Methods of Skillfully Using HubPages That Are Often Overlooked
Learn the tricks to be more skillful with HubPages.
Learn What Is Often Overlooked
I've been writing content on HubPages since 2009. I noticed some people overlook crucial things that must be used correctly for extra benefit. The following pointers will help you learn what you need to know.
Tell People You Write Articles, Not Hubs
We write hubs, but no one outside of HubPages knows what that is. Most of our readers come from organic search results, so when you refer to your articles, don't call them hubs.
In addition, don't call it a blog! HubPages is not a blog site. Articles are stand-alone pages of informative content. Blogs may be informative too, but are less formal and don't require as much research.
Enable Your Copyright Notice
The copyright notice is at the bottom of the HubTool. You need to enable it for it to display in your published article. It shows the year of publication, which does not change when you update the content.
It also protects you because it will show Google when it was first published. That's helpful in case you need to file a DMCA takedown notice when you find a plagiarized copy.
The default is not to display your copyright, so you should turn this on as shown here:
Make Your URL More Generalized Than the Title
You only have one chance to specify the URL, and that is when you first create an article. After that, it remains constant even when you change the title.
I see that most Hubbers let the URL default to the same as the title. The problem with that the URL may not relate as well if you ever drastically change the title.
I like to specify a URL that is more generalized than the title, so I'm not locked into a specific theme that I may change as the content of the article matures.
As soon as you start to create a new article, you will see the title field as the first entry, as shown below. After you enter a title, the URL will automatically fill in to match the title.
You can override the URL in the field directly above the title field as shown here. Remember, this is the only time you can change the URL.
Understanding URL Redirection
The URLs are static so that incoming links don't break if you change the title. However, there are cases where it's forced to change, such as when staff changes the topic category for more accuracy.
In those cases, HubPages makes a 301 redirect so search engines are informed, and older incoming links follow the redirect.
Do Updating in Invisible Capsules
You may not know this, but while you're editing a published hub, the changes you make are live! That is, people see the half-finished work; even search engine bots see it if they happen to visit while you're in the middle of a lengthy update.
I do much of my work offline using MS Word. However, many times, I work with the HubTool itself. In order not to let people see my work-in-progress, I make the capsule I'm working on invisible. Just add a checkmark next to “Don't display this capsule” in the top right corner, as shown in this example.
Glenn Stok
When I'm adding content, I add it to an invisible text capsule. But if I need to do massive mods to an existing capsule, then I copy and paste the text into a new one and make it invisible so I can take my time working on it. I can even leave it to finish another day.
When done, I make that capsule visible and delete the older version capsule.
When you're doing this, remember to make it visible again when you're finished.
There also is no need to worry about losing your work if your computer crashes. HubPages has an auto-save function, and that works while a capsule is invisible too.
Work With the Curators and Editors
HubPages has a team of editors to work on improving our articles. When done well, it's a win-win for all of us—HubPages and authors. In some cases, they use their best judgment for edits and snips, but in general, they follow a standard routine.
They are free to be creative (within limits, of course), which helps tremendously with improving our content. I am personally very pleased with the process.
I have communicated with several of the editors about changes to my articles, and in the end, it turned out better. I have also learned a few things from them that I later implement in my other articles as well.
So, keep an open mind to what's being done. These professionals are paid to improve earnings that benefit both you and HubPages. We're in this together.
View Forums Chronologically
You can view forums in chronological order or a threaded order. Occasionally I notice that someone missed something in a discussion because they were in threaded view, which doesn't show the last post at the bottom. It also does not show the posts in order of posting.
I always view the forums chronologically so that I can follow the entire forum thread rather than just threaded replies to individual posts.
I recommend that you don't use the threaded view, but this is entirely your choice. At least give it a try in chronological order. You can change the setting at the top right of any forum where you see these two buttons:
Are You Following People for the Wrong Reason?
Focus on getting followers by writing useful hubs that provide helpful or educational content.
If you think that following attracts followers who read your hubs, you're mistaken. You want followers who decide to follow you based on your own merits, not because you followed them. People who follow you as a courtesy probably never read your hubs, so what's the point?
