Hub Karma

1. 86

   DzyMsLizzyposted 13 years ago

   Hi-
   
   A couple of (unrelated??) questions today...
   
   1) I was reading the Hub Karma section, and notice it emphasies 'links to other's hubs' as a major factor.
   
      Lately, I've been using the 'suggest links' feature--apparently this is not the same?  It most often DOES provide a link to another hub..
      It also talks about 'participation' in the Forums.  Of late, I've made a point of being quite active..but my "Karma" score is holding fast with no movement.
   
   2)  This 2nd Q is hard to phrase, as I don't want to come across as snarky or selfish.  I am merely curious as to how this process works, so please take it in that spirit.
      If 'making money' involves driving traffic to your own hub, and "hub karma" involves providing links to OTHER hubs...ergo, AWAY from your own hub--doesn't that make the two mutually exclusive goals??
   
      What gives?  Any clarification appreciated.  Thank you.

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   1. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      The 'suggest links' feature is simply a semi-automated way to find 'links to other's Hubs' so as to improve your Hub Karma.  It does not offer links to any outside sources,only sources within HP.
      
      
      
      You are quite right, MsLizzy, and if you browse the forums you'll find experienced Hubbers like Darkside, Sunforged and Nelle Hoxie muttering darkly that they will not put links to other Hubs, or to external sources, within the text of their Hubs.
      
      What they do - and what I do - is include links to other Hubs and outside websites at the end of their Hubs, under the comments, where readers may gain extra knowledge if they are sufficiently interested.  That way, Hub Karma is satisfied without the concern about driving customers away.
      
      It's worth noting that linking to your OWN Hubs counts just as much towards Hub Karma as linking to other Hubs.  Linking to outside websites doesn't.

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   2. 79

      Sally's Troveposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      The HubKarma and Suggest Links features are no more or less than HP looking for a way to optimize its status on the web, specifically in the eyes of Google. Google "likes" sites that are interlinked...more on that I can't say, because I'm not an SEO guru. Other posters to this thread have given their insights.
      
      However, your comment,
      
      "If 'making money' involves driving traffic to your own hub, and "hub karma" involves providing links to OTHER hubs...ergo, AWAY from your own hub--doesn't that make the two mutually exclusive goals??"
      
      is right on the mark.
      
      The "official" response from HP has been, more or less, what is good for the gander is good for the goose. (Now that's a twist.)
      So, if we all link to every other Hub and every other Hub links to us, then this is somehow good.
      
      What no one's talking about is that this indiscriminate linking could disrupt the reader's flow, making the reader's experience of a Hub less than worthwhile. This Suggest Links tool, in this respect, is no more valuable to the reader than Kontera links.
      
      It's all about making money. HP's got a good deal with Google, HP does its SEO well (which is why most of us are here), and part and parcel of HP doing its job is that we writers be the good sheep and plug links into our writings that have no value whatsoever to the reader, although the links have value to Google and thus HP.
      
      It's just a business arrangement on HP's part that they are selling to us in a way that doesn't make much sense, if you are a writer.

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      1. 86

         Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         HubKarma isn't meant to encourage indiscriminate linking - you're meant to use your discretion in accepting or rejecting the suggested links, and only choose the truly relevant ones that do add value to the reader.
         
         However I am concerned inexperienced Hubbers won't understand that and will litter their Hub with links - in the same way they accept every suggested tag.  That won't hurt HubPages but it will hurt their Hubs.
         
         And like I said, personally I won't use the suggestion tool anyway, because I don't want to leak traffic.

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         1. 79

            Sally's Troveposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            HubKarma does encourage indiscriminate linking, because the threat is there against HubScore.
            
            I'm sure that you were a part of the beta testing (a kind term) for this feature, as I was. I stated my concerns early on to the HP team: HubKarma is "nice", but it should in no way influence a Hubber's overall score.
            
            Well, now it does, and therefore most Hubbers will link willy-nilly to boost their Karma and thus their overall HubScore. All to the detriment of quality writing on the web.

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            1. 86

               Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I think we agree fundamentally, Sally.
               
               HubKarma doesn't require people to indulge in indiscriminate linking - it's possible to maintain a good  HubKarma score with only one or two links in each Hub, and links to your own Hubs count just as much as links to other Hubbers'.
               
