An entire week has gone by without a major Google algorithm update!

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   PaulGoodman67posted 2 years ago

   Difficult to believe, I know, after all the shenanigans we've experienced for the past three months with traffic rising or falling 10 or 20% every other day.

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      NateB11posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Maybe things will settle down for awhile. And hopefully in a good way.

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   bravewarriorposted 2 years ago

   My views spiked tremendously on the 16th. My GA report looks like it's giving me the finger on that day!

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   Miebakagh57posted 2 years ago

   But do we ever need Google's Algo update every week?

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   Kenna McHughposted 2 years ago

   I've got a few fingers, myself, brave warrior. For me, nothing is stable about the earnings. I am enjoying the spikes.

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   FatFreddysCatposted 2 years ago

   Shhhh! Everybody be quiet, you'll jinx us!

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   PaulGoodman67posted 2 years ago

   I obviously can't say for other people, but very brief surges in views (1 or 2 days) that come from Google, particularly in the time just before or just after Google updates, can often be their testing, where they give some articles more traffic to get additional statistical info.
   
   While that can sometimes mean that more updates are on the way, often it doesn't. I think they look at the test results and decide if they need to tweak.

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      NateB11posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      This is what I remember too. I mean, unless it's an increase in traffic that lasts awhile, it's not a change in Google rank.

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         PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

         Generally speaking, my traffic is gradually edging up. It's not even though, as I mentioned in a previous thread, some niches are doing well, others not

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            NateB11posted 2 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, my traffic has increased too.

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               PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

               If traffic continues to rise, I will likely start putting more effort back into HP.
               
               I'm not convinced Medium is a great investment of time. It wasn't so bad when I joined and they were giving out big bonuses, but they seem to be tightening the purse strings.

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                  NateB11posted 2 years agoin reply to this

                  Bottom line for me is that HP is reliable. Medium apparently is kind of like a job, and I already have one of those. Unless it's going to rapidly increase my income, I don't have a lot of interest in it. From what I can tell, a lot of writers are there for ego-gratification.
                  
                  When I look at my HP traffic from last year, I'm doing better now. But CPM not as good. I'm tending toward thinking that this is all the usual ups and downs that occur for various reasons.

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   Miebakagh57posted 2 years ago

   Okay, the test is just about the a new Algorithm, that's advantageous to Google searc?

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   PaulGoodman67posted 2 years ago

   Maybe I spoke too soon, according to SERoundtable there were small updates on the 16th and 17th.

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      FatFreddysCatposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      SEE? I TOLD you not to jinx it!!

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         PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

         It happened before you said that. Before I even posted. It just wasn't spotted by SERoundtable.
         
         Not major updates anyway... My traffic's been going up a few percent each week. Wish the earnings would go up more.

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   eugbugposted 2 years ago

   High volatility again today.
   https://www.semrush.com/sensor

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      PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      When I compare traffic with previous years, it's really not that bad.
      
      The problem is terrible CPMs. I believe that's because higher earning keyword stuff like DIY is doing bad and it's the low-paying opinion pieces that are doing better, dragging down CPMs.

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         Shesabutterflyposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         The CPMs we see on our earning page, is that an average across all of our articles? I wonder if that's why I'm seeing a slight uptick in mine. Two of the articles that are seeing a bump in traffic are more opinion pieces I wonder if that's driving things in the right direction for me? My CPMs have been terrible for months, I'll enjoy this slight increase while I can. I don't expect it will last too long.

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            PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

            Yes, my understanding is that the CPM figure is a mean average for the overall account. I've never heard that officially confirmed or denied.
            
            My assumption, based on my experience, is that different keywords/topics have different values. For example, my account with the most views overall is only the third best earner for me, because of the subject matter it's focused on.
            
            I think the HP values of keywords/subject is roughly similar to ad values used by other ad systems, such as Adsense. Or at least follows a similar structure. So an opinion piece can have a higher value, they just tend not to.
            
            All my accounts have very different CPMs. And they behave independently from each other. Some can go up, while others go down. That's not to say there aren't longer term CPM trends, just that they aren't quite the solid measure that some seem to think.

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               eugbugposted 2 years agoin reply to this

               Do any of your account profiles have conversations with each other in the forums?

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                  PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

                  No, I've not gone quite that crazy yet!
                  
                  I've signed in and commented with other accounts accidentally sometimes. So I guess I've kind of done it.
                  
