Why Have We Lost So Much Traffic?

1. 98

   EricDockettposted 3 months ago

   I thought this was interesting. In case anyone (including HP, apparently) is still unsure, check out No. 1 on this list:
   
   Helpful Content Recovery, per Studies
   
   In other words, you probably haven't lost traffic because your bio isn't thorough enough.

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      bravewarriorposted 3 months agoin reply to this

      It appears traffic is down due to the excessive ads that negatively affect user experience. We've been complaining about this for years!

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         theraggededgeposted 3 months agoin reply to this

         I agree. Plus the horrible layout. It was so much more readable before they changed it. The ads were less intrusive, yet we earned more from them.

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            Glenis Rixposted 5 weeks agoin reply to this

            I agree. Much preferred the old Hubpages layout.

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         Glenis Rixposted 5 weeks agoin reply to this

         Agreed. I often turn off ads on my articles but that might be a step too far for anyone who wants to earn a few dollars. I stopped writing articles when the niche sites were introduced. The time and effort simply isn’t worth the return.

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         Miebakagh57posted 5 weeks agoin reply to this

         I completely agreed.

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      chef-de-jourposted 3 months agoin reply to this

      OK Eric, thanks for reminding us all that Google really hates excessive ads, we writers really hate excessive ads, the reader really hates excessive ads, the market hates excessive ads, the gods that be hate excessive ads, the would-be gods hate excessive ads...... BUT HP team says nothing about excessive ads and TAG adores excessive ads.
      
      Biggest elephant in the room for years = excessive ads.
      
      Calling Matt Wells....calling Matt Wells.....calling Matt Wells....

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         EricDockettposted 3 months agoin reply to this

         
         
         I'll also note that I came upon this article by doing a google search for
         "how to recover from helpful content update" (or something similar). The part about excessive ads was actually quoted as a snipppet in the search results.
         
         So, although everyone knows this apparently, nothing here ever changes and traffic continues to fall.

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         Miebakagh57posted 5 weeks agoin reply to this

         'Calling Matts Well...'? What has he got to do in this challenge?

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      ChitrangadaSharanposted 3 months agoin reply to this

      Excessive ads have affected the views adversely. Even the views of the Niche site articles has declined significantly.
      No one seems to benefit from the endless number of ads, neither the site, nor the writers/ readers.
      Thank you for sharing this.

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      Kenna McHughposted 3 months agoin reply to this

      Thanks for sharing this, Eric, because more information or knowledge is always helpful.

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   PaulGoodman67posted 3 months ago

   I'm still unconvinced by the ads theory. If the ads were what pulled down views, the niches would be hit similarly as they all use an essentially uniform layout. Look at the graphs in SEMRush and you'll see that's not the case.
   
   The niche performance is much closer to their relative authority scores and that seems the most likely culprit.
   
   However, it's a complex problem. It's also a problem that's not peculiar to HP. Google hasn't just been tampering with the algo over the past three years, it's changed the whole nature of the game.

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      EricDockettposted 3 months agoin reply to this

      Instead of speculating, why not just listen to what Google is saying? They very clearly warn against excessive ads and many of the practices HP indulges in.
      
      SEMRush calculates their score themselves, as does Moz and Ahrefs. I use SpyFu, which has a domain strength score. While those numbers are interesting, they don't come from Google.
      
      I think there are various reasons different niche sites have suffered, and some would have been in trouble regardless of the ad layout. But I don't have content on any site that hasn't lost traffic—even PetHelpful.
      
      While I can agree that ad layout isn't the only issue, it is a massive component of the user experience problems all niche sites are facing. To ignore it is unfathomable to me.

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         PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

         "why not just listen to what Google is saying?"
         
         I think it's most unwise, even naive, to trust what Google says. There was a major leak recently which showed beyond doubt that Google has a record of dishonesty in its pronouncements. It's best to exercise a degree of skepticism.
         
         The ads that HP uses are supplied Google. It's perfectly feasible, likely in my opinion, that there is a way to use lots of Google ads without Google punishing you.
         
         If one believes that TAG are doing something that harms their profits, then there are only two possible scenarios, as far as I can see:
         
         1. HP are doing it accidentally and therefore incompetent when it comes to understanding basic SEO and ad placement, so much so that complete non-technos can do better just by looking at a page.
         
         2. HP are deliberately doing it. As it harms their profits, I believe this would imply some sort of conspiracy, there would have to be a hidden motive.
         
