Risk of articles becoming un-featured?

1. 0

   Whitney Rose Woodposted 9 years ago

   I came across a forum online where people were trash talking hubpages. They were saying that they had been faithful, top writers on hubpages for years and that all of a sudden, their content was taken down with no reasonable explanation. They were saying things like "do not trust hubpages". Should there be reason to worry about articles suddenly not being good enough? If so what can I do to prevent this from happening? I enjoy writing on here and would hate to think that there could be no longevity potential.

   replyreport
   1. 83

      Marcy Goodfleischposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Hi, Whitney -
      
      First, welcome to HubPages!  This is a friendly group, and the site is managed by a great team of people.
      
      Hubs are never unpublished for no reason - the site has standards regarding quality, and also other terms of service (spammy hubs are not permitted), but otherwise, anything that falls within their guidelines can be published.  If you haven't yet read the Help section (see the button at the top righthand side of the screen), you can find a wealth of good information that will answer your concerns.
      
      For tips on quality, read the Hub of the Day (which is always selected based on quality). A good quality hub will be well-written and be visually appealing. It should have good information that is well-researched or based on solid knowledge, and should be long enough to be robust in information (short hubs are discouraged and can be unpublished).
      
      As the writer, you retain ownership of what you publish. Any hubs that are 'taken down' are still the property of the people who wrote them, and if this site isn't a good fit for their style or content, they can still publish the content elsewhere.
      
      Hubs are never removed for 'no good reason.'  While it's true that a hub can be unpublished even after it has been on the site for a while, there are always reasons.  In your 'accounts' page, your hubs titles will appear with various stats, and if it has been unfeatured for some reason (still published, but not indexed in Google), that page will give you the reason.  Low traffic can be one reason, or poor quality.  Usually, some editing and content additions or revisions can correct those problems very quickly.
      
      Unpublished and unfeatured are two different things - unpublished means the hub is still in your files, but it is not published for viewing by anyone.  Unfeatured refers to when Google can't see it.
      
      The site has the right to set standards that will make it a viable and successful place to publish, and in return, they maintain and take care of the platform, keep us advised of Google's whims, offer good training tips and help us get revenue based on the success of our own work.
      
      Hope that helps answer those questions?  I think you'll find this a great place to be - good writers are always welcome, and the community of Hubbers is supportive. I hope you'll give us a try!  Sure, it takes a while to get traction and build visibility with Google, but it can be worth it.

      replyreport
      1. 0

         Whitney Rose Woodposted 9 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you so much. Just based on the support and sound advice I have gotten in this forum has dissolved my doubts. I am definitely excited to be a part of the Hubpages community.

         replyreport
   2. 86

      TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

      What you are reading are comments from people who are "sour grapes" and/or who were unwilling to make the many changes that HP required due to changes in the way Google ranks articles.  I have been here more than 3 years and have never had articles taken down, but I do work hard to maintain them and keep up and will take my own articles down if I feel this is needed.  HP is a good place with a good staff and some great writers.  I've learned a lot here and enjoy it very much.

      replyreport
   3. 71

      galleryofgraceposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      It's really pretty simple. Just don't write hubs that give free advertising for products everyone owns. In other words avoid spammy sales hubs that are only to entice people to buy merchandise.

      replyreport
   4. 77

      colorfuloneposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I agree with TT2 about the "sour grapes".  It takes work to keep up with the changes on sites like HP, for little compensation. Some would rather move their perfected content elsewhere, and that's fine.
      
      HubPages doesn't take down hubs for no reason.
      Welcome,  Whitney!

      replyreport
   5. 77

      CatherineGiordanoposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I think HP has tightened their "rules" and that has resulted in sub hubs being unfeatured. I've noticed that I have had issues getting with a few of my new hubs.  As soon as a human looked at them everything was fine, but I was getting notices about not being published and not being features and that had never happened before. The hubs were excellent and now have high hub scores, but something triggered a bot to reject them. If you have "played by the rules," ask the team for a review.

      replyreport
2. 40

   ChristinSposted 9 years ago

   I can only speak from my own 3 years of experience so far and say that I have never had that happen.  I've had a couple of hubs go unfeatured for lack of engagement and I spiffed them up a bit and tweaked them and they never were unfeatured again.  I had some that were just crap back from when I first started and I got rid of them.
   
   I think a lot of people did not adapt well to the numerous changes around here and became frustrated with the constant game changes.  This I can understand, but it's the internet and the rules change. 
   
   I personally like HP very much.  Are there some things I don't think are ideal? sure, but you know what, such is life.  A lot of people love to complain rather than be proactive.  I take what doesn't work here and put it on my own blogs/websites.  There's no way HP or any other site for that matter could ever please everyone.
   
