Has anyone recovered from the plunge?

1. 95

   PaulGoodman67posted 12 years ago

   By "the plunge", I mean specifically mean suddenly losing over 80% of traffic during the period from the 10th August* up until the present (technically speaking, it's the google traffic that goes, of course, incoming traffic from links is unaffected).
   
   By "recovered" I mean getting your traffic back for a sustained period after the plunge, rather than just 1-2 days, although it would be intersting to hear about temporary surges, post-plunge.
   
   Thanks, I'd be interested to know, and others would too, I guess?
   
   (I appreciate that many people haven't plunged at this point in time, although it may be coming to your neighbourhood sometime soon...)
   
   *I originally wrongly put the 23rd Aug, but have corrected it to the 10th Aug

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   1. 58

      BaliMermaidposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Every year in the last two weeks of August through Labor Day my traffic has headed south. This year it was worse than ever. As you said especially it took a dive on the 23rd August and again, apparently, on 6 September.
      
      I do have to say that it has started to come back, just slightly. The strange thing is that any hub I worked on to improve, and I do that all the time, has improved to the point that it is as good or better than it was starting on 23 August. More over those hubs have held the gain.
      
      I wish it was obvious why, but it is not. I have pulled the RSS feed modules on several hubs to see if that results in an improvement. It's too early to tell.

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2. 66

   Ms Chievousposted 12 years ago

   nope..although I am still hopeful. Tomorrow will be a month that my views took a nose dive. I am actually hoping for another update to shake things up a bit for me..

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   1. 86

      IzzyMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Me too, but I did have a sudden spike last weekend when my traffic rose by over 300% across the board. Google traffic returned and all my hubs regained their Serps position, some at even higher levels than before. Then it plunged again. I am still hopeful of another recovery, if it can do it twice now, it can do it again

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      1. 73

         Richieb799posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         My 2nd and 3rd best hubs have been hit but my best hub hasn't been scathed since that big increase I was talking about, I've nearly passed thresh-hold for this month. The one of my 2nd and 3rd that have been hit, I had added a summary to and thats the one I'm concerned about, it disappeared from Google first page.

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   2. 95

      PaulGoodman67posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, I hope a new algo update will help.  Though people seem to be getting plunged on a day to day basis.  You must have been one of the early ones to suffer.  My traffic didn't begin to disappear until Saturday 3rd Sept.

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3. 95

   Eleanor's Wordsposted 12 years ago

   I plunged on 10 August and have no signs of a recovery at all. No temporary surges, no nothing. Most of my hubs have lost their positions in the serps, although one single hub has returned to its original place. Another hub returned for a couple of days and then disappeared again. Weird.

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   1. 95

      PaulGoodman67posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, sorry, I got my dates wrong.  Some people plunged as early as the 10th August.
      
      My google.com views did "surge" at one point this week from zero to 4! (joke!)
      
      I am not as optimistic as Izzy about recovery.  A lot of people were saying that the panda upgrade would only be a temporary problem back in Feb/March, but Google were more than happy to see Hubpages in a "death grip" indefinitely, it seems to me looking back.

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4. 82

   Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years ago

   Mine is still plunging.  six views from Google.com in the past 24 hours, which is certainly a 12 month low.

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5. 69

   thisisoliposted 12 years ago

   My traffic recovered from it's last drop, whether it will plunge again or not is another question.

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   1. 95

      PaulGoodman67posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Someone (Wilderness?  Janderson?) had a theory that the people with lots of hubs seem to have a more up/down pattern and the people with less hubs just seem to go down and stay down.   Whether that's true or not, I don't know, but you would fit that pattern.
      
      I noticed on another thread that someone with a non-HubPage website had seen it disappear from the SERPs.  In some ways that is reassuring, as I've had conerns that this latest episode might be some part of an ongoing Google purge of "content farms".

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      1. 61

         Jane@CMposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I plunged to an all time low and am not recovering.  I had a brief recovery period, but nothing substantial.  Depressing!

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      2. 75

         WriteAngledposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I have 23 hubs, and have been going up steadily since the subdomain switch.

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      3. 85

         Marisa Wrightposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         That would be me!   The site is called dressforbellydance.com - if anyone can give me some tips where I've gone wrong,I'd love to know!  I set it up the same as my other sites which are doing OK. 
         
         Anyhow, your original question was, has anyone recovered?  I had a plunge later than most, and my traffic has just shot up again. My Analytics graph really is starting to look like a rollercoaster!

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6. 87

   Len Cannonposted 12 years ago

   I shot up twice, plunged once, shot way back up again, and it looks like I'm dropping again. I don't know if I've recovered so much as never stopped riding a rollercoaster.

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7. 67

   Rosie2010posted 12 years ago

   Party is over for me too.  Yesterday, my views took a nosedive and today, being Friday, my views are at it's all time low since the surge.  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted... but I feel like crying.

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8. 63

   Greek Oneposted 12 years ago

   after two years I was starting to make a enough for a cup a coffee every week...
   
