Pages NOT Posts for your BEST content!

[mikeliebner]

Pages NOT Posts for your BEST content!

If you have a Wordpress Blog you can get top rankings for high traffic keywords much easier if you create PAGES and NOT POSTS!

This should start a lively thread - for some reason a lot of people are looking at this the wrong way.

I wrote a report about it to try and help people get this. You really need to think about this BEFORE you reply and say POSTS are better.

I train my members to put their BEST CONTENT on PAGES and then POST linking to the page. You get the best of both worlds and the PAGE will rank easier than the post.

Why? Mainly because you have the PAGE linked sitewide (if you do it right) with your traget keyword.

Get it? PAGES not POSTS for your best content.

Then make sure you get some good links pointing at your page from other sites in which the links are "in content" and surrounded by relevant related keywords.

This will make getting your pages to rank #1 on Google much easier than if you are using ONLY posts. They fade and disappear much faster than pages which stay on top for a long time.

That's the kind of stuff we do at Blogging Underground to get tons of top rankings.

[LarryHaywood]

I've been trying this approach on my newest sites... Still too early for me to see results unfortunately but I agree with your thinking here.

[F1SEO]

Humm ..

Don't forget to use RSS Include Pages plugin.

One of the main differences between pages and posts is that pages are not in the RSS feed of Wordpress by default.

So once Google comes and reads your RSS it won't find the page very quickly (unless, like you say, you create a page and then a blog post linking to the page).

[Adam Roy]

That is not true. Why would you say this?

Could you please explain, WHY you think pages are better than posts?

[dadamson]

Pages and Posts are essentially the same thing in WP, it all depends on how the theme handles them and how you set them up.

I think a more important tip is to download the All-In-One-SEO-Pack or similar plugin to enhance the onsite optimization.

If using your technique of putting the best content on pages and linking the posts to them, here are a few more details that are worth mentioning.

-The main difference between posts and pages is that posts are automatically pinged to the search engines, so make sure that you ping the pages (or better yet, create backlinks on busy places to the pages).

-For more link juice to your pages, I recommend setting up your homepage to show all recent posts. Ensure your link is towards the top of the post if using excerpts. This will give you a better effect from the post links.

-Use a theme that displays the pages and posts in a readable format. I usually go for pages across the top nav and posts down the side. A lot of themes don't display links to the posts, this would defeat the entire process of this technique.

Cheers,
Dave

[auradev]

Is your premise for saying this that it will be in the normal nav menu and thus get a site wide link?

So will your top posts if you have a most popular box.

I don't what the point is.

[dadamson]

Originally Posted by auradev

Is your premise for saying this that it will be in the normal nav menu and thus get a site wide link?

So will your top posts if you have a most popular box.

I don't what the point is.

Well not only that, but if you have enough posts, you are creating a large web of interlinks. From within posts, within categories, etc.

If you post often, you will be creating many continuous links over a period of time.

It's all part a of planning a good onsite optimization strategy.

[terryd]

I'd disagree as well, it's so easy to interlink posts with wordpress and I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion that pages are better than posts.....

[mikeliebner]

Hi guys!

I'll try to reply to all of you 1 by 1 briefly, but this stuff is more complicated than a simple explanation will give.... Pages NOT Posts is something you really need to look at completely to see the big picture before you disagree.

I created a video to help provide as simple of an explanation as I can. I invite you t o watch it as it answers all of your questions and tells you why PAGES are better for long term rankings for keyords that bring in BIG traffic.

Blogs Equal Money Pages NOT Posts Simple Explanation Video by Mike Liebner

The video runs 23 minutes.

You really should watch it before you argue the opposite. I know from experience that sites built with the "Pages NOT Posts" strategy get more top rankings.

If you think you'll do better NOT doing this - that'
s great - more top rankings for me and the people at BU!

[mikeliebner]

Don't forget to use RSS Include Pages plugin.

One of the main differences between pages and posts is that pages are not in the RSS feed of Wordpress by default.

So once Google comes and reads your RSS it won't find the page very quickly (unless, like you say, you create a page and then a blog post linking to the page).

Hi F1SEO - true - pages are NOT in the RSS feed - but that's ok if you follow my strategy - I think you missed that part - you can use plugins if you want, but you don't need them as my strategy also uses posts too.

