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Are Theme-Based Content Websites Better Than Blogs?
A while back I posted an article titled WordPress Vs SiteBuildIt which resulted in heated arguments on both sides of the fence.
Today I got an email from Ken Evoy, which is set to take this argument to a whole new level. Overall, the content of the email says that blogging is a bad idea for small business owners, and what they should really be doing is building static, content-rich websites.
Ken’s argument is based on these things:
- A static website, like the ones built by SiteBuildIt, generally have a better logical hierarchy for content, instead of blogs that are “date-based” - (implies that by having a proper hierarchy, it helps your sites get better rankings)
- A static website requires much lesser maintenance, whereas with a blog you’re pressured to produce new content very often, or your traffic simply dies out..
- SBI’s new Content 2.0 module is better than blogs themselves, as it allows user generated content whereas the only interactivity in blogs is limited to comments
Here are some quotes from the original page called “Blog or Build”, and my comments below them:
Blogs are best used for news-oriented sites, or sites that feature “the latest” or “the thought of the day.” If you intend to build a site that keeps visitors on the cutting edge of your topic matter, constantly releasing the latest news and commentary on what it all means, blogs are a good choice. But this is the wrong direction for most e-businesses.
I’m forced to admit that a lot of blogs operate like “online newspapers” - but not ALL of them. Some blogs do take the theme-based content approach.
What happens when you stop blogging? You watch your traffic melt away. Why? Because Search Engines know that blog posts are like newspapers… good only for wrapping fish after a few days.
Yes, if you completely stop blogging, your web traffic WILL reduce but it will not melt away and be gone altogether. I see 2 different types of traffic:
- active traffic that you get when you leave comments, write new posts and get a ‘comment war’; and
- passive traffic which is residual search engine traffic that you continue to get from your previous posts that now key keyword searches in Google.
Blogs merely keep adding new posts, one after another, without editing out the old and without pulling related posts together into cohesive and fresh articles. As a result, visitors ignore the old material and have trouble using a blog for anything more than the latest news or the “thought of the day.”
That train of thought is take from a Google blog post that quoted: “Blogs usually have high Bounce Rates no matter what since normal visitor behavior is to read the newest post and then leave.”
I think this should be true to some extent. Ask yourself?
It is definitely true hat most blogger never edit a post once it’s been publisher - they focus on mass rather than quality - me included. Probably a lot of model our blogs after sites like ProBlogger, John Chow, TechCrunch, Entrepreneurs Journey, Daily Blog Tips and almost any other big blog you can think of that mass-generate content (at least a post a day on average) and we think that’s the way we should do it too..
despite all the “blog-buzz,” the failure/abandonment rate of blogs is nearly 100%. Only incredibly talented bloggers make money. High-profile and prolific, they toil in certain niches and with certain styles that work well for blogging. For most, though, blogging is a doomed choice.
I actually know a lot of people who didn’t abandon blogging. Where did those stats come from?
There are a few things I DO agree with:
- Blogs are better suited for sites where NEW content is readily available - for example if the market is growing there are bound to be new developments which translates to new content you can blog about
- We should all pay more attention to creating quality, keyword-targeted blog posts and try to rank not only for your main blog keyword but every page we put out
- It’s better to create themed blogs (or sites) instead of general ones where you talk about everything under the sky
So what is your opinion on these few nagging questions:
- Are blogs more suited for people that have the name, power and recognition to create a “following”?
- Are blogs just as good as static theme-based content sites in terms of SEO and traffic, or perhaps even better?
- Is Content 2.0 a replacement for blogs as we know it - or just marketing hype?
Read the full article here.
20 Comments »
Gobala Krisnan is a direct-response marketer turned blogger who makes over $10,000 a month from his blog empire. If you want to make money online from blogs, he is the only person who can reveal the secret of merging time-tested direct marketing strategies with web 2.0 traffic. Read more about him >>
Hi Gobala
The suggested limitations of blogging in this post may or may not be true, I guess it depends upon the blog. But this is irrelevent to the original article (WP vs SBI). WordPress is not just blog software as we all know (I hope). WP makes really great static websites too, with full content management built in. V2.5 makes it even easier for those who have to add to and amend content in an already built website. In other words, someone with WP expertise can easily create a great looking website leaving someone with just basic wordprocessing skills to add and maintain the content.
I use WordPress as a simple content management system for small business clients looking for a budget CMS with good SEO. The trick is to provide a system with plugins relevant to the client’s business already installed as part of the package.
So far they have been delighted with the result and with some relatively basic SEO have been achieving good SE rankings too.
