how good is HubPages Earnings Program?

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   ajayshah2005posted 13 years ago

   Please share your practical experience, the effects of this program on your earnings, keeping in mind about Hubpages TOS as well as Google adsense TOS.Thanks!

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      Garrett Mickleyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I'm making enough to reach payout every month, where as before the ad program I did not.
      
      Also my CPM is much higher with adprogram than adsense.
      
      I'm quite pleased with it.

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      jcmayer777posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I think it varies by topics.
      
      Before the hpads swap, my pay per thousand views was substantially higher.  I don't target super high traffic, I generally target high ctr topics, even if it means only getting a handful of view per day on each hub/article online. 
      
      I'm guessing the vast majority of people that target high traffic keywords earn more with hpads, especially if the topics typically have a lower ctr.

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   wildernessposted 13 years ago

   Just before Panda HPads was outdoing adsense by a fair amount. 
   
   The change to subdomains, combined with an increase in HPads CPM due to HP's hard work, has resulted in income climbing by a factor of 10 or more.
   
   For November I set a goal of twice what I had hoped to reach in another year or two and missed it by less than $5.
   
   Do you get the idea I'm pretty happy with it?

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      Garrett Mickleyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      It's stories like that which point out why I came back after a few months of absence.

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         wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Just wait.  The new availability to eBay for most of us isn't paying off (yet) for me - I only earn 50 cents a day on a good day - but it will climb in time as I learn how to use it.
         
         Plus, of course, the changes to Amazon - that one alone should net me $1 - $2 per day above what I'm seeing now.
         
         If google just doesn't slap us all down again, I see good times coming.

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            homesteadboundposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            wilderness - glad to hear the good report! I haven't made payout yet, but will this next time after less than 5 months. I have been pleased!

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               wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               You have something to look forward to, then.  That first payout is a huge boost to motivation, trust me!
               
               Rooting for you to make it this month!

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                  homesteadboundposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  I need less than 3 dollars. I'm essentially there! Thanks!

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            habeeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Same for me, Wildman. Like you, I'm also hoping and praying for no more Panda slaps. lol

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               Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I'm beginning to enjoy it, in a sick and perverted way, of course.  As my income here climbs and my main site income declines, soon enough there will be a crossing point.  I'm already paying less and less attention to that site, which naturally will hasten its descent.. 
               
               Many a day now my paltry hubs exceed what I get "over there".  That site still manages to pull more at the end of the month, but that might not be true in December or January because it is getting awfully close!
               
               All hail HP,  King of CPM!

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                  wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Yes, you are SOO perverted, enjoying seeing traffic and income grow by the week. 
                  
                  Me, too.  I'm seeing my most optimistic hopes of 18 months ago (when I started writing) for years into the project already being passed.
                  
                  And HP is indeed the king of CPM - their hard work is paying off big time.  Had someone told me, a year ago, that I would see figures that are daily occurrences now I would have laughed in their face.  It isn't possible, but it's happening every day.

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                     habeeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     Again, I agree. Another think I like about HPads is that the income is pretty consistent on a daily basis.

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                        wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Really?  I don't like that.  I used to enjoy seeing those big clicks come in occasionally, now I refresh Adsense 57 times to see that one little $.25 click.
                        
                        Boring.  I've (almost) quite doing it, in fact.

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                           wordscribe43posted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           That's so funny you said that because I'm currently in Adsense checking withdrawal.  I just switched back over to HP ads after having them off for a while to see what kind of income I make.  So far I'm not impressed, really.  Granted it hasn't been enough time to make a definitive decision...  But, it's all so boring.  No thrill of the potential for big clicks, have to wait 24 hours for results, etc.. 
                           
                           Anyway, I obviously have to wait it out for a while...  But with Adsense on, I've usually made more by this time of the month.  It's taking me a boat load of restraint to not turn the darn things off again.  The wondering is killing me, I almost wish we didn't have a choice. 
                           
                           I guess I'm just a thrill seeker.

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               wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I'm actually beginning to hope that the little tweaks and changes to Panda won't plunge any more of us.  For months I've simply expected and known that it would not last - that any day I would plunge to the bottom of the traffic graph.
               
               It hasn't happened, though.  I may slip a position or two here or there on a hub, but other hubs go up to replace the traffic.  The feeling grows that maybe, just maybe, Panda is here to stay and it's a good thing (at least for me - I know that others have been hurt horribly by it).

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            3. 57

               Jerrico Usherposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I don't worry about them with HP, HP is on it, if google goes bi-polar HP knows how to fix it and we don't usually ahve to do anything but maybe fix our content etc on occasion- my hubs have been pretty steady- the switch to subdomains fixed panda for my hubs- I also use superapprentice which does what HP does in keeping us ahead of the curve- you can do it manually or you can use services that do it for you... worrying though, that's for the birds

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      QuestionMasterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      From memory, HP ads were released site wide on the day Panda really started being noticed on the site. Unless you were a beta tester?