I never said NOT to post! Do both!

My strategy "Pages NOT Posts" is about creating a page with your best content and then announcing the page in a POST!

I get my pages indexed the same day usually - that's why you create a POST to announce every new page.

You get the best of BOTH worlds.

Then what I do is link in a few of the Blogging Underground Announcement blogs and my pages and posts get added to Google super fast.

Usually the same day - sometimes the next day.

To further add link juice you can also submit your rss feed to directories that actually PASS REAL LINK JUICE like RSS 6 - Directory of Blogs and Feeds - submit the feed and the posts will get crawled by Google same day and within 24 hours you should see all pages and posts that are linked indexed by Google.

That's a good solid foundation for your page. Get a few more links pointing at the page with your target keywords and you're on your way to snagging a top ranking and KEEPING IT there for a long time!

Posts have their purpose - but PAGES are better for your BEST CONTENT!

[bmartinez1234]

This sounds like an interesting concept but there are only so many pages you can have on your blog without it looking junky and there is no limit to how many posts you can do. If you only have a couple products that your blog promotes, I guess I can see how method could work but if you have an affiliate review site like me, the this would be kind of pointless because I am constantly reviewing different products on my site and I would not writing every post about the same subject with a different twist. It's about a different product every time I make a post so it wouldn't be relevant to link it to a page about a completely different product.

[mikeliebner]

Pages and Posts are essentially the same thing in WP, it all depends on how the theme handles them and how you set them up.

I think a more important tip is to download the All-In-One-SEO-Pack or similar plugin to enhance the onsite optimization.

If using your technique of putting the best content on pages and linking the posts to them, here are a few more details that are worth mentioning.

-The main difference between posts and pages is that posts are automatically pinged to the search engines, so make sure that you ping the pages (or better yet, create backlinks on busy places to the pages).

-For more link juice to your pages, I recommend setting up your homepage to show all recent posts. Ensure your link is towards the top of the post if using excerpts. This will give you a better effect from the post links.

-Use a theme that displays the pages and posts in a readable format. I usually go for pages across the top nav and posts down the side. A lot of themes don't display links to the posts, this would defeat the entire process of this technique.

Cheers,
Dave

Hi Dave,

Thanks for replying!

My strategy "Pages NOT Posts" is really effective if you want to rank top 10 for the REALLY GOOD KEYWORDS!

My approach involves more than just comparing pages and saying they're better to use. If you use PAGES properly they have MANY advantages over posts if you are targeting top rankings for keywords.

IF you are NOT targeting #1 rankings on Google - then you don't need it - posts are fine for most people.

What I do and what I teach people is how to get #1 on Google for the kind of keywords that get big volume and have big $ potential. For that stuff you need every edge you can get!

POSTS are HARD to get to rank for the really BIG keywords. I'm not saying t can't be done - but it is harder than using my approach.

But that said - PAGES are NOT perfect for every situation. IT mainly works with sites that have GREAT CONTENT as in ARTICLES targeting big money keywords.

It's not good for auto blog generated content or thin small pages with little or no words on it or just a video on the page or Yahoo answers or whatever.

"pages NOT POsts" is IDEAL for web sites where you are targeting a very COMPETITIVE BIG MONEY or INTERMEDIATE KEYWORD with more than a LITTLE competition.

Pages WILL rank higher than POSTS if you do the things the way I suggest.

I know pages don't get pinged - that is why we also create a POST that links to the page (with the keyword of course!). The post does ping and the page is linked. Double whammy.

If you follow my site structure for Pages NOT Posts the pages get huge link juice and also relevance from the keyword links. Of course you need links from other places or this strategy is harder to get to work. It does rely on getting good links - I use the Blogging Underground blog network for that.

A blog home page should definitely have widgets set up to show all of the pages and the 15 most recent posts in the sidebar. A static home page is better, but it can show posts instead - but showing posts on the home page is not as effective if you are trying to get the home page to rank for a really hard keyword. A static page works better for that.

Of course as you mention Dave - a good theme will help set this up the best way!

Ig

[mikeliebner]

Is your premise for saying this that it will be in the normal nav menu and thus get a site wide link?

So will your top posts if you have a most popular box.

I don't what the point is.

