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Should I use TypePad or host blog on my website?

Posted by after5blog • 6/13/07 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: barware, beer, cocktails, drinks, drinkware, enrtertaining, home bar, martini

Would I achieve better search engine rankings on my website if my blog were hosted on my site www.after5catalog.com/ or have it stand alone with TypePad. There is an advantage with TypePad with the links and existing traffic but in the long run which is better?

User Comments

6/13/07

jphillips

I would suggest you go with wordpress and have it in a subdirectory (like www.after5catalog.com/blog/), I have nothing against typepad, but I find that the mapping and redirecting of the domain name or directory is a pain, wordpress can be installed in 5 minutes or less. my 2 cents

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1. 6/13/07
  
  NINE
  
  What would you suggest as far as SEO goes? Do you think its better to host it on TypePad or Wordpress or to put it on his main website?
  
  After5 and I were chatting on the phone earlier and he thinks that if he puts it on his website bloggers may feel like the blog is written as a means to JUST sell products and wont be as inclined to read.
  
  Right now the blog is coming up for some decent keyword phrases but its still pretty new. If it were me I would have it on the main website so that it gets some of that search power and helps boost my main website up a little bit.
  
  What do you guys think?
2. 6/13/07
  
  after5blog
  
  Thanks for the thought. The blog is new and there arn't many links or traffic as of yet so this is an good time to change horses so to speak. The seo from the new blog content and the regular pinging of the search engines has got to benifit the website. As a stand alone blog with its own url the blog will benefit in page rank and the site will have secondary benefit so I think hosting the blog on the website would be best? New here in the blog world.
6/13/07

gabotron

I don't know about search engine rankings because content is still content, no matter where it is hosted. A domain name is only one factor in determining the relevance of the search term.

If you're thinking long term, then go for a self-hosted blog. When visitors come in, it won't just be about search engines anymore. You'll have full control over the administration tasks of your blog and it will be easier to maintain.

I agree with jphillips' suggestion. WordPress has a large user base, so it will be easier to find plug-ins that will suit your needs. Large user base equals better and (even) faster support. But if you really have high traffic going on, WordPress is one of the worst performers when it comes to pulling out information from databases. You can either move to a dedicated hosting or a new blogging platform.

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6/13/07

NINE

I know there are some SEO guys hiding in here somewhere that should be able to shed some more light on the subject.

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6/13/07

jphillips

I agree with gabotron, main reason for going with a self-hosted wordpress is to have control over your blog, typepad is fine, but wordpress offers so much more. I was not aware of that performance thing with wordpress/database though, gabotron, can you suggest another platform that would more suitable for high traffic blogs? and how much traffic is "high traffic", you mean over 10k a day? more or less?

I know there is a plugin called something like wp-cache, that can help improve the performance of a wordpress blog, by caching the pages, so less use of the database. not sure about this plugin though, never used it.

I'm sure Andy Beard can help us out with that SEO thing and wordpress performance issue thing!

[reply]
1. 6/14/07
  
  gabotron
  
  I saw the performance thing on a blog post about CMS and Forum scripts benchmark, www.rkblog.rk.edu.pl/w/p/cms-and-forum-scripts-benchmark/. As you'll see, the previous 2.1 version had one of the highest demands when it came to database access.
  
  I guess Textpattern or Movable Type is a good alternative. I haven't tried these platforms yet, though.
  
  Maybe very high traffic is in the 100,000 uniques per day mark (WordPress.com, CNET, etc).
  
  textpattern.com/
  www.movabletype.com/pricing.html
  
  And yeah, I read some good reviews about that wp-cache thingy. Thanks for bringing it up.
6/14/07

PrettyLady

I'm agreeing with Mr. phillips here with regards to Wordpress.

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6/14/07

NINE

Well I have no experience with blogger or typepad so I suggest wordpress simply because its always worked great for me.

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12/15/07

Kaliopy

I have been using Typepad for about a year and theres a lot of bad press about them and I started thinking that I should switch to Wordpress. So I did. And that didnt last very long. The reason I blog is because I like to write. I dont want to spend my time learning a more challenging publishing software. I have found Typepad more user friendly and less labor intensive. I also like the fact that Typepad allows me to have 5 blogs (if I needed) for the price of one.

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12/27/07

husdal

I couldn't agree more. Nice to meet another Typepad'er on BC :-) And it IS the user-friendliness of Typepad compared to WP that makes me stick to Typepad.
www.husdal.com/blog/2007/09/why-blog-on-typ.html

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