               However, I agree the problem is that in their eagerness to get a good score, newbies are likely to go on unnecessary linking sprees.  I guess HP doesn't care about that because it will benefit the site, even if it's to that Hubber's detriment.

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2. 71

   relacheposted 13 years ago

   Forum participation has an effect on your AuthorScore, but not your HubKarma.
   
   Personally, I ignore my HubKarma.

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   1. 92

      viryaboposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Now i feel so much better.

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   2. 66

      darksideposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Me too.
      
      A high HubKarma would mean I'm leaking traffic somewhere.

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3. 61

   Teresa McGurkposted 13 years ago

   I consulted the Dalai Lama on both counts. 
   
   He smiled, and told me to stop letting my right hand know what my left was doing. 
   
   I said (in my best broad Belfast accent), "din that guy Jeesus say thon?"
   
   The Dalai Lama widened his smile even more, gathered up the folds of his robe, and went down to Dunkin Donuts.
   
   So I'm no further along than I was.  This Karma stuff really has me confused.

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   1. 0

      DoorMattnomoreposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      now I want some coffee

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4. 94

   wildernessposted 13 years ago

   2)  Bear in mind that keeping viewers here on HP is an advantage to us all.  If everyone provides links to other quality hubs in HP then some of those links will also be to you.
   
   In addition, retaining viewers on HP is beneficial to HP and, at least to some degree, what is good for HP is good for the writers posting here.  Without an income HP would not exist and we wouldn't have a place to write.

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   1. 86

      DzyMsLizzyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      ah--ok, thanks, wilderness.  That now brings up a related question I just glossed over in my intial query: 
      
      Does using the 'suggest links' feature count as 'linking to other hubs'??  Or must it be a specific reference within the text, or in a links capsule? 
      
      (It seems that about 90% of the suggestions which appear are to other hubs, rather than outbound links, with another 9% or so, maybe, being to 'community pages' and only 1% as outbound.
      { I'm no mathematician, and have not actually counted/calculated these ratios...just using gut instincts of what if seems like I'm seeing.}  )

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      1. 91

         Susana Sposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         
         
         Hi - Yes the suggest links and hubkarma are directly related features. HP is trying to encourage us to interlink between hubs and within the site in general via achor text (not links capsules) and the hubkarma reflects how much of this interlinking you've done.
         
         Search engines reward sites that are well interlinked internally (just look at Wikipedia), by increasing overall PageRank, which will help all hubbers.

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         1. 59

            Jashrynposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            HP is a large online community, it makes sense to link to other hubbers, but it seems as if it is advisable to know where and how many links to have, and where to place the links. Still trying to figure this out, really appreciate the content posted in the forums, helps those who are really new and have no clue, but like what they see.

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            1. 91

               Susana Sposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               
               
               Hi and Welcome The whole linking thing does need thinking about. I mainly link to my own hubs within topic areas, and then sometimes I will link to someone elses if the hub is a really good one and adds to my hub or illustrates a point very well. I don't put any more than one link per paragraph and I make sure the first link is to one of my own pages. The hubs I have where I've used the feature have maybe 2 -5 links max and most of my hubs are over 1000 words (so the links are spread out).

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5. 60

   kiigeorgeposted 13 years ago

   ive been here 4 days and ive got a karma score of 20, i guess from people linking to me? is that how it works ?
   What i really want to know is how long does it take to get approved by ad-sense. Ive been waiting 4 days , someone else posted they've been waiting two weeks.

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   1. 87

      WryLiltposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Have you emailed team@hubpages.com yet, kiigeorge? Best place to start.

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      1. 60

         kiigeorgeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         thanks Wrylilt ... will do

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6. 79

   Aficionadaposted 13 years ago

   I did a lot of internal (within HP) linking when the "suggest links" tool first arrived, and I did try to select good choices for all of the links I used.  However, as time has gone on, I have realized that it is probably a good idea for me to go back and reevaluate the links, because they do not all contribute equally to the reader's experience.
   
   But I will also say that, as a reader, when I see a suggested link (elsewhere, not simply in HP), I do a quick check of where the link will take me and whether I like the sound of it before deciding whether to leave the article I'm reading.  Most often, I will finish the current article first, then go to the linked article.  But that's just me.