                  Remember than staff member who used to get into arguments with hubbers in the forums? He invented a different profile and account so that he could vent his spleen against the hubbers he didn't like? Eventually got uncovered?

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            NateB11posted 2 years agoin reply to this

            I think you can get a list of topics that make more money. Not here on HP but I've looked it up on Google in the past. I recall health being a topic that makes money. Anything that will make somebody else money will be a topic that will make money; like, maybe, finance. That's why poetry doesn't make money and, generally, opinion pieces don't. Well-known writers with a gimmick that can get lots of readers might make money from writing their opinion, but regular writers are not going to be able to unless they get lucky.
            
            At any rate, yes CPM on the Earnings page is an average CPM for our articles and I've also figured that when I get increases in CPM it's because of specific articles that must have given me the bump up.

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               tsmogposted 2 years agoin reply to this

               I have very few information articles. Only one that is consistent with getting views, so pretty easy to know which is the money maker. My CPM always is between $10 - $20. That article is a how-to for leveling a concrete birdbath. Realizing ads are keyed by individual internet usage and key words over the past I see a good percentage of ads are real estate ads. Just some info to consider.

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                  NateB11posted 2 years agoin reply to this

                  Great insight, makes sense.

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                     PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

                     I talk in general terms, but specific values for keywords and phrases aren't a secret and can be found online. Google no longer has theirs available, but you can get them via sites like SEMRush.
                     
                     It makes a huge difference which keywords you chase. They can vary from 1 cent for a thousand impressions up to $100 or whatever. These figures might not be exactly the same for HP, but they will be in roughly the same ball park, I believe.

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                        Shesabutterflyposted 2 years agoin reply to this

                        I didn't realize there could be such a huge range for impressions/cost. I know keywords are important, but I had not really pieced together that different words are worth more. Would you say that different words within the same niche could be that different or would they all be relatively similar? 
                        
                        In general I assumed some categories simply didn't pay as much no matter how you phrased it and I was okay with that. I don't write those types of articles for the money. It's one of the reason I use to write on multiple topics.
                        
                        Does keyword competition play into the cost of ads or is it more arbitrary? I know we should aim to write with keywords that have high search/little competition, but do you know if the price changes based on how saturated a keyword/phrase is?

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                           PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

                           I don't know the details of exactly how HP do the ads. But having multiple accounts, some with relatively low numbers of hubs, gives me some insight, I think.
                           
                           I also learned how Adsense works, which was far more transparent.
                           
                           Niches have tendencies but the value is set by purely commercial considerations regarding individual keywords, so can still vary internally. Letterpile is going to fairly low generally because there's a lot of poetry and fiction in there. Toughnickel will have some financial advice in it which is higher.
                           
                           But the value is generally assessed through individual keywords in internet advertising. You can go to SEMRush and just search for keywords or phrases. Each article therefore has a value according to the main keyword of phrase you're chasing, as well as related keywords to some extent.
                           
                           High value areas can often be things like legal, real estate, financial.
                           
                           If someone is looking for advice on the legalities of buying a house, for instance, they are likely prepared to pay out money and pay a lot, so the value of associated advertising can be high.
                           
                           Somebody looking at a poem is unlikely to be seeking to spend anything.
                           
                           The high value keywords are often fought over more and require specialist knowledge (eg legal advice), but the competition doesn't change the value. It just makes it much harder to get a high ranking in the SERPs.
                           
                           I have a few articles that get a thousand views per day, but don't earn me that much, others that seem to get me more money with less than 100 views/day. It's all to do with keywords and advertising values.
                           
                           HP probably doesn't follow exactly the same system as Google Adsense, but I believe it to have similarities.

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                              Shesabutterflyposted 2 years agoin reply to this

                              Thank you for going a bit more indepth! Much appreciated. I will check out SEMrush. I would love to have a better understanding about how some of these metrics work now that I am getting back into writing again.

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                                 PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

                                 Just to clarify, it's important to note that keywords serve two separate purposes:
                                 
                                 1. They're used by Google to get searchers to the most relevant answer to their search query.
                                 
                                 2. They're used by advertisers to market and target their products and services.
                                 
                                 There's a dynamic that goes on between those two functions.

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         Sherry Hposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         I agree. Low CPMs even in September is the real issue! I don't know how long I'll have to wait to see those big numbers on the board.
         Hope December CPMs will come soon

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         eugbugposted 2 years agoin reply to this

         My CPMs are around the same as this time last year. Impressions are higher even though views are the same. Moving that video to the side of the page helped I think.

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