Stop Complaining - Get in There and Get it Done!

1. 88

   WryLiltposted 13 years ago

   I just finished editing the 212 hubs on this account, with another 100 or so on other accounts to be done tomorrow.
   
   I have:
   
   -Removed all RSS feeds (bar hubmob).
   -Removed all news capsules.
   -Removed all Amazon capsules excluding sales hubs and some rare exceptions.
   -Have nothing that should trigger anything to be unpublished as of the 25th when the new rules come into effect.
   
   I've heard a lot of people complaining about the changes, but look at it this way - if you get in there and get it done, the whole site will recover faster and you'll get more traffic and, hopefully, more earnings.
   
   And, even if not all these changes are necessarily what Google wants, I think I'll be glad to have a lot of the crap out of my hubs!
   
   SO GET IN THERE AND GET IT DONE!

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      recommend1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      On one level I am sure you are right - but then on the other we have somebody here complaining that they re-wrote all the required words for their amazon capsules - then got a warning that they needed to reduce their capsules - including all the changes they have just finished making !
      
      Personally, I am going to undertake the mammoth task of sorting out ALL my 20 or so hubs when I am sure they have stopped sending out required change notices.

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      1. 88

         WryLiltposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         You don't have to reduce your capsules, just increase your text...

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            recommend1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I am only repeating what someone else was complaining about - that he made all his changes and then . . . . he was told he had too many amazon capsules .  If this is not right I will try to find the thread . . . .

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            1. 88

               WryLiltposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I just read through the thread. Personally, I just added more text to most of mine and deleted a few amazon capsules in others.

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                  Rosie2010posted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  That's exactly what I'm doing.  I'm glad I seem to be doing it right.

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   2. 93

      wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with you, Wry, and did mine yesterday.
      
      The only difference is in my RSS feeds; I'm not sure what you mean by leaving those to the hubmob.  I've left one on each hub to my other hubs that are of a similar topic and might interest readers.  All the news is gone and the only amazon capsules left are on sales hubs and a rare product that is very pertinent to an info hub. 
      
      Yes, it takes some time and effort, but if it will help HP recover I'm all for it.  Besides, it sent my traffic soaring yesterday!

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      1. 76

         shoganposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         It did, wilderness?  Seriously?! 

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         1. 93

            wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Don't misread here - when I'm only getting 200 views a day and suddenly add 130 of my own that's a 50% increase just from my own views!  Google didn't change.

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            1. 76

               shoganposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Oh, dang.  I was so hopeful there for a moment.  Yeah, my editing drastically increased my views, too.  I have so many red triangles, if just for a sort while!

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               1. 93

                  wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Unfortunately, that's it.  I didn't realize what that post would sound like until your reply - but at this point there's nothing to crow about except that many of the hubs to actually look better and cleaner.
                  
                  It was fun seeing the old traffic numbers and all the red arrows, but I suppose around noon today (that's when I finished yesterday) they will all begin falling again.  We'll see!

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   3. 74

      Eaglekiwiposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yes boss.
      
      I bet you were the one in my class reminding the teacher she forgot to give us homework too ,werent ya
      
      Just teasin, you are right ,absolutely right.

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      1. 63

         Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         LOL that was my first reaction, too But I bit my tongue

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   4. 60

      readytoescapeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I’m not touching a thing, if they trigger to “Bad Boy Button” I’m just gonna pull’em and post elsewhere. This site and the revenue it drives is not worth the effort to spend hours upon hours reworking articles to comply with the revisions.

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      1. 86

         IzzyMposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Tsk! Bad attitude!
         
         I changed all mine to conform with the new rules - 1 capsule per 50 words but I left all my feeds and news capsule in place because they were relevant.
         I'm not removing them on the off chance that they will help because there is no definite indication that they will, at least at the moment.

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   5. 0

      ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I started changing yesterday but lost heart. Because, simply, I don't think that I have been given enough information. For example, I certainly have these questions:
      
      a) why is a news feed considered detrimental if a latest hubs RSS is not, they are essentially both duplicate content.
      
      b) are my Amazon hubs really ever going to recover? it doesn't sound like it. Therefore, should I just be removing Amazon completely?
      
      c) There was mention that a links capsule could be considered detrimental, but it wasn't made clear as to whether it was both internal links and external links or just the latter.
      
