Traffic Down Again?

1. 95

   eugbugposted 20 months ago

   Seems we've been hit again by the latest updates over the last 8 days or so. Or maybe it was just me who was affected? Approximately a 10% drop on the previous week.
   
   
   

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      LADS Familyposted 19 months agoin reply to this

      Ah... I thought it was just me.  Thanks.

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   eugbugposted 20 months ago

   2021 vs 2023
   
   
   

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      Miebakagh57posted 20 months agoin reply to this

      This traffic question is comparable to our hubpages profile going up and down. Who holds the ace? Google bot or Hubpages?

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   PaulGoodman67posted 20 months ago

   Yup, worse than ever!

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   skyfireposted 20 months ago

   I have seen the days of 1M traffic in a year then after Google algo updates down to 10k and then reduced to 1k. I suppose its lot harder to rank and stay ranked. This is one of the reason I make sure to have social media presence. I have noticed one more pattern since this Bank going bankrupt thing has started a lot of ads are reduced on all adsense and youtube properties.

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   eugbugposted 20 months ago

   New volatility today, pulling traffic down again.

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      Miebakagh57posted 20 months agoin reply to this

      I'm not at all surprised.

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   PaulGoodman67posted 19 months ago

   I used to think that my views and earnings were in the toilet. However, the truth is now much worse.
   
   Views and earnings have sunk beneath the bowl, gone around the U-bend, down the sewerage pipe, and are now virtually at the treatment plant.
   
   I'm having fun traveling around Greece right now and don't even want to think about such depressing things.

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      Miebakagh57posted 19 months agoin reply to this

      I'm not worrying either. I just eat up a plate of bean and rice.                                        Later, I'll update one or two of my articles. I hope it raise  my profile and hub score.

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      eugbugposted 19 months agoin reply to this

      Sounds nice. What part of Greece? The two sisters are there at the moment.

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         PaulGoodman67posted 19 months agoin reply to this

         I spent a week in Hydra and got married there. Then we went to Corfu for four days. Last night, we went to the opera in Athens. Now, we're renting a car and exploring the Peloponnese. It's an epic, once-in-a-lifetime trip!
         
         Greece is such a magical place!

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            eugbugposted 19 months agoin reply to this

            The sisters are going to Hydra and Poros. We were in Paros, Santorini and last year. You could spend a lifetime there really, travelling around the hundreds of islands. Even the ferry journeys are spectacular with the islands rising out of the turquoise sea.
            And congratulations on getting married!

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            chef-de-jourposted 19 months agoin reply to this

            Have a beautiful time. And congrats.
            
            If you've the chance would you visit the Oracle and kindly ask if HP will survive the next major Google update? I've heard she might reply in hexameter song - she also gets a wee bit high on the local vapours? You'll need a translator and a sacrificial goat....

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               eugbugposted 19 months agoin reply to this

               Visiting Pythagoras's tomb might help square up the situation too. And Hercules could give us some strength (Or was he Roman?).

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                  chef-de-jourposted 19 months agoin reply to this

                  Yes! A squared equals be squared plus see squared?
                  
                  I recall Hercules was one of Jason's argonauts according to the movie off the top of me head so he must have been Greek....

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                     PaulGoodman67posted 19 months agoin reply to this

                     I’m staying in Delphi tonight, will consult the oracle as requested.

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                  CYong74posted 19 months agoin reply to this

                  Hercules is the Latin name. Heracles is the Greek one.

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            Brenda Arledgeposted 19 months agoin reply to this

            Congratulations! 
            Enjoy these moments.

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   Miebakagh57posted 19 months ago

   Oh my God! These guys are getting funny. I'll be one to miss Greece.                                     Congratulations Paul, for getting married! Is your spouse the Artemis sisters? Indeed you've maried a goddess Queen. Congratulations again.

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   ameliaolivia1posted 19 months ago

   Yup some websites are up and some or down i think this update main focus in UI/UX design...

