Wizzley vs Hubpages vs Squidoo: Which is more User (& Bank) Friendly
by wrylilt
Wizzley may have just recently launched but that doesn't mean it hasn't started out on the right foot. Here's a comparison of the two sites, their similarities and differences.
You can sign up for Wizzley here.
Although Wizzley is a recent addition to the online world of revenue generation through article writing, it's certainly put its best foot forward. Many people find the layout similar to another well known site, Hubpages and also find quite a few similarities to Squidoo. Of course it can all get a little confusing, especially with the different types of functions, boxes, affiliates and levels available on all three sites. So here's a quick look at what exactly each site gives that the others don't.
Features all Three Sites Share
Although these sites are very different in some ways, they do share certain features. Here are a few of them:
- The ability to write unlimited articles with immediate publication (although moderation can lead to unpublication if the content is deemed unacceptable.)
- Easy to use capsules or modules that can be used to display everything from text or images through to Amazon products or Google maps - meaning the sites require no coding knowledge.
- 100% earnings on third party affiliates (affiliates that you link to directly.)
Quick Overview Comparison
|
Wizzley |
Hubpages |
Squidoo |
Capsules |
WideRange |
MediumRange |
WideRange |
Capsule Move Around |
Some Glitches, but mostly good. |
Good |
Only up or down |
Images |
Align Left/Right |
Align Right |
Varies |
Revenue Share |
50% up to 60% |
60% |
Based on Rank |
Affiliates |
WideRange |
SmallRange |
WideRange |
Affiliate Links |
Most Allowed |
Few Select Allowed - 2 per domain/hub |
Most Allowed - 9 Outgoing Links/Lens |
Affiliate Display Options |
WideRange |
LowRange |
MediumRange |
Set & Forget |
Easy to Do |
Easy to Do |
Requires Edits/Attention |
Social Bookmarking |
Automatic |
Easily Linked |
Basics Only |
Member Interaction |
Messages, Fans, Forums |
Fans, Forums |
Forums |
Referrals |
10% on Impressions |
10% on Impressions |
One off $5 payment |
Wizzley |
Wizzley
Modules - These can be easily moved up and down as well as aligned left or right (allowing two modules to sit side by side.) Wide range of modules include everything text to Google maps and even downloads.
Affiliates - Wide range including Adsense, Amazon, Zazzle, Allposters and more to come (hopefully Ebay and Etsy.)
Affiliate Links - No strict limits on these as long as they don't lead to low quality or harmful sites.
Revenue Share - All members begin with 50% revenue sharing which increases to 55% with 50 articles and 60% at 100 articles.
How to Earn - Members earn directly from the affiliates during their share of impressions.
Dofollow Links - Once a member publishes 5 quality articles they become a "trusted member" and all outgoing links become dofollow.
Member Interaction - Members can follow (fan) a person whose articles they find interesting. They can also easily send a private message directly to another Wizzley member, without leaving the site. Wizzley also has forums.
Referrals - 10% of impressions on all referee articles, from Wizzley's share for the life of the referee's account.
Extra Features - Ability to change page background color (not in modules or text however.)
The Bad - Currently fairly new so has yet to get a high ranking on Google.
Hubpages |
Hubpages
Capsules - Easy to move these up and down as well as left and right (but images can only be aligned to the right of text).Small range of capsules relatively, especially with the news capsule now gone and eBay not used by many writers.
Affiliates - The main affiliates used on the site now are Amazon and Adsense. eBay is difficult to gain membership to but can be used. Kontera has recently been discontinued as a regular affiliate.
Affiliate Links - Recent changes have seen a wide range of legitimate affiliate links being banned on 1.) All hubs or 2.) On hubs in saturated areas such as MLM, weight loss and forex.
Revenue Share - All members get 60% revenue share on their articles.
How to Earn - Members earn directly from the affiliates during their share of impressions. Hubpages also runs an in house ad program which pays via paypal.
Dofollow Links - To turn outgoing links to dofollow, the author must maintain a main score of 75 or higher. If a hub falls below a hubscore of 40, that single hub will have links turned to nofollow.
Member Interaction - Members can follow a person whose articles they find interesting. The only way to privately contact another member is to send them a message which will reveal your personal email and conversations are usually continued via email. Hubpages also has forums.
Referrals - 10% of impressions on all referee articles, from Hubpage's share for the life of the referee's account.
Extra Features - The Hubpages ad program allows hubbers to earn per impression.
The Bad - A recent Google slap has seen the site decline by up to 50% in traffic. Recent rule changes have also seen many hubbers have their high quality articles unpublished for slight problems (including pixelated images.)
