Is there any truth to the idea that including a blog in your website will improve your Google ranking? Yes. Simply yes. Now wouldn’t you like to know why?
Why Blogs Rock, er.. Rank
Every blog article in your WordPress website is going to contain keywords. Those keywords emerge automatically from this text because you’re writing company-centric articles – how to use the product/service best, and how other people are using it, what others have to say about it. Your Google-search-worthy keywords are going to be there. How easy is that?
Another reason Google likes blogs is that you are now adding more and more new pages to the site on a regular basis (website activity plus more pages). New information from the site it what Google is looking for. New activity is listed before older pages with the same keywords. Now you know another reason to write that blog. Get going!
In a WordPress blog there are “pages” (the mostly non-changing part) and the “posts” (current articles), plus any comments that your visitors make about those interesting pages and posts. Both pages and posts have the option of being given additional keywords known as “tags,” plus one or more “categories.” OK, now we have both the text on the page, the title, plus the category and the tags. Sounds like a lot of opportunity for Google to find what it is looking for in a search – more and more keywords and phrases.
WordPress Websites: an Endless Story
The pages-posts-tags-category-title advantage over a regular page on a static website is that you can adjust those pages, posts, etc., tomorrow if you want to emphasize another keyword phrase/sales campaign. The title needs to stay the same so that Google doesn’t loose the link to the page or article, but you can reword all you want. Change photos, add paragraphs while removing others. It’s like a never-ending story you get to make your own, at will. What an opportunity!
Compare this to a regular HTML website where little is changed from week to week (Google likes an active page), and keyword-filled text has to be inserted into a custom design by the web designer. Want to fix that text, tweak it a bit? Call the web designer. (That’s me, by the way. I do a lot of tweaks, but not usually to fix keywords, just new information.)
If you could do it yourself, you might take more time to add those new keywords you’ve noticed people are searching for instead of just updating the date of your next event.
WordPress vs. HTML: Bottom Line
If you were starting from scratch, I don’t think you could do better than a WordPress with a blog for high Google ranking. I recommend changing to a WordPress site from your low-lead-producing HTML website as well. When the new WordPress site is operational, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to make this happen. I know I did.
The high ranking won’t happen overnight. But a WordPress website with a blog of keyword-laden and ever changing pages will rank head and shoulders above those of an HTML site. And, you can do new posts or changes (with keywords, right?) whenever you want!
Here’s some backup on my point of view, “The Fastest Way to Increase Your Google Ranking,” via Social Media Examiner.
Look over my other articles about WordPress and see if you agree that this is the way you want to do your new blog. I’m also offering my free 10-step Website Eval (.pdf) as a tool to check out your site to see what you want to improve. What’s the one thing you still want to know? Let me know in the comments below.
NEXT: Follow me on FaceBook: Click Here.
About Sally EricksonErickson Creative's Sally Erickson is a WordPress website builder, specializing in evaluating and improving business websites for more leads and better profits. Making better websites everyday…. connect with me on Twitter and FaceBook.
Which ranks high in google: wordpress or blogger ?
Hi Jason,
If we’re comparing apples to apples, blog pages to blog pages, the content determines the winner, including the frequency of the posts. WordPress has the advantage in that it can also have pages that add to the voice of the website. If the pages contribute to the overall key theme visitors are looking for, then the WordPress site has the advantage. That’s my view; hope it helps. –Sally E
Sally,
Interesting article. You seem to be giving WordPress an SEO advantage due to the addition of new content which makes sense. That’s what Google wants. However, wont you achieve the same results by simply adding a blog to an html site?
Thanks for your question, Ken. And, please excuse my late reply. (I don’t have alerts to comments as I get a lot of spam.)
So let’s add a blog to an HTML website:
This will certainly work, but it’s time consuming and clumsy compared to a software that was made for blogs. Want to revise your article? Go back to the original on the desktop program and change it, then upload again. What if you aren’t the one creating the HTML page? Better call that person with your changes and wait for him to get to it.
Keep in mind that there is no option for comments on this HTML page. Also keep in mind that linking to a different url for your blog is something Google sees as another site entirely. This method does not add the clout to the current HTML website that you are after.
———–Several reasons I like WordPress for blogs and keeping websites up-to-date. SallyE
Hi
I have moved from a .net to wordpress platform. Its now very easy to update any info on our website but the ranking is not there. Already using All in One SEO plugin but no success.Kindly advice for the best seo of my website.
