Has Google affected article writing on Hub Pages?
69Has the Google update to the Google algorithm changed your Google Page rank, and affected your Hub Pages? Is your traffic drying up? Are you finding less people coming to your Hubs? People are asking many questions about the efficacy of the Google search engine formula, since it was changed a short while ago? Many think it has changed for the worst and now is weighted in favor of people who are more willing to pay for Google Adwords programs to bring up their pagerank. Many writers here have said to me that traffic to their hub pages is way down in recent times. Many writers are looking at their options - many are asking is it time to make a move? Can writing on Hub Pages continue to provide any decent earnings for writers? Or has the model for writing articles for the web been tarnished now by a set of unreasonable rules that contradict themselves?
One writer says Hub Pages and article writing in general pays well. A Freelance writer told me this today. Another writer (not a freelancer) said his earnings are way down and the click-rate on Hubs all over is down, and depreciating further. Theoretically writing should be paying you money, even on the web. You can monetize anything on the web, within reason, so why not a good piece of writing, here on Hub Pages? Writers have read the tutorials and read the rules and the do's and don'ts. So how hard can this be? It isn't. But Google have recently made it very complicated.
Writers who over-promote hubs can be penalised. Writers who write articles that don't meet requirements of what the rules allow can be penalised. Some writers are writing on Hub Pages almost every day and still their Hub score stubbornly refuses to climb and they ask why? A year ago, things were so much different here? What happened? What we need here are some frank reality checks and assertions.
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Anyone who has recently arrived on Hub Pages with a view to making a go of it and publish articles here to earn money, will only be successful if their writing is high quality, their hub subjects are highly sought after, are relevant and topical, have keywords that are frequently searched for, and which meet the requirements and conditions of Google, Hub Pages, Amazon, eBay and Kontera. They have to be willing to write often - a minimum of three to four hubs a week to be consistently good or just consistent.
And there are other things that they need to do. Backlinks, one-way links, two-way links, three-way links, page rank has to be watched, Google SEO has to be observed and followed ...and it goes on and on. Ever more conditions more tricks, more tweets, more links put on facebook, MySpace, Friendster, SheToldMe, StumbleUpon, AddThis, until someone realises this isn't writing any more. This is turning into the search for a kind of holy grail using more and more ways, means and tricks to stay ahead and get highly ranked in Google's coveted First Page. And this will not make you money over night or immediately. There is no guarantee. No hourly rate, no minimum wage rate. No absolutes. Just more uncertainty.
Yes, it can be done. Money can be made on Hub Pages and article writing in general. Some use Hub Pages as Bill Boards, Blogs to just air their feelings, vent their frustration or call for help with a genuine issue, many look for friendship, many more just want to belong to a community. Thousands of people and thousands of reasons to be here on Hubs.
If you are a Quality Writer and are already assured by others you are worth it and worthy of being published, here's a warning. There are better ways to make money from article writing. Go Freelance. Take it up as a profession. Write magazine articles. Buy the Writers and Artists Yearbook. It is a proven resource and works, and the community of writers is incredible. The rewards that come from writing on websites like Hub Pages - though most admirable and entertaining - will not pay the bills and help you get out of the recession.
Money made from not writing but from just waiting for someone to click on a Google advert on the same page as your writing is a poor man's game and it doesn't pay a lot. A Good writer who has made money from writing already knows this. Hubs could have the nearest thing to Shakespeare on them if need be, but they may not earn that writer money. Writing can be very "writerly" and stylish and hip, but make hardly any money from Google Adsense. For them to be successful, they would have to advertised and marketed to a wide and waiting audience. And not all this support and requirement is provided for you.
Maybe a miracle happens along one fine day and a beautiful thing happens and good fortune comes your way. It is great when it happens. And it happens! The discovery of a check in the post, or waiting in the bank account for your Adsense is a moment of elation. But the wait for the next one can be so long in coming. Little wonder that some get fed up waiting and move off and move on to other things. Clickbank. Amazon Affiliates, Commission Junction, Paydotcom, Linkshare, the list is long and winding, and some will set up their own shops and stores, eCommerce sites, stores, malls. Some believe that article writing can end up being like having a gun with just one effective bullet, but a few blanks that don't do anything but make noise and smoke.
Wordpress, Weebly, Wix, Jimdo, Webs, Tumblr, Blogger, these are just a fraction of some of the free sites and blogs that can be used and set up in less than a day, which - with targeted themed Keywords based around a high-paying group of words / products...can all lead to a good income. Use the Google Keyword Tool to find what pays and what sells, and what is searched for.
Okay, it's taking you away from that all-important writing, but to make money in this game, you have to put the cart before the horse. Companies like Google have ruined the conventional means of writing to be successful, and replaced it with rules, systems, formulas, page rank, anylitics, adwords, adsense and the damn Google Algorithm.
