Frankly, Hubpages is a side project of mine. More accurately, HubPages is a very low-priority project I do in my ever decreasing spare time as a freelance writer.
That being said, I like HubPages and like writing for HubPages and publishing Hubs. However, it has most definately NOT become a large stream of passive income for this writer. That may be in part to do the level of effort I can commit to the community, and it may be in part to do with the fact that making money with AdSense is hard.
Earning money writing by publishing content with ads is a precise science that requires the ability to customize virtually every post to ensure maximum advantage in Google’s search rank algorithm. A website like HubPages prevents that by forcing writers to use the HubPages template and design which, of course, includes numerous links to other articles on HubPages that may or may not have anything to do with the writer who published the hub.
In fact, it is quite possible that HubPages will link to another article providing exactly the desired information (or at least the promise of the information) that would have led the user to click on an advertisement to get it. In that case, not only do you not get the ad click, someone else might.
Of course, done right, the same thing would happen in reverse on a regular basis as well and the writing universe would even itself out over time.
Here are some of my recently published articles on HubPages. They include an article about Google’s Instant Search Feature, how to change a MAC address on a network card, distraction free writing with some writing softare called WriteMonkey, and an assessment of a Facebook security risk that could compromise your financial accounts. (Is your mother’s maiden name easily identifiable from your Facebook profile? If so, ask yourself what is the number one security question asked by your favorite credit card companies, local bank, etc…)
Finally, I wrote an article about whether it is worth it to cut off cable TV and a quick research effort about why FOREX trading is so profitable just to see what the deal was since everyone seems to be targeting Forex trading with both content, ads, and guaranteed trading strategies (all hogwash, BTW)
Lastly, I had published some information about the 529 plan withdrawal penalty which actually led to some other work for me. So, while HubPages itself (via Google AdSense) may not be making a profit for this writer, more good exposure never hurts.
