Keywords & Tagging

1. 59

   darksideposted 14 years ago

   Who hasn't quite got a grasp on it yet?
   
   Be honest, and mention it in this thread, and I'll look through some hubs and choose one from a few different hubbers and I and 2 other specifically selected hubbers will look, comment and make suggestions on what keywords to target and how best to tag the hub.
   
   Preferred hubber criteria: if you've been here between 2 and 6 months, and you make hubs that are articles and not blog posts.
   
   Who's up for some constructive criticism?

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      Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I've love some constructive criticism.   Tags I pretty much "do whatever" on, because I've never read much of anything about them.  Keywords I know - in theory.  It's just not in my thinking to be able to think of them ahead; and once I've already written the thing some short-circuiting thing happens and I don't know how to dig out which words (if there even are any) would make appropriate key words.

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      1. 59

         darksideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         We shall have a look.

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            Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            "Neat" - thank you. 

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   2. 70

      seanorjohnposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I would be delighted to have you deconstuct my wine hub. I have an idea to write more hubs on this topic.You would certainly be taking on a real challenge. I used to play a game called tag as a boy but I don't think that has helped me on hubpages.
      
      Sean

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   3. 71

      ThoughtfulSpotposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I would LOVE constructive criticism... especially from a seasoned hubber like you!
      
      My first few hubs (the ones w/ my profile name in them "Thoughtful Spot" are semi blog style or self commentary... ) but I've been working more recently on knowledge based or product based hubs and keywords and tags.  I don't have a ton of time, but I am loving that I'm learning something new, so I've been reading up on SEO, keywords, tags and trying to glean what I can.
      
      I've tried to re-work a few older hubs, and include my new knowledge in some of the newer ones... but, my success seems to still be hit or miss.  Obviously, I have a LOT left to learn.
      
      Thanks in advance if you have the time!

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   4. 75

      KeithTaxposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I think I am getting better, but would appreciate an experienced look-see.
      
      My latest hubs are better than the earlier ones. I linked two hubs that I think I did okay on below.
      
      Buy a 4 Line Phone Online for Less
      
      and
      
      How to Amend and File a Tax Return
      
      Thank you for offering to help us younglings.

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   5. 73

      IntimatEvolutionposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      You can come look at my hubs anytime. 
      
      Your advice has always worked for me.
      
      By the way Darkside, did anyone get a hold of you and ask you about the nofollow, index vs. follow,index. when working with wordpress blogs?

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   6. 62

      alexandriaruthkposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      me darkside, thank you in advance, I will monitor this forum

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   7. 62

      mod2vintposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I would love it. Never could quite grasp it, whats the difference between a keyword and a tag?

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   8. 61

      Jule Romansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      ME ME ME ME ME- Please? I am DEFINITELY up for some  keyword and tagging critique. I have 19 hubs so far.  I've reworked many of them a few times. I find myself getting lost in the keyword tangle. In the hub makeover forum, I received help and encouragement from  Nelle and Relache, which I appreciated very much.  You and Sunforged are my other two guiding examples. :-)

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   9. 73

      G Miahposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Darkside, i have a vast array of hubs on many different topics from recipes to short stories to actors and actresses.
      
      I would be grateful if you would check out one of my hubs and let me knw what you think about the keywords and tagging. I think i have enough understanding of keyword research through reading your hubs and many others on this subject.
      
      Thanks.

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2. 90

   Will Apseposted 14 years ago

   Are you sure tags are that important? I see them as internal links and pretty much equal. Google is reckoned by some to hit sites that use tags if the actual text in the tag does not appear in the site.
   
   I try to make sure the tags fit but I wouldn't take the trouble to do keyword research and pick the most significant.

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   1. 59

      darksideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Tags are important enough, and if a person has no idea how to use them then they should be learned along with how to do some basic keyword research.
      
      Having a quick look at three of your hubs and you are doing it right. There are those however who are having more misses than hits, because they're going for a shotgun approach.

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   2. 0

      ryankettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      In my opinion effective tagging is essential, in fact imperative. I have seen at first hand how perfecting this can increase traffic by up to 50%. In my opinion tagging is almost as important as keyword selection.
      
      I have a hubpage which gets thousands of visits per day, and the 'related hubs' on that page are almost always the same. Those hubs will be taking a huge amount of internal traffic from me, and that is thanks to their tagging.

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3. 77

   sunforgedposted 14 years ago

   
   
   Added tags in July09 and a couple of header capsule tweaks, no other alterations to content or title

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4. 59

   englightenedsoulposted 14 years ago

   I will be honest and say that I don't get the keyword and tagging thing.  I just put tag as they come to my mind or see some related hubs by other hubbers and insert the keywords that fits with my article.  Though I am willing to learn and for this very reason I wanted to join the keyword  academy but I am not able to since my bank does not have a international tie up with Paypal so I can't purchase their course.  So any experienced hubber willing to help me would be greatly appreciated.  And I am open to criticism as well.  I am a learner and would want to improve.

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   1. 59

      darksideposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hopefully after this little practical experiment you will get it!

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         englightenedsoulposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you so much.  I promise I would be a good student!!

