Yet more questions about HubNumbers and linking

1. 74

   Aficionadaposted 14 years ago

   This is actually three questions.
   
   1) Is the average of all of the individual HubScores significant in any way?  Does that number affect or change anything?
   
   2) In discussions of the Suggested Links Tool and HubKarma, I have seen some Hubbers mention that they would like to know if another Hubber links to one of their Hubs.  I have wondered if there would be any value in having one specific, dedicated forum where a Hubber could simply announce "I have linked my Hub XYZ to ----'s Hub PQR" - simply as a method of sharing information.  Would that create any problems ... help in any way ... waste time ... give one more thing to kvetch about?
   
   3) Finally, in Metrics for an individual Hub, there are supposed to be symbols to indicate how many incoming links there are and the view duration for that Hub.  What does the symbol look like?  How often are those figures updated?
   
   Thanks!

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   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      That depends whether you put any value on HubScore.  I'm sure it has a bearing on your Hubber Score.
      
      
      
      It's not a bad idea.  As you know, some Hubbers don't like the idea of linking to other Hubs.  If doing so gave them an excuse to post a link to their own Hub on the forum, that would be another encouragement to do so. 
      
      
      
      They're just asterisks. I have no idea how often they're updated, though.  It does say it can take up to a month for a link to be recognised.

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   2. 72

      AEvansposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      1) Is the average of all of the individual HubScores significant in any way? Does that number affect or change anything?
      
      A. Nope. Don't focus on the score , focus on the quality of your hubs and your keywords.
      
      
      2) In discussions of the Suggested Links Tool and HubKarma, I have seen some Hubbers mention that they would like to know if another Hubber links to one of their Hubs. I have wondered if there would be any value in having one specific, dedicated forum where a Hubber could simply announce "I have linked my Hub XYZ to ----'s Hub PQR" - simply as a method of sharing information. Would that create any problems ... help in any way ... waste time ... give one more thing to kvetch about?
      
      A. Creating a page could create chaos. There are times when I link using the suggest link button and other times I do not. It has to pertain to the subject I have written about or it has to be closely related.
      Finding out is fairly easy, when you read another hubbers , hub click on the blue highlighted word and you will find out who they are linked to.
      
      
      3) Finally, in Metrics for an individual Hub, there are supposed to be symbols to indicate how many incoming links there are and the view duration for that Hub. What does the symbol look like? How often are those figures updated? Thanks!
      
      They are ***** (asterisks) and the answer to how often are they updated? I honestly do not know.

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2. 82

   Pcunixposted 14 years ago

   I regularly link to other people and even Tweet it and post it on my Facebook if it seems particularly good to me.
   
   Sometimes I tell people I'm doing that, sometimes I don't.
   
   Your Analytics report will show referrers if anyone clicks, but I don't think it's a bad idea to be able to call up a report of who here linked to you or automatically create a page of who you have linked to.  It would be easy enough to do either one or both.

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3. 69

   brakel2posted 14 years ago

   If you know that a hubber has a backlink from your hub, is it acceptable to ask that person to link to your hub? Would you ask in the comments section of the hub? In the new linking procedure, no-one has linked to some of my hubs, but I have a lot of links to others on the same subject. Do these links effect Google page rank? I like the idea of knowing who is linking to hubs.

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4. 74

   Aficionadaposted 14 years ago

   That idea of knowing who is linking to hubs was really my motivation for this suggestion.  I don't know that I have enough know-how just yet to find out other ways who may have linked to any of my Hubs; maybe that's coming in the future.  Anyway, there may or may not be any value in this idea. 
   
   I thought also that maybe if another Hubber has seen that I have linked to their Hub, they might voluntarily link to mine.

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   1. 69

      brakel2posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      If you have the Google page rank tool in your toolbar, it shows backlinks to your hub when you put your hub onto the screen. I don't know how accurate the info is.

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      1. 74

         Aficionadaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Ahhmmmm, no - I don't have the Google PageRank tool.  One more thing for me to check out and try to learn.  Thanks.  I'll look into it.

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   2. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I suppose the question is, why do you want to know? 
      
      I don't have the Google PageRank tool either, I think it's something you can stress about too much.  My flamenco site has a pagerank of 1, yet it gets more traffic than my belly dance site which has a pagerank of 3.

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      1. 74

         Aficionadaposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I was replying specifically to the post above mine when I said that and attempting to tie into her last comment, but I did so without quoting it.
         
         
         If there are links to my Hubs that I don't know about, I would just be interested in knowing.  I am now, slowly but surely, creating links on my own; but knowing if someone (even here) has linked to a Hub would help me to have a better idea of how people might be finding out about my Hubs and also how many links I would want to add myself. 
         
         I have finally learned (I think) how to use the tool Mark Knowles pointed out for finding backlinks; but for me that is still sort of cumbersome.
         