Amit,
I am not an expert at SEO. I offer a fee list of sources for studying the subject. However, I do know that when you change platforms, one of the most important follow-up steps you need to do is to redirect your previous page links to your new ones, in a permanent fashion. I use a WP Plugin called, cleverly, Redirect. (Look to the WordPress.org plugin repository for it to get the latest edition.) Next, be sure to watch what Google sees using Webmaster Tools, especially Crawl Errors. And, finally, make sure you have a sitemap for Google and other web browsers.
As I told John below, be aware that you may be comparing apples to oranges, i.e. a whole different (fewer, more) set of pages than you had before. Keep close track of errors, new keywords people are using (Google Analytics is good) and be aware that those “easy” changes you talked about can be used not just to change, but to improve.
I signed up for a free word press site, its websitename.wordpress.com . Would paying the $99 for a straight domain such as http://www.websitename333.com lead to better google rankings? Or does google rank both types the same? Thank-you!
Billy,
Unless your customers are interested in the word, “WordPress” in your name, the “real” url will work much better. And, no series of various name alternatives like bestproduct.com, goodproduct.com, greatproduct.com all referred to a1products.com. Just use a readable set of appropriate keywords for your url, and you have a winner. But that won’t do it all by itself, as I explained above. —Good luck, Sally E
thank you for posting few tips how to improve the page ranking. Its always fun to read a learn what others are trying and doing.
Sally E,
Our Vendor launched our new website in late December 2012. We went from html to word press in our new website.
We have lost rankings dramatically and want to dial in with an SEO word press company/person. to improve our rankings especially with Google.
Is there a best avenue for this and typically how much work should be done to start to see movement in our rankings? Is this typically a per hour charge or how does one qualify a Company to do this work.
Thank you so much and nice information in these pieces.
John,
So sorry for my late reply. Personal troubles have kept me away from my website. Hope this reply will help now, at this late date.
It’s hard to compare apples to oranges, or HTML to PHP/WordPress, when what you should be comparing is the number of pages and the keyword quality in each before and after. What WordPress offers is not that keyword quality, but the opportunity for you to tweak it often until you get it right, either with message or with those keywords (the StudioPress-Genesis plugin, Scribe, goes a long way toward helping you do just that). WordPress also gives you the option to use SEO plugins like the one I just mentioned. I also use WordPress SEO By Joost de Valk.
The other thing that WordPress gives you is the opportunity for a blog. If you are not doing this, consider it right now. Google wants current information. Posting new articles, say once a week or every two weeks will really make a difference in your rankings. Or, produce a new page. Make sure you have a sitemap for Google to see, and make sure that sitemap update with changes in your site, including new pages and posts.
This stuff is pretty easy. You can do it, or someone who works in your office/place of business or takes care of your website might do it. It’s not brain surgery. Just write some tips about something people ask you about all the time. Then, write another one. You know the words to use. The ones people are using to find your service or product. Use one in your title. Use the plugins to refine the writing a bit. Done. Do it again in a couple of weeks. (But do about 5 to get your blog off the ground.)
Let me know how it goes.
SallyE
Can i ask, will a wordpress website only rank in the blog sector of google’s crawl results as against a natural listing page ? or is this dependant on my browser settings ?
Paul,
If I uderstand your question, your WordPress website will appear in both the natural listings and in the blog sector, if it has posts in its blog. Your browser settings will effect these results if you allow Google to track and use your movements. Does that answer your question? Thanks for stopping by.
No doubt. Google and WordPress is a very good mix. Plugins really play an important role in the WordPress related with SEO.
Thanks, FunHp, for your comment. Hope you enjoyed the article. –SallyE
I just upgraded our website from html to wordpress and the google rankings are totally gone :(
Part of the problem that there were a bunch of 404 errors because of different naming (Didnt think about that oops)
Another part is that when we moved server as the old server was sooo sloooooow, the naming scheme changed again as it couldnt do html rewrite or something. So now its a waiting game to see if we get back to 1st page….
Anyway wordpress absolutely rocks! brilliant move apart from the ranking probs which is mostly my fault anyway. And so much easier to look after
What a nice site! I’m glad it’s easy for you and will continue to be. Great move!
The link errors are tricky and I love a WordPress plugin that saves me when I goof (check your Google crawl errors via Webmaster Tools). It’s called Redirection by John Godley. You’ll find it at WordPress.org. It should do the trick, but you may have many of them to do. Good luck!