Rinse and Repeat
A Hub Page has an inherent value. They won't be worth hundreds of pounds or dollars. You would have to be professional, a true author. Sure, Hub Pages is a great place to find out if you have what it takes. But don't use it to make a writing exclusively to the detriment to everything else. Set up a Blog or website. Buy a domain. Own it and then you can earn more. Subdomains like every writer has on Hub Pages get much less since they own their content but just not the page itself or the domain. £14 will get you a one page Blogger Blog and Google Adsense and Amazon Adverts, and it will be yours and it will make money faster. Set up a forum, like TattoGuy and watch your membership climb. Use the money from its success to build more blogs or webpages and rinse and repeat!
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Google recently changed its Algorithm and it now downgrades and devalues content farms, forcing many to worry about the future of communities like Hub Pages. People want to believe it won't affect them. So what will they do? If the change in the Google Algorithm made Hubs in general fall in page rank or value in some way, and result in less income from the respective Google Adsense on those pages - what would the Hub writers do? How would they react? One possibility is it would drive writers away from Hub Pages, feeling that having to constantly refine their pages for such a small reward would make their efforts almost pointless. Another possibilty is that writers would switch to another way of making money. They would fight the system initially and try back-linking, banners, inner-links or referrals, outer link s like social media. But what if they over promote and get punished. It becomes more like an exercise to breathe oxygen, the more you try to breathe, the less oxygen you seem to get. It has the danger of becoming an exercise in futility.
And why this manic dependence on Google's conditions? Why? What is in it for us any more? Who feels like downing tools and walking off the job? Is that the final outcome? Or is Hub Pages about to pump some air back in the tyres by releasing this new advert system and campaign. Something is needed to kickstart Hubs in general if they experience a lowering or downgrading in general. We don't know for sure this downgrade will happen or will even last long, or just rebound up again. It would be nice if someone put it to us straight and told us. Either we all get certificates in Google SEO and Google PR or get sent off for retraining. That is how a job in a company is dealt with. Unless on the other hand - this is purely a hobby and for recreation. If it is, fine...enjoy your life and Happy writing! I fear the old system is not working like it used to, and I am not the only one saying it. People walk away from something when it is dead.
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Perhaps the time has come to revisit the model for how Hub Pages works - and who it's working mostly for. A change would be welcome. A change of sorts is definitely needed. Some of the recent events and outcomes to Hub Page lowering in some kind of value might be down to indifference or resignation of writers to the inevitable wind of change, and what cloud might (or might not) be on the horizon. I believe that no thing or state lasts forever. But there has to be a quantifiable reason for wanting to be on Hub Pages. We are looking harder than usual at what those reasons are lately.
Although most of what is here is opinion, we are a democracy so I welcome all thoughts on the subject here. Let me know your views and leave your comments below.
Copyright (c) 2011 Cassy Mantis / Cheeky Girl. All rights reserved.
Late Update:
We know Google no longer has a "neutral"
algorithm. The New York Times, eHow, Wikipedia, even the IRS is
listed in the white list as immune from the algorithm, and some websites
clearly are delighted with this news. How did they manage this amazing feat? Google has admitted to using a "white list" a way of allowing some websites a "Get out of Jail" card or exception to the Algorithm rule.
And even Microsoft / Bing admitted that they too use the same white list method to allow some exceptions for certain websites. So not all web sites are equal under the eyes of Google. I wrote about this recently, I even published a list of sites that have done even better as a result of the algo change. Would have been nice to see Hub Pages on it.
Google were accused of anti-competitive practices by the EU over alleged "White Lists", which would give some companies unfair advantage and preference - something Google denied. Now it is admitting it favors some web sites over others. So we have a two-tier search engine here folks!
Read it on SearchEngineWatch.com
- Google, Bing Have White Lists Of Sites Not To Be Impacted By Algo Changes #SEWatch
Google has admitted that it uses whitelists to manually override its search algorithms, more than a year after its European corporate counsel denied the existence of whitelists when defending the company against antitrust complaints in the EU...
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CommentsLoading...
An incredibly well written and informative read...
I'm starstruck with good reason, and quite motivated to heed, yet I do know with great certainty, large corps, much like Google, follow only blind greed...
Thanks Cassy. As always, a tremendous fan!!!
I am moving towards freelancing. Already write for a couple of places for money up front.
Great article. I have always written for people and not depended too much on SEO, I'm hoping quality will eventually get to the top.
up and useful! Well written and descriptive. I've noticed the traffic dropping off and have wondered, "What gives?" Thanks for this vital information...
Well my Hello Kitty Tattoos Hub got 40,000 views in 6 months, yesterday it got 1 view. But the good news is my 2 Great Tattoos Blogs on the same topic are in the top 6 on google.com for Hello Kitty Tattoos which is why I have deleted my Hubpages one.
I intend to remove all my Tattoo and Body Art Hubs and put them on my own site. Remove my Medical Ones and put them on my Health Site.