      Why would I go through 716 hubpages removing news capsules and fixing Amazon capsules, only to have to go back through them again to make additional changes. I suspect that this isn't conclusive yet, there is no way in hell I am going to change 716 hubpages (I found myself deleting some) only to be told "oh, actually, you need to do this too".
      
      There has not been a clear instruction from Hubpages as to what they WANT us to do? What do they want us to do? So far we know that they want us to reduce the number of Amazon capsules. Great, we got a brief insight into the type of hubs which are standing up. But that doesn't help around 75% of my portfolio unless they are willing to lay down some clear and strict instructions.
      
      For all I know removing RSS feeds completely could be of detriment to my hubs rather than of benefit. So, I am just working on my own sites. Nothing is clear and concise enough for me yet, it all seems like speculation. Until I get an email from Hubpages with the list of hubs which they say I need to change I am not doing anything. Apart from maybe move some more of my hubs, the ones that get 10 page views per month, I want to give a lot of my content a chance elsewhere.

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      1. 79

         Sufidreamerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Good post
         
         I cut down on the number of Amazon products, as suggested. I don't intend to change anything else until the picture becomes much clearer and we have better quality data, over a longer timescale - I suspect that Google is still tweaking things.

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2. 76

   shoganposted 13 years ago

   On a much smaller scale than yours, I too have cut down on Amazon, taking it out completely in places.  I haven't yet touched RSS feeds, though.  Are we sold that doing these things will really help?  It's hard to take out links to my other articles, for some reason.

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   1. 88

      WryLiltposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I've left in text links, and hopefully I'll add more of them this week, with trackers.
      
      There is no word on RSS feeds but I was never a huge fan and I think if news feeds are said to be considered duplicate or bad, then so will RSS feeds at some stage.

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      1. 76

         shoganposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Yeah, I hear you.  I haven't been using news feeds at all, but I have been including RSS feeds in every hub.  I seem to remember Paul saying that Amazon capsules and news feeds were the worst offenders, so I've been reluctant to eliminate the RSS ones.  Grr...I don't know what to do.

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3. 60

   kephriraposted 13 years ago

   I've edited about a third of my hubs. I'd like to test the effect a bit so I'm waiting to see if anything happens before I do the rest. I really hope it helps.

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4. 0

   Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years ago

   WryLilt Not complaining at all. But some of us had quite a few more than your 212. Imagine if you'd been here for two years how that 212 would have multiplied!
   
   And some of us aren't quite as young and our wrists and fingers are wimping out on us.  Quite frankly there aren't enough hours in my day for them all. So some have been unpublished, others deleted, others fixed and up and running. I didn't want to leave unfixed hubs laying around because of the impact it might have on the entire hubbing community.
   
   But I agree the best spirit is just to take the medicine and get it over with.

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      WryLiltposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Actually it's more for the people who are complaining about the 30 hubs they have to change... all the oldies seem to be getting in there and doing it!

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      1. 61

         Randy Godwinposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         No, not all of us, your Eliteness!  I haven't found any hubs with warnings on them yet and I'm not gonna go crazy with rumors of what causes what until more is known about the changes.
         
         When I get the notification email I will do so then.  Kumbaya and all that junk notwithstanding. 

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      2. 59

         Ellarose92posted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I'm not complaining either, i think they might be complaining because their new and and confused like to me i'm somewhat confused because i'm just learning about this site and getting things done now i have to change what i just learned. Also it doesnt really matter if they complain or not, i would love to write more hubs and i have hubs lined up to post but due to my demanding college life, job and family, and health issues  i cant  post and edit all my hubs that are all posted and soon to be posted. I think the true problem is that no one knows what fact and whats fake. So people might have warnings but still dont know if their in the right or wrong direction. If they are mad and dont want to do it then so be it! I Took the the time today to fix all my hubs to what i think i was suppose to do!!

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5. 76

   shoganposted 13 years ago

   Another question I have (that may have been answered somewhere already) is whether cutting back on Amazon capsules could help?  Or is Amazon an all or nothing thing, according to the collected data?

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      kephriraposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Personally I don't think you have to get rid of all affiliate links, but reducing them might help. Look for pages that have a lot of products, or which don't seem to be generating sales, and remove some of the links on them.

