Traffic up; traffic down?? Make up your mind!

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  1. DzyMsLizzy profile image85
    DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years ago

    One of my hubs has fallen into the dreaded half-filled circle, yet it sports a red arrow indicating increased traffic.

    WTH??  Make up your minds, HP!  Is the traffic up or down???

    1. paradigm search profile image53
      paradigm searchposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Our lives have ended as we know it.

      1. DzyMsLizzy profile image85
        DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

        LOL--indeed!  I confuse easily enough as it is...help not needed in that department!  wink

        1. paradigm search profile image53
          paradigm searchposted 8 years agoin reply to this

          Less than a month to go before the summer traffic doldrums end. Be not afraid. big_smile

          1. DzyMsLizzy profile image85
            DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            What's worse, is this is a hub that had earned an HOTD award!!!

            1. paradigm search profile image53
              paradigm searchposted 8 years agoin reply to this

              Our hubs are but candles in the wind...

              1. DzyMsLizzy profile image85
                DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                As are we, and I'm tired; the flame grows weak..

          2. Bredavies profile image62
            Bredaviesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            The summer doldrums indeed.
            All metrics show decrease in the summer. I mean who has time to be on the internet, unless that is your income!!!! :-/

            It is the worst.

            1. DzyMsLizzy profile image85
              DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

              It is bad..it's not my income; it's barely pocket change.  But,  time to be on the Internet is about all I do have...retired, rather housebound because of hubby's disability...no $$ to go do things that are fun and exciting...so here I sit..day in and day out...

              1. Bredavies profile image62
                Bredaviesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                That would be very irritating..especially with the constant up down motion of traffic. The bright side is come November I am sure your hubs will be back on the up and up!

              2. Venkatachari M profile image86
                Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                You have to keep on going, Dzy. Do not lose hope. Hope is all that we have, nothing more. And one has to get going somehow.

              3. Marisa Wright profile image85
                Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                I'm sure there are lots of other things you COULD do if you thought about it.  Writing on the internet can be a real "false friend" - you can do it, and it makes the time go by quickly, but like an addictive drug, it also takes hold of you and becomes a great excuse NOT to do other, more productive things.  Been there!

                You could be making and selling crafts online,  you could be doing mystery shopping (there are companies where you can "mystery shop" online), you could sell your skills on Fiverr.com, you could be growing your own vegetables, keeping hens - there are probably other things I haven't thought of. 

                I know some of those things require getting off your keister and actually doing things which can be slightly annoying - but it's a case of "no pain, no gain":  that little bit of extra effort has the potential of a much greater payback than writing can ever give you.

          3. TIMETRAVELER2 profile image86
            TIMETRAVELER2posted 8 years agoin reply to this

            I AM afraid because summer is my best time.  After that it's tramp, tramp, tramp!

            1. Venkatachari M profile image86
              Venkatachari Mposted 8 years agoin reply to this

              I do not see any reason for seasons affecting traffic. The only thing I know is timing of traffic. I see evening time as good for online activity till bed time and sometimes it may be the early hours of day. Seasonal traffic can be only for seasonal event hubs.

              1. Marisa Wright profile image85
                Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                Not really.   People are more likely to be outdoors enjoying the weather if it's good.

    2. bravewarrior profile image88
      bravewarriorposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      The half circle indicates lack of engagement - not traffic. So if the readers aren't commenting or voting in the polls, clicking on links, etc. they are not "engaged" readers.

    3. peachpurple profile image81
      peachpurpleposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I thought half moon logo hubs are not visible

      1. bravewarrior profile image88
        bravewarriorposted 8 years agoin reply to this

        Correct. They become un-featured when they sit for a while with no activity.

  2. Kylyssa profile image91
    Kylyssaposted 8 years ago

    The traffic is up on your hub but traffic that doesn't come from search engines doesn't count in the HP algorithm. An edit ought to bring it out of unfeatured status.

    1. DzyMsLizzy profile image85
      DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks, Kylyssa--
        I've been editing hubs like a madwoman for the last week.  I'm not sure what I could add to or change in that one that would make any difference....It's a pretty straight-forward 'how-to' hub that was even a HOTD.....  :: shrug ::

      Besides, I've had edits bring hubs back from the 'unfeatured for lack of traffic' hole within an hour or so.  I doubt it gets searched and found that much, that fast.  So there is something internal with HP going on with that determination.

