What do I lack still?

1. 59

   aoiffe379posted 14 years ago

   I discovered from experience[hub on Financial Angel] and from reading articles by other hubbers as well as those found by research that some keywords are high paying and searched for frequently.
   
   Financial,success and money are among them. After the hub on Financial Angel shot up almost overnight, I realized I had done something right with keywords.People were reading the hub daily; but I got no income. Well, I decided to give hub writing a twist.
   .
   The Choodle Doodle, which I consider as nonsense, seemed to do better than some hubs I thought were sensible. Thus,I decided to write a hub on five wacky reasons why some web entrepreneurs make no money. I used the 'nonsense' idea; but apparently they were not wacky enough. Maybe 'wacky' is not what people want- not even for a good laugh.
   
   I got serious; and after keyword research,I wrote a three part financial success series. Maybe I 'stuffed' it with too many powerful keywords and it was not beneficial to anyone. The nonsense poem on the Choodle is faring better.
   
   Still optimistic, I decided to prepare a hub on shells. I researched and found that seashells  was searched for more than shells,sea shells or seashell. I decided to give it a Christian flair and connect it to a situation that is relevant. Shaniece and Juliece need urgent medical attention for their vision. It is a matter of sight or blindness. Thus I wrote Seashells For Shaniece in two parts. I did my research on shells.As a bonus, I got the twins' Mom to photograph some of the shell craft.
   
   Since the hubs are moving at a snail's pace or more like molasses, I realize keywords are insignificant. Some of the other hubs where I did not spend time researching keywords and their value, the hubs are doing better. There are no statistics on the shell /provide feedbackcraft slide show views.
   
   I know I can take the criticism because I have the hide of an alligator. Thus, I am going to sit back and listen so I can find out what else is missing.I have tried three different approaches. How many more do I need? What exactly is the problem? Please tell me/provide feedback or suggestions so I can fix it.Thanks.

   replyreport
2. 92

   Urbane Chaosposted 14 years ago

   Ok Mr. Alligator, I'll try to help you out a little bit here.
   
   I looked at several of your hubs, and for the most part, nothing really bad stands out.  Generally, the hubs look good, but on closer inspection, there are a few things that may hinder you from what you're trying to do. 
   
   First, play around with your capsules.  On your Seashells For Shaniece hub, I didn't know there was even any text on it.  At first, I simply thought it was a picture hub with no real content.  I had to search for the content, and that would be typical of anyone visiting your hubs.  Generally, capsule placement should encourage ad placement "above the fold", or on the top half of the page.  I usually go with a text block, followed by another text block with a picture on the side.  This seems to work well. 
   
   Second, while you do have great keywords, nobody can really find you.  Take the hub, "Three Financial Freedom Secrets" - Great hub, a lot of useful information there - but how is anyone going to find it?  Think about what people search for.  In this case, typically it would be "Financial Freedom."  In google, type that in and try to find your page.  Hell, I went for several pages and didn't have any luck.. Great keywords aren't everything - you also have to have your own spin on things that's going to get noticed.  When researching keywords, look for those that lie more in the middle ground - not a ton of searches, but enough to generate a small income.  Use those keywords in your title and you'll more likely to be found.
   
   Third, coming from the second and going back to "Seashells For Shaniece", the title of your hub is everything.  Think about this title for a moment.  Reading it, this is what I think, "Ok, great, some chick got some seashells.. that's fine, I'm happy for her.." That would be the end of it.  There's nothing there to really capture my attention and make me want to read further.  Typically, you only have three seconds to capture a readers attention.  (It took me longer than that just to find the text!)  Just tweaking the title a bit can have a profound impact.  For example, after reading your hub and looking through the keywords, you could do a title such as this, "Seashells For Shaniece: God Protects All, Even the Small."  "God Protects" is a great keyword to use.  It's not over-hyped, but still searchable enough to be found within the first page or so on Google.
   
   Basically, making money from Hubpages comes down to two things: Writing style and SEO.  Learn all you can about both.  The more you know about them, the better your hubs will be. 
   
   For SEO, there's a thousand pages online that'll teach you all you need to know.  Take a look at other hubbers pages and see what works for them.  Search through the forums and hubs about SEO - there's a ton of great information out there.
   
   For writing, while most can through out a few lines, it takes a lot of practice, determination, and even more editing to get to a point where you're highly in demand.  Check out Dwight V. Swains book, "Techniques of the Selling Writer" at the library, and while you're there, get a copy of "The Elements of Style" by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White.  Those are about the best writing books that exist.
   
   I know, I wrote a novella here, but you asked for specific help.  Hopefully, this will give you a few ideas and tips to better help you on your way.  I'm no expert by any means, but I've tried to use this same approach to writing and it's always worked for me.
   
   My friend, I wish you the best of luck!

   replyreport
3. 60

   Originposted 14 years ago

   Urbane Chaos said it pretty well. *thumbs up*
   
   Some helpful points (at least I go by them)
   
   - Use the Google Keyword Tool, type in your topic, and see what the searches are. Usually the highest search results in terms of people searching for those keywords has a lot of competition. I tend to find one that is one or two notches down, less competition, but still a healthy amount of *potential* traffic.
   