Squidoo
Modules - Modules can be moved up or down only. Wide range of modules includes dozens of different ways to interact with users - so many they have a search box to find the one you want!
Affiliates - Wide range of affiliates, however members get paid directly by Squidoo. They get a flat 50% rate on all sale affiliates.
Affiliate Links - No strict limits on these as long as they don't lead to low quality or harmful sites.
Revenue Share - Revenue share isn't based on a percentage but on rank. The top 2,000 lenses get (varies) ~$30 month and 2,001 to 10,000 earning (varies) ~$5 a month but lower ranked lenses usually get only a few cents. However many members earn well through third party affiliates or Squidoo affiliate sales.
How to Earn - The general recommendation is to use a variety of affiliate modules and avoid trying to earn just by ranking your lenses.
Dofollow Links - As soon as a green tick is shown beside a lens in the lens rank section, all links in it are dofollow.
Member Interaction - Members can leave a public comment on the page of a person they find interesting. The only way to privately contact another member is to send them a message which will reveal your personal email. Squidoo also has forums.
Referrals - Squidoo falls down in this area. If you refer a friend who then writers a lens that earns $15, you will in turn get a one off payment of $5.
Extra Features - HTML is allowed, meaning you can have colored text, borders and all sorts of snazzy coded features on your lens.
The Bad - Low paying for just general writing, although better rates if you know how to earn from affiliates.
My Personal Opinion
Based on the different features available on each site, here's my opinion:
Wizzley is the best feature wise. However it still ranks fairly low search engine wise. Hubpages is likely to continue hemorrhaging traffic and sources say it may close as early as October '11. Squidoo is relatively hard to earn on for beginners or those who don't have a good knowledge of affiliates and requires some upkeep.
So I think that Wizzley, given a few months to rank better, will probably be the best new revenue sharing site created this year!
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Comments
Sorry Kapilddit, I haven't tried Seekyt as yet!
This is a great comparison between HubPages, Squidoo and Wizzley. This is a useful overview of all 3 sites, which really helps to show all their features and similarities and differences at a glance. I've just recently joined Wizzley and do find the site easy to use though I still have much to learn.
When you say affiliate links, do you still mean sites like Amazon, Zazzle, etc but without using the Wizzley modules to put the products in your articles? Do you recommend having both the affiliate modules and then a text affiliate link for the same product that you're talking about in a Wizzley article? Or should we just choose one over the other?
I was not aware that Wizzley and HUBPages would allow Affiliate Links. Do you mean like Share-a-Sale or Commission Junction? Would it be OK to post a banner or text link or even embed one in the article? I'll have to go over the rules again cause I missed that.
Also, I was banned from HUBpages (had two accounts). But HUBPages was the first site where I actually earned money that I could show my spouse to prove I wasn't goofing off. I don't quite know what I did to offend. But they forgave me and let me create a new account. So now I'm writing for HUBPages, Squidoo and Wizzley; though I tread cautiously with all of them.
I love Suite101.com. They published my first freelance article. But I totally gave up on trying to generate income with the articles there.
Do you have an opinion or information about InfoBarrel? They give articles a human review and it takes 24 hours to be told if you're approved. I've only written one approved article at that site so far.
* This is an excellent excellent excellent article. I'm glad you shared your wealth with us.
Well explained. Have been using squidoo for quite sometime and learned a lot. I will try Wizzley now.
i like Hubpages and wizzley;both have their strong and weak points.
Great comparison! I gave up on Squidoo because I don't really like the competition, but out of Hubpages and Wizzley I think Wizzley is technically better. I like that you can have different backgrounds on pages, even if it sounds a bit like a silly thing.
Thanks for the comparison. I began writing on Hubpages just as it took it's nosedive. Because I am doing so well on Squidoo, I find it difficult to find the time to make Wizzlies but after reading your comparison, I know that I must spend more time here. Thanks so much for the comparison.
Thanks for the info. Nice comparison. Useful.
This was really helpful. It seems there's still a bit to be understood about Wizzley, not you in particular but I mean in general. I learned a lot from this post though, thank you for putting it together!
Great article and comparison. I have articles on each, and while Squidoo is my 'home' for the moment, I do find it rather hard to add lenses and keep maintaining them. I don't care at all for Hubpages, don't even remember when I last visited my hubs there. And as for Wizzley, it's slowly becoming my new favorite. Extremely easy to write here as I don't have to add 1000 or 2000 words to not be considered a spammer, I love the way you can split the page with two modules next to each other and get really creative with your article, and the fact that I can add my links without having to know html, is a bonus.