I do intend however to write other stuff, sort of reinvent myself which I think I am good at, doncha think?
Anyways great hub as always, rated wayyyyyyyyyyy up ; ) xoxox
Article writing business models don't make sense. It sounds like volunteerism, and too much focus on casual earnings and passive earnings. The nod and wink brigade translate that into the obvious - you will make a little but not a lot unless you become a slave to this writing model. This won't work any more as soon as the casual learner becomes smart enough and figures the real value of what good writing is when compared to direct "paid for" content.
There is no pay per word amount package, no real contract or incentives provided, just writers who are the right kind, who "love writing enough".
Cassy, good hub, I look forward to progressing with my hubs, I always enjoy your advice!
Well done. I did not understand the new Google thingie. Now I do. I have read many hubbers saying that you should not write here if you are in it just for the money. So why should this matter? I am not going to be flagging anyone. I believe in freedom of speech.
Granny, by not flagging anyone you are hurting HubPages. And I'm not talking about flagging something just because you disagree with it.
Hy Martyn, thanks for the comments. I hope the current lull does not last long and that click rates come back up again. Yes putting more effort into things will improve some things. I seem to be getting better hits on my website than I a getting here now. So weird! LOL! Cheers!
Hy Will (bbnix) oh I am not against rampant capitalism. I just wish it was spread round a bit more evenly, that's all, and wish Google would stop shifting the goal posts. Not being able to over promote hub pages is ludicrous. Kind of makes Google Adwords sound silly! Thanks for the comments!
Hello C. Girl,
We starting writing on HubPages partly as a test ground for what to put on our website. We still use if mostly for experimental purposes, or for fun. We have been on HubPages 3 years now. We have over 100 hubs, but this is small compared to the serious hubbers. For a long time we consistently earned more from our website, but there are now some weeks when we get more AdSense income from HubPages. This is not enough for anything more than supporting our coffee habit - but it's some acknowledgement.
This is an interesting hub, and we're rating it up.
Hello uninvited writer: freelance is definitely a great way to go! Check out Martyn's excellent blogs as he(Sufidreamer) does this now for a living and is the real deal! You are doing the right thing, and writing for yourself makes you immune from some of the nonsense that can happen with Google algorithm changes. I wish you luck and fortune my friend! :)
Hy Samsons1: yes the drop off is no accident. It may come back, or it may not. If you push on with your writing and it doesn't correct itself, then you will know how things are. What you do about it is up to you. We are all on Hub Pages for our own many reasons. Some hubbers don't monetize their writing or pages at all, some don't bother with Adsense, and maybe they will have the last laugh.
Hy Art! Wow, you are very aware of things and are way ahead of most others, I can tell. And the forums and sites are doing very well! That set up on your Tattoos page is awesome! Ever thought of writing a book on "How I did it - made a pile with nout but a laptop!" and publish it on Amazon! Heh! You would have many buyers!
As for putting hubs onto your web pages and them doing better, I am already doing this moi self! Some of my hubs are better designed and made for dedicated web pages with a particular themed area, much like Hubbers can put their Hubs into "Groups"! So I am doing the same. I imagine my hub rating will be rocky during the migration, but I don't care. Outside of Hub Pages that number means little to anyone.
Yes, you are good at reinventing yourself, Art! LOL! And you are successful at it. But then so was Bowie and Madonna! Don't worry, I won't ask you to "strike a pose" or anything! LMAO!!!
I wish you luck with the hubs and the new web pages, Art! You are a great person to follow and you are so generous for the advice and help and many more things besides! *wink* :) You must be at the One Million Views by now! I am only a bit over the 100,000 views, according to my Analytics from Google and SeoMoz. And I recently hit the 700 fans mark here! (And 500 tweeters chasing me now!) Yaay! LOL! Okay, enough showing off! Thanks for the rate up, Art! Cheers! XOXOX
Hello charles: not sure if you are a hubber here, but h'mm...volunteerism is a word I would have to think about before I'd know what to say to that. Writing for passive income - yes in the beginning I was that way, and as soon as I set up a blog and website elsewhere, the veil was lifted and I could see so much more out there.
The block on over-promotion is what bugs the heck out of me. Advertise but not too much... that makes no sense to me, What about Google Adwords? People can pay for it and advertise as much as they want? I can pay £30-£50 for an ad on Facebook and it will advertise everything I have to offer if I want. Or do it myself for free. I can tweet my links to 500 people at a click of a mouse button. I love the great widgets that can be on offer from Facebook and twitter, clickbank and Amazon and yes Google too. I'd love to be able to have links and banners from Hub Pages I could put all over the place that could link back here to my hubs, but I have to do most of them myself. I understand the thrust of your argument here.
As soon as Hubbers learn how it all works they will either start churning out hundreds of hub pages and increase adsense / amazon income that way or else head off and do the same thing with a blog or website. Either way, they will want to spread their wings and fly a bit!