   HP has given me a lot in my time here.  I often use hubs for writing samples when seeking new clients for example and the great layouts here have worked amazingly well for that.  HP has also provided a community of mostly awesome people to engage with.  I've learned a lot here and my hubs earn decent residual income so I'm happy.

   replyreport
3. 91

   aesta1posted 9 years ago

   My experience here in HP has been the same. I moved here from Squidoo and I find so many writers here who are very passionate about their writing and I do understand why. They not only love to write but are very good writers as well. HP is trying to make its standards higher and this is what we want, too, if we're serious about our writing.
   
   No hub of mine has ever been unfeatured or unpublished. Each time I get a warning, I immediately do something about it. Since I came here, I have published 3 hubs and each time, they were up there in a few hours. Sometimes, I get discouraged because I work hard on my hubs and there's not much compensation for the effort but that's competition. HP is a business and so is Google.
   
   As ChristinS said, be proactive. Whitney Rose, I am happy you brought this up here.

   replyreport
4. 0

   Whitney Rose Woodposted 9 years ago

   Thanks everyone. I am so glad to hear that hubpages is a safe place for writers. I should have known not to beleive the negative comments. I do understand that quality articles and hard work are key here. I intend to keep writing and constantly improve my hubs.

   replyreport
5. 57

   religions7posted 9 years ago

   Do read the articles hubpages has written about the kind of content they want. Try out the hubhopper to see the criteria that are used in judging hubs. Sales hubs can work very well, IF you set them up well and make sure you do more than just list products. Personal hubs are very likely to be unfeatured. However, if you write quality content that is unique and relevant to readers and only features products that are relevant to the topic of your hub - most of them will likely be fine.

   replyreport
   1. 0

      Whitney Rose Woodposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      The hub hopper sounds like a good idea.  I will have to check that out. Thanks!

      replyreport
6. 90

   Millionaire Tipsposted 9 years ago

   All of the changes I have seen made by HubPages makes decisions were ones they thought were best for the writers and for the overall site.
   
   The separate forum you are referring to is helping them have camaraderie and commiseration, but it is really hurting them.  When they have a hub that becomes unfeatured or unpublished, they can run to the forum and get told that they are quality writers and how awful HubPages is.  It will make them feel better, but the hub will continue to be unfeatured or unpublished, and they will continue to write new hubs the same way, if they write any more, and the cycle will continue. They may even write hubs of lower quality, because they may not feel it worth the effort to spend a lot of time since the hub may get unfeatured or unpublished anyway.
   
   If, instead, they came to a HubPages forum, they would get advice on how to conform to HubPages' current rules and guidelines. They can improve their hubs and do better on the site.  They can make a different group of friends, ones who know how to work within the rules. They can read hubs by these fellow writers that follow the rules, and learn how to write hubs that won't get in trouble.  And, as they see their hubs becoming immediately published, and start to make money, they will be more motivated to spend the time to write quality hubs.  Personally, I think the hubs that follow the rules are better hubs.

   replyreport
   1. 0

      Whitney Rose Woodposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      You are right. Everyone needs to vent. I feel I am getting better feedback from here then they would in that other forum.

      replyreport
7. 83

   psycheskinnerposted 9 years ago

   I can understand people who felt, justifiably at the time, that they could make good passive income here or on any content site.  This is a new era for writing content where the income is harder to earn and requires constant effort to adjust to ever-changing requirements driven by the major search engines.  Not everyone is going to want to do that.

   replyreport
8. 78

   Uzochukwu Mikeposted 9 years ago

   Whitney Rose, I have been here for a year and six months without having such challenge.
   
   Your article may be unfeatured if you do not edit them for a period of 2 years and when you hyperlinked inappropriately or go contrary to Hubpages rule.
   
   Above all, people leave Hubpages when they find it difficult to abide with the rules. It is a great community. I am proud to find myself in the midst of great writers and I know you will make the list.

   replyreport
   1. 0

      Whitney Rose Woodposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, I will keep in mind to go back and re-edit my hubs eventually.

      replyreport
      1. 86

         TIMETRAVELER2posted 9 years agoin reply to this

         I also think it would be a good idea for you to take a look at some of the hubs written by those who commented here.   The Hub Hopper is not always the best place to find quality hubs as the QAP is a fairly recent addition and there are older hubs that passed through that really should be removed.

         replyreport
         1. 0

            Whitney Rose Woodposted 9 years agoin reply to this

            Thank you, will do. I look forward to seeing everyones writing styles!

            replyreport
            1. 78

               Uzochukwu Mikeposted 9 years agoin reply to this

               All the best Whiteney Rose in your journey.

               replyreport
9. 62

   sunilkunnoth2012posted 9 years ago

   Keep on writing. It is a wonderful community. When you are not in a mood to write, keep on editing your existing works to make it appear more attractive and rich-content.

   replyreport
   1. 0

      Whitney Rose Woodposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      That is good advice. Thank you! That will come in handy on those dreaded "writers block" days.

      replyreport
10. 61

    tlcsposted 9 years ago

    Whitney, take no notice, there are a few people on hubpages that are not happy unless they are whining! If your happy writing for hubpages then don't let anyone sway you with these remarks. I tend to not even respond or get involved with gripes.

    replyreport