How Long Should I Wait?

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   eugbugposted 18 months ago

   I had an article about using a test instrument moved from Dengarden to Owlcation, but it hasn't done any better, even though hit was moved in June. Views were 400 per day at the start of 2021, now they're 30 per day on Owlcation. Doesn't seem to be any niche sites that are worth putting articles on?
   
   

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      Solarasposted 18 months agoin reply to this

      Some of my articles that did 30 views a day for 8 years are suddenly getting 150-180 views a day.  Nothing like your original article, but for no reason I can think of they have popped up in views. Patience could be a virtue.  I can't account for the increase in views, other than making a few updates, along with staff updates.
      
      Best wishes that it turns around.

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         SerenityHaloposted 18 months agoin reply to this

         If you don't mind me asking, does there seem to be a particular niche that's getting most of your views?

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            Solarasposted 18 months agoin reply to this

            I write on PetHelpful.  Remedy Grove work is forgotten - It may make payout once every 3 years (but once made monthly payout).
            
            The fluffy stuff is doing well, pet names etc... More serious stuff, like health and breeding, took a punch in the face with the last Google update. Things that had 30-40 views daily for 7-9 years are down to 2-3 views daily. 
            
            Edit: Those health related articles have Amazon links, while the number of views was not substantial, the purchases from those views occurred daily. Happy Meals are now missed on a weekly basis.

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2. 67

   PaulGoodman67posted 18 months ago

   You can look in SEMRush for the relative merits. Neither Owlcation or Dengarden have been doing well. I'm in a similar boat to you in that I have a lot of articles in those two niches.

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3. 68

   eugbugposted 18 months ago

   The thing is there's no such thing as "evergreen" articles anymore. Not only that, there's no point republishing them as I found in my experiment.  Maybe they can be reworded? Am I allowed to ask AI to rewrite my articles and publish them here? Would that satisfy Google?

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      PaulGoodman67posted 18 months agoin reply to this

      I believe "evergreen" only applies to the topic nowadays. It's many years since a writer could get away without maintenance or updating.
      
      I think the problem with views/earnings is mainly the EEAT issues affecting entire niches. As individuals, all we can do is maximize the quality of our own articles. We're reliant on HP fixing the other stuff.

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      DrMark1961posted 18 months agoin reply to this

      I agree but do not see the benefits of editing (rewording) either. It seems that once you publish you are ranked by Google and even if you go back later and add some more details they do not change the ranking much. I still see some shuffle, as articles will start at the top and then move down a little, or vice versa, but in general if something starts out in a weak position there is not much to be done.
      I think the only thing I have learned is that "throwing it on the wall and seeing what sticks" is the only thing that works these days. It seems that more needs to be published than before.

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         PaulGoodman67posted 18 months agoin reply to this

         Every time Google crawls, it updates its assessment of an article. However, if there are other factors that are site-wide, you may not benefit from your individual changes.
         
         That's why nothing is improving currently, in my view. Google is dishing out a collective punishment. Individual articles that are well-written get punished for the "sins" of the site as a whole.
         
         I think that a critical mass has to be reached for Google to change its view. We can contribute by improving our own stuff (ie making it more Google-friendly) but we can't do anything about the rest.
         
         Pethelpful is still doing better than many other niches. Maybe because of yourself (Dr Mark) and the prolific dog-lady, who's name eludes me(!)
         
         HP need more experts for every niche, who can also write. Unfortunately, the money isn't great here nowadays, making it harder to attract them.

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            Solarasposted 18 months agoin reply to this

            I think you are thinking of Adrienne Farricelli.

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         Solarasposted 18 months agoin reply to this

         I had one article that garnered 30 daily views for years.  It was published over 7 years ago, and just sat there.  About 3 months ago it shot up to 300 views a day for no reason I could discern, and that lasted about 6 weeks.  It was not picked up by any of the mobile app feeds; the views came from Google search.  It has settled down to around 200 views a day, but I can't explain why it languished for years, and suddenly got a new look from Google.
         
         I wish that would happen with all of them, lol.

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         1. 68

            eugbugposted 18 months agoin reply to this

            I had a guide about setting up and Using Skype. For years it only got a handful of views. During COVID, views shot up to a few hundred a day, then over a hundred for a couple of months.

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            DrMark1961posted 18 months agoin reply to this

            Me too. Google placed on image from an old article I had written on the Tosa Inu on the top of the page and the views shot up for a few days. I agree it can happen but it is so rare as to be an exception to the rule.

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               PaulGoodman67posted 18 months agoin reply to this

               The algo is complex enough to appear almost random at times. There are also definitely some quirks.
               
               I have individual articles that buck the general trend by going up when similar material that has an almost identical format seems to be in terminal decline.
               
               Like Dr Mark, I tend to see them as anomalies, exceptions that prove the rule. I try to learn from them but the explanation for their success is often elusive.
               
               I suspect that sometimes the reason for their success may be down to the quality of the competition rather than something about the article itself.

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      3. 67

         PaulGoodman67posted 18 months agoin reply to this

         What is unfortunately true nowadays is that souping up an old article doesn't work quite like it used to.
         
         When HP introduced premier editing some years back, some of the results were astounding! I had editors expand and improve a hub and it would go from 30 views a day to hundreds!
         
         It showed me the potential for rewriting and improving.
         
         However, I no longer see the same effects when my articles are worked on by editors or myself. Any positive changes in views generally seem to be mediocre or non-existent in recent times.
         
         I'm not blaming the editors or saying people shouldn't try. It just doesn't seem so easy anymore.

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            Solarasposted 18 months agoin reply to this

            Adding new, original images helps boost an article for a month of two. 
            
            When I write a new article these days, I leave room to add images 4-6 months down the road, as well as room for new or expanded text sections.  It works for a little while, treading water to keep the views afloat.

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               PaulGoodman67posted 18 months agoin reply to this

               For sure, Google will sometimes give a short-term boost while it checks out a new article or one that's newly edited, I was talking in this case about long-term, indefinite gains over months and years, not weeks.

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            DrMark1961posted 18 months agoin reply to this

            I too remeber seeing some great benefits to editing in the past but it is no longer happening, as far as I can tell. I think we are living in a "publish more or fail" environment now.

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            1. 67

               PaulGoodman67posted 18 months agoin reply to this

               Publishing more looks to me like running faster on the treadmill for diminishing returns. I did that for a couple of years.
               
               Now, I'm willing to do some tinkering but not publish at the same rate I used to unless or until something changes.
               
               For a time, I was able to "tread water" and stay at a certain level by churning out more articles, but then there was another drop in views. They just keep coming.

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