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         wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         My first HPad earnings were March 3, for part of a day.  Panda hit me Feb. 24.
         
         Guess maybe I should research a little before making posts, huh?  It's what happens you you get old and senile, I guess - history remakes itself when you turn your back!
         
         Still, Feb. was around $30 adsense (I remember, because that's the last time before this fall of making adsense payout) and HPads was around $30 to $40 each month all summer on much lower traffic.  November was comfortably over 10 times that.

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            QuestionMasterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I only remembered because it was such a big day on the forums - both things "hit the fan" in the forums on the same day from memory (it was a Thursday/Friday) and so it stuck in my mind that both happened almost simultaneously.

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         Jerrico Usherposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         it was around the beta testing time they did this- I believe this was one of the ways they fixed the horrendous loss in income- if you think about it we don't depend as much on adsense anymore on HP, and the changes have brought the traffic back. You ask me the HP team is on it. On SA they also did something similar by changing the very way we built our sites (it's a templated system like HP but different)...

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   Jerrico Usherposted 13 years ago

   My earnings are steadily going up since the new ad program. I've been adding hubs like crazy (200 this month) to take advantage of this... I notice the more hubs I add the higher my earnings climb (and faster)... so far the ad program is great, just need to go back and add amazon/ebay capsules..

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      homesteadboundposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Jerrico - You are making me tired! LOL

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         Jerrico Usherposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I'm making YOU tired? lol, I'm making ME tired... but it's paying off, the more hubs I publish the higher my daily payouts- I'm talking going up by dollars a day steadily.

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            homesteadboundposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            congrats! Did you see that I featured one of your hubs last week in my hub luv series?

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               Jerrico Usherposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               where do I see that? I don't really keep up with that stuff usually buried in hub publishing or my other projects, is it another forum thread? I remember you mentioned that (thank you!)

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                  homesteadboundposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  It was in my hub luv #6, your hop-link hub

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                     Jerrico Usherposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     I found it, thanks! I kept thining hub love was a hubpages thing- didn't they have a section like that years ago?

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                        homesteadboundposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        I don't know, I've only been here for 4 months.

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   DIY Backlinksposted 13 years ago

   Mine are getting better and better each month.

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5. 76

   alphagirlposted 13 years ago

   I wonder what I am doing wrong? I made over a 1.00 last month. It is December and I have not made a penny. It will be forever before I see a payout. Some people make several dollars a day.

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      QuestionMasterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      It's based a lot on traffic - you have less than 10,000 views so it's not surprising you haven't earned much. The program also doesn't pay for internal (other hubbers) viewing your content I believe (or if it does, it's very low).
      
      Since CPMs (basically how much you earn per thousand views) seems to be between $2-$6 for a lot of people, you're probably on track for earnings. Those who are making several hundred a month are also likely seeing at least 25-50,000 visitors a month, too.

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         wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I'm not so sure that HPads don't pay for hubber visits.
         
         I recently had a hub make hub of the day, and traffic went up considerably with the increase all, of course, hubbers.
         
         Impressions went up by the same amount, given the 60% factor, as did income with no increase in CPM.  Nothing there can be actually verified with hard numbers of course, but it was all close enough to convince me that HPads pays for hubber visits.
         
         QM, where are you getting the 2-6 CPM figures?  Has HP released a reasonable number to shoot for or is it a compilation of semi-reports on the forums?  And would you consider it a CPM for impressions (60% of views) or visits reported in HP stats?

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            QuestionMasterposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            You're probably right about the HP visits - although several people have mentioned, and it would make sense, that internal visits would get no clicks and therefore would be considered lower quality views.
            
            As for the $2-$6, this is based on numbers I've seen on the forums. As if HP would ever release actual numbers - that would make some people feel great and others feel terrible lol!
            
            Although I've seen reports of CPMs of up to $14, that seems to be the minority.

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               Jerrico Usherposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I think the reality is that hubbers are readers too and it would make no sense not to count their visits as impressions etc... but it's likely governed like any other with the time on page being a factor.
               
               It seems only fair that hubbers count as well as non hub authors because afterall we're a community- and although many don't click ads due the fear of problems, impressions should count as they are no different than readers off hubpages. 
               
               Also I can't see hubpages themselves (owners) limiting their income potential there as a great deal of the community reads hubs and thus are valid consumers as well.

