This Hub is all about how to maximize income on what I call "writerly" Hubs. It will help you if you're here because you love writing, but you'd like to make money, too! If your focus is more on making money than writing, my tips are relevant - but you'll get faster results if you study keyword research and SEO first.

No, not that bard!
No, not that bard!

 
It's important to remember that HubPages is a long-term strategy - what you write today will earn money in six months or a year, not right now (unless you're an expert at self-promotion). Hubs need to mature to reach their full potential. If you need cash flow now, your priority is to learn how to become a freelance writer selling articles (like Sufidreamer) - or get a job!

However, that doesn't mean you should give up on your Hubs. It may take only a few hours of "tweaking" to improve their earnings potential. Then they can simmer profitably on the back-burner while you're doing other things. So let's do it:

Step #1 - Prioritize your Hubs

Work on the Hubs that get the most traffic first. Go to the Statistics page and order the Hubs by Page Views (click on the "30 days" heading twice). Now either export the table into Excel, or print the screen, so you have a handy list of your Hubs with the highest-trafficked Hubs at the top.

Step #2: Allow Space for HubPages Ads

Advertising on HubPages doesn't always appear in exactly the same place on every Hub. HubPages uses Yieldbuild to work out the best positions.

It makes sense, then, to make sure you leave space for ads. Split your text over several capsules, and don't fill the entire right-hand side of your Hub with photos, videos, Amazon or eBay ads - leave gaps for HP Ads or Adsense to appear.

It's especially important to take a hard look at your Amazon and eBay capsules. If you can't find products directly relevant to the subject of the Hub, delete them - because they'll divert the reader's attention away from Adsense ads, but you're unlikely to make any sales from them.

For instance, Bard of Ely has a Hub about the Black Madonnas of Tenerife. If it features books on the Black Madonna and Tenerife, he may make a sale. If it advertises books on the Canary Islands, it's less likely; books on European travel, no chance!

Tip: when you are logged in, you can't see all the ads above the fold, even in "Preview" mode. Log out and view your Hub, then you'll see how much advertising appears to outside visitors (and Google!).

Step #3 - Good Content "Above the Fold"

In January 2012, Google changed its algorithm to penalize sites with too much advertising and not enough content "above the fold" (i.e. the bit of a web page visitors can see without scrolling).

The top right-hand corner of a Hub used to be regarded as the best place to display ads, and Hubbers were recommended to write a long first text capsule to allow space for one. However, there is already advertising around the top section of a Hub, so this advice is now debatable. It's probably better to place an image at or near that top right-hand position, to force the first Adsense block down.

Step #4 - Keep Your Text Flowing

For most of your Hub, it's best to float your photos and videos to the right of the text (if you're not sure what I'm talking about, you need to learn how to use capsules before you go any further). A photo or video cutting across the page can often stop a reader scrolling down - so they'll never see the ads below it!

I know photos don't look as good smaller - but what are you here for, to make money or show off your photos? Remember if you have more than five, your readers can view a full-size slide show anyway.

If you have your own photos, bear in mind it's very likely they'll be stolen if you put them on HubPages. Consider putting them up for sale at a site like Dreamstime instead. You can always write a Hub or two to promote them. Do make sure you use photographs legally, though! Copyright for photos is the reverse of what most people think - ALL photos are copyright unless stated otherwise. I get all my photos from Flickr, and explain how it's done in this Hub.

Step #5: Keep Your External Links Low

I don't mean you mustn't link to other websites: Google will reward you for including links to good quality sites. I mean keep them low down in the Hub. The reason is simple - if a reader sees a link to another site before they get to an ad, they may follow that link and never come back to click on the ad!

So keep your links to other Hubs or other websites to the last couple of paragraphs. And don't go link-crazy: only link if the other Hub or site adds real value to your Hub. A sea of blue links only annoys your readers - and they'll be even more annoyed if they follow the links and don't find it helpful. Besides, the more links you create, the more work you're creating for yourself, because you're more likely to have broken links in the future - and Google doesn't like broken links.

Step #6: Interlink, Interlink, Interlink

Make sure you interlink all your Hubs on the same subject. I don't just mean put them in groups - I mean mention your other Hubs in the text, (e.g. "...as I explained in my Hub on Belly Dance Workouts"). These are called contextual links and Google loves them.

Another alternative is to add a Links capsule listing your related Hubs. This may sound like a better option, because you can include all your related Hubs - however, Google gives contextual links more weight than links in a list, so it's worth making the extra effort to put the links within your text instead.

You can see how I've implemented these ideas in my Hub on Tribal Belly Dance Costumes - I have links in the text to my website and to my related Hubs.


Step #7 - Four Quick Ways to Improve Traffic

Avoid Clever Titles

Most writers are taught to use a "catchy" title for an article, and witty headings within it. On the internet, that doesn't work - you must use titles that include your keywords, preferably in a phrase people actually search for. That often means they're somewhat boring, but don't worry - because titles are to attract Google. It's surprising what a difference it can make - I saw one Hub triple in traffic when I changed its title to include my keyword phrase!

The clip above explains how to use the Google Keyword Tool to optimize your title - but if the keyword tool is a mystery to you, don't worry. SEO is a major learning curve! In Bard's case it would take too much time to master, so in his case, I'd say - just ask yourself what people are likely to be looking for, and use those words and phrases.

For those with the time to study up on this subject, read Sunforged's Hub on On Page SEO Optimization.

The Summary

If the title is for Google, the summary is for your visitors. It provides the couple of lines you see under the Hub title on Google search results. Make sure it entices your reader to click on the link and read more! You'll find it at the top of the "reorder" box when you're in edit mode.

Write Long Hubs - or Interlinked Short Ones

Longer Hubs - between 800 and 1,500 words - do much better than short Hubs. To extend all your Hubs would take too long, but you can get almost as good a result by interlinking several short Hubs - but only if they're all on the same subject and only if they're each at least 400 words long. If they're less than 400 words, write some more, combine them together, or move them to a blog.

Remember, Google likes contextual links best Or you could include a right-floated, highlighted text or links box listing the other Hubs.

Keeping Readers on your Page

Google looks at a range of parameters when judging your Hub, and one of them is the length of time visitors stay. The longer they stay, the more value your Hub has in Google's eyes, the higher you'll rank on searches and the more visitors you'll get.

A simple way to hold readers longer is to add Youtube videos relevant to your subject. This has the bonus of giving you a free backlink - a link to your Hub will automatically appear on Youtube.

Happy Hubbing!

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All text copyright Marisa Wright. Photo by Smabs Sputzer