I know HubPages does a lot of clever stuff for the writers, but there are plenty of things more which could be done and would not cost much to do. Also Hub Pages is a business and has to make a buck too. I just resent the way Google are making it gradually harder for us all to succeed by staying on Hub Pages. Thanks for the comments.
Hy Gary / gguy: hey it's all fascinating the things you learn around here. Ya got to keep your ear to the ground and nose to the grindstone, and put your shoulder...uh I think you get moi point! Heh!
Hy Grannys House: in the beginning I was in it to write for the sake of writing, and then I got more curious, and enquiring and wanting to know how stuff works... blogging is fun and so is having a free or paid-for website. Creating our own content is what we are doing here on Hubs right now. Except if we own the website name or "domain, we get paid waaay more. And for about $20 that is easily attainable. The Pros definitely outweigh the cons for me.
The writers who love writing for writing sake will always be the same and they are fine - but the writers who want to earn while writing will become impatient and maybe frustrated at how slow things tend to be.
One of these days, Bing or Yahoo or someone else is going to smell an opportunity in this and take the initiative. I love how Clickbank pay out every two weeks, for example! But that's another story. I am glad you believe in freedom of speech. Cheers!
Hello 2Patricias! Do you ladies know you are both the first people I ever followed when I set up my twitter account! Heh! That is so funny! I understand about the earnings varying on the websites and on hubs. I put up a blog about a singer recently and it got over 250 hits in a few hours. Just goes to show you what can happen! I am transplanting some of my hubs onto websites at present. They will flourish in greener pastures! Cheers! Thanks for the comments, ladies! xx
Hey Cassy, I like your spring look!! Happy belated International Womens Day!!
G'day Cheeky Girl, Thankyou for this Hub I had no idea that Google changed the way they were ranking pages because I haven't noticed any change in my page views here on Hubpages and my income from it is more each month. I would like to start my own website, but it just seems easier here, I worry that owing a website would be more time consuming?
I have been slowly heading toward owning my own site but first wanted residual income. I will stay with HubPages because I like it here, but I know will not be writing three hubs a month so definitely will move soon in the direction of owning my own site.
Hy Gary! Thank you for this! It coincided with moi birthday, so I had a great day! My Website is getting a spring look too! Heh! Cheers!
G'day Strictydating! I won't ask you how are things down under, an Ausie girl in my job told me that doesn't have quite the same meaning in all countries! :D LOL!
Well, I am happy you have not noticed an change! So what is your secret? Tell us now! Heh! Only kidding! Having your own website is a lot of fun, as you get to earn more of that income, since you own the domain, and you get to have a total say on what ads appear there, and you can add Clickbank or Amazon or Linkshare or whoever you like. (See my reply to Rieom below as well!)
Having Hub Pages do all the heavy lifting is nice, but you will find that having a site or blog that can provide links and funnel traffic back into your hubs will bring your rating upwards and more outsiders into Hub Pages too, and more referrals and so more extra incomes too. My first check I got from Asdense went into my website and a domain name for Cheeky Girls Apartment, and I am earning nicely there now! The sky is the limit whatever way you look at it. Who knows, you might discover you have a talent for it and make more from the net in time than an ordinary nine to five job.
Making more web content brings more responsibility. Maybe have a look at my own site just to get a flavor what what is involved if you wish. It's all decent and "pg-13"! (I am developing two more domains now.)
http://www.cheekygirlsapartment.com/index.html
Hello rieom, well I wish you luck if you decide to try having a free site or domain. I used Weebly to set up my free website, and then after a year and some adsense income, I bought it for real and now I am developing two more domains. I like it on Hub Pages too, so does Astra, my partner, and we will still write and publish here. But some of my content will flourish in more amenable surroundings with less... um conditions attached.
Weebly have free websites you can set up, or Wordpress. I mentioned a list of sites that give you free sub-domains above in this hub. It is very possible to have your cake and eat it with both running parallel if you so wish! Having a website allows you far more freedom and creativity, and more control. That is the reason I did it.
Thanks for the comments! Cheers!
Great hub moi curly friend! The big G's new algo has slapped lots of websites. And there's been a huge question as to eHow-the-hell everything was kinda reversed lol Anyway it was days after my birthday and your birthday has passed. Mubarak has stepped down of Egypt and Gadafi may leave Libya. All things evolve and Google has Gooooooooooooooogle algo ways to change things. This hub brings so much realization. Hope HP will climb back again. My motivation has lowed down so I just shifted back to poetry. LOL
Cheers! This hub deserves to be in Google's own blog :)
HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hy Fehl! Yes, it will be interesting to see what result the Google changes will bring. Um yes, the eHow mystery is curious. They went up, so that got me scratching moi hear, trying to figure how that that happened. Oh the top guys of these countries come and go, so now they are really going, perhaps. Can't blame Google for that! Heh! Just blame oil, I guess.
