Has Hubpages Any Intention to Further Split Network Sites?

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   eugbugposted 21 months ago

   Dengarden and Owlcation for instance no longer seem to have authority and satisfy E-E-A-T. Can they be Broken up?

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      chef-de-jourposted 21 months agoin reply to this

      I get what you're saying Eugene and I admire your optimistic questioning.
      
      If they can be further niched then I hope the layout can also be changed, with greater emphasis given to continuous text and fewer gross ads. But with TAG in charge I can't see anything changing any time soon.
      
      Currently their motto seems to be : Writing more earns you less.

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         eugbugposted 21 months agoin reply to this

         Well then it's time to lobby TAG and nag them ad finitum or ad infinitum, whichever comes first.

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   Thomas Swanposted 21 months ago

   I would agree with a split. What kind did you have in mind? Grouping the sciences together may be a good choice. Maybe the arts. I think the humanities too, otherwise, where would history go?
   
   Plus they should remove the spammy "news," which seems antithetical to sites that are meant to be authoritative. All the "news" about a "sweet child who likes candy and smiles" could probably go on a site about parenting. That kid sure likes their candy and smiling at their parents, sometimes with their little sister looking on, but I suggest that this breaking news is irrelevant for 99.9999999% of visitors, and that it makes search engines vomit in disgust.

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      eugbugposted 21 months agoin reply to this

      Yes, that's what I was thinking, separating the sciences from Owlcation. Dengarden could be split up into gardening and home improvement/tools/repair.

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   PaulGoodman67posted 21 months ago

   I don't see why splitting niches into more domains would help.
   
   Creating more domains has nothing to do with layout or ads or the news page.
   
   Where HP has created new domains/niches, I think it's more related to current trends. The new crime niche, for example, is intended to take advantage of the current popularity of true crime, as seen on Netflix etc. It wasn't related to SEO or EEAT.
   
   HP seem set on trying to edit their way back into Google's good books. Patience has worn thinner than thin but there is at least some rationality behind it. I just don't see the reasoning behind the domain-splitting idea.

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      eugbugposted 21 months agoin reply to this

      Wouldn't it make the sites more specific and give them more authority, rather than lumping multiple categories onto one site, so it's seen as a content farm?

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      Jan Stepanposted 21 months agoin reply to this

      It's an obsession these days to break sites into microsites in a wild pursuit of making them more relevant and niche-oriented. It works in some cases, but it's like gambling at best.
      
      All I can say is that I didn't appreciate it as a writer. Almost all the magazines & news sites I worked for decided to split the content into multiple publications and purchase additional domains.
      
      I didn't see much of a benefit in views/readership. However, HubPages function differently, so I don't know – maybe it would work here. At this point, it may be worth giving it a go.

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         chef-de-jourposted 21 months agoin reply to this

         Six or was it seven years ago the niche sites were launched, out of necessity, to keep HP afloat. The split worked a treat. Naming the sites brought some controversy but in the main the radical move proved popular. The alternative back then - do nothing - would have seen the likely demise of HP.
         
         Google liked what it crawled and HP's reputation as a purveyor of quality writing grew and grew. Then Maven came along, then TAG, (then Covid to undermine the whole shebang) and now here we are again facing the abyss it seems.
         
         Splitting the niche sites is a hard one to call but I'd say on balance yes, try it. We're in a similar position to seven years ago albeit in a changing online world. Why not choose one site and experiment over a reasonable time? If results show no change or views worsen then fine, revert to original niche; if they increase then go further. What's to lose?
         
         So far TAG show no real ambition for HP, despite highlighting how popular a site it is in their frontline playbook news. Do they intend to string us along as bottom feeders until god knows when?
         
         It would be great to get some feedback from HP HQ but I fear we're nothing more than voices in the dark. I think Matt Wells hears us from time to time but has his hands tied. Or he knows something that he just can't tell?
         
         Ah well, I keep writing new articles every so often, I'm still earning three figures a month, I'm always thrilled when new writers start earning.

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   Rupert Taylorposted 21 months ago

   Paul writes "HP seem set on trying to edit their way back into Google's good books."
   
   If that's what they are up, we are in trouble. I just had an article go through the HubPro process which makes me shudder to wonder what HubAmateur might look like.
   
   About half my original text was replaced in an article that was getting pretty good views. Verb tense errors were introduced and the top image replaced with one of dodgy provenance that broke the rules we are supposed to follow as to size and aspect ratio.
   
   This makes me wonder why I bothered writing the piece to start with.
   
   Editing is a process that should be done with a scalpel, not a bloody chainsaw.

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      Kenna McHughposted 21 months agoin reply to this

      Rupert, This is scary. I don't know what's worse: form letters that don't address the issue or editors who hack away at your article to "make it better."

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