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   eugbugposted 19 months ago

   It's continuing on a downwards trend whereas last year it was still increasing. I think the penalties issued by Google are continuous. Their policy seems to be to keep issuing a penalty each time there's a update to eventually reduce traffic to zero.
   
   
   

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      Miebakagh57posted 19 months agoin reply to this

      So Google is targeting every content writing to negation?

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         eugbugposted 19 months agoin reply to this

         Well every search update seems to chip a bit off traffic so that's the way it seems.

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         DrMark1961posted 19 months agoin reply to this

         My traffic and earnings have been way up for several months so I do not know this i directed at all sites. It seems more directed at several niche sites, like Google did in the past with the HP health sites.

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            Miebakagh57posted 19 months agoin reply to this

            May be. But more time to look into the challenge is necessary.

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            PaulGoodman67posted 19 months agoin reply to this

            For sure, the dynamics do vary from niche to niche and Pethelpful is one of the ones that seems to be a particular focus for editing.
            
            HP also "recalculated" the way that earnings and impressions are worked out, which helped a little.
            
            Overall, though, I think Eugene is right that each update generally reduces view numbers. The medium and longterm trend is abysmal.

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            JerryFisherposted 19 months agoin reply to this

            Mine too, but not through editing (I gave that up some time ago as results never improved) but purely through article surges, where it doesn't seem possible to unfortunately see the origin. But I've had a bit of luck where one article surges then inevitably collapses after two or three days then another seems to spike out of the blue. Interesting though that all have Amazon links and even though the traffic can be ten times the usual daily traffic that doesn't represent ten times Amazon traffic, which probably says a bot is at work.

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               eugbugposted 19 months agoin reply to this

               Frequently that's referral spam if it lasts a day or two. A clue is if you check the time on page and it's zero.

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                  JerryFisherposted 19 months agoin reply to this

                  Thanks. Where do I check the time? Main sources seem to be news sites MSN and Smartnews (which I've never heard of).

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                     eugbugposted 19 months agoin reply to this

                     In GA, use the Behavior - Site Content - All Pages report to check the Avg. Time on Page for the page and date in question. If there's genuine views, it may increase this time though.

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                        JerryFisherposted 19 months agoin reply to this

                        Excellent. Thanks

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    eugbugposted 19 months ago

    Cool. Over 99% traffic loss on this article from its peak.
    
    
    

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       chef-de-jourposted 19 months agoin reply to this

       This is the ongoing conundrum....why would a bigger company TAG) taking over a successful small brand (HP) continue to run it down with abominable ad placement and text layout? Is it some sort of perverted experiment in business plonkery?

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          eugbugposted 19 months agoin reply to this

          Whatever about that, I think it's also due to Google dumping older evergreen content in favour of new stuff, no matter how good the quality of established articles. That's why I'm thinking of doing a trial experiment to republish the article above.

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             chef-de-jourposted 19 months agoin reply to this

             I admire your tenacious scientific approach Eugene! With each experiment a little learning goes on?
             
             In my particular niche - poetry analysis on Owlcation - I've been monitoring my main rivals for a good six or seven years. By monitoring I mean reading through what they've got, checking on quality, quantity, layout, language etc etc. I used to do this on a regular basis such was my enthusiasm! HP's template was competitive and allowed scope for progress. Ad placement and text layout were spot on for the reader.
             The rivals are still around, on first page, vying for top slots, dropping a place here, rising there. Google hasn't 'punished' them when updates occur, as far as I can see. So I can only conclude that evergreen material still works, is viable, no matter the age of the website, given sensible display of ads.
             If Google dropped established evergreen sites with each update there'd be chaos - it'd be the end of decent quality writing and thorough research. I'd like to think Google rewards quality, always, knows visitor numbers and tolerates refreshing every so often, regardless of the article's published date.
             
