22 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
22 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Posts vs Pages - Wordpress SEO question

by shootingtime
17 replies
  • SEO
    • |
With the help of a friend, I am changing my website's theme and upgrading my website. Currently the site, which is a page based site, gets decent traffic. It is built using a "silo" system. It has silo (topic) landing pages, then subpages.. hence the url structure is ...../silo-topic/page-name.

My buddy swears by using posts almost exclusively and this scares me. I will still be able to maintain the url structures if I changed all the pages to posts, (/silo-topic/page-name.... will now become .../category/post-name/) but I fear that some of my heavy traffic pages will lose value quicker as a "time sensitive" post.

Some expert claims that, for his website, he creates his articles as posts and when a post starts to rank really well, he will change it to a page and use a 301 redirect to the new page. The new page's content won't get watered down by comments and should be a "timeless" fixture on his website. I understand his thinking.

Here are the questions I have:

1. Should I change all my pages (articles) into posts and cross my fingers? My urls will stay the same; the new posts will just become time sensitive/dated material.

2. Should I take my heavy traffic pages and keep them as pages? I would have to change the urls due to the fact that most of the new sites articles will be posts and take over the silo url structure.

Thanks for any and all input!
#pages #posts #question #seo #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author PaidAllDay
    You can avoid having "category" in the URL by setting your permalinks to /%category%/%postname%/ and setting the base to "." (no quotes). This is all under the Settings > Permalinks section in your WordPress admin.

    Then it just becomes a matter of how you want to navigate the site but usually posts are the best option with pages for more permanent things that you want in the main or footer nav like "contact us" "about us" "privacy policy" etc.

    Also if you set up categories the way I mentioned you might want to use the category pagination fix plugin or your buttons to go to the next page will be broken on your category pages (learned that the hard way).

    https://wordpress.org/support/view/p...pagination-fix
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9771983].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author jsam757
    Posts vs. Pages (Key Differences)

    The differences we list below definitely have exceptions. You can use plugins or code snippets to extend the functionality of both content types. Below is the list of key differences by default.
    Posts are timely vs. Pages are timeless.
    Posts are social vs. Pages are NOT.
    Posts can be categorized vs. Pages are hierarchical.
    Posts are included in RSS feed vs. Pages are not.
    Pages have custom template feature vs. Posts do not.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9772088].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Carlo Manf
    At the end of the day, whether or not Pages or Posts do better for SEO depends on:

    1. the nature of your content
    2. how your site is configured to display Posts, and Pages.

    jsam757 is right that Posts are for timely content (i.e. news) and Pages are for timeless content. Is your content news or permanent information?

    Also, do you display the date in your permalinks and/or on-page? Do you display comments? Do you use an rss feed? Do you need a hierarchy or do categories and tags work better?

    It's about what's best for your own site and content. There's no 'one size fits all' answer. It's impossible to answer whether you should use Posts or Pages without seeing your site and your content.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9772146].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      In my experience, pages are easier to rank and to maintain rankings. However, having a page about my company's last Christmas party doesn't make sense. That content is best as a post.

      Silly example, but would you have the 'About Us' page be a post?

      In other words, content and why the content exists should dictate whether you use a page or a post.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9772886].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author shootingtime
    Thanks for all the responses. DABK I understand which articles are better as posts and pages; it's the conflicting url structure that I am wondering about. Thanks

    As far as my new design...

    I think its best that I keep my productive informational pages as pages. (5 pages are responsible for about 36% of my traffic) I will then take certain topics like "product reviews", "how to's/tips" and other random things and make them posts.

    My only concern now is the url structure. From what I've researched, the silo structure is important. If I keep my pages as pages, I'll have to keep the silo topic landing page to preserve the ..../silo-topic/page-name/ silo structure. Thats fine, but what should I now do about my posts?

    With my posts, I can't have a category thats the same as one of my silo topics because of the conflicting resulting url. For instance if... dog-training/teaching-how-to-sit/ is the end url of one of my best performing PAGES, I can't really have a post category called "dog-training".

    I think I have 2 options

    1. I am going to have to keep the posts running with the ..../category/post-name/ url (silo) structure and change the url of the good performing pages to a non silo looking url.

    2. Keep the silo structure of the pages intact and just assign generic categories for posts. When a post does extremely well, change it to a page and establish a good silo structure.

    I hope my concerns are understood by a couple of you guys out there. Please let me know what you think my best play is.

    Thanks!!!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9773660].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      Then, I'm not even beginning to understand why you would change post to page.

      As some have mentioned, you can easily redirect.

      But why change a well performing post into a page?

      What's the benefit?

      Originally Posted by shootingtime View Post

      Thanks for all the responses. DABK I understand which articles are better as posts and pages; it's the conflicting url structure that I am wondering about. Thanks

      As far as my new design...

      I think its best that I keep my productive informational pages as pages. (5 pages are responsible for about 36% of my traffic) I will then take certain topics like "product reviews", "how to's/tips" and other random things and make them posts.

      My only concern now is the url structure. From what I've researched, the silo structure is important. If I keep my pages as pages, I'll have to keep the silo topic landing page to preserve the ..../silo-topic/page-name/ silo structure. Thats fine, but what should I now do about my posts?