Making money from writing is not related to how many followers you have. Although it's nice to have followers among our close-nit friends of HubPages, we don't make money from them since we don't (and shouldn't) click ads.
People who follow too many and can't keep up with actually reading what they write are fooling themselves, in my opinion.
Follow People Only If You Intend to Read Their Content
When someone new follows me, I examine the activity log in his or her profile. If they just followed dozens of other people in a minute or two, it's obvious what they're up to. They haven't read any of my hubs, so they don't really have an interest in following me.
They just are hoping to get followers with this trick. It makes me think they don't feel they are good enough to capture followers with their writing, so why would I consider following them back?
When I see some real activity, then I'm motivated to check out their hubs to find something that interests me. Then I'll read it and leave a comment.
I only follow as many people via HubPages as I can honestly keep up with, but I do also follow Hubbers via other social networks such as Facebook and LinkedIn.
In addition, from time to time, I check out hubs of people who follow me, as well as people posting in forums whose comments attract my attention.
Stay Up to Date With HubPages’ Announcements
I sometimes see complaints in the forum about changes or new features that should have been announced. But they were! Important announcements are always posted in the forum and via email.
So, keep an eye on the forums often to take advantage of crucial details about changes to rules and methods critical for successful publishing on HubPages.
In addition, announcements are also included in the weekly newsletter that arrives each Wednesday by email. So, ensure you have notifications enabled in your account settings under the profile tab. There's no excuse for missing out on important announcements.
In Conclusion
Now that you reviewed all these methods and features, make sure to put them to good use. After all, you already put so much effort into your writing. It would be a shame to miss out on reaping the rewards of further achievements.
Further Reading
My 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award. I've been publishing on HubPages since 2009.
© 2017 Glenn Stok
Comments
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on August 20, 2020:
Thanks, Abby, for mentioning me in your article.
Abby Slutsky from America on August 20, 2020:
Thanks for the congrats, and I forgot to tell you that you are mentioned with some of the extra helpful hubbers in my most recent article.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on August 19, 2020:
Abby Slutsky - Congratulations on getting your articles approved with the proper way of using Amazon capsules. Thanks for your feedback on the results.
Abby Slutsky from America on August 19, 2020:
This was helpful. I still haven't gotten the knack of setting up google analytics, but I use the other items you mention. By the way, I have gotten some articles with Amazon capsules approved, so your advice was helpful. My most recent one is about car emergency items, so thank you again. It has been a while, so I did not see your response,
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on July 26, 2020:
Hey Abby, For some reason your last comment went into my spam folder. I just discovered it today and approved it. Did they accept your article that you changed?
Abby Slutsky from America on July 10, 2020:
If you see my article and the original title, I just wanted you to be aware that your info was very helpful and I intend to use it. However, I decided that a new title would really be changing the focus of the entire article, as opposed to making a few changes. Therefore, I expect to do another article that is tailored to creating Amazon capsules with a title similar to what you suggested. I removed all the affiliate tags from this article. I will see if they feature it now that it does not have the Amazon capsules. I have never republished, so I don't even know if it is reconsidered. This is a learning process. I am going to try another Amazon geared article that I think we be a little easier, and then go back to the second Mah Jongg article, which will focus on reviewing specific sets. Thanks again!
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on July 09, 2020:
Abby, I looked at your article “Tips for Buying a Mah Jongg Set.”
The Amazon capsules are spammy because they do not relate to what you promised with your title. A better title that lets the reader know to expect purchase links would be:
“A Review of Three Mah Jongg Sets You can Buy in America”
Notice that I also included America since that’s related to your review.
If you want to see how I do it with multiple Amazon capsules without being spammy, look at “5 Books Written by Benjamin Franklin About Self-Improvement.”
Also, remove the extra blank lines you have at the end of a few text capsules. The editors don’t like that.
By the way, I noticed you’re experimenting with adding content in the Amazon capsules, and then you removed that.
I’m experimenting with that, too, as I mentioned in one of the forums a week ago. Even though I recommend putting your own content in the capsule, I may change that recommendation soon. I already changed it in a few articles to test the results. Amazon has changed tremendously since April.