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                  wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Overall, I think you're pretty much right.  Plus, HP would have to check each visit to determine origin and remove hubbers from the "earning" list - possible but difficult.
                  
                  As QM says though, hubbers will seldom click and this will limit the CPM as clicks are included in that figure.  So it seems that CPM would go down some from hubber visits, but still earn.

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                     Lisa HWposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     I'm thinking this might be why it looks to me as if I do better with Ad Sense only.  I've tried the HP ads a couple of times.  They're good - no doubt about that.  And, I'm not even sure that if I gave them enough time they wouldn't be AS good as Ad Sense only (for me).  But, for now, it does look like my "average Ad Sense high's" (as opposed to occasional but not average "high") seem substantially higher.
                     
                     In general, it looks pretty close in terms of monthly earnings (HP w less AD Sense or AS only), but those AS-only high's really boost things.  Then again, AS is a little more "volatile" than HP ads w/ AS.
                     
                     Basically, it looks pretty close for me, and I don't really know if I'm doing the best thing; but it seems if I don't mess with my private AS account, I do do better.  I don't like all my eggs in the AS-only basket; but then again, I'm not sure I like all my HP earnings coming through the HP basket either - so for now, I guess, I should just stick with AS only when it comes to my stuff on here (mainly, I guess, because "if it 'ain't' broke don't fix it").

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                     Jerrico Usherposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     they could implement a filter which would automate the filtering of hubber traffic but the fact is why would you not earn from your community as well as the outside world? That's like putting a macdonalds in a town and saying nobody in town can purchase hamburgers or they could buy hamburgers but couldn't participate in contents like monopoly- I think likely a third of the people they earn from ARE hubbers- impressions are how their advertizers pay them thus how they pay us (on some ads) and thus why would they shun the community from both earning and delivering their income?
                     
                     I think the impression income or the click income (ebay/adsense) as well as affiliate (purchasing things from ebay/amazon) income is where hubbers generate the most- as you said adsense is a scary thing to play with even if legitimate clicks- I simply stay away from it- but I'd in a second buy something on a hubs capsules for amazon/ebay if I wanted the item... I may even go through a hub (never my own) to reach amazon when i want to buy something just to help a hubber out, most purchases don't happen through the actual item being adverized but through upsells on the site- what I do in that respect first is say I want to buy a book, I know the title so I do a hubpages search for someone who wrote a hub with an amazon capsule that's selling that book or whatever-
                     
                     I use that to enter amazon- sometimes that's a better way since the hub they wrote helps you with more information ie a review of the book- always do do dilligence before purchasing books etc...

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                     Jerrico Usherposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     CPM isn't just related to hub author traffic/clicks- it's overall so if hubbers "impressed" a page but none ever clicked an adsense ad, they would still help the overall score as others off hubpages do click so it's not a segregated event but a networked one. Even if hubbers don't click adsense ads they lend impressions when they read the articles so they are a major part of the equasion none the less.

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                        wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        Exactly.  I don't think hubber visits are removed from the impression income - they just don't click on ads. 
                        
                        So these visits generate income, just not as much average because they don't click.

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         Jerrico Usherposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Listen to question master alppha girl- he's absolutely right. You won't see any trackable (not really) income until you have more impressions, more visits, more hubs- in adding more hubs I'm finding just adding them- even if the hubs themselves don't get any traffic- the rest of my hubs are earning better- theres a synergy at play here- it's a numbers game to some extent too- don't worry about the money at first- worry about building your network- your hub impresario

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      homesteadboundposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      alphagirl - as some of the others have stated, I think it helps to be active with other hubbers, and leave comments. I just passed my 4 month mark and I have commented on over 1200 hubs. I have only written 130, so I have commented on a bunch of them. I have asked questions, and I have answered questions. If people see you giving good advice, or asking questions that help lots of people, they may follow you. People also follow people who follow them. But it does all take time. Good luck to you.

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         Peggy Wposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Some people push the follow button just because one might have a high number and if you check they are following numbers of people every few seconds to minutes.  Those are not real followers!  If a person actually reads and takes the time to comment on one of my hubs, then I will go and read one of theirs and only then follow them if they write things of interest.  In fact...the more followers one has...it is difficult to read everything new.  But I always return the favor of a comment by reading and leaving a comment.  Those are the BEST followers one can have.   You are an example of a good follower!  Kudos to you homesteadbound.

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            homesteadboundposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Thank you Peggy. It is hard to make it to everyone's stuff that I want to read. Just so many good writers and only so much time.

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   rocheljposted 13 years ago

   I earned more from the HubPages Earnings Program than from AdSense.