         While feasible, both these scenarios just seem unlikely to me.
         
         More likely, in my opinion, is that HP have been thrown by the radical changes brought in by Google, as have many other sites and online businesses.
         
         I can see why some people might think that because the ads were brought in and traffic is going down, there must be a causal relationship. However, correlation is not causation. Nobody is showing anything to demonstrate causality.
         
         Big claims are being made with a scarcity of evidence, as far as I can see.
         
         All that said, I don't believe that it matters much what's said or not said in the forums. I think TAG decides their strategy independently, for better or worse.

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            EricDockettposted 3 months agoin reply to this

            I think there are more than two possible scenarios. Another is that HP is still profitable, to some extent, and the loss of traffic and resulting hardship to writers is of no concern to TAG. They've conducted a cost-benefit analysis and decided that putting money and labor into fixing the problems here just aren't worth it.
            
            I agree that it is tough to trust Google, but anything else is just a guess. If you were HP, wouldn't you at least try a different ad layout? They seem to listen to Google about everything else. Why not this?

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               Kenna McHughposted 3 months agoin reply to this

               Eric, that's a Good point. Since HP lacks transparency, we can only speculate and guess.

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               PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

               To clarify my position. I do see the ads as ugly and disruptive. I just don't see them as the cause of the relentless decline in Google traffic that we've seen over the past three years.
               
               If there is a causal relationship between earnings and traffic, it's more likely the other way around.
               
               I believe that it was easier to promote HP to advertisers as an upcoming publishing platform when things were going well. It meant that they could get away with a small amount of high-paying ads.
               
               As the fortunes of the site have declined, however, they've found it harder to sell advertising spaces. That's why we've ended up with a glut of Google ads.
               
               When people blame the ads for the decline, I suspect they are putting the horse before the cart. It's more likely that the decline caused the ads.
               
               And yes, HP is opaque nowadays, so we can only speculate.

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                  EricDockettposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                  I think you have a point, and they do seem to have ramped up the ads as traffic and revenue has fallen. However, I also remember Maven going pedal-down with the ads as soon as they took over. The minute we switched from the old HP layout to the shared layout, UX went down the tubes.
                  
                  Not just because of ads. The lack of carryover for many HP features, including the comment section, has been a major loss.
                  
                  It is no wonder it went into decline, and instead of taking a step back and fixing it, they doubled down with more ads and news stories.

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                     DrMark1961posted 3 months agoin reply to this

                     I have also noticed that one of the factors for page ranking is reader interaction. If a reader is not even able to add a comment to an article (cannot interact) they are unlikely to recommend it. Major loss.

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                        EricDockettposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                        A lot of writers here seem to miss the comments for community interaction, but they had a great deal of value beyond that. They added fresh text to pages and even helped bring in search traffic. They increased trust with readers, as they could actually communicate with the person who wrote the article. They kept readers on the sites longer.  I don't miss weeding through comments every morning, but the time spent doing so was well worth it. The failure to find a way to reinstate them is something I will never understand.

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                           PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

                           "The minute we switched from the old HP layout to the shared layout, UX went down the tubes."
                           
                           I don't believe that to be true. My best period was three years ago, Eugene had the same experience, and it's reflected in external monitoring sites like SEMRush. I earned more than at any other time and I've had other good times over the past 13 years.
                           
                           The good period only lasted for five months and was killed off by Google algo changes, but it showed that Google changes are the main cause of our woes.
                           
                           I agree with you that the site has generally been neglected, though. I thought issues like the comments would only be temporary.
                           
                           I guess the current system was seen as easier and more "economic" but HP has lacked the nimbleness and ability to reinvent itself since.
                           
                           On top of that, one senses that they've run out of ideas.
                           
                           The optics of the TAG leadership constantly in flux also gives the impression of a rudderless ship that's drifting.

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                           DrMark1961posted 3 months agoin reply to this

                           Totally agree. I thought the best part of the comments was that some of them pointed out things I had never even mentioned, prompting me to actually edit the article and make it answer all possible questions. I rarely even bother to edit older articles anymore.

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                              PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

                              It's difficult to see anything changing for the better, especially when the shenanigans at the corporate level seem neverending. The latest news is that TAG has accused Sports Illustrated owner, ABG, of theft!
                              