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   1. 86

      DzyMsLizzyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Hmmm...as I've begun using the suggest links tool, I do read the capsules to see if I think it is a good fit.
      
      However, if I change my mind, I have not seen any way to undo or remove said links.. How is this accomplished? It seems that once linked, always linked.....  ???

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      1. 86

         Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         The Link Tool is just an automated way of doing what you could always do manually. 
         
         So if you decide to remove a link provided by the Link Tool, you do it in exactly the same way you'd remove any link.
         
         Open the text capsule, highlight the link and click the "broken chain" icon.

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7. 73

   SteveoMcposted 13 years ago

   Easy to break the link, just got into edit mode, edit the text capsule, highlight the link, click on the broken link tool, it is gone.

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   1. 86

      DzyMsLizzyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Oooohhhh... sneaky!  See, being the literal-minded person that I am, I would have taken the 'broken link' tool to literally mean 'report/fix a link that IS already broken.'  LOL  Had no idea it could be used to break the link!
      
      Thank you so much!

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      1. 86

         Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         MsLizzy, most people know automatically what it means, because the same symbols are used in most software packages (like Microsoft Word for instance), so that's why it's not explained.
         
         You're learning!

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         1. 86

            DzyMsLizzyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Ah, but I've never had occasion or reason to learn the links/technical add-ins to MS Word.  I use it strictly as a word processor.  I did not know it had a 'broken link' tool.  All I ever noticed was that it automatically converts typed-in e-mail addresses or www.xxx into hyperlinks.
            
            I'm a strictly non-techie type.    (And, btw..I've never seen any such symbol in my version of MSWord.  I can't afford to buy new software all the time, so I'm still using the version in Office 2000.)
            
            I am 100% behind the slogan, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."   I believe that most of what is palmed off on the unsuspecting public as 'new & improved' are but minor changes properly defined as planned obsolescence.
            
            

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            1. 86

               Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Lizzy, I didn't mean to imply that you should have known it.  I'm only explaining why HP would choose to use that convention - because the younger generation, who are the majority of internet users, would know immediately what it meant!
               
               I'm with you - I remember when Word first came out (I was a secretary in those far-off days).  As the years have gone by, it's got more and more bloated and complicated and I'm not at all convinced it does its basic job any better than it did then!

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8. 0

   multimasteryposted 13 years ago

   I do feel that linking to relevant content is actually a nice idea because it makes your page a "resource" and Google like that. 
   
   However, one can't just link out to any & everything without any thought.  Also, you need to know where you want to place these outbound links in your content.
   
   Another thing to be aware of is that Google usually doesn't penalize your site/page for possible low-quality pages that may link to you, because they know you have no control of that.  But they are known to penalize people for linking to low quality pages/sites.  So just be aware to what you're linking to be it another member's hub or an outside webpage.  Be very particular about the quality of your outbound links both for the benefit of your readers and the search engines - and of course yourself!
   
   I have linked to some related hubs that I felt were worth linking to, but so far my karma score seems stuck at 51 or so. 
   
   I always include my referral code in the hubs I link to.  it just makes sense, being that this referral method is a major feature that hubpages was built upon.
   
   I'm surprised our referral code is not automatically in the suggestion tool.  But regardless, I'm including mine every time coz this is what builds my adsense earnings.  Otherwise my so-called linking generosity will just be giving money away, and I'm not about to do that.
   
   Another thing I do is put all the recommended links at the bottom of my hubs usually under a sub-heading called 'Related Hubs'.  This way after a reader finishes reading my hub they can explore other relevant hubs without taking them away from my content which I worked hard to write.
   
   Also, I set links to other hubs to open up in new windows, because my thinking is that by doing so it will give me a chance to double my Adsense clicks & earnings e.g. they're reading my hub and click an ad - then they explore another hubber's hub that I recommended (which opened in a new window) and click an ad.  Now that's double the dough! since my referral code is in there.
   
   I can't really tell if this is working or not, but it does seem that my adsense earning have been rising...although my karma score has not.  Whether the score isn't rising because I include my referral code an open in a new window should not affect my karma score rising if this is the case.  Oh well...
   
   But bottom line just having a strategy for your linking.  It's good to do but you can't do it blindly because it could impact not only your reputation - but your earnings too!
   
   That's my 2 cents.
   
   ~Happy Hubbing!-)

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