Abby Slutsky from America on July 09, 2020:
I am learning a lot from you. I was just reading your article that talks about Amazon hubs. I wrote my first one yesterday, and it is my first not featured article. It must be because they think it is spammy. Which article of yours does well with Amazon? I'd like to read it to see if I can modify my article because I don't think the problem was with the writing. This part will be trial and error. Sorry I am picking your brain so much today. You are very patient.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on July 09, 2020:
Abby Slutsky - I've had more time to work on my articles too because of staying at home during the pandemic.
Mostly 80% on updates and 20% on new content, as is always recommended.
Abby Slutsky from America on July 09, 2020:
Thank you. I have been copywriting on and off for years, but I just started here. The Corona Virus has given me more at home time.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on July 09, 2020:
Abby Slutsky - Welcome to HubPages Abby. I see you have all your articles in the network niche sites already. That’s a great accomplishment! Congratulations for doing so well with your writing.
Abby Slutsky from America on July 09, 2020:
Excellent article. A lot of what you mentioned I found on my own, but I still learned something so this was worthwhile to read. I am new, but I have formerly written at many sites.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on June 07, 2020:
Welcome to HubPages Lisha. I see you recently joined, and already have published a few great articles. Keep up the good work.
Lisha C on June 07, 2020:
Thank you for sharing these details about HubPages features, and for your other tips. I was not aware of some of the features.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on May 19, 2020:
Welcome to HubPages Sujatha. I just read your first article and I see you have done well with it. I think you will find much success with your writing if you keep it up. The key is to keep going and keep learning.
Sujatha from Noida on May 18, 2020:
Am new to Hub pages and am happy that I published my first featured article. This article was very useful. Really appreciate you taking the time to have all this information recorded as an article.
Cynthia Hoover from Newton, West Virginia on April 21, 2020:
Glenn, thank you so much for always giving me the needed details. Oh my, I learned so much that in all my years here I never knew. I never thought about the ‘do not display’ while editing. So yes, I have been editing without doing that all these years. Thank you again for a great informative article!
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on February 18, 2020:
I updated this HubPages tutorial with latest changes to features, such as the removal of "Bring-Your-Own AdSense."
Jerry Cornelius on February 18, 2020:
Thanks Glenn, we are never too old to learn.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on February 17, 2020:
Jerry Cornelius - Looks like you're doing well already on HubPages, but I'm glad you found more useful tips here.
Jerry Cornelius on February 17, 2020:
Thank you, Glenn. Brilliant article, although I am currently using some of these tips, some of the others you mentioned I never even thought about and will be implementing asap.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on June 14, 2019:
Abigail Hreha - It's best not to update the bio in the hub, because if you’re not careful you will change it for all hubs using the same bio as you discovered. And you may not have intended to do that.
The better way is to maintain all your bios from one place by clicking the “About the Author” tab from your account page.
Abigail Hreha from Oregon on June 14, 2019:
Thank you, Glenn! I’ll work on that. I think the editors caught a lot of those when things got moved to niche sites but some likely slipped through the cracks. I just recently discovered that editing a bio on one without creating a new tag changes it on all of them. Oops.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on June 13, 2019:
Abigail Hreha - For some reason your comment from four weeks ago went into my spam folder and I just discovered it now.
To answer your question, It can take many weeks for organic traffic to build up if everything is done right.
Google ranks based on view duration. They send more traffic to you over time when they see that people are reading. Short duration can cause a lower ranking and reduce traffic. All this takes time for Google to adjust and begin to recognize that your content has value.
One thing I noticed is that you need to change some of your bios to show why you have authority on the subject you write about. Your hub on Perpetua, for example, is not about wellness, yet your say in your bio that this is your focus. That will confuse Google and lose readers. Google will then stop sending traffic to that hub.
So, I suggest you go through all your bios and make them match the content. Also look of other ways to keep readers engaged. That's the most important thing that Google looks out for. I discuss more on this in my other tutorials.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on June 11, 2019:
Audrey Lancho - I’m glad you’re already doing some of the things that I suggest. I have additional tips in my other tutorials.
Keep getting your hubs moved to the niche sites because that’s where you’ll get the most traffic. You're already off to a great start!