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5. 61

   DennisBarkerposted 14 years ago

   I've begun to take keywords very seriously since I got active on hubpages last year. Although I've pretty much ignored my hubs for the last six months I'm slowly tweeking what needs to be tweeked to increase the traffic levels.
   
   I found writing on ezinearticles and making youtube videos also helps to get this into my head because there is close to instant feedback in the traffic statistics (the delay on youtube is about 24 hours ).
   
   Its worth turning your hubs into videos , or making video introductions and posting to youtube then embedding into your hub.

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6. 65

   emievilposted 14 years ago

   I'd like to volunteer myself (and any of my hubs) to constructive criticisms. It maybe 9 months too late but heck, I'd still love to hear some.

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      Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I'm about two-and-a-half years too late, but when I first signed up I went with the "write what you like" thing only.  I've known about keywords for ages, but with my own purposes, I didn't see much need to bother learning more.   Sometimes I've tried to read up, but I haven't been able to concentrate (for reasons separate from writing and HubPages).  If Hubs didn't get traffic I just thought, "It isn't the right kind of Hub." Basically, I wasn't take HubPages and traffic as seriously as I eventually started to.
      
      I have Hubs that might be considered "the wrong kind" , so it hasn't surprised me they don't get traffic.  Then I started to see the "the wrong kind" sometimes get traffic "by accident".  So now, with quite a few Hubs, I'm seeing what a "waste" I am, terms of earnings and traffic.    (A collection of Hubs is a terrible thing to waste." - as they say    )

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7. 63

   Daniel Carterposted 14 years ago

   I keep thinking I understand tags and keywords, and I periodically learn something new and go back through hubs to try to improve them, but honestly, I get very low page views on hubs that I thought were pretty good. So I'm a bit lost in this. If you are up to having a look, I'm certainly up to learning.
   
   Thanks, darkside.

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8. 87

   rebekahELLEposted 14 years ago

   I'm always open for help from a master! I usually call my son for assistance if I'm stuck, but since you're offering...
   I checked my only specific item hub yesterday and it is right at the top above the own company's article about it, I used the exact name of the item.

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9. 80

   Aya Katzposted 14 years ago

   I think I understand keywords, but I have no idea about tags. Would be glad to learn more.

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10. 75

    frogdroppingposted 14 years ago

    What a great idea DS

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11. 68

    She-rahposted 14 years ago

    I'd love to have my series on "I'm allergic to my hormones" hubs critiqued. I'm getting ready to build a whole website for awareness of the my condition. It's very important to me to get the info out there for others that have rare and unusual conditions like this. There is absolutely no awareness or natural treatments for AIPA. I had to develop my own treatment and am marketing it for other women (per requests) that haven't been diagnosed or are only offered dangerous treatment options. I would love advice from a pro

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       She-rahposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       OH, and Thank You So Much For offering this!!! Really great idea!

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12. 70

    myownworldposted 14 years ago

    I've been struggling with this for a while, reading on key words and tags. I just have a rookie question: e.g. I have a hub on a south asian Red Light Area, and the key word most searched for (sufficient traffic, but not too much) is 'Red light Area'. if I add additional words to my title like: 'A glimpse into the Red Light Area' , does that change the number of times it's searched for?
    
    Or like there's another hub, titled 'Children of the Indian Slums', so although 'Indian slums' is more searched for, does adding words 'children' or other articles to make it a more catchy title impact the traffic it might get?
    
    I hope I make some sense. Also, for tags, I usually add the suggested key words (provided they're relevant and don't have too much competition). Is that right?
    
    Thank you in advance; any help will be appreciated!

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13. 69

    Peter Hogganposted 14 years ago

    Would you say the more tags the merrier, as long as they are related or do you suggest sticking to a short list of the most relevant?
    
    How do you recognize a good tag, does it need to contain your main keyword or should one target tags that will attract people with similar interests or needs?
    
    When you look at any tag page only the first page of 'hot' is indexed, the 'latest' and 'best' options don’t seem to get indexed at all. This could be a result of URL structure or robots.txt but I haven’t looked at it in any detail. The upshot of this means that a maximum of only 10 hubs will ever receive a spiderable link from any tag, that is links which pass search engine credit or link juice. So, is there any ranking benefit on any major search engine by using tags?

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    1. 73

       Hauntyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I'm not an expert, but I have an idea and I'm wondering if I'm right or wrong.
       
       When I create a tag I create a page under hubpages.com/tag. Let's say I create a tag (containing a good keyword) that doesn't exist and so I create a new page with only one hub on it - mine. When I keep writing about the topic and tagging each new hub with this same keyword I'm building this tag page (a listing page). It always displays the title and the summary of the hubs and since these are keywordy I'm reinforcing my listing page with more keywords so that it might rank better each time a spider visits it.
       
       Let's say I also build backlinks to this tag page instead of backlinking to each individual hub.
       
       Can this strategy work?

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          Peter Hogganposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Sounds like a good tactic, however another author who is savvy enough to check tag pages for backlinks might catch on to what you are doing and cash in. This would then require another tactic to ensure your links remain on the main tag page because it’s the only one that gets indexed.
          
