Why Your Online Article Gets Several Page Views but Few Comments
The Writer
When you write online, you may secretly hope that your article goes viral after you hit the publish button. You want the maximum number of reads and lots of comments. You want to connect with your audience.
Comments are a great way to get feedback on your writing. When you write for a content website such as HubPages, you are also able to see how many views each of your articles gets every day. Sometimes, some of your articles have a high number of page views but receive only a few comments. There are a variety of explanations for this type of incident.
Controversial Subject
If your article subject matter is generally considered to be controversial, readers may be drawn to the article. That explains the high number of reads. Perhaps you discuss your favorite (and highly unpopular) candidate for the next US election or the impact of globalization on the environment. Readers want to hear a new take on the issue at hand.
Readers want to hear opinions and then make their own decisions based on what is read. While the controversial subject matter of your article draws readers, the controversy also may keep them from writing comments. A reader, for example, may not want to be attacked by other readers for a potentially hurtful comment. Although the reader likes your article, he or she may therefore decide not to comment.
Other readers may want to voice their opinions for fear of criticizing the view you expressed in the piece. The reader may think that offering a different opinion would be disrespectful to you as the author and therefore declines to comment. You have one more read and no comment.
Compelling Title with Little Substance
Another reason why your article gets several page views but few comments centers on the specific content of your piece. While your article title attracted a reader to bring the page up on the computer screen, the reader may not feel a connection to the words.
Perhaps the reader had other expectations as to what he or she would read. Or maybe your article title does not match the body of the online piece. In that case, readers flock to the title and leave the computer screen disappointed that they have not received the information they were looking for upon the first click. What is the result? A lot of page views with few comments.
If there is less substance for the reader than expected he or she does not feel compelled to stay on your article link to type out a comment. Instead, the readers may head back to the Google search page to find the information they were originally hunting for online.
The Particular Website
Another reason to account for the variation between page views and comments is the nature of the website in which your article is published. If it is a content website with several contributing writers, readers who are not themselves members of the site may hesitate to post a comment. These readers may feel like outsiders as they are not registered with a profile on the particular site.
As well, remember that many people read articles online and never comment on the articles. The type of website does not matter, as this is a personal preference. These readers may choose not to comment as they have received the information they needed and are done with the page. Another reason is that they realize that once something is written online it is public information. Perhaps the readers do not want to give their identity and views within the public format of the website. That, of course, is a personal right.
Your Article
While you may be disappointed as a writer that you do not receive many comments for your particular article, recognize that your content is being read. The high number of page views means that some aspect of your article is appealing to many online users. The limitation, however, is that with few comments you do not receive a lot of positive or negative feedback about your article.
Use the few comments that you do receive to help you improve your writing skills. Ask your friends and writers you connect with to look over your article and offer feedback. Perhaps their responses will help you understand why the associated comments sections are sparse.
Also, take time to revel in the positive concept that your article is receiving a lot of page reads. Focusing on the positive is a great idea!
Do You...
Do You Have Articles That Have Few Reads?
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Related
Comments
- Author
Thanks @rcrumple, you are quite right that we learn about niches and what works as we go. As well, sometimes one topic fits well with readers on one site yet not so much on another site. I love getting comments too :) Yours is no exception!
Christy -
I think most new writers are trying to find a niche. It's common fact that a receipe is going to get more hits than a creative piece. Hubpages even warns about that in the learning section. Yet, I couldn't write a receipe if I tried, at least, not without adding humor or drama to it.
I think many of us are trying different things to see what hits. My luck hasn't been unbelievable, but I'm more and more satisfied as an audience is starting to build, slowly but surely, for my comedy and weird outlooks on things. To some, 20 comments is failure. To me, who only was getting 3-10 to begin with, 20+ hits means it's starting to kick in.
Great Points Presented! Definitely Up & Interesting!
- Author
@Michelle, yes I have those articles too. I helped myself sort out the issue when I wrote this one and glad you feel more confident in your hubs now too!
@vocalcoach, I have found that too. It could simply be that the HP community is less fascinated with that topic but that Google still gets you lots of views! Thanks for the read and share!
This is an assuring article, Christy. I have these articles, yes, that have a really high number of views and few comments. I'm a little disappointed with that, but am also heartened when I see the hubscore and views go up, which means it's appreciated. This is consoling, thanks so much for sharing, and I'm sharing.
it seems like the hubs I work on the hardest and are really well done get the fewest comments. Go figure. Youcovered some really good points and I want to thank you for bringing this to the surface. I will share for sure.