      With my posts, I can't have a category thats the same as one of my silo topics because of the conflicting resulting url. For instance if... dog-training/teaching-how-to-sit/ is the end url of one of my best performing PAGES, I can't really have a post category called "dog-training".

      I think I have 2 options

      1. I am going to have to keep the posts running with the ..../category/post-name/ url (silo) structure and change the url of the good performing pages to a non silo looking url.

      2. Keep the silo structure of the pages intact and just assign generic categories for posts. When a post does extremely well, change it to a page and establish a good silo structure.

      I hope my concerns are understood by a couple of you guys out there. Please let me know what you think my best play is.

      Thanks!!!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9774347].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author PaidAllDay
    You should only use the silo structure on your posts as pages will not really be a part of a silo.

    So your pages would just be: site.com/dog-training-teaching-how-to-sit not /dog-training/anything

    You could create a 301 redirect to your old url if you need to on the existing site to do this.

    I use this plugin to make easy redirects: https://wordpress.org/plugins/quick-...direct-plugin/
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9773739].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Epic Fizz
      Originally Posted by PaidAllDay View Post

      You should only use the silo structure on your posts as pages will not really be a part of a silo.

      So your pages would just be: site.com/dog-training-teaching-how-to-sit not /dog-training/anything
      Actually I use silo "pages" all of the time and recommend it. However I use my primary keywords as the main pages (site/primary KWs) and then silo the rest of the relevant pages under those by selecting the primary KW page as the parent page. It nestles the rest of them nicely into my relevant silos and they look like this: site/primary kw/secondary kw's

      BruceClay.com uses a great example:

      Peanutbuttersite.com/creamy/traditional.html
      Peanutbuttersite.com/creamy/organic.html
      Peanutbuttersite.com/creamy/lowfat.html
      Peanutbuttersite.com/creamy/jellyhybrid.html
      Peanutbuttersite.com/creamy/honeyroasted.html

      I typically have 3 or 4 primary KW's per site (accessible via Nav Bar with drop down for sub-pages, and linked in every posts when possible) and then hundreds of lessor KW's to supplement the theme and intended niche, and those provide the basis of sub-pages and of course, posts.

      Then keep your home page as a blog with posts relevant to your niche keywords and link to the pages when possible. For me I've found that if someone comes to the site and it hasn't had any new content added (the blog) since their last visit then they aren't likely to come back. Plus it is obviously a SEO boost to have fresh new content regularly.

      To answer your question @shootingtime, I would not recommend changing the URL structure of already performing pages. Keep adding breadth (or depth) to your silo and linking out to those "pages" via your blog posts when possible to show relevance for search engines and give your readers a reason to stick around and click a few links.

      And read this page when you have time, it's lengthy but very helpful:
      BruceClay - SEO Silos - how to build a website silo architecture
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9775924].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author arindamb
    Page or post would completely depend on the purpose of your content. Pages are typically easier to rank, but the whole blog might rank better with posts.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9773841].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author shootingtime
    The question is whether or not I should change well performing pages to posts.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9774495].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author ArielT
      Originally Posted by shootingtime View Post

      The question is whether or not I should change well performing pages to posts.
      I think if the nature of the content fits better with pages, then don't make them posts
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9775536].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author johncalkovich
    • Posts are timely vs. Pages are timeless.
    • Posts are social vs. Pages are NOT.
    • Posts can be categorized vs. Pages are hierarchical.
    • Posts are included in RSS feed vs. Pages are not.
    • Pages have custom template feature vs. Posts do not.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9776022].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author milesrampel
    Keep your site architecture. Some people prefer pages, others prefer posts. Switching things up to drastically could either be really good, or really bad....so plan accordingly.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9777904].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author dougp
    [quote]My buddy swears by using posts almost exclusively and this scares me]/quote]

    It should. Your site should be built for optimal user experience, do not build your site SOLELY for search engines. Pages should be used solely for your static content,things like your about, contact, privacy, and terms pages.
    Signature
    FREE GUIDE: 30 Day Blueprint to Massive LinkedIn Traffic
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9778203].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author shootingtime
    The website in question is Shootingtime.com - Archery Tips and Bowhunting Tips Website . I am going to keep the structure the way it is except for:

    1. product reviews will become posts because they are frequent articles.

    2. The topics of Archery equipment, hunting equipment, and adding accessories may all be addressed to the new parent page "equipment" to consolidate things a little.

    I think this maintains the structure, user experience and will allow new blogs and product reviews the chance to keep the site fresh.

    Thoughts? Thanks
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9778903].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author keepkalm
    The only reason that I can think of to use posts vs a page is for categories and tags. My suspicion is that they are also being used in the permalinks. Wouldn't recommend using category in permalinks, the database query slows down your page load time significantly. It's faster and easier to make sure you have a keyword in the title if you want a keyword in the URL.

    That said, you don't want to switch without having the proper redirects in place either. Keep it simple is almost always good advice.
    Signature
    Kyle Alm
    SEO Bandwagon
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9783978].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    I don't know how you folks get by without understanding such basic things, it's all HTML in the end.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9784113].message }}

Trending Topics