             My articles have ranked high for the majority of those six or seven years, amongst 'these chosen few', but since TAG took over ranking has suffered. It's as clear as day. We all know why. Stats and graphs and earnings reflect this. We just need someone from HP with influence to tweak things and get us back on the right track. Here's hoping.....

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    Gertrude Howardposted 19 months ago

    my 2 blogs also got hit in the google update... I think google focusing on topical authority now a days .. also edit and update content once a week.

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       Miebakagh57posted 19 months agoin reply to this

       That's good to note.

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12. 95

    eugbugposted 19 months ago

    This was from a time when Paul used to chip in every so often and keep us informed. Maybe he's given up on Google? why can't we return to website format that we used to have and there was control over layout of ads? We were told at the time, if I remember correctly, that the new format websites would allow a greater variety of types of ads and generate better revenue for us. Maybe that was true to some extent, but it seems it's backfiring now as regards ranking.
    
    https://discover.hubpages.com/business/ … gle-Update

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       Miebakagh57posted 19 months agoin reply to this

       'May be he's given up on google'? May be.                                    The thing as I see it is that Paul's expdrimdnt with  Chat GPT AI afeected him negatively, and he kind of enter his rabbit hole.

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    Miebakagh57posted 19 months ago

    'May be he's given up on google'? May be.                                The thing as I see it is that Paul's expdriment with  Chat GPT AI affected him negatively, and he kind of enter his rabbit hole.                                Now, glad that he's holiaying in Greece, married, and enjoying life, he'll be back with something serious from the net.

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       PaulGoodman67posted 19 months agoin reply to this

       I think you're maybe talking about different Pauls here. There was a time when we used to get detailed and useful analysis in the forums from Paul Edmondson about what was happening with Google and how the site was responding. He also gave us practical tips on how writers might want to react.

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          Miebakagh57posted 19 months agoin reply to this

          No. I'm talking about PaulGoodman. He had an experience with  Chat GPT AI here some months ago, and it was awful with him.                                   But as for  Paul E, he's a dark horse to me. Thanks.

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             PaulGoodman67posted 19 months agoin reply to this

             Thanks for the info about this Paul Goodman character! I'd never heard of him before but I will keep an eye out for him!

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                theraggededgeposted 19 months agoin reply to this

                

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                Jan Stepanposted 19 months agoin reply to this

                The never-ending search for the right Paul continues.

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                Miebakagh57posted 19 months agoin reply to this

                Hi Paul, when I respond, somehow I forget about your picture, thought its you, I had in mind.                                       Welcome again to the discussion.                                You can bear me witness that you had a terrible encounter with  Chap GPT AI. Not here but in another that you originated. Thanks.

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14. 95

    eugbugposted 19 months ago

    The Pauli Exclusion Principle says that the Pauls will fill the bus seats singly before filling them in pairs.

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       Jan Stepanposted 19 months agoin reply to this

       Good one!

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    eugbugposted 19 months ago

    Looks like we've taken another hit today. At the rate my traffic is falling, it'll be zero by Christmas or sooner. I think we need emergency action now.
    
    
    

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       Brenda Arledgeposted 19 months agoin reply to this

       Any amazing ideas?

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       chef-de-jourposted 19 months agoin reply to this

       All the metaphors in the world can't halt the fall towards the rabbit hole....and down there anything can happen, just ask Alice.
       
       Someone somewhere connected to HP via TAG must be aware of what's happening but they're unable to stop the rot or apathy has set in and they know HP's fate will be a dumbed-down version of a nevergreen existence.
       
       Perhaps a bunch of young editors can get together with a new Paul Edmondson, buy HP out from TAG and reset the regime. I'd be willing to chip in with a crowdfund fee if it meant our articles were no longer choked by anti-Google ads and text capsules.

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       Jan Stepanposted 19 months agoin reply to this

       I cannot but agree!

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    eugbugposted 19 months ago

    Maybe it's just my traffic and some others that's falling? Less than a hundred people ever comment in the forums and how many people write articles that reside on network sites and never complain about their traffic?

