Better Ranking Here or On Own Website Question

1. 61

   Beth LKposted 12 years ago

   I am conflicted about where I can get my best ranking (hence income) from. Here at the HUB or by posting on my own website.
   I am pretty knowledgeable in SEO and such. However HUB is well known and recognized.
   
   How have you that are website owners come to make this decision?
   Thanks, Beth

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   1. 87

      Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      HubPages used to rank much better than your own website or blog, but that was before the site was split into sub-domains.  In those days, each of our Hubs was just part of one huge site which had a great reputation in Google's eyes - so our Hubs ranked highly very quickly.
      
      Unfortunately, HP lost that reputation following the Panda update early last year.  After trying several measures to restore its position, HubPages decided the best method was to create a separate sub-domain for each user.
      
      Sub-domains which are owned by multiple users (like HubPages, Blogger and Wordpress.com) are treated by Google as standalone websites.  That has the benefit that your sub-domain is not polluted by low-quality sub-domains - however it also means you're no longer getting the benefit of being part of a larger, aged domain. 
      
      So in theory, there should be no difference in your ability to rank here or on your own website.  However, you do still get a lot of internal links from the way HubPages is set up.  For instance, your Hub will appear as a "related Hub" on Hubs written by other people, and on site-wide searches. 
      
      Plus you have an audience within HubPages, which won't give you a lot of views but can give you motivation while you're waiting for your Hubs to get external traffic.

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      1. 87

         WryLiltposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Plus you get plenty of internal links from newbies using the "link suggestion tool"!

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         1. 87

            Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            I should say that some people think the huge amount of internal linking within HP does more harm than good. 
            
            It's hard for me to judge whether a new account on HP or a new website would rank better, because I've never tried starting a new account here at the same time as a new website.

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            1. 87

               WryLiltposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Actually, good point. All my accounts were created pre-panda.

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2. 0

   Website Examinerposted 12 years ago

   The financially most successful Hubbers tend to have their own websites and blogs as well. HubPages can give a head start. Once the site becomes well visited, they tend to place much content there so as to keep all of the revenue for themselves. Still, they may retain a portfolio of profitable hubs.

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3. 87

   WryLiltposted 12 years ago

   Hubpages ranks better but you also lose 40% of your earnings.
   
   For that reason, I have quite a few of my own sites, but I use revenue sharing sites (Hubpages, Wizzley, Infobarrel, Bukisa) for three reasons:
   
   1. Research - Sometimes I think a subject may do well, but I don't want to create an entire website and pay money for a domain. So I write an article - if the article does well then I'll go ahead and make a website.
   
   2. Backlinks - I write articles that I can use as backlinks (either for SEO or direct traffic) for my own sites.
   
   3. Backup money - I earn money off my own sites but I don't like to keep my eggs in one basket. So I write on half a dozen different revenue sharing sites, plus have my own sites. I'm also hoping to get into eBooks soon. And I'm starting my own online business in July.

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4. 0

   Website Examinerposted 12 years ago

   However, I would think that it is optimal not to delay setting up the website and/or blogs, since aging of the contents and domain is a factor in any event. Then you can see what does best, and adjust accordingly.

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