Hi auradev,

If you've read my other replies and maybe watched the video I posted - you will undersand all of this better. It's not JUST one thing that makes PAGES rank #1 for really HARD keywords - it's the way you use pages and the way you set up your blog!

Posts have their place but they FADE AWAY with time. PAGES are forever! They are for your BEST CONTENT and for when you want a top ranking for a very specific primary traget keyword!

[mikeliebner]

I'd disagree as well, it's so easy to interlink posts with wordpress and I'm not sure how you came to the conclusion that pages are better than posts.....

Hi terryd

It's not just pages - it's the whole strategy - which because it is harder to do - means less people will do it. If you want easy - this is not for you! That said - it's really not that hard and only involves a little extra work once you figure it out!

Getting a top ranking for a big money keyword is worth it! You'll change the way you think when you get one of those my friend! That's where the big money really comes in!

Google appereciates the extra work and rewards sites which do extraordinary things and not just normal things!

[InternetMarketingIQ]

Blah. I have a 600+ page WordPress site that ranks it's internal post content just fine. To try and force WordPress to use Pages for this content would be stupid.

Google ranks CONTENT period.

Lots of misinformation and theories based on nothing.

[mikeliebner]

This sounds like an interesting concept but there are only so many pages you can have on your blog without it looking junky and there is no limit to how many posts you can do. If you only have a couple products that your blog promotes, I guess I can see how method could work but if you have an affiliate review site like me, the this would be kind of pointless because I am constantly reviewing different products on my site and I would not writing every post about the same subject with a different twist. It's about a different product every time I make a post so it wouldn't be relevant to link it to a page about a completely different product.

Hi Brooke. Thanks for posting a reply.

I am not sure why people are so eager to dismiss this opportunity to hit it big! But that's ok - it's not for everyone!

Now - you mentiones there are only so many pages before it looks junky - uh... I guess... wouldn't you say that about posts too?

Now - the startegy I use and teach others to do is more about builkding a very tight on topic site for a cluster of related big money keywords. Those sites only need 5 to 10 article pages and you can nail a HUGE amount of targeted traffic!

You don't need 100 or 500 pages.

The perfect number is between 10 and 20 really good article pages that each rank #1 for a different related keyword to the primary target on the main home page.

This kind of site will make huge money with a handful of really good article pages targeting exact match keywords with good volume and then you keep the blog fresh by adding short newsy posts every once in awhile that point at your best pages.

Adding posts keeps the blog fresh and the pages still rank high and bring in big traffic - and you don't need hundreds of pages to make big money doing this.

You start with a good home page and then you add pages for the related keywords. Every time you add a page you add a post to announce the page.

After your site is ranking for your big money keywords you back off and just focus on adding new posts with short newsy snippets. Then add a new article page every once in ahwile if yu want to add more new different keywords to target.

Now - it sounds to me Brooke that you have these huge sites... I'm not telling you what you are doing is wrong - but if you spend time on making REALLY GOOD PAGES you can get far more traffic than if you just pump out volume in posts.

In your case Brooke this is how I would do it - the pages would target each product along with BIG $ keywords with high volume - not JUST the product names - because those are easy to rank for - you don't need to work hard to get #1 for product name keywords.

Use the pages to get BIG traffic for keywords that bring people who would be intersted in the product reviews in addition to the prodcut nme itself. You get the best of both worlds and make more money than if you only had posts and they only ranked for the product name keywords.

BIG keyword traffic and your product name traffic. You'd make more money for sure!

As for a site having TOO MANY PAGES??? I can't see that unless you are reviewing a hundred products and even then - what's the worst to happen - you have 100 product links in your sidebar for the pages???

That's better than 100 product reviews in posts, right? The 100 posts will not stay in the sidebar or the home page. They eventually get pushed off and the mroe recent posts show.

Hey - like I said - I am not trying to tell YOU or anyone what you should do - if you have a problem with using pages - that's cool - go ahead use posts only - but you will LOSE getting tons of targeted traffic if you used PAGES for your best content (and hardest keywords) and POSTS to ANNOUNCE the PAGES as I do in "Pages NOT Posts".

[mikeliebner]

Blah. I have a 600+ page WordPress site that ranks it's internal post content just fine. To try and force WordPress to use Pages for this content would be stupid.

