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I Need a Solution to A Wordpress Problem

Posted by acousticguitarist • 7/27/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: wordpress hosting

Óne of my blogs is not hosted acousticguitarist.wordpress.com , originaly it was just a test site but now has 300 or 400 visitors a day so I plan to keep it. The issue is I need to expand it. ( Hang on..don't rush off and respond yet)

As far as I can see, if I upgrade it with someone like Dreamhost or the host I'm with for my other blogs , it's not really an upgrade but a start again solution, I can move everything across to the new host but Google perceives this as a new site, not the old one.

So the issue: How can I expand this Blog to make it more powerful but leave all the paths still intact so it has the same web presence. e.g if you search Google for Çountry Guitar Scales'the result is reasonable.

Any ideas.

And please don't just say 'oh I use GoDaddy or Hostgator etc' , that is not a solution, this is a specific requirement.

thanks Tony

User Comments

7/27/08

ChicaX

I have no idea, I wish I could help you out, but I'm sure one of the fine folks around here will let you know. I do have a question though, and that is why move it all right now, when you got that many visitors? and won't a redirect link help smooth that out and connect the two sites, not losing anything from google?

[reply]
7/27/08

timethief

wp.com will not do 301 re-directs
However you could purchase domain mapping and a domain name and hire a webhost. This is what I have done. For $10 per year wp.com now seamlessly domain maps one of my blogs to my domain which is hosted by a small orange.
I purchased a domain name from wp.com and domain mapping. I then purchased another domain name and web hosting from a small orange. The domain mapping from wp.com is seamless.
faq.wordpress.com/2007/09/09/can-i-redirect-my-blog/
faq.wordpress.com/2006/11/10/domain-mapping/
www.asmallorange.com/services/hosting/

[reply]
1. 7/27/08
  
  timethief
  
  You cannot expand your free hosted wp.com blog on their multi-user blogging platform to add features to it if it remains hosted by wp.com. That's the long and short of it.
  
  It isn't an SEO question. If your blog remains hosted by wp.com on Automattic's multi-user wp.com blogging platform it cannot have advertising of any kind on it, and it cannot have a "cart" because you are not allowed to conduct business from it, and because it has no plugins tab.
  
  Also note the the wp.com TOS clearly states that a wordpress.com free hosted blog cannot be used to drive traffic to a 3rd party site. (Section 2 - 5th bullet). wordpress.com/tos/
  
  faq.wordpress.com/2005/12/08/adsense/
  only VIP accounts can have advertising wordpress.com/vip-hosting/
  types of blogs wordpress.com/types-of-blogs/
  plugins
  faq.wordpress.com/2006/07/22/where-is-my-plugins-tab/
  faq.wordpress.com/2005/10/27/can-i-upload-my-own-plugins/
2. 7/27/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  Yoda...
  
  I'm indebted to you
3. 7/27/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  Yes I am aware of the TOS, there's only a small group of people that have read it I'm sure and they even had it in different colour text.
  
  The dilemma.... it's looking pretty much the way I thought it was
4. 7/27/08
  
  timethief
  
  The way I first told you about above is working seamlessly for my blog. It is the only way. There are no Google problems whatsoever.
  
  What was lost is that for the purposes of that blog (my personal one) I am no longer a member of the wp.com community being hosted on the free hosted multi-user wp.com blogging platform so my categories and tags are not on the wp.com global tagging pages therefore, I get no traffic from the wp.com tags and categories pages. The loss of traffic from the wp.com global categories and tag pages was HUGE.
  
  The wp.com free hosted blogs have widgets and other features that are not available to self-hosting bloggers from wordpress.org.
5. 7/27/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  So the mapping is just like mapping drives ( which it is anyway) and the Google bot sees the new dirrection and says í'll follow it'and is happy?
6. 7/27/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  So if I used the-guitar Dot net or some other url it will be ok.
  
  using acousticguitarist.wordpress.com name has prove to be very useful.
  