Yes, I hope the hub views and clicks come back up. I am working on some new approaches to earning lolly from the net, and I am jazzing up my sites as that is mostly the future for moi! I hope things are going well for you, Fehl. Thanks for the Birthday wishes! You're a star! Hey your poetry will always rock! I am editing my book here still, and getting some help with it too. Cheers! :) XO
Hy Gary, thanks for the Birthday wish! You're sweet! :D
EHOW started making some changes a few weeks back, don't know if that has anything to do with it.
Hello my dearest Cassy I love this hub, and it has taken me 19 months to finally get my first check, that is, of course my fault, due to the fact that I didn't understand links, rss, all the lingo and burn feeds just confused me and all I want to do is write. Could you send me Art's info, I want to check his site out. I adore him and you of course, my darlin friend, love & peace darski
Darlene, some of us are way behand you, but we will all get threre with time and perseverance!!! Cassy is wonderful isn't she?
Gary, I hope that eHow does well out of it all. I hope Hub Pages manages to do the same, for everyone sake. There's a lot of good writers here.
Hello Darski! Oh 19 months? Aw, that was a long time. Well better late than never, moi sweet friend! I sent you an email. Hope you get it okay. I totally understand about all you wanting to do is write. So many of us feel that way. And others make stuff so darn complicated. Have a nice weekend, Darlene. Lots of love from me - and my Cathy here too! :)
Gary, you are always here! Heh! Yes with time and perseverance we can get there. Aw, thankyou for saying that! You get a big hug for that! :) Enjoy your weekend!
Very inspiring hub. I believe hubpages still the best place for me to share my idea. We will get more revenue if we hard work, right. The money will following us. Thanks for writing this. Rated up!
Prasetio,
Hello Prasetio! Thank you for this! Well your hubs are brilliant as ever and always inspiring. The money will follow good writing always. That is always the story with good writing. Thank you for the rate too, Prasetio! Cheers! Have a lovely weekend!
Thank You Cassy, enjoy the rest of the weekend also!!! One more thing, when you Women are running the world, just remember us guys that were always nice to "Girls"!!! LOL
It does seem hard to keep your numbers up on here...I have been writing 2 pieces every day, usually one poem and one article and it doesn't seem to keep me over 90 for long...I guess I have a lot to learn!
okay its really very informative.
Hi Cheeky Girl,
There are some great ideas in this Hub for thinking outside of the square, which I enjoy. I have recently decided to give seo, keywords and google the flick, after I discovered that many of the biggest bloggers get as little as 2% of their traffic from google search engines! There are so many other ways to get traffic if we just open our minds and think outside of what most people are doing. I do agree with you that quality articles are the key, and low quality article marketing is a poor man's game. Some people will waste a lot of time, energy and effort on trying to avoid the inevitable, and google will win in the end. It amazes me, as it arguably takes less energy to just go with the changes, and there is the potential for much better results. I welcome the google algorithm changes, and I can see that HubPages is already responding to them and making drastic changes. This can only benefit the excellent writers on this site in the long-term. Having said this however, I can see how lifting our game is going to lead to many people starting their own site or blog. Why would we put all of our best articles on here, when they can go on our own site? They are no longer allowed to go on both and (to me) having your own site is like owning property. You can get the rental income PLUS the capital growth at the same time! Websites can be bought and sold just like real estate, and they have real value. I agree with you that if we are producing high quality articles, then it would serve us well to put them on our own site. HubPages is going to have to increase their incentives if they want some of their better writers to stay, and I have heard that they are considering this. I also agree with 2patricias that HubPages is an excellent testing ground for our writing, as well as for discovering our niche. Once you realise that traffic does not to come from google, it is nice just to write from the heart and have fun with it.
Thankyou for the great article!
Hy Gary, you have a great weekend too! I am out for the day with Cathy and my Gran and sad that I am - I took the laptop! Heh! The hub is getting some attention I see! I am not surprised. I have no desire to run the world, alas. My ambitions lie in ah...other areas and endeavors! Heh! Thanks again!
Hy PR Morgan, wow, you are writing a lot of hubs there. Are you mindful of the topics you choose? Are you using social networking and back-links to get traffic? That is crazy. Try those ones if you haven't done so already. I find twitter has brought me some extra traffic and more reads. My website has bloomed as a result, but better than Hubs alas. Thanks for the comments. Most interesting.
Hy Itstajul: hey thanks for this. Glad you find my hub on Google affecting hub Pages writing informative. Well I try to be useful in any way I can. Cheers!
Hello Max_Power: thanks for commenting on my hub here about Google. Well stats are down all over Hub Pages and it's time we started talking about how to deal with it.
I agree about the search engines becoming too much of a distraction away from the real principle of gaining more traffic. People are using one way of getting traffic to try rinse and repeat for everything on the net. It's best to try different combinations of different things in tandem. Social networks have their uses. MySpace gets traffic to my music hubs for instance.