Google ranks CONTENT period.

Lots of misinformation and theories based on nothing.

Stupid??? misinformation??? Thanks InternetMarketingIQ for sharing.

I think you missed the point - but it seems you are happy with what you are doing and the results you are getting - so I won't try to convince YOU otherwise. This is obviously NOT for you. Blash.

That said - there are smart people who would like to get top rankings for keywords and this strategy works.

[MrWonton]

My first personal blog uses posts as summaries, and pages as content. The pages aren't linked to from the sidebar/topbar. They're only linked to from posts, and the posts are categorised as normal.

I haven't tried it back to back with similar content and the normal system, but the site ranks very well for thousands of keywords without me putting in any real SEO effort. All my wordpress blogs since, using the normal post system, I've had to work a lot harder to rank, although variables make this a poor indication of whether my first blog is any more effective. It does feel more effective SERP wise though.

[mikeliebner]

My first personal blog uses posts as summaries, and pages as content. The pages aren't linked to from the sidebar/topbar. They're only linked to from posts, and the posts are categorised as normal.

I haven't tried it back to back with similar content and the normal system, but the site ranks very well for thousands of keywords without me putting in any real SEO effort. All my wordpress blogs since, using the normal post system, I've had to work a lot harder to rank, although variables make this a poor indication of whether my first blog is any more effective. It does fee more effective SERP wise though.

HiMrWonton!

Sounds like you are on the right track! I'd consider linking your PAGES sitewide though in the sidebar - it'll help if your links target the keywords!

You can make any kind of site work and get good rankings for posts if you have enough GOOD LINKS - but the thing is STATIC PAGES are REALLY EASY to get to rank! It's proof that YOU are doing it the way you are - not even linking the pages site wide! If I were you I'd run to my HTML editor or change widgets and start linking those pages so they are in the sidebar of every URL on the site!

Imagine this - let's say you are ranking #9 for a keyword that brings in BIG TRAFFIC - would you NOT agree you'd get MORE traffic if you could push that page to #2 or #1???

If your INTERNAL STE STRUCTURE is good you could do that! Especially if you have atightly themed site with mostly or all RELEVANT CONTENT.

[Craig McPherson]

Originally Posted by mikeliebner

I get my pages indexed the same day usually - that's why you create a POST to announce every new page.

I agree Mike.

With my review sites I put my main review on a page as well as 3 backup posts linking to it.

I kid you not, I have pages rank top 3. and stay there, within minutes of posting.

[DynoMutt]

I'm not saying sure why you're saying "posts fade away with time."

When I'm doing a search in google, a result that often comes up on the first page is a blog post.

Also, I agree with auradev about links to "most popular" posts as part of your menu. If your niche is widgets, and according to Google's keyword tool "how to sell a lot of widgets" is a low competition but highly searched keyword phrase, why not create a post with that title and put it under the Menu title "Most Popular."

[Boris_yo]

Originally Posted by mikeliebner

Hey - like I said - I am not trying to tell YOU or anyone what you should do - if you have a problem with using pages - that's cool - go ahead use posts only - but you will LOSE getting tons of targeted traffic if you used PAGES for your best content (and hardest keywords) and POSTS to ANNOUNCE the PAGES as I do in "Pages NOT Posts".

I think you contradict yourself here...

[Nic Oliver]

On a Wordpress site with an XML Sitemap plugin, I thought I could make this decision for myself depending on the priority I allocate to pages and posts - or have I got this wrong?

[mikeliebner]

I'm not saying sure why you're saying "posts fade away with time."

When I'm doing a search in google, a result that often comes up on the first page is a blog post.

Also, I agree with auradev about links to "most popular" posts as part of your menu. If your niche is widgets, and according to Google's keyword tool "how to sell a lot of widgets" is a low competition but highly searched keyword phrase, why not create a post with that title and put it under the Menu title "Most Popular."

If you have new posts added theye evntually get pushed off the best pages on a blog - for example - the widget only shows 15 recent posts at most - your blog home page shows X number (set by user). Also RSS feeds only show the 10 or 20 most recent posts.

Posts fade away...

Google may rank a post on top when it's fresh or is getting lots of link love - but very often they'll push it off because a lot of the links pointing at it will disappear with time and OTHER newer posts will have the now factor.