         The Google PageRank tool, according to brakel2, would show the backlinks automatically when the Hub is onscreen, and that has a lot of appeal for me.
         
         In a different vein... Marisa, I want to thank you very much for all of the comments you make to help out me and others like me. I know that I don't always come back and say Thank You for every single post of yours - it would probably be quite boring if I did - but I always do check back, and I always do appreciate your help immensely.

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         1. 86

            Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Glad I'm able to help - I can see how keen you are to master all this! 
            
            Most people are probably linking to your Hub using the Link Suggestion Tool. Or they may spot your Hub in the "Related Hubs" box, or found it when researching their own topic.
            
            I think outgoing links should be used very sparingly in the text of your Hub - too many starts to annoy the reader.  Personally, I don't link to other Hubs in my text, unless they're my own.  I've always found advice by Darkside and Sunforged to be excellent, and you'll find they don't think it's a good idea.

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            1. 82

               Pcunixposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Not a good idea for whom?
               
               I link when I feel it adds value or convenience  for the reader.  I have never bought the idea that outside links are bad for you.  Yes, such a link may momentarily take a reader to another site, but if it helps inform them or adds to their enjoyment, they will remember you and come back another day.  Some of them might even give you a real organic backlink because your page has real value.
               
               Of course, if your only purpose on the web is MFA junk, you aren't interested in building a loyal readership and you obviously wouldn't care about adding value for them, and nobody but nobody is ever going to give you a real backlink, so if that's your deal, you shouldn't link out.

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               1. 86

                  Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  I don't know what MFA stands for so I can't assess whether my Hubs fall into the definition of "MFA junk". 
                  
                  I like to think my Hubs provide the information I'm covering without needing to link out.  If I do need to provide further reading, I'll add those links at the end, as one would do in a book. 
                  
                  I'm not that interested in building a following. I've come across several experienced bloggers who've told me that having a loyal following is a lovely feeling - but regular readers rarely click on ads.  It's only really worth building a readership if you have a specific product which attracts repeat business. 
                  
                  The people who click on ads are the ones who arrive via a search engine wanting an answer to something.  They may never come back again, and I'm fine with that.

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                  1. 82

                     Pcunixposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                     You are correct that regular readers do not click on links, but foolish to say that you don't want them.
                     
                     Regulars are often fans who will tweet, backlink and otherwise promote your posts.
                     
                     Regulars often leave comments and reply to comments made by others, helping freshen your page.
                     
                     If you are selling a product or service (and you should), regulars are apt to be buyers and recommenders.
                     
                     Regulars are also often a source of ideas and information that you might be unable to obtain in any other way.
                     
                     Other than that, yes, they are useless :-)

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                     1. 86

                        Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                        That may well be. I can only quote the experience of other internet writers who actually abandoned their blogs because they were hugely successful in terms of popularity, but made not one cent.
                        
                        
                        I already have news, RSS and eBay capsules to achieve that.
                        
                        
                        I believe I said that in my own post.  If one has a product to sell, the situation would be totally different.  But I'm not clear why I "should" have one.

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                        1. 82

                           Pcunixposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                           You quote the experience of people who failed?
                           
                           :-)
                           
                           RSS and ebay etc. don't have the same value as comments.  Google isn't stupid.  They know what an Amazon ad looks like and a random list of unrelated links does not  have the value of comments that may add appropriate keywords and long tail phrases you never thought of.
                           
                           As to why you should be selling a product or service of your own, that should be obvious: you make much more money selling your own thing than someone else's.
                           
                           I have been writing and selling on the Internet for 19 years.  I'm not a millionaire, I'm not famous.  I'm just an honest guy who writes honest stuff, doesn't churn it up with the latest SEO scheme and still does comfortably well and has a very nice life.  I think half of the advice I see on the Internet is bad - bad for  the Internet if not bad for the people doing it - and a lot of the rest is overblown and of minor value.
                           
                           Again, there are obviously situations where you do not want to link out and don't care about repeat visitors.  They apply to specific kinds of marketing.  I don't do that kind of marketing and think ill of much if it :-)

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                           1. 86

                              Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                              No, I'm not quoting the experience of people who failed, why would I?  I'm quoting the experience of people who were doing several different things on the internet, one being a "succesful" blog.  They gave up the blog because their other endeavours were doing much better for less effort.

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         2. 69

            brakel2posted 14 years agoin reply to this

            To get the page rank tool, you need to use the current Google toolbar. It won't give you the number of PR but is in green, and you can usually figure out approximately where you are by how much of the green color is in the bar. I mostly like it for backlinks. My previous toolbar gave me the actual pagerank. It also gives similar pages to yours and then lists the backlinks whn you click on that part of the tool.

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            1. 86

               Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

               Does it give you the URL's that are linking to you? 
               
