Is content all that is cracked up to be?

Jump to Last Post 1-12 of 12 discussions (22 posts)
  1. bgamall profile image63
    bgamallposted 14 years ago

    I have some content that is pretty hard hitting. It is accurate and it is substantial. When I see a PR of 0 for this content it makes me think that there is a problem with the whole idea. Is there simply too much content out there now? And people are spinning articles and the like. Do we have to be spinners? I am beginning to think yes.

    1. thisisoli profile image80
      thisisoliposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      PR has no relation to the quality of content, it is merely a numerical value calculated by PR of inbound links - a deduction for outbound links.

      The good news is that quality content is MUCH more important than PR for getting your work noticed by search engines smile

      1. kiigeorge profile image60
        kiigeorgeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

        huh ?
        " it is merely a numerical value calculated by PR of inbound links - a deduction for outbound links."
        like to explain this ? - numbered value by Page rank of inbound links - a deduction of of outbound links ?

        and
        " quality content is MUCH more important than PR for getting your work noticed by search engines " 

        why ? how ?  i thought Google cant tell whats good content and whats not .. apart from keyword use and associated keywords - after that, other measurement factors have to be employed , because Google cant judge good content by assessing the message the sense of the meaning of the post, like human reader can  ? thats why these problems exist.

    2. Marisa Wright profile image87
      Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Bgamall, your content may be hard-hitting but it's also topical.  You're up against news sites and financial sites with huge clout, whose sites have enormous credibility with Google.  So their results are always going to get presented to searchers long before yours.

      If you're always on the back pages of Google, you will never get much traffic.  And even if you did, what does someone want to buy if they're searching for articles on the Tea Party?  Nothing.  They're looking for opinion, so they have no motive to click on your ads.

      1. kiigeorge profile image60
        kiigeorgeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

        well said Marrisa - another realist like Nelle below ..

        less comp. content - or try the same content, presented with less competition keywords if possible.  And distinguish  between info content and selling content.

  2. brettb profile image60
    brettbposted 14 years ago

    There is way too much rubbish in the best niches, but just be patient and sooner or later Google will come up with something to identify all the spun rubbish.

    There are plenty of niches left, 90% of people are only writing about weight loss, acai berries or forex trading.

  3. Joy56 profile image67
    Joy56posted 14 years ago

    i will go over and have a look at your hubs..... hard hitting is a good.

  4. profile image0
    Nelle Hoxieposted 14 years ago

    No it's not. If you don't merchandize and promote content, you could be screwed by the time your content rises to the top naturally.

    Case in point - high quality real estate sites, built on the perception that the market was hot and would remin a good investment. Not only did the premise change, but all the content about qualifying and getting a mortage, credit etc.

    You gotta catch a niche fast or it disappears, or your competition beats you out.

    1. kiigeorge profile image60
      kiigeorgeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      good on you Nellie. I like hard hitting " realism "

      " No it's not.( hard hitting is good ). If you don't merchandize and promote content, you could be screwed by the time your content rises to the top naturally "

      direct and well said .. however, some content can  tend to be more evergreen than " real Estate " markets

      1. profile image0
        Nelle Hoxieposted 14 years agoin reply to this

        That's in hindsight. I doubt if you would have said that seven years ago. What retirement planning - that's been turned over completely as well.

        Nutrition? Big study just came out yesterday that calcium supplements are bad for a women's heart.

        Hormone Replacement Therapy the standard of treating menopausal symptoms for over a decade. How many sites were set up touting that and had to come down

        Vegetarian low-fat diets are now second to MUFA the right fat diets in nutrition studies.

        I can't think of one popular "evergreen topic" that has stood the test of time. The only people touting this strategy now are the gurus who want to make money teaching others how to make money. Everyone who really makes money on the net in affiliate marketing, knows that passive income is a joke.

        I've made a great living in affiliate marketing for 10 years, and I know how much time it takes every day and how much things change every day.

        1. wildorangeflower profile image61
          wildorangeflowerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          very nice information, thanks a lot for this one.

        2. kiigeorge profile image60
          kiigeorgeposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          i wasn't thinking of any of those .. i was thinking of if one wrote a review of a film, or a book ..  not much to be made from it though.

          there's gold in your comments Nelle, cause of your depth of experience.

  5. WryLilt profile image86
    WryLiltposted 14 years ago

    Content may be king but getting in first ranks up there too:

    http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q245/calala_red/bargraph.jpg

  6. Pcunix profile image86
    Pcunixposted 14 years ago

    I tried to craft a reply to this last night but I was too tired.

    Content is king, but as others have pointed out, your content is just a little Post-it note in a mountain of paper.

    You seem to want to write about politics.  Given good writing, time and a little luck, you could be moderately successful at that.  But it will take many more hubs, much more time and - again - some luck.

    I have a niche site that is thirteen years old, has approximately 7,000 posts on it, gets a quarter million page views per month, mostly from Google and it earns about $1,000 a month from ads. 

    That's all.  It's a tough business.  Content is king, but the king doesn't always have a gold crown.

    1. wildorangeflower profile image61
      wildorangeflowerposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hi Pcunix, does this mean the older the site and the posts and good articles on it, the more it will ripen and be likened by google more than content?

      1. profile image0
        Nelle Hoxieposted 14 years agoin reply to this

        What site makes money depends on the competition it faces and the current google algorithm. Your online portfolio has to be diversified so that something always hits right. I've had crap sites that have done better than quality sometimes. Sometimes the age of the site matters, sometimes it doesn't.

  7. kephrira profile image59
    kephriraposted 14 years ago

    Google has no way to asses quality content, so if you want to get all your traffic from them then quality content is not enough on its own - you also have to make it search engine optimized and it has to be on topics where you aren't competing directly with multi-billion pound media empires like Marissa says.

    But if you don't want to do that, then quality content can get traffic from other places, such as building up a readerships from hubbers and from social media sites.

    People are increasingly finding online content though friends rather than search engines, particularly certain types  of content such as news and politics related stuff. Maybe you should focus on this instead of google.

  8. profile image0
    Nelle Hoxieposted 14 years ago

    True kiigeorge, I view content in terms of the revenue stream it generates over time. You're right in that a review of Shakespeare is timeless.

    However if you were monetizing it trying to sell a paper book, then that would have to be changed to an e-reader, with a note that Shakespeare can now be downloaded for free!)

  9. kiigeorge profile image60
    kiigeorgeposted 14 years ago

    Nelle and Kephrira

    just want to say im quickly becoming a fan of each of you.
    Your right on the nail each time.

  10. HRoger profile image61
    HRogerposted 13 years ago

    After so long, content still remains king.

  11. Charles James profile image67
    Charles Jamesposted 13 years ago

    My heavy content pieces drift to the front page of Google in 3 to 6 months depending on the level of competition. Once they are there they get read and they stay there.

    Alas I have not found the trick of writing about Neighbours, The Simpsons, Beyonce and Madonna - otherwise my earnings would be significantly better.

  12. Peter Owen profile image59
    Peter Owenposted 13 years ago

    Do it for the writing, not the score. which  artcles do you read if you do a google search on  a serious subject? I go right past all e-how articles and most hub articles. they are crap and written by people who have no knowledge of the subject and don't do any research. They just pick a topic and speak off the cuff. Accuracy is not only secondary, it is most of the times non-existent.
    So write to write well and the google rank will come.

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)