Hubpages vs Squidoo - Neutral Review

This is my first Hub on Hubpages and I'm writing this Hub simply because I have the same questions and doubts like many of you that are looking for comparisons and reasons on Hubpages vs Squidoo. I'll share some of my research, findings and analysis on these 2 website in several different factors and perspective.

In Hubpages, each page you create is called a Hub. Within each Hub, it consists of several Capsules. The author for each Hub is known as a Hub Author. Everyone else that joins Hubpages is called Hubbers.

In Squidoo, each page you create is known as a Lens. Within each Lens, it consists of several Modules. The author for each Lens is known as Lensmaster, same goes to everyone else that joins Squidoo.

Going quick into one of the main concern, you'll want to understand what the differences between Hubpages and Squidoo are in terms of making money. Both of them are sites where you will write articles and contents to generate traffic or impressions to make you some passive income.

For Hubpages, the earnings paid to Hubbers are determined mainly by impressions. For every visitor to your hubs, 60% of the ads impressions will generate revenue to your account and 40% goes to Hubpages. These ads will mainly be Google Adsense, Amazon Associate and eBay Partners.

For Squidoo, it's a little different story there. Squidoo put all the earnings into a pool and share 50% of the total amount earn in the pool to lensmasters. Squidoo then pays their lensmasters according to the LensRank of each lens they created. The better your LensRank, the more you earn for each lens.

Having some quick and summarised understanding on the earning scheme between Hubpages and Squidoo, let's do some comparison, analysis and personal thoughts.

The very first thing I'll compare is the percentage paid out, which is also reflecting the percentage they keep in their pocket. For Hubpages, they keep 40% and give out 60% whereas Squidoo only gives a 50% share. Indirectly, this decreases the possible profit by 10% and this can be significant as your income grows.

Next will be the methodology of their earning scheme. For Hubpages, it's very clear and straight forward. For every 100 impressions you get from your hubs, 60 will show ads that generates income for you and 40 will show ads that generates income for Hubpage. Clicks on the advertisements go directly into your personal Adsense, Amazon and eBay account. As for Squidoo, it's kind of complicated and hidden. You'll never know how much you will earn until the payday itself because it's all decided by Squidoo. As they claim that the earning is distributed according to LensRank which updates daily, ultimately the LensRank is computed by Squidoo. I just feel unsafe and uncertain to write and promote my content and leave my fate to others.

Hubpages has an unbeatable referral system when compared to Squidoo. On Hubpages, every new user you refer through your affiliate referral link gives you 10% lifetime impression. This simple yet powerful referral system means if you happen to invite 20 new users that starts their writing for passive income in Hubpages, you're going get 100 impressions for every 1000 impressions each user generates for their own hubs.

Calculating from the impressions, if each invited user earns an estimate of $500 a month from only 60% of impressions, you will be earning 10% which is $500/6=$83.33 for each user. And that will be $1666.66 passive income from your referral ads impressions.

Squidoo does not give great benefits on their referral system. When you refer a new user, you'll only get $5 once they make their first $15 on Squidoo and that ends there. In comparison with Hubpages, it's a big disadvantage on income potential.

As I were doing some research and analysis between the 2 sites, I do notice there're concerns on which sites is easier to get your content ranking on search engines. As usual, you'll see Hubbers saying their hubs ranks better than lens and Lensmasters will say their lens rank better than hubs. There's no actual conclusion to this. In my opinion, it depends on how well the content is made and how keyword targeted is the page.

On top of ranking in search engine, I do have some additional findings. I noticed the possibility of Google PageRank (PR) on Squidoo is much higher than Hubpage. I can easily find a lens that's PR5 and PR6 but in Hubpages I usually see PR2 and PR3. It seems like Squidoo has some good internal linking system that brings up their PageRank significantly. Even though PageRank does not mean traffic or ranking well in search engine, it does represent some authority for that page. This also shows how well Squidoo build internal links to increase their authority within themselves.

In my personal opinion, after analysing and researching the different factors in terms of making money, internet marketing and SEO, I have slight preference on Hubpages instead of Squidoo. As different people might have different ways of seeing things, it all depends on individual preference.

I'll say signup for both Hubpages and Squidoo to give it a try and experience how it works. You'll then understand what you prefer between the two. Or you can even do well in both if you're flexible enough to cope with different platforms.

Click here to join Hubpages

Click here to join Squidoo