Our goal with PAGES is to get a LONG TERM RANKING for a really GOOD keyword.

Pages are more consistent because they are static and have he benefit of pretty much permanent links and also have posts pointing at them too.

POSTS are just fine - why not do a PAGE with your BEST CONTENT and then link to it from your POST(s). Then you have a NICE PAGE and you can do all that stuff like most popular with the posts if you want.

I'm not against POSTS - I know you guys LOVE YOUR POSTS - I'm just saying a site that is properly structured to take advantage of PAGES AND POSTS will make more money in the LONG RUN.

[mikeliebner]

I agree Mike.

With my review sites I put my main review on a page as well as 3 backup posts linking to it.

I kid you not, I have pages rank top 3. and stay there, within minutes of posting.

Hi Craig! That's great! A lot of BU members are doing this and killing it in rankings. It's funny - but some people don't want to consider there may be better ways.

[mikeliebner]

If you keep doing what you have always done - you'll always get what you've always gotten. Sorry - had to steal that one from Doug Kauffman.

Hey - if what you are doing is WORKING and you are making as much money as you want - don't worry - keep doing what you're doing!

There are MANY ways to make money doing this online marketing thing. If you're successful then you are doing something right! Congratulations! That's fantastic!

If you WANT MORE - then you need to keep an open mind and try NEW THINGS! I try new things all the time! Some work - some don't.

This PAGES not POSTS site structure thing - it works! I'm doing it and BU members are doing it and I get a lot of positive feedback form those who try it.

It's NOT the end of the world to try putting up a PAGE on your blog and also announcing it in a post - instead of just a post... and the payoff is worth it!

I'm not telling people to tear apart what they already have done and do it my way - I'm saying - hey - in the future why not consider putting your best new content on pages and then announce them with posts - and then decide if you are getting good results!

[suemax]

Originally Posted by F1SEO

Humm ..

Don't forget to use RSS Include Pages plugin.

One of the main differences between pages and posts is that pages are not in the RSS feed of Wordpress by default.

So once Google comes and reads your RSS it won't find the page very quickly (unless, like you say, you create a page and then a blog post linking to the page).

Is this last paragraph the whole gist of this thread, i.e about the RSS feed not finding the pages (unless the RSS Include Pages Plugin is used, that is).

As you can see, I can see both sides of this thread!

[mikeliebner]

On a Wordpress site with an XML Sitemap plugin, I thought I could make this decision for myself depending on the priority I allocate to pages and posts - or have I got this wrong?

Hi Nic. It's not about priority.

It's about SITE STRUCTURE and INTERNAL LINKS and also EXTERNAL LINKS.

Here is the link to the 23 minute video I did explaining in simple terms what PAGES NOT POSTS is with examples shown:

Blogs Equal Money Pages NOT Posts Simple Explanation Video by Mike Liebner

[mikeliebner]

Is this last paragraph the whole gist of this thread, i.e about the RSS feed not finding the pages (unless the RSS Include Pages Plugin is used, that is).

As you can see, I can see both sides of this thread!

Hi suemax

RSS FEEDS are important!

It is part of it - NOT the "whole gist".

There is not a one-liner to sum this up - it's a SIMPLE STRATEGY itself that involves an awful lot of factors that happen behind the scenes.

I suggest you watch the video linked above.

[InitialEffort]

Pretty much, posts get diluted by tag pages and category pages and can also create duplicate content on your website. I set my sitemap to noindex tag pages and noindex category pages. Then posts and pages and pretty much the same thing. I like doing posts with the onlywire plugin for social bookmarking and then I switch it over to a page if it is important.

[MikeFriedman]

I understand what you are saying. The concept makes sense, but the same thing can be accomplished whether you use posts or pages. The SERP's do not put any extra weight into a page or post. They can't tell the difference.

You can have several posts linking to one other post and achieve the same effect.

You can also have a sidebar with a "Featured Post" or two where these main posts will reside on the entire site.

If you are using a theme like Thesis, you could instead have the link to the post in the Nav menu, and to the user it looks just like a page.

[TZ]

Good thread my friend.

However, I strongly disagree for so many reasons it makes my head explode just thinking about it.