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       Jan Stepanposted 19 months agoin reply to this

       That's the same question I've been asking myself in recent months.
       
       Maybe not everyone is as involved or cares as much as we do. But that's just a wild guess. Or they know things we don't.

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17. 95

    eugbugposted 19 months ago

    Another physics article bit the dust the last week.
    

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    eugbugposted 19 months ago

    This electronics article was getting 500 views per day. None of the dozens of updates and edits made in the last two years made any improvements. It has dropped from about 4th place in thee rankings to 60th place.
    
    
    

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    eugbugposted 19 months ago

    I wonder is AI responsible for the drop in traffic in recent months?

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       chef-de-jourposted 19 months agoin reply to this

       I think the drop in traffic is due to the poor TAG ads and text layout but I do now believe TAG wants HP to develop into an AI sideshoot - hence the lack of clarity and communication with contributors, the inevitable slide to the bottom.
       TAG is in the AI business so it wouldn't be a surprise to wake up one morning and find we as writers have been hijacked by artificial intelligences! This is just one of many reasons why I won't go near AI.

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       LADS Familyposted 19 months agoin reply to this

       Well, that’s a thought.  I’m down to a pittance.

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       Jan Stepanposted 19 months agoin reply to this

       I wouldn't be a bit surprised if that's the case.

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       viryaboposted 19 months agoin reply to this

       I sincerely hope not. Won’t that be the end of content providers?

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          Jan Stepanposted 19 months agoin reply to this

          AI will, without a doubt, change the form of content searching. It's happening already on Bing, where Bing AI does assist you when searching for information.
          
          Nobody knows where this will go, but it is a scary development. Lots of people are excited, but I am not one of them. Our society isn't aligned with this kind of development yet.

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             eugbugposted 19 months agoin reply to this

             At least it can't create proper images or infographics yet. So for tutorials and troubleshooting guides, we humans still have the upper hand.

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                Miebakagh57posted 19 months agoin reply to this

                That's an understandment. We humans will win the day.

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    eugbugposted 19 months ago

    June this year marked the second anniversary of when traffic started dropping on the network sites.

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       Miebakagh57posted 19 months agoin reply to this

       I completely agreed.

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    eugbugposted 19 months ago

    Another 25% drop in traffic today compared to last Monday.

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    eugbugposted 19 months ago

    Another 25% drop in traffic today compared to last Monday. Maybe it's just because kids are on holiday from school.

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    eugbugposted 19 months ago

    Is there something that happens in June that causes a drop in traffic? Maybe it just coincides with algorithm updates.
    
    
    

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       Miebakagh57posted 19 months agoin reply to this

       It would have been under the normal trends. But no one ir sure.

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       chef-de-jourposted 19 months agoin reply to this

       FAQ: Reporting unattractive or tasteless ads- READ BEFORE POSTING
       
       This forum title from Matthew Meyer 8 years ago seems ridiculously relevant right now. Writers could report bad ads and HP would root them out pronto in case Google got wind!
       
       HP was so savvy back then.
       
       I had a crazy idea - screenshooting my text as several big blocks for easier reading without interruption by ads and split capsules? Would that work? Or is it just not viable?

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          eugbugposted 19 months agoin reply to this

          I have though about that, especially for several lines of equations where an interruption by an ad is is absolutely ridiculous. Unfortunately if you replace text by ads, Google can't index the keywords, unless their algorithm can use OCR. It might be of use for poetry however.
          I wish Hubpages would respond and tell us who they get their ads from so we can talk to them about the technicalities of the situation.

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             Miebakagh57posted 19 months agoin reply to this

             OMG would hubpages?

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    Gertrude Howardposted 19 months ago

    I was working on Micro tech site from last one year. site was growing day by day. But in June traffic increased 50%. I come to conclusion that nowadays cover Topical authority. Cover More and more " How to" articles.

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