The blog section (if used) does not have to conform to the usual “latest news” format, it can equally be used as a library or article repository for articles with a longer “shelf life”. I’ve found this just as good for SEO as normal blogging, possibly even better.
Google seems to love WordPress as much as we do!
Theme based much better
I agree totally with John Kirk.
I put up Wordpress blogs using the static pages to set up a “normal” website using the blogging capabilities to keep the site fresh.
That way, I and my customers have the best of 2 worlds with only basic skills needed to keep the site running.
Michael
I agree with you in lots of points. Blogs are much more source of latest then a data foundation. Bloggers and blog readers share this mentality to visit often and they need new post and article to read.
See tech crunch they don’t have categories because they know the people will not roll back and if they do there are archives so the focus on new news only.
If Google earth 4.3 launched today after three months 4.4 can come and when it will who want to look in Google category that what 4.3 have and when it arrived. After all 4.4 have that all.
But I still prefer WordPress. Yours is also a good idea with similar website and blog on same theme.
I noticed that even a 5 page static website gets better page rank and traffic every time.
I have one 5 page site that went from nothing to 1st page listings and has stayed there in about 3 week period.
(its all static)
I have just now started using WP and like it but,it makes me feel limited,I dont really understand all about it,but it makes me want to run back to static pages or a faithful CMS I have found…
I believe the mini blogs are the next wave coming
I’ve used both, but I really prefer static web sites to visit. So many blogs have turned into useless ClusterFs of long sales pages full of hype and drivel where networks of folks place useless comments and links. Like they are fooling the search engines. The few communities where I go to regularly comment on their blogs have the blogs within “static” pages. A hybrid of sorts. These shyster kiddie boy marketers are ruining it for legit marketers and drawing the regulatory folks to this industry to police it.
I need to understand what we’re talking about here.
Is KE (and others) saying that the search engines are going to stop serving content rich properly SEO’d blogs because/when content is not continuously updated
but…
WILL continue to serve static websites with similar content and SEO but with no content update either?
Is that what is being said? Does anyone actually KNOW the answer. Anyone ever ask Google?
I can go either way here. It really depends on “what” the small business is doing. I work with clients who use a pretty static Zen-Cart installation because it’s best for them, and other clients who’s business requires a more dynamic approach to getting their message out. There is no “one size fits all” package in existence anywhere.
WP originated as a blogging tool, but it is now morphing into a premier CMS (an area I am diligently exploring as I write this). I take exception to one thing Gobala mentioned, and that is I do NOT agree that the theme has to be CMS based. There are numerous plugins available that can transform even the clunkiest theme into a nicely structured CMS - you just need to know what to look for.
As far as the static site is concerned - yes, it is *generally* organized in a more hierarchical fashion. But, that does not always translate into “better”. You still need to understand *how* to organize your tree in a logical fashion. I have seen static sites organized brilliantly, and I have seen static sites organized completely “bass-akwards”.
One statement by Ken really bothers me as well, and that is his point that “old” or out-of-date posts are not deleted/modified/etc. I say, “so what?”. I have had lots of traffic come to my sites from very old posts. If the site is set up correctly the visitor will quickly discover the newer, more up-to-date posts. Win-win.
Finally, with static sites, there is no give-and-take involved. It’s possible for someone like Ken (who I have no issues with) to use a static site as a pulpit to preach *his* message without any kind of rebuttal or differing opinion possible. I’m on his mailing list, and I receive many of his one-sided promotions (”we good, they bad”). At least with a blog you can get other opinions, or sometimes support for the posted material.
Rant over.
Had a discussion about this with some friends of mine with PR 6 & 7 blogs, with a huge subscriber base.
They’d all gotten Ken’s letter and said they were not going to mention it at all. The email was meant to incite and create a LOT of buzz about SBI vs. Wordpress, bringing tons of traffic (and new eyeballs) to Ken.
Smart marketing. And you can bet that Gobala included his affiliate links relative to the SBI part of his discussion. I’d just bet he’s no dummy either!
Debbi Bressler
Ken Evoy has to address this issue if his product is to survive in the battle against free Content Management Systems. And naturally… he has come up with a great case why his “system” is “better”.
And while the tools now used will help you get picked up by search engines faster than in the good ole days, and make life easier to manage your content…
In the end, the success of any site depends on so many things OTHER THAN the method/tools used to build it, but mainly the VALUE of the content published on the site - static or otherwise - and the expertise and persistence of the publisher to present that content in the best possible light (i.e. site structure, navigation, graphics etc).