The #1 main reason why I disagree is because;

- pages are linked to from sidebars, headers and the like
- posts can be linked to from various keywords mentioned all through the site, embedded in the content which are much stronger links.

Yes, I know, you can link to your pages as well the same way, but for some reason (and I'll be honest....I don't rightly know why) our blog posts succeed far more than our pages do.

[mikeliebner]

Good thread my friend.

However, I strongly disagree for so many reasons it makes my head explode just thinking about it.

It's not about agreeing or disagreeing... If you like to do it "your way" that's cool. If what you do works for you - right on!

It doesn't mean I YOU are wrong because you do something else than what I do.

"Pages NOT Posts" is a strategy I have developed and use to get a lot of top rankings and huge amounts of traffic. I am sharing this strategy and a lot of people are finding out that it works.

If you want a system - Pages NOT Posts will help you build sites fast and do the right things so you can get a lot of top rankings. I think it's easier than just building blogs the normal way by only using posts.

I use PAGES and POSTS. I use a static page on my blog home page.

That kicks butt! A lot of people are doing this and that alone works really well - even on difficult keywords - because a static page has advanatages.

If you have a way that works too - great!

But I am sure that if you watch the video I made you will learn a few things that will help improve your results.

I don't always agree 100% with the training I take - but I almost always walk away wth something I can put in my toolbox and use to make more money.

[mikeliebner]

I understand what you are saying. The concept makes sense, but the same thing can be accomplished whether you use posts or pages. The SERP's do not put any extra weight into a page or post. They can't tell the difference.

It's not about a PAGE "being better" - it's about building a site with the PERFECT STRUCTURE that helps Google see you "best pages" and not get confused by al teh duplicate crap on a site.

The content in posts is duplicated all over the place.

A page is NOT.

Combine that with a link structure that makes your pages STAND OUT and you'll get more top rankings.

Posts are great for short snippets and news items pointing at your best pages from "within the content" of your post. That's also part of the magic - so posts re IMPORTANT too!

[mikeliebner]

Pretty much, posts get diluted by tag pages and category pages and can also create duplicate content on your website. I set my sitemap to noindex tag pages and noindex category pages. Then posts and pages and pretty much the same thing. I like doing posts with the onlywire plugin for social bookmarking and then I switch it over to a page if it is important.

Exactly. Posts get dilluted. They're still IMPORTANT to pass the link juice though - and the fact that posts create all those extra pages on a site are part of the magic - those tag pages and actegory pages all have links pointing at your PAGES!

[terryd]

Originally Posted by MikeFriedman

I understand what you are saying. The concept makes sense, but the same thing can be accomplished whether you use posts or pages. The SERP's do not put any extra weight into a page or post. They can't tell the difference.

Exactly.......Pages are NOT better than Posts.....Posts are no better than Pages (although I always use posts and have no problem achieving rankings with them).....you can bang your head against the wall until your blue but you have not shown one shred of evidence that pages are better than posts ranking wise or site wise for that matter....

[mikeliebner]

There are a million ways to do this stuff. You do what feels right to you.

[32paul52]

I suppose the main reason is that posts normally have comments, which makes them changing content, which Google more and more. Pages do make sense.

[Craig McPherson]

Originally Posted by 32paul52

I suppose the main reason is that posts normally have comments, which makes them changing content, which Google more and more. Pages do make sense.

Paul, your sig file goes to a 404 for me

[marketingguy]

I just wanted to chime in here, as I also thought the pages not posts idea was a bad idea.

However, I took the time to view Mike's videos and PDF on this and I have to admit it makes a lot of sense.

I'll be using it for future sites.

I've been doing web design and SEO for years and use something similar for my Joomla sites (for offline company clients) but up until now I've been using the standard WP posts for my own affiliate sites.

So maybe before saying his concept doesn't work, go check out his videos and PDF and you might change your mind.

And no, I do not work for Mike and I'm not affiliated in any way!

[clickbump]

Lively discussion and definitely one I've been engaged in for some time.

A counterpoint: Why Posts NOT pages?*|*clickbump.com

[UMS]

I can certainly see merits in both sides of the argument.

A lot does depends on what theme you use and how you structure your homepage and links.

For the record, for my mini-authority sites I use pages for my content and on sites that have regularly updated information, I mostly use posts.