                              “These guys stole our most valuable property, our digital platform code, and then left a clear trail for anyone to follow… not too bright,” said Arena’s president and largest shareholder, Manoj Bhargava. “They are like the Wet Bandits from Home Alone!”
                              
                              They've filed a $200,000,000 lawsuit.

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               DrMark1961posted 3 months agoin reply to this

               I would be interested to know how other competing sites are doing on traffic now that Google answers questions without even sending people to read our sites anymore. Many of the articles I publish show up on the first page but now I see hardly any change in traffic compared to two years ago, when new articles still got good traffic. Google is still on top of my traffic sources but the other search engines have gone up, relatively but definitely not absolutely.
               Yes, the ads are turning people off. Are they what is killing this sites though?

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               1. 98

                  EricDockettposted 3 months agoin reply to this

                  I suspect most sites are struggling to some extent with the way Google has changed search. Unfortunately, I think it is only going to get worse.
                  
                  I brought up my original post because I came across that article that said, based on the study they cited, that excessive ads are a major risk factor for being hit by recent Google updates. They linked to Google's page experience guidelines, which lay out what Google says constitutes a page with a good UX. HubPages is doing the opposite of most of those things. 
                  
                  So, whether the ads are the only problem or even the main problem really doesn't matter. They are a problem, at least per this article and Google themselves. There are certainly other issues, but if my car needs new brakes but also might need a muffler, I'd still like the mechanic to fix the brakes, please.
                  
                  Most websites would try to find a way to return the sites to health. HP, instead, seems to search for ways to take advantage of the sites and squeeze revenue out of them. They tell us if we just update our profiles, maybe things will get better. All while ignoring the most obvious issue.
                  
                  It's been happening for years, and the chickens have finally come home to roost.

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                     DrMark1961posted 3 months agoin reply to this

                     I like your car analogy. I read that link, even mentioned it to an editor, and agree the ads are a problem and need to be fixed, although they may not be the brakes. I would fix them though!
                     Not sure about your excellent fish articles on Pethelpful but most of mine tend to be ranked  below a website that is owned by a company that advertises their dog foods through Google. Not sure how HP could go about fixing that part of the car!!

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                     PaulGoodman67posted 3 months agoin reply to this

                     I agree with Dr Mark.
                     
                     For sure, there's a lack of will and resources going into the platform. However, Google's completely changed the rules of the game in the last few years. I don't even know if we have a fighting chance anymore.
                     
                     Some years back, Google started demoting HP Amazon hubs in favor of the big retail companies. No matter how good your review was, it would be outranked by the generically described product on Walmart.
                     
                     Now it feels like Google has done the equivalent with all the other (non-Amazon) hubs!

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   Venkatachari Mposted 3 months ago

   I hope going through this article and asking the questions indicated therein to self-assess our content can be of some help. There are some good questions in it.
   Here is the link:
   https://developers.google.com/search/do … ul-content

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   Miebakagh57posted 3 months ago

   The bottomline: the problem is on hubpages endside.

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   Jodahposted 3 months ago

   “The answer is right before your eyes,” says the blind man. “Too many adds spoils the broth.”

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      Miebakagh57posted 3 months agoin reply to this

      A+

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   alexadryposted 3 months ago

   It would be nice if HP could find a way to bypass the need for using Google search engine altogether. For example, when I need some info that is super niche or would like to read other people's' opinions or personal experiences on something, I skip Google and go straight to Reddit or Quora's search bar where I often find exactly what I need. It's also refreshing reading different perspectives on a variety of things. I think HP was on to something when, back in the day, visitors would use HP forums and asked lots of questions and it was  possible for us to reply by linking to our existing articles or even create articles from scratch on the subject. If this initiative had continued, perhaps by now we had a massive library of info making it a go-to resource for all types of inquiries. This could have perhaps helped HP compete with AI-generated responses from Google by providing more personalized and community-driven insights. As AI-generated responses keep spreading like wildfire, I feel that people will increasingly seek answers from real individuals.

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      theraggededgeposted 3 months agoin reply to this

      Absolutely right.
      
      And like everything else, even the search function on HP doesn't work.

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   alexadryposted 3 months ago

   Oh no, I haven't noticed that until you pointed that out! That's not good, although I'm sure few users are using the HP search button. At least it seems to be working on the niche sites.

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   ControlledChaos1posted 3 months ago

   The only thing that I know for sure is that when I see an article so hard to read because of too many ads... I usually don't read it. Having too many ads does not help... it hurts.

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