   - I also use the Google Keyword Tool to label my Hub URL's (the hubpages.com/hub/this-part-here.
   
   - With tags I use the other results found from the Google Keyword Tool in relation to my topic.
   
   - If your in doubt how to label your article title, go check some major news and informational sites on the net, it may give you some ideas. Usually something that acts as an attention getter is a good way to get people to click on it.

   replyreport
4. 69

   cupid51posted 14 years ago

   This is a nice thread. I have learned a lot of things from this discussions. Just two things I like to know: do google search engine search the title or the url of the hub? And is there any way to change the url after publishing a hub?

   replyreport
   1. 92

      Urbane Chaosposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, the search engine's do look at the url - but I think less so than one might imagine.  It has to do more with the content of the page.  Still, better to be safe and try to use keywords for the url.  Anything that helps, right?
      
      And no, I don't believe there's a way to change the url after publishing.  The only other option there is to copy the entire hub and republish it with a different url, then go back and unpublish the first hub.

      replyreport
5. 59

   aoiffe379posted 14 years ago

   Thank you Urbane Chaos,Origin and Cupid51 for providing a needed catalyst.It is 4:35 a.m. and I am up early in order to avoid the crowd and being bumped. I am also doing a 'forever' download of a driver for my printer.
   
   What I understand is that keywords are important but taking a middle ground and providing a unique twist on a topic will assist in helping one to be placed on the first page of Google. The next point is an irresistible,captivating title.Placement of capsules is significant; and style sets you apart.The mention of style made me smile as one professor felt that my writing had nothing else but style. She appraised my work as a lowly B while her husband rated me as an A. He and others gobbled my work.
   
   The difference I see now is that there are busy people on the internet who must be baited and kept on the hook- not allowed to break the line nor eat the bait and leave you with a fish story.
   
   I am interested in knowing the answers to the questions that Cupid 51 raised too. Thank you all for your feedback/comment and I look forward to using the suggestions so that I can improve my standard. People look for benefits; and I have a responsibility to provide them with something to suffice until the next time.

   replyreport
   1. 92

      Urbane Chaosposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      You got it.. Think of writing a hub like you would a magazine article, although a bit shorter.  Magazines are designed to catch your attention and then captivate you all the way through. 
      
      Write the article first, focusing on style, readability, interest, etc.  Once the article is done, use something like SEOQuake to check your existing keywords.  Once you know what those are, then go back and slap in whatever keywords you need in order to bring a good profit from the article.
      
      People come to read articles, not click on links.  The key is to give them what they want and let the rest follow.
      
      But yeah, you got the idea.. 
      
      I have a hub that might help you out: "Dissertation on Writing and Search Engine Optimization (Or, What the carp am I doing?)" - you can ignore most of it, as it's pretty much what I've already said here, but at the bottom of the hub there's a lot of links for SEO tools that will make your job a lot easier.   Mainly, look at SEOQuake and the backlink checker links.. Those tools are invaluable.
      
      I wish you the best!

      replyreport
   2. 86

      Marisa Wrightposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Sorry, but I disagree with this!  Google's rankings are (obviously) automated and are not capable of recognizing a "unique twist" on anything.  Like Origin said, what you need to do is repeat your keyword search but this time, find words with low competition. You'll probably need to look further afield than just one word - the Google Wonder Wheel can give you some good ideas.
      
      Here's a good Hub by Susana that explains it:
      http://hubpages.com/hub/Long-Tail-Keywords-SEO
      
      
      
      This is a common misconception. If you were writing an article for a magazine, I would agree.  But one of the hardest thing about writing for the internet (for me, at least), is to accept that Hub titles should be boring.  Not that you set out to make them boring - but your Hub URL and your Hub title must both include keywords that will attract search engines to your topic.  So that means no smart, off-the-wall, humorous stuff that doesn't telegraph the content of your Hub!
      
      One more thing - Urbane Chaos said writing a Hub is like writing a magazine article, but shorter.  Since a good Hub is at least 400 words and some of the best performers are well over 1,000 words, forget the "shorter".  A longer article means more mentions of your keywords which is good.

      replyreport
6. 59

   aoiffe379posted 14 years ago

   Thank you marisa Wright and all who have contributed to making the experience in this forum a profitable one. I changed a few topics by adding or omitting a few words and I have seen a few more views  included in the statistics.I do not know if they are mine or belong to other viewers. In any event, I am trying to view the hubs from a different perspective. in fact, i am applying the question : How will the hub benefit me?What will I learn? What do i need to improve specifically to  attract traffic?
   
   Of course I am stumped at times; but just when I am having a writer's block moment, a catalyst triggers the litmus  of creativity and I see red or blue. Hopefully, one day I will see green- lots of it! Thanks again.

   replyreport