Audrey Lancho from Spain on June 11, 2019:
Thanks again for the information. I will experiment with that in future articles. Luckily, I am already doing other things mentioned in your article. (I really want to increase my traffic (and earnings) because I plan to take some time off teaching next year. I think your hubs will help me with this!)
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on June 10, 2019:
Welcome to HubPages Audrey. I see you began a year ago and you already have a 95 rating. You also have achieved getting most of your hubs moved to niche sites. So that shows you write stellar quality. That's great! Keep it up. I'll check out some of your articles in the next few days.
As for the URL, that option is at the very top of the page when you begin to create a new hub. That's the only time and place where you have the chance to change it.
Titles can be changed any time in the future, which is why I like to make the URL more generic. Don't worry about it though. My first hubs have the original title in the URL also. It's not the worst thing. lol.
Audrey Lancho from Spain on June 10, 2019:
This was VERY helpful. I still do not understand the URL override. Will try with my next piece. I write mostly about Spain, a few recipes, and relationships (Mother-in-law, husband, finding a mate, etc.) I think my URLS so far have been my titles, but I get plenty of traffic on a few of them.
Abigail Hreha from Oregon on May 14, 2019:
This is really helpful. There were a lot of tips in here that I wasn't aware of.
I'm kinda getting back into writing on here and I'm having to catch up on years worth of changes and updates. I'm also new to SEO. How log does it take for a hub to start getting traffic? I have several reasonably highly rated hubs that just aren't getting traffic within the first few weeks. Is this normal?
Deepa from India on August 23, 2018:
Yes I am new here. Thank you for your support. I will look into them as I know they will be very useful to me.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on August 23, 2018:
Welcome to HubPages Deepa. I see you recently signed up. I also have a few other tutorials with additional tips. You can find all of them listed, on my profile page.
Deepa from India on August 23, 2018:
Hi, You explained so many things I am not at all aware of. I will have to come back to this article a few times again as and when I make use of the tools you mentioned. It is really nice of you to have thought of writing such a comprehensive and useful piece. Thank you and regards, Deepa.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on August 21, 2018:
In August 2018, this article was moved to the ToughNickel niche site. I’m always keeping it up to date with overlooked writing techniques for HubPages.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on July 20, 2018:
Few people realize that Thelma. I hope my other overlooked techniques are useful for you too. Thanks for chiming in on this.
Thelma Alberts from Germany on July 20, 2018:
Oh my! I didn't know that when I edited my hub that I was live editing. Thanks for the heads up. I will be using that capsule next time I edit my hubs. Thanks for the heads up Glenn.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on June 17, 2018:
Alyssa, I have found that maintaining comments, removing useless ones and especially unrelated comments, helps increase search engine ranking.
Alyssa from Ohio on June 17, 2018:
This was really helpful! I will have to keep in mind that edits are live.. I didn't realize that was the case. I will also have to try maintaining my comments in the 'comments' section vs. the actual article. Thank you for the tips!
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on June 03, 2018:
Jackie, Another thing you can do is write the updates off line (I use MS Word) and then copy and paste the new content into the capsules. That will avoid having partially edited hubs showing up before you finish the update.
Jackie Grant from UK on June 03, 2018:
Gosh I didn't realise that when you are editing a hub the edits are going out live! I must start using the invisible capsule trick like you say. On occasions I have had hubs half edited for hours while I deal with 'real life' stuff!
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on April 16, 2018:
CWanamaker - I see you’ve been successful with over a million views. Thanks for your kind remarks.
Christopher Wanamaker from Arizona on April 16, 2018:
Glenn,
Great tips written in a perfectly engaging article. Clearly you've been around the block a few times. You're a good writer as well; I still have some of your older hubs on publishing ebooks, etc bookmarked for such a time when I am ready to publish my own book. You're a wealth of knowledge my friend.
Kathy Henderson from Pa on April 10, 2018:
I learn something new each time I read or re-read one of your articles- thanks
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on April 07, 2018:
April 2018 update: I added an additional section at the end of this hub discussing the new Q&A feature, with concepts that you need to understand.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on March 27, 2018:
That’s great news Lucy. Glad it helped.
