sock it to me

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   Greg Sageposted 12 years ago

   newbie... 7 hubs day 1, although they're all topics I've had a good deal of experience with.
   
   I intend to settle in with some regular music pieces, but tried writing on a number of topics I'm familiar with in order to gauge reactions.
   
   Before I get my music blog going, I figured I'd test a few things, get a feel for how it all works (I'd never even heard of Panda, hubpages, or any of this 2 days ago)
   
   Seems to me I need to get my hubscore up above 75 before I can really start moving some traffic around to topics I can really pour myself into.
   
   I'm in the middle of a long-term project and want to get some blogging and SEO experience before my music website goes live.
   
   Anyway, feedback greatly appreciated.

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2. 40

   Greg Sageposted 12 years ago

   Sorry, thought this xtreme makeover thing went into completely separate subforum... didn't realize they all post up on main page.
   
   Title of my other one no longer pertains to main questions.

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3. 82

   psycheskinnerposted 12 years ago

   Is there a specific hub you want us to look at?

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   1. 40

      Greg Sageposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      ahh... good point.  The how to how to seems like a good choice since it's not about anything specialized.

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         Greg Sageposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         http://hubpages.com/hub/HOW-TO-WRITE-A-HOW-TO

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         1. 82

            psycheskinnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            The text seems fine but the picture are kind of unrelated and I think a smaller Amazon unit would be more likely to lead to a purchase as the eye tend to skim over a really long list.  The topic is not really one that lends itself to selling a product.

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            1. 40

               Greg Sageposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               hmmm... ok, thx.  Most of mine only have 3 items.  I haven't even dialed them in yet as I wasn't really expecting to sell anything over these first few days, so just trying to get structure in place and learn the tools.
               
               I saw someone's that had amazon running vertically along the R like a tall, skinny picture.  Anyone know how to do that?

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   Greg Sageposted 12 years ago

   Or, for something designed to be 100% about the content (and a bit longer since I've been advised), there's this:
   
   http://hubpages.com/hub/WHY-ALL-KARMA-IS-INSTANT

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5. 90

   Urbane Chaosposted 12 years ago

   Not bad..
   
   A few suggestions:
   
   First, research all you can about SEO and Keywords.  Your top three 2-word keywords are "greg sage", "tend to" and "karma is".  If you type those into a search engine, do you think you'll find your article?  After you write your article, use any keyword tool to check to see what keywords show up the most.  I use SEOQuake, but there's 1,000 different keyword tools out there.  Focus your main keywords on what people are searching for in relation to your article.  A good way to do this is, after you've published your article, put the URL into the Google Adwords: Keyword tool.
   
   By using the right keywords in the right places, you will have better luck with the search engines.  Also, it will let Google Adwords know what ads to put on your page so that they relate to the content.
   
   Second, pay attention to layout.  In my opinion, it's never good to have a picture at the extreme top of your hub.  That space is better left to ads.  Basically, you want most of your ads to show up "above the fold", or in the top 1/4 of your page.  You'll get the most clicks that way.  I would move your first picture down a bit.  I would also move your Amazon ads up a little higher and place them to the right of the text.  They tend to show up a little better that way. Finally, and this is just a personal issue, the only time I have pictures stretch across the entire width of the screen is when they're at the end.  Think about your readers.. I've found that if I have a full size picture in the middle of the article, a lot of times people will simply stop there and go somewhere else. 
   
   Don't worry about HP scores and all that - if you're trying to make money from your articles, then they don't mean a thing.  Pay closer attention to your Analytics stats - that's where you're going to get the most useful information.
   
   Hope this helps.. Great job so far!

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6. 40

   Greg Sageposted 12 years ago

   Thx.  Good info.  I've been trying to move the amazon stuff to the right, but I haven't figured out how.
   
   Now, the url is already set once it's published tho, right?  I wasn't aware about the 2 word combos and such.  "instant karma" is undoubtedly a MUCH more common phrase.  Am I screwing myself by having it worded as Karma is Instant?  Does it matter that that's how the url reads, or does it just matter that I fix things in the title and text?
   
   Not quite understanding what the 75 ranking does for you, but it's my basic understanding that it helps you carry traffic to an outside site?
   
   It's my eventual goal to funnel lots of traffic to a website that's not up yet where I'll have blogs, a guestbook, and so on.

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      Urbane Chaosposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      First, check this out: HP Learning Center - that will tell you how to move your capsules around and all.
      
      Second, plug your url into the Keyword tool mentioned above.  That will tell you what keywords you can use that'll perform the best.  "Instant Karma" is saturated, so I wouldn't suggest using that.  Look for keywords with low competition but high searches.  Once you find those, decide which ones will fit your article the best.  Remember, in order to make money from your article, people have to find it first.  Think of what people will type into the search engines in order to find your article.  Those are the keywords that you need to be focused on.  Again, use a keyword checking tool.  Type in "check keywords" in Google, try a few out, and find the one that works best for you.
      
      The url is important as well - as it also contains keywords.  I usually change the url that HP gives me to include my top keywords, as this is one of the first things that the search engines see.  Along those same lines, remember to change your summary text to include your keywords as well.
      
      Generally, the most important areas for SEO are as follows, in order:
      
      1. Url, Main Title, and summary
      2. Headings, first and last paragraph
      3. Picture "alt" tags, links, body text
      
      Your keywords should be placed as far to the left as they can on your headings and summary.  For some reason, it seems that I get better results with Google doing it this way.  Obviously, you don't want to saturate your article with keywords, but you want them to show up just a little bit more than everything else.  This is where the keyword checking tools come in handy.
      
      Do a search through HP hubs for "SEO" - there's a thousand of them out there, and they'll explain things a lot better than I could here.
      
      Good luck!

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7. 40

   Greg Sageposted 12 years ago

   hmmm... ok.
   
   I used the tool a bit yesterday.  Will dig in more today.
   
   Is there a way to control the little blurb everyone sees on google after the url?  Is it always just the start of the first paragraph?
   
   As for the last paragraph, I've been doing just a little goodbye there... guess I should do a keyword-rich summary instead.

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      mskillsposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      If you'd rather choose the summary that is used in the SERPs, do the following:
      
      1] Choose a hub and enter the editing interface
      2] In the right column, look under the "Add More Capsules" and "Tip" sidebars for the box that starts with "reorder"
      3] Click on "summary", which is over 3 links from "reorder"
      4] Create the blurb you want to show up in Google and other search engines
      5] Click on "done editing" at the top of the page
      
      Boom, done.

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         Greg Sageposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Ahh... thx.. That bit makes a huge difference when people see the search result, yet it seems like it's almost always some random stuff or the beginning words.

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   Joy56posted 12 years ago

   so much helpful information, it is staggering.

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   1. 40

      Greg Sageposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah, no kidding.
      
      I forgot all about this thread.
      
      I think I've gotten the hang a bit better.
      
      Designed a series that starts here:
      
      http://hubpages.com/hub/Woohoo-Making-m … h-Hubpages
      
      It's not setup for keywords and all that as I've just been trying to settle in on an effective writing style.  Check it out.  If you don't feel like going on to the next installment in the series, then it probably needs work.  Feedback appreciated.
      
      I have done some of the basics in there... learning to use the pics, amazon, etc.
      
      Man... 8 hours a day of seo research since this thread.
      
      I still haven't chosen my keywords, but I've gotten the hang of it now between keyword tool and seo quake for firefox.
      
      Some really great info on here, guys.
      
      thx.

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