How to Make Links to Hubs: HubPages Tips

The question of how to make links to your hubs, whether for single hubs, multiple hub listings, or even RSS feeds, is a frequent one from writers new to HubPages, and like most HubPages tips, the answer is simple and easy, once the how-to steps are pointed out. It doesn't have to involve a detailed understanding of URL's, HTML, or any of that other "technical stuff. Most of the time it can be done with just a couple cut-and-paste clicks, and typing a couple words.

When new HubPages users browse the hubs of more experienced hubbers, they often come across links that refer to groups or lists of hubs, or an RSS capsule showing more of the writer's hubs - and a description, and wonder, "How do they do that?"

These "How to make links" Hubpages tips will show you just how easy it is.

Learning how to make a link to a single hub or web address in a HubPages text capsule, (like the one you are reading now), can be done two ways. The easiest is to use the link button, (chain link icon), that will allow you to just cut-and-paste your link. That is the recommended way, but if you want to use HTML code to do it, Hubpages gives you that option also.

Task: Put a text link to a hub or web address in the body of your text.

Like this: Here is a how-to hub that will show you some more Hubpages tips.

When you click the text box "edit" button the edit screen below appears.

Tip: Of course you can manually type in the URL web address you want to link to, but is easier to just copy the URL web address from your browser bar, and paste it into the proper place.

1. Type the text you want to turn into a link and then use your cursor to highlight it
2. Click the "chain-link" icon, (it is in the edit tool bar just above where you are typing)
3. The "Insert/edit link" box will pop up - as shown below

After you have typed or inserted the URL address you want - just click the "green insert" button and you are done. Now you have a text hyperlink in your text box.

The steps describing how to make a link to show a list of hubs are the same steps as used above for a single hub - exactly the same. The difference is the URL web address you insert into the link box.

You will use a "tag page" URL. A "tag page" is a list of hubs that have the same tags.

See below:

Using my tags as an example.

Tags are like keywords, both people and search engines use them to get an idea what a hub is about, and they are also used to find other hubs with similar tags. When you click on a tag, a "tag page" pops up with a list of hubs that use the same tag.

That is how you will get your link to the hubs you want to show.

For example - Just click on one of the tags on the right of this hub to see what I mean.

To create your own custom tag page and link

When you create tags for your hubs, they don't have to be just descriptions about the hub contents, they can be anything you want.

For instance: In the illustration above, I wanted to be able to link to a list of just my hubs that were about hubpages writing tips. So I created the tag "gaanderson hub writing tips," and insert it into every hub I write about hubpages tips.

The tag can be anything you want, just make sure that;

1. You use the SAME tag in every hub you want listed
2. Use your user name in it if you only want to list YOUR hubs, for instance; If I had just used the tag "hub writing tips," then any hub, by anybody, that used that tag would show up on the tag page list.

Once you have decided on a tag to use, and, added it to your tag list on ALL the hubs you want listed,

*remember I mentioned I had added "gaanderson hub writing tips" to ALL my related hubs - not just the one you are working on now - this has to be done first or there won't be any hubs for the tag page to list, and you WILL NOT be able to get a valid URL web address

Once your tag has been added -

1. Click on the tag you picked to use
2. When the tag page pops up with the list of hubs you want to list, copy its URL web address from your browser bar
3. Use the exact same steps as you did above for a single hub link - but insert your "tag page" URL instead of a single hub URL
4. Save your text box edit and test your link -If it works, you got it right. If not, go back to the beginning of these instructions and start over, because you did something wrong :)

Another way to show a list of hub links - in the hub itself, instead of a new "list" page, is to use an RSS capsule. How to make an RSS link for just your related hubs is as easy as the steps above were for a single link.

The best reasons for using an RSS feed link capsule are:

• The hubs and a brief description will appear in the hub, not in a new window or tab

• RSS links are dynamic - that means that when you add new hubs related to the RSS feed, they will automatically be added to the list. You don't have to go back and manually add them each time.
• RSS feeds not only add new keyword-rich content to your hub, but each time the feed updates with new hubs - it "freshens" your hub. Both of these are things that impress Google's search engine - possibly helping your hub get found by more people.

Here is what an RSS capsule might look like in your hub:

How to make an RSS link of your hubs is as easy as using the above link - just change my information to yours.

Use these steps:

1. Decide which tag you want to use for the hubs you want to show in the RSS list
2. Using the exact link in the illustration above - replace my "ga+anderson" with your author name. *If your user name is one word, you WILL NOT need the "+" sign
3. Replace my tag, "hub+writing+tips" with the tag you picked - *again, if it's one word you don't need the "+"
4. Insert an RSS capsule into your hub, and click edit.

Below is the RSS edit screen you will see:

Now you are ready to make your own custom RSS feed link list.

1. Give your RSS capsule a title - tell your readers what the list is
2. Insert the new custom RSS URL link you just made
3. Pick how many listings you want to show
4. Bingo! Click save and you are done.

Important notes:

• When you save your RSS capsule, you may see this message just under the title: "No articles found in the RSS feed" Don't worry, it probably just means that Hubpages servers haven't picked up your hub tags yet. Check back in a few hours, or a day, you RSS list should be there then,

But if not...

It's not working - troubleshoot your RSS link

• If you get this message - "This does not appear to be a valid RSS feed," (displayed under the capsule title), It means you did something wrong modifying the link. Click the RSS capsule edit and double-check the link you made.
• Look for spaces, misspellings, or missing "+" signs, missing "/", or something. The sample link provided works for me, so if it's not working now, it means you mistyped something.

Congratulations - you're done. Now you can add all the links, lists, and RSS capsules you want. Celebrate your new knowledge - write a new hub!

ps. Of course a nice comment below would be welcome - if you found this helpful. (If not - the complaint dept. is two doors down, on the left)

See more of my writings at:

• GA Anderson's Library