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      1. 76

         shoganposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         I've followed Paul's advice by taking Amazon off of some hubs that don't need them at all.  Then I've cut down on some that are trying to sell or refer to materials on Amazon for projects.  I'm hoping that cutting down on the number of Amazon capsules has a lesser but still just as existent an effect as removing them entirely.

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6. 60

   TomC35posted 13 years ago

   You are so optimistic almost to the point of childishly foolish.  Sorry to be mean, but you need a dose of reality.  The good results you had in Google are not coming back, and no other "avenues" as people are saying are going to get anyone nearly the same amount of traffic.

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      shoganposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Tom, that may or may not be the case, but trying to improve the situation isn't childishly foolish.  It's productive.

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   2. 93

      wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Good point, Tom - we may never get traffic back, or we may do it only by making necessary changes to fit into google's new algorithm.
      
      Now if you would kindly check out that same crystal ball that tells you these changes won't work and find out just what will work we can all quit wasting time.
      
      Personally, I think it is a step in the right direction - google has repeatedly said they were going to attack duplicate material and each of these has just that; copied material from somewhere else.  I believe we all need to work hard on eliminating all duplicate that we can while maintaining our information.

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         TomC35posted 13 years agoin reply to this

         It is not a crystal ball I am looking into, but the actual reports by Google of their new changes and why they made them.  They are punishing most content farms because there is no standards on them, and Hubpages is a content farm.

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            wildernessposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Ah.  And therefore if HP sets and enforces standards it won't help, even though google only punished "most" content farms. 
            
            Again, it would seem that HP is taking the right steps to gain that google love - setting standards that google likes and enforcing them.  So far the changes being made seem aimed at duplicate content - the very thing that google aimed at.  Why, then, would those changes be valueless?
            
            I repeat - one of the problems that seem evident on HP is that hubbers put up a blog or other content somewhere else and then copy and paste it into a hub (or vice versa) and google doesn't like that.  Removing such content seems a step in the right direction.  While it may well hurt individual hubbers that engage in this practice it certainly won't hurt HP as a whole.

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               TomC35posted 13 years agoin reply to this

               They are not just punishing duplicate content.  They are punishing the fact that Hubpages is a content farm, and thus now it will be harder for even good content to rank as high on Google, just for the fact that it is under the "Hubpages" name.  Now if someone were to post the content on their own webpage Google would probably look at it in a more positive light.  Even if the writing is just as bad, Google is now assuming things that go on Hubpages, Ezine, etc are junk basically.

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7. 66

   theherbivorehippiposted 13 years ago

   Well it's kind of hard to get in there and get things handled when Hubpage ads are infecting computers with viruses.  I would love to fix my hubs today since it's Sunday and I have time but not when my computer has to keep blocking threats and I've scanned my computer and cleared three viruses.  Have you read the other posts in the forums?  It's not exactly safe to edit right now.

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8. 90

   melporposted 13 years ago

   Wrylilt, I revised all my hubs last night and reduced the number of all my amazon capsules down to 2 to 4 very relevant products in each hub. Today I will remove my news capsules from some of my hubs that do not need them.

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9. 85

   rebekahELLEposted 13 years ago

   hmm, yes, mom!
   
   I don't see too much complaining, more concern, and being able to share it with others, and being supportive. I'm pretty sure most of us are doing what we feel we need to do, things continue to change.

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10. 75

    barryrutherfordposted 13 years ago

    Count me as an 'oldie' on this occasion 

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11. 84

    camloposted 13 years ago

    I've changed everything that needs changing on both my accounts. I've left the RSS Feeds to my own Hubs, because I haven't heard anything official about them doing harm. Does anyone know for certain about this?

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12. 80

    sabrebIadeposted 13 years ago

    Look at Squidoo.
    They got slapped like HP just did a few years ago and they have recovered.
    In the Farm/Panda whatever you want to call it now, Squidoo only dropped 15% from what I saw originally.
    (Of course that may have changed since the first wave) 
    So what ever changes Squidoo did made a difference.
    Just like the changes HP is doing will make a difference in the future.

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13. 70

    Cagsilposted 13 years ago

    I've made the changes HP as asked for or put rules in place for. Any further changes will comes further evidence that HP provides with regards to changes.
    
