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Static website - options for SEO

  1. tuckingmillbath
    Member

    Hi,

    I want to build a website which will have largely static content but I want to maximise the options for SEO.

    I understand the difference between pages and posts (I think) in terms of SEO, but I didn't want to use posts because of how the URLs will look and because I didn't want the tags to show to the website audience.

    Would I be better compromising on URLs/showing tags and use posts to optimise the site's SEO or is there a way to use boost the SEO and use pages for the majority of the content?

    The blog I need help with is tuckingmillbath.wordpress.com.

  2. raincoaster
    Member

    Honestly, if you want even a little SEO, Pages are the opposite of what you should be doing. The only thing you can do with Pages is make sure you're using keywords well. But, really, it's like "how do I take this donkey and train him for the Kentucky Derby." That is not what he is for.

  3. ljkscanner
    Member

    HOw to know SItemaps in wordpress.com
    my blog
    http://technodigi.wordpress.com

  4. timethief
    Member

    @tuckingmillbath
    Raincoaster's comment is right on. A WordPress blog can either be structured as a page based website or its conventional post based structure can be retained. That’s why understanding the differences between posts and pages is key to decision making when selecting a theme, and setting up your WordPress.com blog Posts have tonnes of Google jucie and Pages don't. No amount of on page SEO change that reality. Setting a static front page also affects SEO. http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2010/05/12/better-blogging-at-wordpress-com-pages-and-posts/

  5. tuckingmillbath
    Member

    I read all the forum discussions on the difference between pages and posts before posting this topic.

    A website with date tagged static pages will soon look out of date to customers - based on the info I could find, there is no way of altering the URLs for posts to exclude the date

  6. timethief
    Member

    That's correct. We cannot modify permalink structure on free hosted WordPress.com blogs. Even if pages had dates they would still lack the Google jouce required for optimum SEO.Page structured blogs have a very difficult time:
    1. securing traffic;
    2. securing comments;
    3. securing backlinks;
    4. achieving authority in their niche;
    5. achieving Google PageRank.

  7. phrase99
    Member

    hi timethief

    I run the same dillemma with my blog http://phrase9.com ( a service site) but do I now understand correct that in fact I can achieve the exact same look by replacing pages with categrories in the menu section?

    (and then just disabling comments on posts to maintain the mock website look)?

  8. raincoaster
    Member

    Yes, that is correct.

  9. phrase99
    Member

    Great, will get started on that, and this will make my site completely SEO friendly as u guys mentioned right?

    Thanks raincoaster

  10. raincoaster
    Member

    It will make it MORE SEO friendly, but the best setup is always the one where the landing page is the blog page.

  11. phrase99
    Member

    well I mean I can make the landing page a category with post page as well but none of my pages will be re-occuring blog posts and all will have comments disabled. Does that make a difference?

  12. phrase99
    Member

    raincoaster sorry to bother again but another related question:

    Im copying the html from my pages into posts to achieve the exact same look as discussed, but on top of the post this now appears:
    July 1, 2012 · by phrase99 · Bookmark the permalink. · Edit

    Is there anyway for me to disable this from showing?

  13. raincoaster
    Member

    You can't make the landing page a category page: you can only make it a static page OR the blog post page. That's not a Custom Menu limitation: it's a Domain limitation, really. Well,k that's a bad way to explain it.

    You get SEO from New information, posted as close as possible to the front of your blog. A page with all posts on it will always outrank a page with only one category on it. A static page ranks below both.

    I am not seeing "July 1, 2012 · by phrase99 · Bookmark the permalink. · Edit" anywhere, but it's late and maybe I'm just not seeing it. The Edit will only appear to YOU, the person who made the post, and/or the blog admin, if different from you. But I wouldn't worry about the date being there: I like websites that show that things are fresh. I hate websites that don't indicate when they were last updated.

    BUT If you know CSS editing, you may be able to get rid of that. I don't, though, so I can't guide you on that. Perhaps someone else will.

  14. phrase99
    Member

    @Raincoaster

    2 appearance changes have put me off making the main menu in category format as opposed to static page format. The first is the appearance of the date and author above the post and the second is that when clicking on the category page, the post does not show entirely, only a preview and you then have to click again to see the full post.

    Now I'm unapologetic about wanting to create a 'mock website' as the purpose of my website is a translation service and not a real blogging site. I am optimizing SEO for this in other regards by having many social media accounts and listing in relevant directories but my question now is this:

    With the above in mind, to still utilize the category-post SEO functionality, will me creating another menu made up of categories that mirror the static pages add to my sites SEO reach? (On my theme Oxygen, this menu will appear at the bottom of the page).

    Your advice will be much appreciated

    the blog is: http://phrase9.com

  15. raincoaster
    Member

    Mirroring static pages is pointless.

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