Wordpress

Antilles · 06-09-2009, 03:28 PM

Been doing a bit of dabbling with a Wordpress blog I set up a few months ago. I have around 20 posts in my blog, and had Wordpress set to display a maximum of 5 posts per page. My blog was ranking around page 2 on Google.

I decided to change the number of posts per page to see if would have any effect, and set it to 10 per page - doubling the number of posts. The effect was almost immediate and within days, the blog dropped to page 11 on Google.

Has anyone done any similar kind of testing and is there an optimum figure you use for the number of posts per page?

dvduval · 06-09-2009, 03:44 PM

I don't know for sure, but when I look at some of the "big dogs" in SEO I usually see 5-6 range. I wouldn't say for certain the change you made would be the only reason for your SERP change, however, though it wouldn't hurt to switch back to 5.

bannor32 · 06-09-2009, 03:56 PM

Not sure how you plan to monetize your blog, but if you are using Adsense you'll want to limit your blog to a single post per page. This will help the ad server most closely match contextual ads to your content.

bgmacaw · 06-09-2009, 04:04 PM

Any change to your theme can trigger temporary ranking problems or, on the odd occasion, an unexpected boost. That's why you're seeing the change.

My typical blog layout is one post per page or excerpts in a tabular format on the index page.

Antilles · 06-09-2009, 04:06 PM

I'm promoting a Clickbank product using affiliate links. But I've seen sites with 10, 20, 5, or 1 posts per page. Just wonder what effect the different numbers have on SEO.. if any at all.

ragnartm · 06-09-2009, 04:10 PM

I changed to 3 posts per page and google started instantly indexing my new posts and ranking me among the top 10 for my main search terms. This might be the delayed effect of do-follow links though. The most important thing in my opinions is that the content fills up as far as the sidebar goes, if the sidebar keeps going and the content stops it looks very unprofessional.

Stefan Vee · 06-09-2009, 04:42 PM

IMO, it's better to put your sitemap on top of the html pyramid.
That way, the first thing the bots see is your nicely organised permalink structure.

mike52683 · 06-09-2009, 05:46 PM

I use 3 posts per page on my wordpress blog. Also, I use the teaser function so the page isn't so long.

Mohsin Rasool · 06-09-2009, 05:54 PM

Hi,

I always suggest to have only excerpts on any pages like home.php, index.php, category.php,archive.php.... and let the whole post show only at the main post/page page
in this way you have very focused post/page with unique content , having other links to this page....this makes this page to rank high in SERPS.

Regards,
Mohsin

oregongal · 06-09-2009, 07:19 PM

I think it can be a matter of trial and error - therefore testing is important. You noticed a difference when you added more posts, I would pay attention to that. I think the more targeted you can be, the better. Being able to focus on your keywords and not distract with too much content could have an effect.

Antilles · 06-10-2009, 05:05 PM

Thankyou all for all the replies!

Some interesting ideas here, I'll do a bit of testing I think until I come up with optimum solution.

But it seems like a low post count (5 or less) seems to have positive results, and the excerpts / teaser feature also seems like a good idea.

06-09-2009, 03:28 PM	#1
Antilles Warrior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 21 Thanks: 12 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Wordpress - number of blogs posts per page Been doing a bit of dabbling with a Wordpress blog I set up a few months ago. I have around 20 posts in my blog, and had Wordpress set to display a maximum of 5 posts per page. My blog was ranking around page 2 on Google. I decided to change the number of posts per page to see if would have any effect, and set it to 10 per page - doubling the number of posts. The effect was almost immediate and within days, the blog dropped to page 11 on Google. Has anyone done any similar kind of testing and is there an optimum figure you use for the number of posts per page?

06-09-2009, 03:44 PM	#2
dvduval phpLD master War Room Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Silicon Valley Posts: 2,970 Blog Entries: 3 Thanks: 44 Thanked 307 Times in 259 Posts Social Networking	Re: Wordpress - number of blogs posts per page I don't know for sure, but when I look at some of the "big dogs" in SEO I usually see 5-6 range. I wouldn't say for certain the change you made would be the only reason for your SERP change, however, though it wouldn't hurt to switch back to 5.
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06-09-2009, 03:56 PM	#3
bannor32 HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 225 Thanks: 1 Thanked 11 Times in 10 Posts Contact Info	Re: Wordpress - number of blogs posts per page Not sure how you plan to monetize your blog, but if you are using Adsense you'll want to limit your blog to a single post per page. This will help the ad server most closely match contextual ads to your content.

06-09-2009, 04:04 PM	#4
bgmacaw Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Metro Area, USA. Posts: 3,643 Blog Entries: 5 Thanks: 311 Thanked 925 Times in 644 Posts Social Networking	Re: Wordpress - number of blogs posts per page Any change to your theme can trigger temporary ranking problems or, on the odd occasion, an unexpected boost. That's why you're seeing the change. My typical blog layout is one post per page or excerpts in a tabular format on the index page.
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06-09-2009, 04:06 PM	#5
Antilles Warrior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 21 Thanks: 12 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Wordpress - number of blogs posts per page I'm promoting a Clickbank product using affiliate links. But I've seen sites with 10, 20, 5, or 1 posts per page. Just wonder what effect the different numbers have on SEO.. if any at all.

06-09-2009, 04:10 PM	#6
ragnartm HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: , , Norway. Posts: 312 Thanks: 29 Thanked 9 Times in 9 Posts	Re: Wordpress - number of blogs posts per page I changed to 3 posts per page and google started instantly indexing my new posts and ranking me among the top 10 for my main search terms. This might be the delayed effect of do-follow links though. The most important thing in my opinions is that the content fills up as far as the sidebar goes, if the sidebar keeps going and the content stops it looks very unprofessional.
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06-09-2009, 04:42 PM	#7
Stefan Vee HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 323 Thanks: 94 Thanked 109 Times in 50 Posts	Re: Wordpress - number of blogs posts per page IMO, it's better to put your sitemap on top of the html pyramid. That way, the first thing the bots see is your nicely organised permalink structure.

06-09-2009, 05:46 PM	#8
mike52683 Active Warrior Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 79 Thanks: 2 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts Contact Info	Re: Wordpress - number of blogs posts per page I use 3 posts per page on my wordpress blog. Also, I use the teaser function so the page isn't so long.
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06-09-2009, 05:54 PM	#9
Mohsin Rasool Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Pakistan Posts: 3,271 Thanks: 361 Thanked 245 Times in 109 Posts Social Networking	Re: Wordpress - number of blogs posts per page Hi, I always suggest to have only excerpts on any pages like home.php, index.php, category.php,archive.php.... and let the whole post show only at the main post/page page in this way you have very focused post/page with unique content , having other links to this page....this makes this page to rank high in SERPS. Regards, Mohsin
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06-09-2009, 07:19 PM	#10
oregongal HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Oregon Posts: 233 Thanks: 132 Thanked 22 Times in 21 Posts	Re: Wordpress - number of blogs posts per page I think it can be a matter of trial and error - therefore testing is important. You noticed a difference when you added more posts, I would pay attention to that. I think the more targeted you can be, the better. Being able to focus on your keywords and not distract with too much content could have an effect.
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06-10-2009, 05:05 PM	#11
Antilles Warrior Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 21 Thanks: 12 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Wordpress - number of blogs posts per page Thankyou all for all the replies! Some interesting ideas here, I'll do a bit of testing I think until I come up with optimum solution. But it seems like a low post count (5 or less) seems to have positive results, and the excerpts / teaser feature also seems like a good idea.