    Jumping the gun only has ever done more damage than anything else. It isn't worth stripping every hub, making changes.
    
    The purpose of the News Feeds and RSS Feeds were for freshness of content. To think that Google doesn't like Fresh content? Seems foolish in and of itself.
    
    I realize hubs can be freshened by having comments added, but there are plenty of hubs that certainly do not receive comments daily, so freshness is a constant.
    
    I'm not removing News Feeds or RSS Feeds, because some might consider it "duplicate" content. Which is actually BS considering "duplicate" content in a feed is just a small portion of the hub overall.

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    1. 67

       Michael Willisposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I agree with you Ray on the News feed and RSS capsules. If they are relevant to my hub, I leave the capsule. What I have done is cut down the number of items in those feeds.
       
       In the Links capsules, I have gone back in most and left the link, but deleted the description and left only the title of the links.
       
       Cleaning up the Amazon capsules has made a fresher look. And since Arkansas just passed that stupid Legislative Bill in the Senate, once the Governor signs off on it, we will lose Amazon anyways and I will delete them all.

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          Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          You might want to try these guys as an interim solution. I would be extremely upset if one of my affiliates vanished overnight.
          
          http://bootedbyamazon.com/

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             Michael Willisposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             Thanks Mark.  I have bookmarked the page.  What is so dumb about this...Arkansas is Not in a deficit with its budget. Arkansas has a huge surplus and keeps adding more taxes.

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          2. 68

             J Sunhawkposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             That's an interesting link, Mark. I expected to start seeing LLCs set up or incorporation in Delaware to get around the tax penalty on Amazon in Illinois and other short-sighted states.

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14. 83

    jimmythejockposted 13 years ago

    Why are you removing your news capsules and rss feeds? there is no need to unless you have put them in your hubs before any other text or pictures.
    
    "•Hubs can no longer use an Amazon, eBay, Link, News, or RSS capsule as the first full width capsule in a hub"
    
    no need to remove them.....jimmy

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    1. 63

       Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       That's called panic, Jimmy How are you?

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          jimmythejockposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          I am good Misha thanks. you?

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             Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             Thanks Jimmy, I am fine, too

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                megs78posted 13 years agoin reply to this

                hey misha,
                
                right now my town is in the running to be named Hockeyville, a contest run by Kraft Canada and CBC and we need all the votes we can get.  We can win 100,000 dollars for arena upgrades (badly needed) and get to host a NHL game right here in our little town of Saint Raymond, Quebec.  There are only a few hours left so please go to www.krafthockeyville.ca and vote for Arena Saint Raymond!  It would mean so much to me and to our little town.  If you tell your contacts to vote or just repost this message for me, I would be so grateful!
                
                Thanks for any and all help
                
                megs

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    2. 84

       camloposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       It was reported by Paul Edmondson that tests showed Hubs without news feeds and Amazon capsules were doing better than those with.

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    3. 0

       ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       "Yes. We ran several tests and Hubs that used Amazon were the most likely to see a decrease in traffic, followed by the news capsule. We can only guess at the reasons, but it's possible that it looks like copied content, possibly resembles a scraped site, and could have an ad to content ratio that is to heavily weighted toward ads that the new algorithm doesn't like as much.  Again, just possible theories.  However, we are pretty sure that if the content engages the reader, the search engines will come around."
       
       "I'd only recommend adding an amazon product when it's critical to the content of a Hub.  For example, if you're reviewing a product or book it makes sense to add the product.  Another way it makes sense to add a product is when you are describing how to do a project and you list the items needed to complete the project. If it's not a perfect fit, I'd suggest leaving them out.  We have several authors that haven't seen their traffic drop, they rarely use amazon, links capsules and news capsules."
       
       Both Paul Edmondson

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       1. 84

          Edweirdoposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Notice the highlighted words.
          
          In this post Paul specifically states that he is speculating! I see far too many people taking drastic actions in changing their hubs (not you in particular, Ryan!) that may be either detrimental or ineffective in the long run.
          
          
          
          In my mind, "several authors" is not much of a test case. There are degrees of severity in play here - are the hubbers who have been "hurt" by Amazon/RSS/News capsules publishing hubs that have 100 Amazon products and RSS feeds to outside sites? Are they plopping News capsules into hubs using keywords that are unrelated to the content? Who knows!
          