Twitter can attract readers interested in newsy items and articles. Twitter can be great in so many ways - it's all to do with who you follow and what you decide to "specialise in" that can bring readers and thus traffic, and thus clicks.
Some hub writers report that the same articles published on Blogger blogs are doing better with clicks and traffic. Why? Owned by Google, perhaps?
Let's be honest, if traffic is going down across hubs in general, then Hub Pages is losing money right now. It has to counter the fall somehow.
I am inherently against putting all hopes in one thing or apples in one basket, so I totally agree. Having your own website or blog is totally the way to go. More freedom, less restrictions, more options available. The whole world of possibilities open up when you have your own domain, and the income - no middle man to pay! Love that!
As you say, a good testing ground for writers. I agree! I a very thankful for Hub Pages. What they created is marvelous. But Google have spoiled it with this stupid algorithm change. We have to ween ourselves off this drug of dependence on Google. There are many other ways of benefiting from the web, if we open our minds to possibilities. We can still be writers and even published too. Thanks for the excellent comments!
Good work. The Hub answers two questions I had.
Now we learn the Google has "White lists" of web sites that aren't affected by algo changes. How nice. So apparently these "white" sites can go out and commit all manner of foul acts and transgressions and escape punishment. Google has apparently dumped objectivity (or neutrality) in favor of subjectively rewarding sites on its "white list."
Even if we jump through all of Google's new hoops and rank our pages, what's to prevent Google from changing the rules again and punishing relevant and worthwhile web sites?
Google may need to be broken up by regulators. Acting as judge, jury and executioner is too much power.
Great article, thank you for filling me in on the many websites that you listed. I did not know that Ehow was on a whitelist, and hopefully there is a way we can get hubpages on it as well. I am not happy with the recent algorithm change.
Hello J Sunhawk, thank you for these comments. Google will face their nemesis the EU at some point in the future, and what will happen only heaven knows. But the existence of White Lists is the final damn straw as far as many people are concerned. It sickens me to think that they are using White Lists, and engaging in a two-tier system, one set of rules for anyone lucky enough to be on that list, and a more strict set of rules for the suckers NOT on the White list.
Some Hub Page writers are paddling hard against the Google current and getting nowhere. Something has to give. I feel bad about the whole negative vibe thing, but the Google Algorithm change has done BAD THINGS for HUB WRITERS.
And yes, there is nothing to stop Google doing it again and again. There is too much dependence on the "Google" way of doing things. I believe SEO will be changed forever as a result of this, and people are now more informed about what is happening. Thanks for checking in on my hub! Cheers!
Hello Entourage_007: yes, eHow is benefiting from the Google Algorithm chqange, leaving many Hub writers to wonder about that. Any hubbers who have eHow accounts are seeing better stats there than on Hub Pages most likely. I also mentioned this White List in the forums recently. And Bing are not much better. These two companies Google and Bing are forcing a massive rethink on how to generate traffic and get ahead on the internet. Something has got to give. Getting HubPages on a White List is just one more hoop that Google invents for Hub Pages to jump through. Where does it end? Will all Hubbers buy into that? Is it worth it? Is Google Adsense really all its cracked up to be?
Plenty of interesting Questions to ponder. Thanks for the comments!
Great advice as always from you Cheeky Girl.
Cassy, well I am jealous you are becoming soooo popular here, just wish it was for better reasons. I'll try and be serious for a change, in a few weeks I should be in a better position to concentrate on generating leads, I am sure I'll be looking for yer ideas at that time. Thanks and have a good week!
Hello acaetnna! Thanks for the comments. Hope it didn't wreck your head or anything! :D
Gary, don't be jealous. It's one of the seven deadly sins. LOL! Hey, no problem, happy to help. Wee hint for you, get on twitter or Facebook. You'll never look back!
Thanks for providing the great value on SEO here. Yeah, Google always changes it´s requirements, and we have no choice but to grow with the search engine.
All the best,
Gerald
Not sure if you watched the Titanic but now is the time to jump ship, you are an amazing writer with a Hubscore of 72, like is that a joke.
In 2 weeks I will be totally gone from here but for a few Hubs, I have loads of ideas in the pipeline and trust me, Farms are dying a death which they will never recover from, you have the talent to go alone xox
Hello Gerald: well, the Google changing-its-requirements-thing is a pain in the you-know-what. I am sick of it. I bet they want Hub Pages to dump Kontera, Ebay, and Amazon and have Hubs all to themselves, then miraculously give the Hub Pages a clean bill of health.
When I hear the word "Requirements" I am really hearing the ka-ching of money. I know how that works! LOL! Thanks for the comments.
Hey Art! I LOVE this new Avatar! This is the best ever! Gosh, why didn't you choose thine sooner? Heh! It is iconic and suits you! Yes, I am thinking the very same thing, Art. And I am thinking you are right. Hubs are paying peanuts! My Mind has been expanding into all kinds of areas in the last few days and I am wanting to get my 2 new ventures up and running soon!