Lucy Brian on March 27, 2018:
Hi Glenn sir!
What an amazing article!Thank you so much, it helped me a lot. Keep up your good work. Excited to read your more articles.
A lots of love,
Lucy.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on February 27, 2018:
Kathy Burton - That's great news that 80% of you hubs have been moved to niche sites. That shows how well you are doing as a writer. Keep up the excellent work.
And thanks for your kind remarks about my responses to comments. I'm glad you checked them out. Questions people ask always are beneficial to others as well. That's why I like responding to them in my hubs as well as on the forums.
Kathy Burton from Florida on February 27, 2018:
Hello, I learned a lot from this article as well. The invisible editing suggestions caught me by surprised. Did not know editing was done live...Also, wanted to thank you for your thoughtful and complete responses to your comments. I learn from your responses as well.
although I joined awhile back, I did not start writing until January 2018. I am happy to say 8 of 10 articles have been moved to a niche site. I contribute that in part from what I am learning from articles like your articles. Keep writing forward. Thanks again
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on February 21, 2018:
Daniel Mollat - Yes, it’s very important to be on the network niche sites. Only the best hubs are moved and Google knows that.
If they don’t meet the stellar guidelines are left on the main site or get moved back. Hubs left on HubPages.com hardly make any money.
Daniel Mollat from Nevada on February 21, 2018:
Is being in a niche all that important?
The first hub I wrote made it to a niche but was recently delisted from that niche for some needed corrections. I'm working on the required corrections. Meanwhile, even though it's not in a niche it continues to generate good impressions.
Stella Kaye from UK on February 21, 2018:
Thanks Glenn. Yes I am gradually submitting them all but it's going to take a while.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on February 20, 2018:
Daniel Mollat - You can tell where it is by the URL. If it's hubpages.com then it's still on the home site.
You can also look at the list on your profile. Each one shows the niche it's in. Otherwise it just shows the topic.
You can also use the filter on your statistics page to show only your hubs in any specific niche site.
I see you're doing very well for a newbie Daniel. 12 of your hubs are on ToughNickel and one on RemedyGrove.
Only two are left to move, one of which is the first hub you ever wrote. Probably needs work to get it moved.
Daniel Mollat from Nevada on February 20, 2018:
How do I know which of my articles are on niche sites and which are not?
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on February 20, 2018:
Stella, Hubs on HubPages main site don't earn anything much anymore. You need to get your hubs moved to the niche sites.
You only have 16 hubs out of 265 on the niche sites. Are you submitting one every 14 days? Take advantage of that if you're not.
Stella Kaye from UK on February 20, 2018:
Great article. I do all these things and still earn next to nothing! This month's earnings so far stand at less than a dollar for 269 articles!
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on February 12, 2018:
I can’t answer that. You can do your own research, as you should anyway, by searching for copies of your hubs.
I use Google Alerts. I put a couple of sentences from each hub into it and Google sends me an alert whenever it finds it anywhere.
I find copies faster that way than HubPages reports copied hubs. It’s important to keep after stolen copies by sending takedown notices to the hosting companies as per the DMCA.
Daniel Mollat from Nevada on February 12, 2018:
Glenn, your answer to my question about copyrights is very helpful. Could this be a reason my total impressions are coming down?
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on February 12, 2018:
Daniel, In response to your other question, since you are new here, I would recommend that you select a non-basic template layout–one that relates to your subject. These will guide you through the creation off your hub.
The basic template does not guide you and really is only for people who already know all the tricks.
Glenn Stok (author) from Long Island, NY on February 12, 2018:
My take is not important. What counts is if you want copyright protection or not.
Legally, everything you create is copyrighted. But if you want people to pass it on to others without your copyright notice, then the recipient may consider it content belonging to the other person.
Eventually copies get sent around and may even be posted elsewhere without your name on it. Eventually Google reduces your ranking because of duplicate content.
Daniel Mollat from Nevada on February 12, 2018:
Question:
When we start to create a new article there is a part on the bottom that asks about "starting layout". We are asked to choose "basic', "tutorial" or "copy from another article"
Does it matter which one we select?