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Help with some questions

by dannyboy30
7 replies
Hi everyone, I have decided to post certain questions which I don't understand as I really want to get my website started, I know they are probably basic to most of you here.
I would appreciate any answers I can get. Ok so here are my questions:

1) Am I better off making a basic wordpress blog, or a more broader site, does it make a difference in terms of SEO or profitabilty?.

2) Is wordpress the best platform to use from an SEO perspective? and secondly I was planning to add a new article every day, but with a bigger/broader site with multiple pages would I have to add more than 1 article daily, or could I still add only one article every day?. (Sorry if I have explained this badly).

3) I am from the UK, should I host from here or from an american server, does it make a difference in terms of google optimisation assuming I am aiming more for US visitors?

4) Should I go for a new domain or for an older one for up to $200?

5) How do I make sure all my older articles are archived and available online, (when I update new articles where do the old ones go) apparently it helps a lot in terms of SEO, and also assuming the site is around for long how long should I keep the articles archived posts eg 2,3,5 years.

I know these are probably stupid questions but any answers would really help?

Many thanks

Danny
#questions
  • Profile picture of the author Sarevok
    I would definately go with wordpress!

    I have experience as a computer programmer and am into dreamweaver / photoshop etc, but basically all of my sites are now wordpress.

    Why?

    1) easier
    2) more popular
    3) tons of support docs
    4) lots of plugins!

    As far as SEO goes, get a few wordpress SEO plugins (all in one seo is great)

    Give it a whirl; when your site is huge you'll thank me for being able to easily add content without adjusting your big messy HTML website!

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    • Profile picture of the author Steve B
      Danny,

      Not stupid questions at all; however, the answers you'll receive are mostly personal opinions as there is not a right or wrong way to do what you're talking about. Here are my opinions:

      1. I would stay with Wordpress. You can make it as broad as you want. Most folks use it as a blogging platform, however, some themes like OptimizePress and the Profits theme let you expand into whatever kind of site you want. For a content type site, I would say stick with Wordpress and expand it to meet your needs.

      2. I think it's as good as any. You are asking a subjective question. Obviously, Google doesn't have a problem with the WordPress platform given the amount of indexed and highly ranked sites found in their search results. When you say "bigger/broader" site I assume you are not talking about the market niche but about your web site. One post a day is plenty for any size site. If I'm wrong and you're talking about a bigger, broader niche - that may not be a good idea as the broader it is, the less likely you are to attract followers who are looking for specifics. Drill down in the niche, don't look for ways to be less specific.

      3. No opinion as I have only dealt with U.S. hosting companies. My guess is, find the best host you can that meets all your needs and don't stress about where it is located.

      4. It's totally up to you. There is some advantage to an older domain but I think it is minimal, especially if you can't find one that is perfect for your business. There are many excellent domains available if you know how to be creative and are a good researcher of your niche.

      5. Put a Google sitemap on your site. Older articles don't go anywhere, they stay on your site and that is a good thing. Try to write articles that are somewhat evergreen. It's not always possible, but older articles can bring you traffic for years to come so don't take them down. Authority type sites typically have a nice mix of old and new articles.

      Good luck,

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Isaiah Coe
    Danny, no question is stupid. Some are just asked allot

    1) Seo wise it really doesn't matter as long as you upload good content. But if your content uses related keywords to your domain name it will help.

    2) WordPress is the easiest to mange your content, and search engines don't calculate what platform your using. You could be using raw html and rank high.

    3) I don't think it matters where you host from as long as you have a .com if your targeting the U.S. But I could be wrong on that.

    4.) I would go with a new domain because that my preference, but old domains are better.

    5) I'm not sure what you mean by that.

    Hope this helps
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  • Profile picture of the author UMS
    Originally Posted by dannyboy30 View Post

    1) Am I better off making a basic wordpress blog, or a more broader site, does it make a difference in terms of SEO or profitabilty?.
    It's not the size that counts.

    That said, in most cases, you'll be able to rank a larger site easier than a single page website. Keep in mind that there are many factors involved like the niche you are targeting and level of competition.

    2) Is wordpress the best platform to use from an SEO perspective? and secondly I was planning to add a new article every day, but with a bigger/broader site with multiple pages would I have to add more than 1 article daily, or could I still add only one article every day?. (Sorry if I have explained this badly).
    Best is always subjective. WordPress is good because it is very easy to use and has a great range of themes and plugins.

    So long as you add new content to your site (small or large) on a regular basis (doesn't have to be daily), then that's fine.

    3) I am from the UK, should I host from here or from an american server, does it make a difference in terms of google optimisation assuming I am aiming more for US visitors?
    Best to get US hosting. If you are targeting UK audience, you could still host in the US (UK would be better), but make sure you get a .co.uk domain.

    4) Should I go for a new domain or for an older one for up to $200?


    5) How do I make sure all my older articles are archived and available online, (when I update new articles where do the old ones go) apparently it helps a lot in terms of SEO, and also assuming the site is around for long how long should I keep the articles archived posts eg 2,3,5 years.
    If you are using WordPress, it automatically archives posts for you, so there's nothing special you need to do.
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  • Profile picture of the author mizesean
    Great questions!

    I'll answer each - but first let me say this - don't agonize over your decision. ANY domain or platform that does what you want it to is fine. The real key is understanding what you want to accomplish online and implementing that -

    Now to the questions:

    1) Am I better off making a basic wordpress blog, or a more broader site, does it make a difference in terms of SEO or profitabilty?.

    If you are starting out, I say go with wordpress - really easy to use

    2) Is wordpress the best platform to use from an SEO perspective? and secondly I was planning to add a new article every day, but with a bigger/broader site with multiple pages would I have to add more than 1 article daily, or could I still add only one article every day?. (Sorry if I have explained this badly).

    Frankly, I don't focus on seo as much these days - I wouldn't build for seo, build for people's needs, let the search engines find you naturally, not through seo

    3) I am from the UK, should I host from here or from an american server, does it make a difference in terms of google optimisation assuming I am aiming more for US visitors?

    If you are going for US visitors, use a US or Canadian server (and get a fast one)

    4) Should I go for a new domain or for an older one for up to $200?

    new -

    5) How do I make sure all my older articles are archived and available online, (when I update new articles where do the old ones go) apparently it helps a lot in terms of SEO, and also assuming the site is around for long how long should I keep the articles archived posts eg 2,3,5 years.

    Don't worry about it - just put them on the site, promote it naturally, let the ses do what they do -

    I know I sound like a broken record with this - but don't worry about seo. Instead, create something people want and offer it where those people are - seo is a goose chase for new people.
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  • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
    1) Who's to say you can't use Wordpress to build a large, broad authority website? There's no limit to how big your website is with Wordpress.

    2) Out of the box Wordpress isn't ultra SEO optimized but it's probably better than any other open-source content management software. As a couple others have mentioned; all it takes is an SEO plugin or two and you're on your way. Check out Yoast SEO.. it's one of the better SEO plugins in my opinion.

    3) I would just go with HostGator. They are the largest, most reliable hosting company in the world so they are always a safe bet. I've seen numerous websites ranking in various versions of Google worldwide, so I know it's a good solution!

    4) Age doesn't matter for ranking in Google, so I would only invest in an aged domain name if it's ranking already or clearly has some decent authority already.

    5) The built in archive functionality on Wordpress will handle this as long as you display links to the archived sections of the site. I really wouldn't concern yourself with that!
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  • Profile picture of the author dannyboy30
    Great guys thanks, the answers have really helped, i feel more confidence now going ahead with the site having read your answers.

    Many Thanks

    Danny
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