   Now, I'm not making enough to buy even one bean

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9. 90

   wordscribe43posted 12 years ago

   I was in the early August 10th plungers group, my traffic just disappeared overnight.  But, starting August 29th I began my surge with traffic above and beyond anything I've ever seen here on HP.  In fact, much higher than pre-panda or any temporary surges I saw after the domain change.  It's stayed steadily high ever since. 
   
   Now, trust me... I don't for a minute think I'm out of the woods!  But, I've had 12 days of phenomenal traffic.  I'm not holding my breath, but I thought I'd chime in for a note of optimism anyway.
   
   I have been following these threads and seeing the wild rides.  I really hope it all settles down for everyone b/c I know how crummy it feels to plunge overnight. 
   
   Here are my stats...
   
   

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   1. 95

      wildernessposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      That looks just about mine.  Panda clearly visible, followed by a gradual drop, then a rise at subdomain.  I don't have the subsequent drop, but do show the huge increase a couple of weeks ago.
      
      I even show no hubs written for a while after Panda, followed by a few when traffic increased - I wonder how that works?

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   2. 83

      David 470posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      How do you upload photos, and more specifically, your stats page to a forum post?

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      1. 90

         wordscribe43posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Just right click and save your stats image.  Upload onto a photo sharing site, I use photobucket myself.  You'll get the [img] sharing code there.

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         1. 83

            David 470posted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, I have the stat on flickr, but do not understand how to use the code properly. I am a noob at that,
            
            I keep trying to put the url in the code, but the image does not show up.

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            1. 90

               wordscribe43posted 12 years agoin reply to this

               You know you need to put [img]and[/img] around the web address, right?

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               1. 83

                  David 470posted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  yes.
                  
                  I only know how to make this:
                  

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                  1. 85

                     rebekahELLEposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     Go to your stats and right click the image,
                     click View Image
                     Copy the URL
                     Post [img]your URL that you just copied[/img]
                     
                     and it will appear.
                     
                     That works for any image you want to post.

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                     1. 90

                        wordscribe43posted 12 years agoin reply to this

                        Oh yeah... he he he... That would be a lot easier.  I'm just so used to using Photobucket.
                        
                        Anyhoo, I knew once I posted anything about how my traffic has been steady it would awake the ire of the Google Gods.  Sure enough, my traffic is now plunging.  It could be the weekend thing, but I'm doubtful.  Oh well, I knew I wasn't out of the woods.
                        
                        We all just need to know it will be tumultuous for a while.  The surges sure are fun though, but it makes a plummet feel pretty darn bad.

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10. 80

    sabrebIadeposted 12 years ago

    Oddly enough my 90s and high 80s Hubs are getting little or no traffic, while my 70s and low 80s Hubs rule.
    There for about a week I was almost back at pre-Panda levels with my low Hub score Hubs.
    It's leveled off a bit since then though.

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    1. 57

       toygurusposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I haven't recovered and don't think I will.

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    2. 53

       janderson99posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I think Analytics is a better measure. I have seen a steady progressive rise in traffic from August 15 (when I joined Analytics in my yellow SUBmarine = ready for a plunge ) till now  a 250% increase.
       BUT I've published 15 hubs during this period all with social and external site links. I also removed all RSS and text from links. Small drop over the last couple of days but hopefully this is the normal Thurs-Sunday drop cycle. My traffic essentially mirrors HP graph on Quantcast.
       I guess I'm in Phrase 1 Humpty Dumpty mode.
       
       Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
       Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
       All the King's horses, And all the King's men
       Couldn't put Humpty together again!
       
       I believe Paul E and the HP team are more capable than King's horses and men - HP traffic is rising - give it time.
       
       As Abba said waiting for the fall is scary.
       
           Standing up is scary if you think you're gonna fall /
           Like a Humpty-Dumpty 'fraid of falling off your wall /
           I say if you ever wanna know what's going on /
           Gotta keep on rocking baby, 'till the night is gone..."
       
       Here in Oz we have 'Drop Bears' but that's another story.

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       1. 95

          PaulGoodman67posted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Yes, I agree, Analytics is better if you want to analyse your catastrophic traffic drop in detail.
          
          Paul E and the HubPages team have a good track record.  I still have some hope.

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11. 80

    rontlogposted 12 years ago

    After Panda, my traffic dropped. Two weeks ago I changed to the subdomain idea. Traffic surged. Didn't last long though, did it? Three days ago, on the 6th of Sept, traffic plummeted, by about 90%
    I've decided to experiment by using the new summary box idea, adding the keywords that I know people look for. B****y Google.

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    1. 58

       Happy Humanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I dropped on August 10th and never recovered either. I have 168 hubs and have lost 90% of traffic.  Took out all RSS feeds, links, changed many titles, added any missing summaries and reduced spammy tags but unfortunately it did not make a single bit of difference at all.

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    2. 60

       Brie Hoffmanposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Almost exact same thing happened to me as to you Rontlog.