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      Jerrico Usherposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Last month adsense was 25.00 (about 1/10th what I made before the panda/other updates)
      
      I've since moved many of my properties to hubpages and my income is double what I made segregated to adsense (sites off hp) and hubpages integration- this place rocks as although I could make more income promoting off hp sites- the fact is I can park them here and not promote (means not spending money or time on promo articles/blurbs) and they make more money.  I figured what I spent in promo and what I earned on certain sites canceled the profit out really- but on hp with no promo just some marination time- I make more and do less.

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   dungeonraiderposted 13 years ago

   @wilderness - let's not forget the often unmentioned fact that many of us are making usage sales on all text articles elsewhere because people see what our same articles look on HP's capsule layout.  Thank you, HP.

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      wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Sorry, you lost me there.  "Usage sales"?  People see HP hubs and like all text articles?  I'm lost here...

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         Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Made no sense to me, either.

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         dungeonraiderposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         If someone contacts you about writing for them after what they've seen on HP, you can do so through a third party platform (to ease the burden of getting paid, or getting paid in a timely manner).  You give the platform a cut for this, of course, but it's worth it from my experience).  Your articles on HP, with all the awesome layout options, are a good way to make direct or usage sales, in addition to your income from HP (for writing new material, of course).  It's easiest for niche writers, obviously.

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            Jerrico Usherposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I agree, the 40% we pay to hubpages I consider overhead or promo costs- due to their diligence with the ad programs and their strides with upping the ante on commission structures (Ad programs) that 40% is well earned in my opinion.
            
            I make much more than I lose here- there are better ways to generate money off hubpages but if you want a no nonsense place to put your writing for passive income this is one of the best out there.
            
            Although I see both sides of the argument about the ad program "upgrades" I'm more affected by the upgrades personally as I never depended on hubpages hubs in the network of adsense/eBay earnings structures (whew), I dodged that bullet.
            
            I've placed 200 hubs up in one month (liquidated to HP from many adsense sites I built) and am curious (once I format them better ith images etc...) how this will affect my income.
            
            From what I see those with 800+ hubs (well written, good topics etc...) are the ones making the 1k income+...
            
            I've gotten plenty of people contacting me to write for them solely based on HP hubs I wrote- I'm finding (because I asked them directly) that many IMmers are starting to realize sites like HP are great recruiting grounds for independent writers vs paying the fees at the writing mills (which of course include overhead).
            
            Many writers out there at those mills also have HP accounts- it just makes sense.
            
            In that it's a great idea to make your hub writing very good (besides earning from them they are also your resume for IMMers looking for freelance writers)...
            
            they pay very well often too (because they pay what they'd pay on a writing mill service but likely a few dollars less which is good for them as a few dollars times hundreds of articles = saving$.
            
            But your writing has to reflect what they want- and ironically- what they want is what we're trying to do here- write articles that generate income from ads etc...
            
            I started IM on hubpages and most of my leads came from people contacting me- don't underestimate this place's power to bring you much more work- usually paid right after you complete the project vs. waiting a month to get paid on a writing mill (or two weeks depending on which one).
            
            I've also found a great deal of "guru's" that I've written for that were willing to teach me their tricks and IM strategies, many like to take a newbie under their wing if they are willing to put in the work- not waste their time. I've even traded my writing for education (as we do here at first) with these guys. More than not the very writing you do for them with their "changes" you know, what they want you do apply to the article i.e. kw density etc... gives you clues into their strategy- I've asked them why they do that and more than not they explain it to me.
            
            It's a great way to get going if your new to IM, hubpages itself is a great training ground too- write your hubs as if they were your resume- that's what I got from Dungeonraider's post- and that's what I know from experience. You can also seek out IMMers looking for writers and use HP as your resume when they ask you to show them how you write, your experience etc...

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   dungeonraiderposted 13 years ago

   *same means same style of article, that's the second time I've done that.  Don't want anyone thinking the same article is published twice lol.

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   barryrutherfordposted 13 years ago

   Just a note one of my higher performing hub comes from a question posed by another hubber.  Who would have though that?

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      Jerrico Usherposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yea I'm starting to see that these questions can generate amazing hubs... also answering them gets you into a warm up routine that often will surprise you with a hub. I go to answer a question I see while checking out my income page (posted at the top usually is a random question from the pool)... I go to leave a two line response and find myself indulging in a 400 word reply! So the "make into a hub instead" button is a godsend as it moves the text right into a text capsule in a hub based on the title of the question-
      
      I've been experimenting lately with those questions with a bunch of answers i.e. answer conversations so to speak- like comment conversations are a barometer of the popularity of the question- and likely a hub based on a popular question (with lots of answers on topic) is a great way to figure out what to write for your next hub- I've found successful hubs this way too- its great!

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