Whether you use static or dynamic methods to do it is basically irrelevant in the final wash-up!
I’m 100% positive there have been plenty of failed sites using the SBI system too… or WordPress… or plain old HTML!
On another note - I LOVE the idea of having a date of publication on each page (but not necessarily in the URL). Just like a good book or newspaper in the offline world, the date of publication helps me determine how “useful” the information might be.
And in the online world with so many failed “ghost” sites still visible, a publication date also demonstrates the site owner is still very “active” in that niche.
Stephen Spry
You can have a site in the main url of the domain and a wordpress blog in a subfolder.
Incorporate the best of both worlds- it’s not an either or- it’s : do the best of the two.
Also wordpress blogs ping to various places on the web automatically when you publish (not able to do with exclusively static sites).
You can use the tagging,trackbacks and all kinds of web 2.0 properties.
You can even do utility posts which don’t take up time at all.
Just watch this video about utility posts that Jack Humphrey made today:
utility posts
Google looves fresh content too.
The best revamped content managemnt system for your authority site?
Xsitepro + wordpress and you can even add a forum too if you really want to go web 2.0.
Really depends on your particular needs. The fact remains that wordpress is becoming a total necessity in the online world.
If you don’t want to buy anything then also make wordpress a static site through static blogging and then just use it as a regular blog in a folder.
Wordpress has awesome seo plugins you can add and thousands of plugins that help you do whatever you want with it basically.
Wordpress rocks and it’s here to stay.
Any business can profit from wordpress.
If you have the best of both world you can ark high in regular serps for static and rank high in blog search engines for blog- and sometimes rank high in regular serps as your blog. In any case a blog will help bring more traffic in various ways so it can only add to your business not detract from it.
You just have to use the right marketing strategies. But that is true with any content management system. You have to think- how will this help my ebiz? How ill this be relevant to what I am trying to achieve?
all the best:-)
Eren
hey Monika,
I posted a rather long comment and it hasn’t appeared- did you receive it- or was there a technical problem?
all the best,
Eren
@ Eren: My apologies. It took a while longer as I took two necessary days off.
I gather that you are a huge WordPress fan. While I agree with most of what you are saying, I don’t think that you can say WordPress is becoming a necessity in today’s Internet world.
There are other content management systems of which some actually say they are better than WordPress (like Joomla for example). In the end, I think this all comes down to personal preference, like a meal at a particular restaurant.
We will never agree on either, which is great since it gives us food for thought and helps us to look for ways to better whatever system we use.
Hi Monika:-)
I know that joomla might be considered better but there are a few thing to consider:
Joomla doesn’t have the support and amount of plugins and free themes to choose from and massive amounts of users that wordpress does though.
So if I have questions with wordpress or if I want to add a functionality to it - someone out there will have a solution for me.
The reason for my thorough explanation is because this other post of wordpress versus SBI there was choice to be made of whether staic or blog. I can do both static and blog for the maximium amount of benefits that both can give me.
I was trying to show that you can choose to have a static site as your main and to put a wordprress blog up in a folder.
This wordpress blog is very powerful for helping your static pages be found by the spiders and by other people.
Since you can blog aroud the topic of your static page and anchor text link to it bringing in the spiders almost right away. All you neeed to to is put the ping list in a certain folder in wordpress and boom -it will automatically ping.
Now let’s say I’m a small buinses owner. And I want to get more directed traffic to my static site- if I can add wordpress to the folder- use the tagging and pinging system and then even do trackbacks to other popular and relevent blogs- why wouldn’t I do this?
Wordpress will bring in the spiders to get that page indexed faster plus it will bring in the traffic.
If I took the extra time to figure out what my keyword phrases are then it will even bring in search engine traffic and from blog search engines too.:-)
I am going to build an authority site and have been researching the best way to do so.
After lots of research i believe that using xsite pro and wordpress will be the best seo and traffic benefits for me (other than freedom to do what I want.)
Of course you can use this technique with Dreamweaver + Wordpress but I prefer Xsite pro for seo puposes and the ease of use and ease of learning.
I hope other people that read this also make the best decision for their business.
This to me is a very important decision since I will be spending massive amounts of time and energy on my site- I want it to have the flexibility and the best technology possible.
all the best,
Eren
[...] Are theme based site better than blogs? [...]
Great post and some excellent food for thought. I’ve been blogging for over a year and still struggle, to a certain extent, with my niche and overall blog format. This post gave me some more things to consider as I continue to ponder what makes sense for my blog.