doesn't scroll. But if they do, it just turns into a grey strip that obscures the top of the screen on desktop (it doesn't stay aligned with the top edge of the screen) Then when the ad loads, it only stays visible for about 3 seconds, so it's too little time for a reader to even read it. I presume the idea is to still show a reader the ad, even if they scroll, but keeping it top of screen would be better. This is probably an issue with the ad top coordinate being a value relative to the bottom of the menu, rather than the origin of the viewport. That shouldn't be difficult to fix if whoever has control of the code is able to edit ad coordinates.
         
         
         

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         1. STAFF

            HubPagesposted 2 years agoin reply to this

            Hi Eugene. We do see that issue, and we're working to fix it. We'll keep you posted!

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               eugbugposted 2 years agoin reply to this

               Ok, thanks for keeping us informed.

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               Brenda Arledgeposted 2 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks for listening.

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         chef-de-jourposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         All good news. Let's hope you can keep up the gradual improvement of page design and ads placement. So important. Unbroken text is what a reader wants and deserves.

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      4. STAFF

         HubPagesposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         Videos have now been removed from TatRing as well!

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            chef-de-jourposted 2 years agoin reply to this

            The experiment continues apace! It's good to learn of your plans and actions and outcomes - for the ultimate benefit of the reader. Please keep us all up to date.

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            Jodahposted 2 years agoin reply to this

            Thank you for keeping us informed.

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            Brenda Arledgeposted 2 years agoin reply to this

            Wonderful news.

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      Miebakagh57posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Great and awesome! I'm not on PetHelpful...but late in coming on into the discussion.                                   And since this is an experimental project across all niche sites, it interested and enthused me.

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   EricDockettposted 2 years ago

   Fantastic! Best news in a long time.
   
   For the new video player, I humbly suggest only featuring links to articles that are highly related to the original article. For example, please don't showcase articles about dogs on an article about fish and vice versa
   
   Thanks for trying this. Let's hope for the best!

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   1. STAFF

      HubPagesposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      We love that idea, but unfortunately, the video player we will be testing does not have the ability to recognize related articles with that degree of specificity. Perhaps they will add that feature in the future!

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         EricDockettposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         That's a bummer. It would surely get more click-throughs if it featured similar content. Otherwise, it is just an unrelated video crammed in the midst of the article. Hopefully, if it doesn't perform well changes can be made.
         
         At least we are moving in the right direction!

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   AliciaCposted 2 years ago

   This sounds very promising. Thank you for sharing the news.

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   alexadryposted 2 years ago

   Sounds like a great improvement! Please keep us posted on how it goes.

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   eugbugposted 2 years ago

   Hurray!  It's good to see that the leaderboard ad is gone too, but hopefully it won't mean a big loss in ad revenue. On desktop, a large rectangle ad, under the medium sized one, could be used in the right side bar to replace it?
   Maybe ads splitting capsules could be the next high priority issue that needs to be fixed?

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   1. STAFF

      HubPagesposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      That issue is still on our wishlist, but it's a surprisingly complicated issue. We will keep you posted if we are able to come up with a fix!

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         eugbugposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         Ok thanks. I posted a thread about this and how ads "know" where to be placed.

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            DrMark1961posted 2 years agoin reply to this

            This may help, but I fear that it is just another method to shut the barn door after the horses have already escaped. The members of this forum have been telling HP about this problem for years and emphasizing what was going to happen to traffic thanks to the intrusive video and ad capsules splitting up bullet lists.
            
            They chose not to listen to the writers, who are also readers. Traffic is terrible. Even if they repair these things now the best we can hope for is a rise in traffic in 6 months or a year when the next Google update rolls around.

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               Kierstin Gunsbergposted 2 years agoin reply to this

               I'm with you DrMark. And although I appreciate that they're testing things out at all, it's only on a niche site I have almost zero content on. Over the past few weeks I've been working to remove my content from HP to revamp and transfer to my personal site (since I now have nothing to lose) and won't be contributing here anymore until or unless I see a sharp increase in traffic and earnings AND consistent communication between staff, editors and contributors.
               
               Outside of HubPages I get paid well for my writing, I'm a good writer and I want to be treated and compensated as one ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 
               If HP wants us to create these "high quality", "expertly written" articles then they should have treated us as high quality, expert writers and listened when we said that certain edits didn't make sense (I just recently had to undo an edit that was made to one of my articles that completely changed the facts of the piece! It was a pregnancy related article that used a common acronym that they changed to something completely off topic. It blew my mind!) or when we collectively noted over and over again that traffic was being compromised by high bounce rates (due to intrusive ads) and low-quality content.
               
               Where HubPages was once a steady source of passive income for me it's now just pennies on the dollars I used to make. It's no longer worth it to me to spend my time contributing here and I'm betting a lot of steady writers here feel the same way.
               