          As Ryan mentioned in an earlier post in this thread, we do not have enough information to take thoughtful and effective actions! The only concrete tips from HP are the ones that now appear on the "my account" page: No copied content, 50-to-1 ratio of words to Amazon products, and restrictions on the first full-width capsule.
          
          Everything else is speculation. Please keep that in mind before you make widespread changes, only to hear next week that you didn't need to (or should not have done so).
          
          And P.S. - Ryan, I'm not implying that you are acting rashly, I'm just using your response to Jimmy's post to make a point about the behavior I'm seeing all over the forums by others

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15. 63

    prettydarkhorseposted 13 years ago

    I figured that if it is a correlation tests they conducted using internal data and not a regression tests for factors affecting decline in traffic (deterministic regression), just correlational - say when there is an RSS feed, there is a decline in traffic, it is enough reason for me to comply specially if they tested it with all the hubs.

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16. 70

    Mike's Cornerposted 13 years ago

    Can someone point me to the new HP rules for posting? -- This is the first I've heard of them. Also, as someone pointed out in this thread, only a small percentage of HPagers view these forums, so if there are new rules why doesn't HP send out an email about them to all Hpagers?
    
    I don't understand why Google would penalize for newsfeeds and RSS feeds? Newsfeeds provide links to directly relevant information to the user and RSS feeds provide links to additional writing by a specific writer for those users who want to read more from a particular hubber. Also, neither of these -- the newsfeed nor the RSS feed -- provide the hubber with any income; they are simply there for the benefit of the user . . . additional, highly relevant content.
    
    Personally, I don't use the newsfeeds, but I see them as a clear benefit to the user. I do use the RSS feeds, and feel that removing them will lessen the value of my hubs to readers. If Google really wants good content and to provide their users with links to the best and most relevant information for their searches, it defies logic that they would instruct a site such as HubPages to better its chances at higher search engine rankings by removing highly relevant content from its pages.

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17. 63

    prettydarkhorseposted 13 years ago

    I think the word use is syndicated content - RSS news feeds - as use by Mr Edmondson,

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18. 82

    Mark Ewbieposted 13 years ago

    I really am sorry about all this - it seems that it is largely down to the crap I have posted since joining that has caused the google slap.
    
    So I have taken this on board and revisited it all today to make it even crappier. 
    
    No... I jest.. do NOT go visiting and flagging.. please.
    
    Anyway I have been busy on my 88 hubs.  A worthwhile exercise, which I should have done anyway - to make the product ones less spammy, and make the non product ones (I can't strictly call them informative) less spammy also.
    
    Less ads, remove unnecessary ads and replace with pictures, no news feed, and remove RSS to my latest hubs which I don't believe more than a couple of people ever bother with.
    
    For me after 4 months I am finally beginning to understand a few things I look for in a page.
    
    A title that matches my search.
    A layout that is visually pleasing.
    Not too much text.
    Not too many photos.
    Not a whole load of blatant advertising which makes me feel like a mug for visiting.
    
    Now I need to apply that to all my hubs and this is a much needed wake up call.

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19. 63

    Mishaposted 13 years ago

    I voted, Megs. But frankly, such posts on unrelated threads smell spam

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       megs78posted 13 years agoin reply to this

       i know, but since you know who I am i figured you would help me out.  thanks misha

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20. 88

    Stacie Lposted 13 years ago

    well i've spent the last two days revising and cutting ,snipping, amazon eBay,news and links...
    in turn,Google is now placing inappropriate ads on my hubs...
    in stance, I have 1 popular hub on single sex schools,,Google is placing ads for singles on it..
    I hope this sorts itself out
    

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21. 67

    bgamallposted 13 years ago

    Wrylilt was one of those school bus monitors, you know, the mean 3rd grade girls who abused us first graders.
    
    I have a new nickname for her. Bossie Aussie
    
    I changed the spelling of Bossy to make it work.

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       CASE1WORKERposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       you went to a mixed school\? How quaint!
       
       I think it is about time you started your homework if you have not already done so.

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          bgamallposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Ouch.

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       WryLiltposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Actually I was a bus prefect in year 12...
       
       

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          bgamallposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          I knew it. I knew it.

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