          An interesting problem with obvious benefits should it be solved in a way that would not be viewed as gaming or spamming by HubPages staff. Obvious benefits include good links from pages that often show decent PageRank and the potential to gain good search engine referrals from tag pages that rank well.

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          1. 73

             Hauntyposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             Thank you. It didn't occur to me that simply building an index hub using feed may be better in that it eliminates such concerns.
             
             Then again this makes me wonder that if I do both the tag page and the index hub and end up with two similar pages that is probably content duplication...

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14. 67

    TheGlassSpiderposted 14 years ago

    All righty...I'm up for criticism and learning as well....Might as well ignore the "diary" hubs and stick with the spider and game hubs...I just try to put tags on that are relevant to the article; something I think a person might search if they were looking for the information I'm presenting.
    
    Cool thread.
    
    ETA: I also have to add my thanks in...very cool of you to offer Darkside.

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15. 77

    sunforgedposted 14 years ago

    haunty, im sure a more thorough response will come. but simply put, backlinking your backlinks is always a great idea.

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16. 69

    wyanjenposted 14 years ago

    Darkside, you rock.

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17. 59

    darksideposted 14 years ago

    Wow, there's been quite a response!
    
    I'll make this post here as the cut-off. Anyone posting after here won't have a hub reviewed, BUT... they will certainly have a chance of learning something as we dissect a few hubs and look at the the keywords and tags.
    
    This may take a little while as I look for the best samples to share with my two panel members.

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       englightenedsoulposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Would wait and keep a track of this forum.  And many a thanks to you and your panel members.  It will immensely help newbie's like me.

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       ThoughtfulSpotposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Thanks to Darkside and the "2 panel members".  I will be watching this thread closely to see what I can learn!

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    3. 62

       Lisa HWposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       darkside, oopsie...    I just noticed your original post said "been here 2 to 6 months".  (Don't mind me.  My head is frazzled with Easter dinner plans and a son's cat's medical issues.) I seem to be slipping in "reading comprehension". I'm not assuming you were planning to look at my Hubs anyway, but just in case - never mind.)

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18. 62

    Lisa HWposted 14 years ago

    darkside (and two panel members), just thought this was a good point to say, "thanks," for your efforts on this (whether or not any mine is selected).  I think it's a particularly effective method of helping people (and as you say, even those of us who end up observers) get a better grasp of this stuff.

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19. 61

    Jule Romansposted 14 years ago

    Uh oh. Looks like I missed the cutoff post. :-(

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20. 61

    Money Glitchposted 14 years ago

    Woo Hoo another darkside's training class, I'm here to pick up some more tidbits.

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21. 83

    Lily Roseposted 14 years ago

    Bummed I missed this thread before the cutoff!  I definitely need help...Will be watching for great tips at least, I hope...

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22. 93

    Susana Sposted 14 years ago

    I'm definitely up for learning more about tagging. There's one thing that doesn't make sense to me and that is why tag pages not created for some tags? Or why when a hub has the word technology throughout and is in the technology category it is not listed in the technology tag pages? That aspect just does not make sense to me.

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23. 88

    Pamela99posted 14 years ago

    I think my tags might be okay recently because I've read several hubs about them but I don't think I understand linking and back linking very well.  I would definitely appreciate constructive criticism as I want to learn and improve my skills. Thanks if you can help.  Pamela

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    keaposted 14 years ago

    Hello everyone.  Great topic, as this is something I've been working on with my existing hubs that I created before I knew anything about SEO stuff.  For my existing hubs, I've been doing this:
    
    1.  Going to Google's keyword tool -> 
    
    https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
    
    Selecting the website content and pasting my hubpage URL in there, then pressing "Get keyword ideas"
    
    2.  I then assess the list of keywords and add tags for the keywords I think are most relevant to my hub.  I remove all the other tags that I added when I was under the influence of not knowing any better, including the "suggested tags"!
    
    Here's a sample of a hub I recently "tagged" properly.  Well, I think I did
    
    http://hubpages.com/hub/Hair-Salon-Terminology
    
    The thing I'm still slightly confused on is the difference between "meta tags" and hubpage "tags"???
    
    Also, as Ryan Kett mentioned earlier, my properly tagged hubs have started to get more internal traffic from Hubpages, probably due to them being properly linked in the "Related Hubs".
    
    One more question:
    
    Do hubpage Tags have anything to do with Google Ranking? 
    
    Cheers!

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25. 73

    LeanManposted 14 years ago

    Not been here for 2 months, 10 days only, but could do with some real constructive criticism, created 5 hubs in the same niche, done a fair amount of reading before I started.. probably too much.. so would love to have some real feedback..

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26. 62

    mod2vintposted 14 years ago

    Its been a few weeks has then been any developments on this post yet. If so I missed it can someone point me in the right direction.

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       ThoughtfulSpotposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       I haven't seen anything mod.  I just sort of assumed everyone got busy and this had to be set aside.  I know spring tends to put me in major crazy mode... I haven't been able to write a hub in weeks.  At this point, I'm just stopping by to read a little and maybe hit a forum post or two to stay active so that I don't let my participation in a site I really enjoy go totally by the wayside.

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