- Author
Hi Carol, thanks for stopping by again for more tips. Your craving to learn about writing online and computers is great! You will be going far as you learn more each day :)
This hit home, but I am rationalizing that I am still fairly new. However, you brought out some excellent points and worth paying attention to. So with that being said hope you write more hubs about this thing called writing online. Thanks for a great hub. Voted UP.
- Author
@Phil, yes it's likely not a good thing if we can't even look over our own work! Hehe. Nice to connect with you.
I'm not too bothered by the fact that some of my hubs garner very little attention. I still enjoy going back to look at them occasionally, even if I am the only one doing so.
- Author
@John, I think sometimes the draw of the headline of your article alone can get you reads. It is an interesting process! I am glad you liked the hub, thanks for the comment.
Another insightful hub Christy! And additionally, the content of your article doesn't always seem to matter that much, because, sometimes articles that you don't think are very good get more reads than others that you think are great.
Very useful
John
- Author
@thelyricwriter, I am pleased that you find the information helpful. Thank-you!
A well written explanation of reads/comments Christy. The connection with your audience is very helpful and you list valid points and explanations. Very useful information for anyone writing online.
- Author
Thanks DaryIn for stopping by and I am glad you found comfort. You are not alone in getting few comments!
This made me feel pretty good! My four little hubs have over 500 views combined, but less than 30 comments all together. Feedback is comforting, but I guess I'll just glad that they are being viewed. I will heed to some of your advice. Thanks for sharing.
- Author
Hi Rachel, Thanks for sharing your experience. People do often read without wanting to comment. Recipes may be printed and used without a comment; it would be fun though to know who has made your recipes!
Most of my traffic is from search engines - people looking for specific information, such as a recipe. They tend not to comment.
- Author
@alocsin, I did not realize that our own views of our hubs ups the total views. I would have thought they would not count toward the total. Thanks stopping by, it's great to hear from you!
- Author
@Marc, Ah that is a good point that a commenter reciprocates the gesture you have made on his or her own blog. Hehe I bet I am one of the top commenters on your blog by now! :) Thanks for your support here.
One other reason is that people tend not to leave comments. Just from my own experience, I read a lot more articles but only leave comments when I have something to add. Also the hubpages page views includes your own visits to your hubs, which inflates the views a bit. Voting this Up and Useful.
I have about 2500 page views on my main blog, and about 120 comments, which would give me about 5% of visitors leaving comments. That doesn't mean that the readers didn't like what they read, just that they didn't leave comments. I think you'll find that most of the followers who leave comments are followers who you leave comments for.
This is a good, thought-provoking hub! Great work, Christy!
- Author
@teaches12345, thanks for all of your support here on HubPages! Yes the well written articles do not always get the reads.. writers need to keep focused and not be deterred. Lack of comments does not mean lack of interest.
@TomVogler, perhaps the variety in time spent reading your hubs is more a personal trait as some readers skim articles while others spend a long time divulging the information. Thanks for the comment!
@rajanjolly, thanks for stopping by to comment. I am glad you enjoyed the hub!
- Author
@lord, yes trial and error is needed as each website has its own preferred writing style and certain websites are better for traffic. I'm glad you enjoyed the hub.
@RTalloni, that is a good idea to go back and revise past work. I do that as well as I learn more about writing technique. Another great way to increase page views too! Thanks for the comment here.
Thanks for sharing this hub topic with us. I appreciate the encouragement you have expressed through the article. Really, you have to publish well written articles of interest but that does not gaurantee readers will comment as they visit. Voted up!
I notice in Google Analytics that some of my articles get pageviews with zero time spent on the page, like they arrive at my hub and decide it's not really what they were looking for and don't even read it. Then some will spend several minutes on the page.
Christy, this is an interesting analysis. Readers do have a preference for certain topics and thus they get more views and comments.
This read was quite informative.
Voted up interesting
Interesting and commonsensical--nice piece, thanks. I was glad to see the closing remarks. When I find errors I wish someone would've told me, but then I also feel that it's not someone else's responsibility to proof my work. If an error is pointed out to me I am grateful. Have been updating my hubs with a new link method I just learned from sinea pies and it is giving me a chance to make repairs, so to speak, on old hubs.
Writing on several subjects can be a pandora box. But knowing what is trendy and catchy can make a difference. As online writers we get to know our job, after some trial and error method. Your points are valuable indeed! Thanks for writing this hub.
LORD
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