Got myself a niche website with an ecommerce side and another niche blog site, both moi own domains! I will let you know when its open for business! I am "stocking the shelves" of it at the moment! LOL!
Yes, the score here doesn't mean a thing to me here anymore. I am more than a number, Art! So are you! :) I am putting that item I got recently to amazing use! It is incredible!!
I am sorry you are leaving, Art. But articles for a sub domain like this is pittance. I know the score. There's lots out there, and the secret is in owning your own blog and website, and focus on niche. Plus lots of FB linking, tweeting, and 50 other traffic generators besides. :D
I agree - farms are for guys with muddy boots and far too much time on their hands! LOL! You are a star! Thanks for believing in me Art! Hey, you have lots of talent too, mister! Cheers Art! G'night! XOXOX
Cassy, no worries, as my Irish friends say, I am never jealous, I learn every day and I teach every day!! I am getting started on Facebook finally answered an invite a friend sent 2 years ago!! but I'm getting there!!
No worries, btw I have another little program that will help you loads. I use it in combination with Market Samurai, I will mail you it tonight, enjoy yer day moi Cheeky Friend ; ) xoxo
Avatar does suit me, doncha think lol x
I took a break for a few weeks and came back to find hubbers in a uproar about all the new changes. Thanks to you, I now understand the new rules better. I've had to unpublish several hubs that didn't meet with the rules but I think that was for the best, for me at least.
I've learned so much from the writers at Hubpages and have (hopefully) grown as a writer.
Hy Gary, that's great! "You the man!" Wow, better late than never on Facebook!
Hy Art! Yes, I am convinced the Hubs all over are taking a bit of a pounding. Oh my! Another? Gosh! Wow, you are spoiling me here! Thanks Art! I am having an otherwise good day here! And yes, that avatar rocks! Heh! XOXOX
Hy Evvy, wow, you came back to join in the fun and games! Well, the rules are laid out for everyone now. Though it seems Google and Bing (Bong!) do let some flout their rules. But that's another hub!
Yes we have all learned so much. Thanks for the comments. And have a great day! :)
I'm still seeing Mc Donald's Trademark in moi analytics. The past week has been the biggest drop. It was like back to September, back to 50 hubs LOL What's goin on with yours moi friend? Everything seemed going up after the Google Algo then HP danced another moved by changing their ads layout. I'm thinking to bake my own cake..In the mean time thinking what to make and how to party LOL
Hello Fehl / twentyfive! Yes the analytics here are way down too. It's the bottom falling out of hubs scores and stats. Except my website has never been doing better, earnings wise. Wow, go figure! LOL! I have hadCheck out my website. I am changing track in a very big way here soon! Er, bake a cake? Do I take it you are cooking a meal or are you planning along the lines of striking off in a new path, web wise... I have a few ideas. I will email you later today, okay. Yes, we celebrating St Patricks Day, with friends! Good Fun! Yes, Party is a good thing today! We need cheering up! Have a great day, moi friend! :) XO
Wow, I'm glad for you moi friend. Your website is awesome! Yup, I was talking bout building a new website. Still thinking bout what niche I'll have or can I just have one without anything specific. I have few ideas, too. I better just email you or they know what's it all about before I start the thing LOL Cheers! Enjoy the day moi friend! XX
Fehl, niche is important and you should think carefully before committing to a name - get the name to even include a high paying keyword if you can, if it gets traffic, better again. Yes my website is making me some good income, better than hubs. It even looks awesome on an iPad, ('cept for flash!) I saw it yesterday on my bosses one, wowwwwww!
I have sent back that email to ya! :) I hope it is useful. Let me know, okay? I am happy to help any way at all. Check other websites that might be in the niche that you might choose, check their pagerank, and their traffic... if it is good and high, then that is a plus. My "Pimp my Web" page gets good traffic and reads. Not really surprised.
You are right to strike out and do this, Fehl. It's the way of the future, in moi opinion. :)
You have a sweet day, Fehl! Mwah! XO
What a great hub you wrote...being very new to this whole hub pages way of life...your article helped clear up some questions...thanks for posting
Hy Cogerson - thanks for the comments. I hope you have fun writing on Hub Pages. It is a great place to get feedback on your writing, and a good learning centre for people who want to go further and publish beyond the hubs too. Glad to help in any way! have a great weekend!
Hey Cassy, hope you are having a good weekend!! Just signed up for Linkedin, so I am making progress!!
Hy Gary! Well done on signing up to linkedIn! It's a great place for putting links! My weekend is groovy! You have a good weekend too!
Hey good day!! the "Evil App has been pulled" :)
Thanks Gary. Evil App? Which one?
There was an App advocating rape as a way to "cure" lesbianism. Change.org got 150,000 signatures against it.
As always - a fantastic hub. You are a winner in my mind. Thank you Cassy and may the good fairy of money follow you where ever you go.... but most importantly may the good fairy of love and happiness become even closer to you.