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12. 63

    Greek Oneposted 12 years ago

    Panda has taken my potential earnings, digested them, reformulated them as turds nuggets, and each month flushes them down the 'toilet of poverty'
    
    

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    1. 95

       PaulGoodman67posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       That's brilliant, Greek!

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13. 83

    David 470posted 12 years ago

    I am still above pre=panda traffic levels, but I am nowhere near that massive traffic boost on August 25th (around there) where I hit 5 figure numbers daily (only temporarily).
    
    Basically overnight my traffic increased 600% & in a couple days, at it's peak, it was a 1000% increase.
    
    I'm not sure if my traffic is decreasing because of search trends or Google. I believe my ranks are still the same.

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14. 83

    David 470posted 12 years ago

    .

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15. 86

    Benjimesterposted 12 years ago

    I never got hit by the plunge for some reason.  The only thing I can figure is that I started a pretty comprehensive backlinking strategy the same week the subdomain switch happened, trying to boost my rankings even further.  I've generated almost 1500 links to the various articles since the time of the subdomain switch.  My traffic went up about 5 times pre-panda level and hasn't really wavered since then.  I'm not trying to brag or anything, just offering a possible explanation.  Here's my statistic page:
    
    
    
    
    

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    1. 58

       Mrvoodooposted 12 years agoin reply to this

       Unfortunately, most of those who have already 'plunged' could have posted very similar graphs just yesterday, or the day before, etc.  As could those, who will plunge tomorrow, and the day after that.

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          SimeyCposted 12 years agoin reply to this

          Yep that's my graph you stole - your just missing the huge dip at the end!!!

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16. 80

    earnestshubposted 12 years ago

    The only consistency I see in reading these forums related to panda so far, is that most of us are at different stages of the same cycle.

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17. 60

    Brie Hoffmanposted 12 years ago

    I had a huge surge about a week ago and a huge plunge just 2 days ago.  I wish they would just keep the surge going.

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18. 83

    David 470posted 12 years ago

    
    
    As you can see my loss in traffic after panda, then after subdomains were implemented.
    
    My views have since waned, but this graph does not indicate completely yet.

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19. 82

    Wesman Todd Shawposted 12 years ago

    Basically - just to keep things going I'm going to write on Info Barrel for a while - great place to write when Google is playing with Hubpages' collective emotions. . .

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20. 80

    workingmomwmposted 12 years ago

    Traffic dropped earlier this week and continues to drop. I think this is a new record low for me. Less than 1/4 view per hub. Why do I even bother checking anymore?

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21. 95

    PaulGoodman67posted 12 years ago

    I just checked my stats and my traffic seems to be going up quickly after almost a week of bouncing along the bottom.  How far up it goes and for how long, I will let you know.  I know most people's recoveries have been dramatic but short-lived, but I am glad just to see a red triangle again, to be honest!

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22. 60

    Brie Hoffmanposted 12 years ago

    Boy, I've never seen my stats so low!

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    1. 95

       PaulGoodman67posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       My google.com traffic went down to zero at one point this week.  All the traffic I had was coming in from links (my other websites etc.).

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23. 60

    MyMastiffPuppiesposted 12 years ago

    I had about a week where it looked like it might be going back up but this past week it just kept falling. I am down to numbers I had when I first started on HubPages with only a handful of hubs.

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24. 66

    Ms Chievousposted 12 years ago

    well it has been a month since I plunged and today my stats are lower than they ever have been   I am not sure what to do now...

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    1. 95

       PaulGoodman67posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       There's not much you can do, that's the frustrating thing.  Google seem to have been playing around with the algorithm on a monthly basis, so things will maybe change within a couple of weeks, if not earlier.
       
       I personally would resist the temptation to start seriously altering your hubs, in the hope that it will transform your situation, unless HubPages advises otherwise.

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25. 60

    Brie Hoffmanposted 12 years ago

    Very discouraging...and I sure don't feel like writing while the black hole is here.

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26. 69

    thisisoliposted 12 years ago

    My stats recovered, my earnings however...

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27. 83

    David 470posted 12 years ago

    My traffic is rising again, but I don't really have many red arrows, in fact, I have a lot of blue arrows.
    
    I think my numbers are just going to hover around somewhere, but I am constantly paranoid.

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28. 61

    johnshadeposted 12 years ago

    I still don't understand what's going on with the traffic mine dropped completely a few days ago. some of my hubs have been removed from google search.
    Can someone explain in simple words why this plunge is going on. my traffic increased 3x since the domain switch till a few days ago.

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    1. 95

       PaulGoodman67posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       We don't know.  Google seems to be experimenting.  Either they are trying to suss out the quality of hubs after the subdomain changeover, or they are planning to introduce another change to their search algorithm (the formula they use to rank search engine results) and these are just preliminary tests - those are two popular theories.
       
       I plunged for 6 days on the 3rd Sept but now I've recovered.  Others plunged on 10th August and haven't recovered since then.  There isn't one pattern.

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