MAXIMISE YOUR SAIL

So you want to make
your hubs more
attractive to traffic....
I've only been on hubpages
four months and so far, I've
written quite a few hubs.
Slowly I've learnt more and
more about hubpages... so
here are some really
simple, easy things to do
that might just bring in
those few extra ad clicks
and amazon sales.
I'm nowhere near an SEO
expert or a top hubber or a
sales guru. However these
small tips might just give
you that extra boost you
need without too much
work - and they don't
require tons of time to
learn the methods.
Hopefully if you're new to
the site and looking for
some quick and easy tips -
you've found the right hub.
Maybe if you've been here
a little while you can still
find a tip to help. Feel free
to leave any comments or
feed back or tell me I'm
wrong!
An example of best
picture placement
position on a hub.
Picture & Advert
Placement
This is a well known one,
but I thought I'd include it
anyway. Try to put your
first picture or right aligned
text box further down the
page - along side your
second main text box is a
great spot. This allows
adverts to be placed next
to the first block of text,
where they are more
noticeable to readers and
more likely to be clicked.
Summary Text
Use your summary text
box! When in edit mode it's
at the top of the hub to
the right of the "settings"
tab.
Simply write a small blurb
about your hub, making
sure to include your
keywords. If you don't write
one, it's automatically
generated from your first
paragraph which may not
be very relevant to the
reader who just wants a
quick overview before
visiting your page.
Including your keywords in
the summary text also
increases the chance of
ranking well in SERPs.
Example
Crayola 12ct Long Colored
Pencils
Amazon Price: $0.79
List Price: $3.79
Using colors
Any time you align a box to
the right, you have a choice
of leaving the background
white, making it grey or
making it pale blue. Use
this to your advantage.
Remember that hubs have
no major colors in them
other than pictures.
Add a blue or grey box
around your amazon items,
so that the reader's eye is
drawn to the items.
Otherwise the reader might
just get a case of "banner
blindness" and ignore
them.
Spread out your adverts
Don't put one entire block
of 6 amazon items on your
hub. Spread them out . For
instance, in a hub about
drawing techniques:
Put an amazon capsule
with crayons beside the
crayon information.
Put an amazon capsule
with paints beside the paint
information.
And so on....
This is also important
because many people skim
read. For instance, in our
drawing techniques
example, a reader may only
want to know about
pencils - and even want to
buy them. However if your
one and only amazon
capsule with pencils for
sale is next to your
introduction or your
capsule on crayons, you
may have just missed a sale.
Example
Who makes the best
derwent pencils? The best
derwent pencils are made
by...
Ask a question.
Many phrases in search
engines are questions. Most
people view search engines
like a robot that knows
everything - simply ask a
question and get an
answer. Millions of
questions get asked each
day, ranging from "How do
I make my car work?" to
"Who is the most popular
singer in America?"
If you put in a few
questions about the topic,
that you know people are
regularly asking on search
engines, chances are you'll
get just that bit more
traffic.
This also gives you a chance
to repeat your key words.
Using spelling and
grammar
You might want to make
something sound very
impressive - but will
impressive get you search
results? For instance, why
would someone search the
word "Sphere" when they
can just type in "Round" or
"Circle."
Another important thing is
to make sure the grammar
and wording matches up
with your target audience.
For instance, if you wish to
target Australians and
English people, you might
want to write "Colour"
instead of the American
version - "Color." If you're
targeting normal house
wives, writing big medical
definitions instead of just
"Acne" or "Dandruff" will
lower your chance of
traffic.
Derwent Graphic Pencil
Design Set/12
Amazon Price: $12.95
List Price: $19.99
Example of Amazon Ad
Referral
I've used derwent pencils in
most of my major drawing
projects. I've found their
design set is particularly
helpful in more detailed
work.
Refer to your amazon
items.
Add some information that
points towards the
products you are selling.
Simply throwing in a
random brand of item that
has a slight relation to your
article just might not get
you that many sales.
If your hub looks like it's
selling something, some
people will just leave.
However if you have
relevant information, plus
you can manage to throw
in a few "item placements",
it can pay off.
Links
Google Keywords Tool
Use this search link and
click on the first item.
This is the tool to help
you find out what key
words to use in your
hub.
The Pyramid
You can connect your hubs
in a pyramid so that you
get more traffic going to
lesser viewed hubs as well
as keeping clicks on your
hubs instead of going to
another site.
For instance:
Write 1 hub about a broad
topic - for instance, art.
In that hub link to three
more hubs - maybe famous
artists, mediums to use in
art and a basic guide to
drawing.
Now each of those three
can link to more intricate
hubs. For example, the hub
on famous artists can link
to more specific
information on one artist,
the hub on mediums can
then link to four separate
hubs on paints, pencils,
crayons and charcoal.
All your hubs will be
interconnected and users
will be able to find more
about any topic in your
hub without having to
google it and visit a
different site!
You can use the pyramid in
two ways -
1. If you have a topic
you really like to
write about, simply
go back and edit
them to connect to
each other on
relevant topics.
2. You can come up
with a whole new
topic and
interconnect them
all - coming up with
new hubs and ideas
as you go!
Fresh Content
Do you want to "set and
forget" your pages? Google
loves freshly updated
content so here's two ways
that you can help with that
without editing and
updating all the time.
Comments - Every
comment someone makes
is new information for
google. So the more
comments means more
traffic - especially if your
key words appear in a few
comments.
News Feed - Add a news
feed box - if you use a few
choice keywords you'll have
regularly updated news
which impresses google as
well.