  What I'm trying to do is use that still (as a name )but have it elsewhere, it might sound a bit crazy but I've tested for a while and I see an advantage
  
  Give me a vege burger with THE LOT... I want the lot
7. 7/27/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  Oh...I just saw that I can keep the same name
8. 7/27/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  Tag traffic, that was the other issue I was thinking abot, it's small in the schoeme of things but I like it. But there are other issues relating to being in that network that I see, e.g. the speed that things happen.
  
  I'll carefully view all these docos ...thanks
9. 7/27/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  TT ...how big is HUGE?
10. 7/27/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  VIP
  
  Pricing begins at $500 a month... interesting solution
11. 7/28/08
  
  timethief
  
  My personal blog has never recovered the traffic that it lost when I moved to self hosting. I'm talking about approximately 500 - 600 readers that I lost and I have never regained.
7/27/08

acousticguitarist

I don't wish to move it, I wish to expand it to add features that the WP dot com doesn't support. I just want it all packaged together with Cart and other stuff in the one place. I don't trust that Google would seamlessly see everything

Thanks T

[reply]
7/27/08

casualblogger

Your questions sounds more like an SEO than Wordpress problem...

Please tell if I understand correctly your question: You want to transfer the acousticguitarist.wordpress.com to acousticguitarist.com and you're affraid google will perceive it as a different website.

If this is the case, there are several things you can do:
1) the index page on acousticguitarist.wordpress.com should redirect to the new site
2) I would take a closer look at google webmaster tools, maybe there is a way to tell google that the new website is the same as the old one.

Cheers

[reply]
1. 7/27/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  Thanks..
  
  no it's a very different issue
2. 7/27/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  the other one is not my domain , I have a few others
  
  I want to expand the functionality of what i have and not move it, or if it is moved, retain everything in place, especially its relationshp with the WP dot com network which I consider to be very important for a number of reasons
  
  But thanks
7/27/08

acousticguitarist

THINKING...THINKING...THINKING

I'll find a crazy workaround that's within the rules

[reply]
1. 7/27/08
  
  timethief
  
  There are no loopholes or workarounds within the rules T. Matt has insured that there aren't. More customers arriving in driveway I've got to go now.
2. 7/27/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  I always find workarounds.
  
  And to find one that also has integrity is even a better challenge ...thinking thinking thinking
  
  Integrity first
7/27/08

cooper

Honestly I am not sure it is worth all the work to redirect and so on or the worry. I takes very little time if your readership sticks with you remind them to change their links and you're posting a lot.

Tell people to start searching for you a lot in all search engines especially google once you've switched -I've just read that somewhere the other day as soon as you change.

If you really want to expand just do it I don't think most people with similar aspirations have been disappointed.

[reply]
1. 7/27/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  Thanks Cooper
  
  I think I'll just expand my other one first that is at Hostgator with the same amount of traffic and look at that model and then see how I can duplicate it
  
  The work is easy, my brain likes that gsort of puzzle, it's a mental solution really and the techie side is a few hours work.
  
  thinking ...thinking
  
  And thanks
2. 7/28/08
  
  timethief
  
  @acousticguitarist
  Check this out blog-well.com/2008/01/27/wordpresscom-to-wordpressorg/
3. 7/28/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  Thanks TT
  
  Will check tonight (Oz Time) off to work to teach Flash
7/27/08

sdmahesh06

comment removed by the community.

[reply]
1. 7/28/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  the nice mn was telling us his address :-)
2. 7/28/08
  
  timethief
  
  LOL nice? Yeah sure
  
  We had three lunatic speed spammers on the BC forum last night link dropping. During the day time we have a few who keep posting blog links to the tail end every comment they make. [rolling eyes]
7/28/08

PotatoChef

Timethief is the expert and you should listen to her.

If you want to try and keep all of your readers I suggest that once the new site is up and running that you post on the old site the new url and let everyone know what is going on.

Make sure that you have a rss button very handy for the people to subscribe to the new site.

If possible send off a series of emails to your existing readers asking them to subscribe to the new site.

[reply]
1. 7/29/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  thanks
7/29/08

bladeaxe4

contact rahul @ www.devilsworkshop.org/ he's a nice person whom u can believe in... he will make sure u dont miss anything

[reply]
1. 7/31/08
  
  acousticguitarist
  
  thanks blade