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... What is RSS?It’s Time for a Good Spring Cleaning
Every Spring people get a sense of renewal and want to start as fresh as a Bright New Spring Day. I am just like everyone else when it comes to wanting to clean things up and try to brighten up my Blog a bit.
But this time, I want to do more. Not only do I want to change the look of the Blog, but finally set things right. It has always bothered me that I had that stupid “WP” after the Domain. Almost as if it were an afterthought.
Ever since I bought the Domain “workingathomeinternet.com” I have been contemplating putting the Blog as the Main Site. I just didn’t want to cause too much confusion. Not only with readers finding the Blog and incoming links being broken, but with Search Engines finding my Blog as well. And what about Advertisers through TLA and the like? These have been the Main Reasons I have never really gone any further than thinking about fixing it.
It will be a lot of work to do all the changes that I have in mind, but I need to know if it could/would be worth it in the end. (Did I mention that there is a Webpage on the .com addy that would be moved to .com/web?) This isn’t as much about redesigning as much as knowing if it is the right thing to do.Â
I know I can put redirects on the Blog and Website, but what does that do to SEO? Will it be more or less difficult for people searching for Work at Home information to find me? Is it worth all the effort?
If you would be so kind, I have a Yes or No Poll to get your opinion about moving the Blog. (Of course, there is a non-committal for those who don’t have an opinion.) You can either vote below in this post or in the sidebar, but you can only vote once.
[poll=2]
Thanks for your help. The poll will be open until next Saturday (4/14). And if you don’t like polls, you can always voice your opinion in comments. You know I always answer comments.
[tags]spring cleaning,blogging,changing domain names,polls,opinions[/tags]
13 Comments
I agree with Paul. Leave it like this and just make sure you have a link to the blog on the main site, maybe even show the latest 5-10 titles from the blog there automatically.
I’d leave it like it is, and make up new page…../index.html that links to your most popular articles!
I believe a search engine reads (or doesn’t read) your page the same no matter where it is. Real question I guess is, is the improvement in your address going to be better.
I have found with all blogs, you share the same problem – You have to make sure the search engines are reading your page! Headings on blogs leave something to be desired.
Keep up the good work.
Hey Paul,
You’re the first No. I can understand that the SE’s can still find it, but I question whether it would be better overall for readers and SEO.
That’s why I’m asking, there are many more people out there that are more knowledgable than I.
It also will be a LOT of work and I’m not sure if the Redirects will work /WP to .com AND .com to /web.
Won’t the /WP actually be redirected twice and end up on the /web addy?
I need help with this one…
Hey Alsuran or Tony or Mars or Raywall,
(I think it’s Alexandru)
I’m not sure who to talk to here.
I don’t think you took the poll, all the No’s have to stick together to get a good pic of what people think.
I’ll still put you down as a No.
I Do have the Feedburner link for New Posts on the website already and do get hits here through it. So, that’s covered.
Thanks
Actually, I voted yes by mistake before posting my first comment
. And it’s Alsuran here (or Alexandru as my email suggests).
My thought was … you already have 1310 pages indexed in Google for the /WP part of your website and almost 1 year of blogging on this adress. I don’t know how many people come from Google search for these pages, but your blog seems to be going pretty well even as it is in the WP folder. Since most people I imagine that they subscribe by RSS or email they don’t really need to remember the WP part of the adress, or they bookmark the blog, or they remember the main page and then click there to reach the blog.
In the Technorati top 100 I can see 10 blogs that are in folders like yours is. In the end, its the content that matters, but if it bothers you .. then change it.:)
Hey Al (that way I have you covered both ways),
I tend to think that there is no real need to change to the main domain either. Maybe it’s just me thinking that it would be the “right” way.
I’m going to wait for the full week to see what everyone thinks. I still can’t make up my mind, although I still have to clean some things up over the whole domain.
Thanks for the input.
Hey Joe, I didn’t say anything about redirects. How about good ‘ol html links. I would think an article has a certain address. Just link to the articles address. Lets see….Most Recent, Most Popular, Most commented, Latest Forum info, etc. Interesting that Alsuran thinks most people read through email, or rss. Am I the only one who uses good old favorites?
When I said make sure SE’s are reading the page, I did not mean finding the page. Are they reading everything you want them to? As an example, your page has the title of articles, and the “Reader remarks” both designated h2 in html. Just a thought!
Hey Paul,
Each article does have it’s own link address. The SEO’s seem to be reading everything just fine now, I question if it’s wise to Change the Blog URL at this time. It’s been this way for over a Year.
I just don’t want to mess things up.
Oh, and I use RSS for Work reading. I Still use Favorites for Personal and Pleasure reading.
Joe, I know the WP has been bothering you since forever, but why change now? Wouldn’t it be more trouble than it’s worth?
Hey Carolyn,
That’s the Million Dollar Question, Is it Worth it?
Still trying to figure it out.
Does that mean I just won a Million Dollars?
Sorry Carolyn, maybe if my name was Bill or Melinda Gates.
Just thought I’d ask. You don’t look like a Melinda, by the way.