Thanks for a great observation.
Hy Gary, oh I heard about that, and Apple pulled it off the App store. Their image would not have survived it. It got bad publicity. I thought you'd meant some other one about religions, and converting people. Wow, what a lot of crap people make on mobile phones. LOL! Wonder should I make my own Cheeky Girl App? Hehehe!
Hello Neil! Lovely seeing you in my hubs comments again! :) Me a winner? Tell the Hub bosses to quit messing around with moi hub score. LOL! I am kidding. Thanks for saying that, Neil! Love and happiness are things I treasure always. :) I hope your day is good, my friend! *Give you a big hug!* I hope you have a ray of sunshine happening there where you are! That goes foe Gary there too in the previous comment! Cheers guys! :) xx
Sounds good, Cheeky Girl Fan Club!!! LOL
Join the club!
Mail me what link you want me to put on all my websites, jeez getting 5,000 a day now on Great Tattoos. I am also going to mail you deff tomorrow night, I want you to earn my friend, you are a true friend and I intend to see you make money, love you two girls xoxo
Hy Art! Wow, are you really? 5000 a day? Art, do you know Harry Potter by any chance? How is that possible? Okay, I will email you! Aw, you are so decent to say that! *Big hug for Art here!* We love you too, Mister! Heh! Have a nice Sunday, moi friend! We are spoiling our nearest dearest Mums and Grand Mums here today. Hope someone is spoiling you too! XOXOX
Cassy, enjoy the rest of the day, I'm working on my cars today since it's a bit warmer.
Thanks, Gary. You have a good day. I have just the one car. :)
Thanks for your great informations. I was wondering why I never sold anything on Hub Pages. At least I know why and also that i'm not the only one with such a problem.
Ya its not easy to make money online anymore! Still love your writing. hope you do not quit. Have a great day,
Hy Rudy / Rodolphe: Yup, people's eyes are wide open now. But there are ways of making income on the net. Google has affected article writing on Hub Pages, and we have to carry on here regardless. But not give up on having those other sources of web income too. And the more the merrier. The way I figure it, if a website makes you $150, two websites can make 2 times that, and two times two websites makes loadsa money! LOL! Web sites are cheap. So what is to stop anyone?
Don't tire of playing the one game if the rules don't suit you, start another one and make your own damn rules. That is what the smart folks do. Cheers Rudy!
Like many other hubbers I also lost a large number of Google organic traffic.You said it right "why so much dependency on Google., but the bad news is that Bing is copying Google's organic ranking list.I think hubpages need to regain its authority by attracting more quality writers,removing all the spammy pages and encouraging the current quality hubbers to publish more.Once people learn that hubpages is a source of thorough article,the traffic will certainly come back.
Hy Andromida! You make some good points here. Quality articles that are topical and informative will never go out of fashion, and they will help Hub Pages and hub writers a lot. Yup, the dependency on Google is a pain. But Bing is not much better. What people also need is something more in the way of motivation. People need a kickstart to their writing, I think. But I believe Hubs management are doing the right thing. They are focusing on the right amount of important things. And the Hub ads were a step in the right direction. I am seeing my ad income increase slowly but surely.
Comment from Valery (link snipped)
"Hi Cassy. I just noticed that our writing business dries down more and more and it began right after my vacation.
I am a manager at an article writing service. It's not just Hubpages, but all over the Web people don't order articles so massively as before the last summer. I think they got frustrated in article marketing. Here is one of our new sites (link snipped) - but getting it to the top will be pretty long and expensive process.
Cheers."
Reply from Cassy: thanks for the comment, Valery. That is curious as I would have thought that article writing would help in the marketing and advertising / pseudo advertising of products and services to everyone. I have seen how review articles are but one example of how articles can have a positive effect on the web for everyone.
The current media, both online and offline depends on great article writing. Article marketing was hit with the Panda update from Google which hit article farms and websites and communities that have articles that can include Hubs. So writers have turned away from that to some extent. However the main issue was duplicate content and poor researched or low quality articles that might not have been properly optimized for their respective audiences or end users / receivers. This has been thankfully addressed by Hub Pages.
There was also the possibility that such writing might not have seen the appropriate financial return for certain writers. For some writers of articles, if there is a financial reason for their writing, they expect an appropriate return for it.
So I think it is fair to say that the Panda update devalued the article as we know it. Now the article and the quality writing which we are encouraging back to the web needs to again grow in value, and bring great writers of articles back. Offering more financial incentives with a portion of advertisement revenue is one good way to do this.
I wish you luck with your new site Article Writing Service. Apologies for the snip of the link, but many thanks for the great comment, Valery.
Sufidreamer Level 1 Commenter 14 months ago
Excellent work, Cassy - Some great advice there. I think that we are going through a bit of an online cull - those who are prepared to try new things or work a little harder should thrive.