               Saying this stuff bums me out big time. I've been here since nearly the beginning and I've learned so much here, both about writing, editing and creating as well as SEO. I've staunchly defended HubPages as a safe place to publish content and often stated that volatile traffic and unpredictable monthly income is to be expected with online content creation, but I no longer see evidence that HubPages is working with their creators for a mutually beneficial result (which is money. I'm sorry, but I'm not here as a hobbyist or for funsies, I'm here to make money with a skill).
               
               If other writers are also going elsewhere there isn't going to be enough quality content left here to hold up the niches. I feel like the damage has been done which is too bad considering how much potential was here for so long.

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                  bravewarriorposted 2 years agoin reply to this

                  Well said, Kierstin!

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                  chef-de-jourposted 2 years agoin reply to this

                  Kierstin, I agree with much of what you have written and want to wish you well in your new adventures on your personal site. I'm also a little sad to hear you won't be adding new material but appreciate that this is your decision based on recent experiences.
                  
                  Like you I've been with HP a long time, over ten years, and have worked hard to build up a stock of informative and mostly successful articles. Unlike you, I'm loathe to let them go because they're still earning for me, and HP of course. Traffic is down yes, earnings likewise, but I remain stubbornly, foolishly, optimistic about the future.
                  
                  Editing is a tricky one. I understand the frustrations. I try to be philosophical when an edit goes wrong from my perspective. In the past I've written long emails to editors explaining just why certain changes are unnecessary and how annoying it is to have to edit their own edits!!
                  In the end I guess the goal is to have the best of writer and editor for optimum effect - damn hard thing to achieve.
                  
                  I'll continue to contribute fresh material in the hope that HP finally does away with its blatantly poor ad regime, giving the reader a flow of unbroken text, like in the good old days.

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                     bravewarriorposted 2 years agoin reply to this

                     I have not and probably will not post new material as long as The Arena Group has control over HP. However, I won't remove any of my content because many of my articles still earn a passive income. It's been known that HP is not to be considered a main source of income; the passive earnings are a plus. I've been here for eleven years and have learned a lot. HP has been a jumping/learning ground for me. To that extent I remain grateful, but I will put my energies, moving forward, into real earning potential once I retire next year. I already have a good income level building on a part-time basis and will concentrate my efforts on paying clients when I no longer work full-time.

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                  viryaboposted 2 years agoin reply to this

                  I’m totally with you on this.
                  It’s quite heart wrenching to see HP on an avoidable but gradual decline.
                  
                  HP has made me who I am today, online, and I deeply appreciate that. However, I don’t appreciate feeling like I’m being thrown to the dogs, a feeling I just can’t seem to shake off!
                  

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                  Solarasposted 2 years agoin reply to this

                  Yep  +1,000,000,000
                  
                  I am working on the same thing.  I may leave the top 15-20 producing articles here, but I cannot add more content or revamp older content that once did well, but no longer produces meaningful income.
                  
                  My income with 30% more articles is 30% of what it once was. 
                  
                  Most of the experiments I have seen over the last 2+ years have been to the advantage of the Arena Group and not intended to improve my income stream or that of the other writers here. Any improvements to my income stream have been incidental to their  objectives and short lived.

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   Drew Agravanteposted 2 years ago

   Great! Now I can now at least check out pet articles without getting bugged by that annoying welcome video. Expecting that bounce rate to simmer down somehow. Please keep us updated how it will turn up.

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   Jodahposted 2 years ago

   Hopefully a positive sign of things to come.

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      Brenda Arledgeposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Let's hope so John.

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   Gregory DeVictorposted 2 years ago

   This is really great news, and is a step in the right direction. As suggested above by another author, would you also consider moving the ads to the right instead of having them break up the flow of our articles. Moving the ads to the right will ultimately create a more positive reader experience, and could also improve our bounce rates over the long term.

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   Kenna McHughposted 2 years ago

   Good news! Thank you for listening to us!

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    Kierstin Gunsbergposted 2 years ago

    Thank goodness! Thank you for informing us and for testing out this change. Eager to hear the results!

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    Brenda Arledgeposted 2 years ago

    I'm seeing them too.

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       eugbugposted 2 years agoin reply to this

       You might need to clear your cache and reload. I wish something could be done though to push that banner ad up out of the way. Meanwhile I don't see any ads on Pethelpful.
       
       Edit: There are Google ads, but others are missing, leaving blank spaces. No banner ad either.

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          Brenda Arledgeposted 2 years agoin reply to this

          Okay...thank you

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    Miebakagh57posted 2 years ago

    Hubpages is sitting up and listening.

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    eugbugposted 2 years ago

    Owlcation must be in the process of having the video removed. It's missing from some articles. "Read More" is also gone.

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