      Edit update to this post:  Pfft! Those stats are fickle.  I "edited" it and got it back.  The only change I made was to add a link to one of my related articles, and it's back featured...within 2 hours!

      1. Marisa Wright profile image85
        Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

        When you edit a Hub, it goes back through QAP.  The QAP team decides whether it's Featured or unFeatured based purely on quality, not traffic.  Nothing to do with stats. Once it's Featured, it gets a small window of time to get some more traffic, and if it doesn't it will go straight back to being unFeatured for lack of traffic.

        1. DzyMsLizzy profile image85
          DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

          If it was already HOTD, then how would that perceived "quality" change, prior to any edit??!!  And how would an edit that only added a link to a related hub of my own, get it over that hurdle? 

          And if the basis is "purely on quality, not traffic,"  then why would the window depend on traffic?   If, as bravewarrior says, 'unfeatured' means 'lack of engagement' (which is not what it says when you hover over that half-filled circle), then that has nothing to do with traffic, either.  It makes no good sense to me.

          1. Marisa Wright profile image85
            Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

            It doesn't matter how high quality a Hub is, if it's not getting traffic it will get unFeatured for lack of engagement.  "Lack of engagement" is simply HubPages' jargon for "insufficient search engine traffic" - it means something else outside HP but don't let that confuse you.

            If you then edit it, even the tiniest amount, that will send it back to the QAP team and, importantly,  remove the penalty for lack of engagement.  They will assess it purely for quality - and obviously, since we know it was a HOTD, it's going to pass. So it will become Featured again. 

            But, of course, if you've made no significant changes then the Hub isn't likely to start attracting more traffic, so it will fail to meet the threshold required and will become unFeatured for lack of engagement again.

            1. DzyMsLizzy profile image85
              DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

              Gah!  Some articles cannot be updated or edited significantly, as there is nothing further to say, and the information does not change.
              This particular article is a 'how to' for shampooing carpets.  There is nothing to change or update, so I find that a rather tough situation...impossible to overcome the penalty.  sad

              1. Marisa Wright profile image85
                Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                I think you're still missing the point. 

                To force the Hub back through QAP and remove the penalty, you need to change only a sentence or two.  HOWEVER -

                If a Hub is unFeatured for lack of engagement, it wasn't getting visitors, which means it wasn't earning any money to speak of, even when it was Featured.  Sure, you can force it back into Featured - but it will still get no visitors and not earn any money, so what's the point? 

                If you can't see a way to improve the Hub so it will get more visitors and therefore earnings, then it makes no sense to invest time and effort into it - even the effort required to change a sentence! Some Hubs will simply never get traffic no matter what you do.

                1. DzyMsLizzy profile image85
                  DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                  Okay--I understand that much.  But, does traffic figure into HOTD status?  Or is that some other obscure (and trade-secret) algorithm?

                  1. Marisa Wright profile image85
                    Marisa Wrightposted 8 years agoin reply to this

                    I may be wrong, but I understood that HOTD was chosen manually by a member of HP staff.

  3. DzyMsLizzy profile image85
    DzyMsLizzyposted 8 years ago

    My dear, patient and helpful friends.  I am so appreciative of all your explanations and assistance, and I hate to belabor a point, but I am still so confused.

    My newly published hub is consistently showing a red 'up' traffic arrow; and has climbed closer to the top of my hubs listing.. (only 5 down from top slot), and yet, the actual hub score has dropped over the last day by 2 points.

    Moving Up?  Lower score??

    I remain, confusedly yours...Dizzy indeed!

    1. Fiction Teller profile image61
      Fiction Tellerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Probably someone who tracks their Hub scores knows better - I only look at mine casually. But in the past, HubPages has said they had a random element factored in to their scoring system to prevent its being gamed. They appear to make constant changes to their scoring system for both Hubbers and Hubs. The effect of improving hubs is not a simple straight linear one. Their algorithm has to be based on statistics, and statistics are wonky, up-and-down things.

      In other words, trying to take meaning from any "micro" point on your statistical graph will likely serve only to drive you bonkers.

 
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