               I may be paranoid but I've been told if you use the Google toolbar, they collect even more information from you than they do already - I reckon they spy on me enough already,not keen to give them any more info!

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               1. 69

                  brakel2posted 14 years agoin reply to this

                  Yes, it gives you the URL's that are linking to you. Then you can try to get more backlinks, especially if they are from hubpages.

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                  1. 86

                     Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

                     I would be interested to hear what the gurus have to say about the value of backlinks from other Hubs compared to backlinks from outside HubPages. 
                     
                     Of course links from other Hubs are great, but since our Hubs are all part of one big site, I'd have thought links between Hubs were more like internal linking than real backlinks?
                     
                     As for the Google toolbar:
                     
                     http://techcrunch.com/2008/06/16/is-the … vacy-card/

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5. 0

   shazwellynposted 14 years ago

   I am interested in outside traffic for seo, so building links within links seems good to me.  Reciprocol linking within hubpages is good for everyone in terms of seo.  If you are targeting the world wide web, then I am not adverse to linking - it is good for me and good for Google to see that I am sharing the love, thereby reciprocating google love in the form of SERPs.  80% of my traffic is from outside HP - I design my hubs for them, more than internal traffic and I think in terms of beyond the hp box.

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6. 74

   Aficionadaposted 14 years ago

   Thanks, all.
   
   MFA, I believe, means Made For Adsense - a lot of regurgitated material, with minimal reworking.
   
   I am certain your Hubs do not fit in that category.

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7. 75

   sunforgedposted 14 years ago

   MFA is "Made For Adsense"
   
   When thinking of terms of what is best for your pocketbook (whether adsense or a real affiliate program) its wise to pay attention to why your reader would click a link away. Severely limiting exit points is one of the main ways to increase conversions - but its a balance between what reads well for a human and what ranks well for a search engine - outbound links to authoritative sources supposedly has some SEo benefits also
   
   
   But, If your writing something that is designed to actually hold the answers to your reader questions - linking out to other related articles in the body of your text isnt actually a great benefit to your reader - its a distraction, if you felt the linked information was useful why didnt you cover it in your text?
   
   Having some related links, or works cited or "further reading" after the body of your text can be useful for both readers and search engines - this is the format you will see at sites like eHow, AC , Factoidz - credit where credit is deserve is honorable and appropriate
   
   
   But, to place those links as anchored keyword links in the body of my text? NEVER ( As the linksuggestiontool/hubkarma, would have you do) - well , almost never - not wise for your piggybank or reader experience (IMO)
   
   As for the original question , you should look into the difference between a one-way link and a reciprocal link - and perhaps you would see why its in neither of your best interest to be too involved in "linkink back" or being concerned if someone doesnt reciprocate.
   
   The HUbKarma options work at a macro level by keeping visitors inside of the HP domain which is good for all involved - dont be too caught up in the micro level of "did they link back!"

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   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      My thinking exactly.
      
      
      
      True.

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   2. 69

      brakel2posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Don't you like the links for Hubkarma? I have done a whole bunch. I thought it was to make more money for everyone and get more traffic from outside of Hubpages.

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      1. 86

         Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I couldn't give two hoots about my HubKarma - although it's doing OK, thanks to RSS feeds I've added for things like the HubMob etc. 
         
         The idea of encouraging links between Hubs is that it keeps readers on HubPages longer.  The longer they stay within our site, the more likely they are to click on our ads rather than go to some other site and click theirs.  So it's not going to attract more traffic, just keep it circulating once it's here!
         
         So indirectly it should be of some benefit to all of us - but if you read the comments by serious money-making Hubbers, you'll notice they don't put any links within the text of their Hub, except to their own Hubs.  They only add links to other Hubs and websites at the end (like a reference section) - which is equally valid for HubKarma but doesn't encourage visitors to jump ship early.

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   3. 0

      shazwellynposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I can see it is a fine balance and agree with you.  You can have your cake and eat it too - just by placing links at the end of your article.
      
      Yes, it is all about being natural.  I only wish HP spent the time on getting the bug for the broken tags sorted out instead of introducing another novelty such as hub karma and accolades (all very nice, but please lets get practical!).  This is better, surely, for natural links in the eyes of Google?  Tags are the foundations to a website's business - I can't understand why there is no resolve!
      
      Any views here?

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      1. 69

         brakel2posted 14 years agoin reply to this

         I am sorry that I put so many links in my hubs. I guess I did not understand the entire process. Now I feel that if there are too many, readers will be distracted if they click on those links. I am used to putting my links at the end of the hub. Now, what do we do? Can we remove some of the links? Probably not, I'm sure.

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         1. 75

            sunforgedposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            sure, just highlight the link in edit mode and click the "break link' icon - its a little chain link type thing

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            1. 69

               brakel2posted 14 years agoin reply to this

               I removed some of them. Thanks.

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