Is This A Reason To Move Content?

[cookie777]

Dear All,

I am questioning my initial decisions when I planned a site due to reading lots of info on moz. Although what I have read has made me question what I have already done, I can't find anything that is specific to my exact case, so here goes.

I recently built a shopping cart in OpenCart. I want the site to have lots of information on the products it sells. I have populated each category with at least 1000 words of content that is specific to the products in that category, also I have some information pages that have no products in them at all, just copy. So the shopping site actually has a few pages that look like a static website and a few that look like a normal shopping cart.

My thought behind this was I wanted the pages with lots of info to rank and become authoritative, in some way elevating the whole site.

I have recently put a blog on the site, and a combination of that, and reading Moz has lead me think that I should move all the content from the category pages to the blog, and deep link each blog post to it's relevant products and category.

From what I have read it would be easier to get the blog ranking and acknowledged as an authority rather than 30 category pages. Also each 1500+ word category page will make at least 3-4 nice blog posts, and each post can be focused on a single keyword rather than a large category page that has maybe 3-4 keywords it's trying to rank for.

Also the blog is much better optimised than a standard OC category page (even using extensions with them).

The only negative I can see is moving the content, but the site is less that 2 months old, and the amount of link juice it has is negligible. Does google cut new sites a bit of slack in these situations of moving content around, or will I be seen as 'up to something' by google?

I guess my question is, am I barking up the right tree? Or is the old adage 'a little information is dangerous' true in this case, and I just about to make a load of work for the sake of it with no real benefit.

However, if I am to make such a dramatic change to the sites architecture I think the time is now, before things start gaining juice & rank.

I hope I have explained my situation clearly and I thank anyone who can offer me any advice.

Great forum, Thank you,

Ian

[MoosaHemani]

Hello Ian,

As you said the website is just 2 months old so I guess making any kind of shifting or architectural change is fine as it is the initial stage and you might have no or very low link juice at the moment.

In my opinion, having information in the blog section is a great idea and if you are using WP then the blog will more likely to be optimized with the help of few plugins.

Try to keep the category page with unique information that encourage users to buy and add the information in the blog section and link the products on the blog where necessary.

Hope this helps!

[cookie777]

Hi Moosa,

Thank you for taking the time to reply, I appreciate it a lot.

So when I move the text from category pages to the blog would I need to do 301 redirect? Or just move it seeing as the site is so young?

Thanks again, Ian

[MoosaHemani]

In my opinion you should so that 100% of the people reached to the new URL without facing any 404 error on the website.

[cookie777]

Yes, of course you're right. I was just trying to cut a corner, I'll do it properly.

Thanks again for your time.

Best,

Ian

[Chris.Menke]

Here's another way to look it it Ian--if, after just two months from launch, you're already considering re-purposing your  content, you might already be running out of steam on the project. If that's the case, you need to make your next step a  motivation-building step, in order to come up with a way to keep your momentum going  for the year + more of work that you're likely going to have to put into it before it gains traction.

To me, it seems obvious to leave the category content where it is and write new content for the blog--and for the product pages themselves. In creating that content, you want to keep in mind that "authority" isn't  about the content, the number of words in it, or whether the content is on the category pages, the blog, or the project pages, it's about who's reading, sharing, tweeting, commenting, +1ing, and linking to it.  Today's successful website is about knowing who your audience is, reaching out and engaging them with the kind of content they enjoy consuming, and giving them a reason and an opportunity to express their opinion on your content (and/or product).

The tree you should be barking up is the engagement tree and this video is a good place to start to get an idea what that tree looks like.  A Manifesto of Content Marketing - Moz

[cookie777]

Hi Chris,

You've called me out, and I'm a little embarrassed. You nailed it.

I was actually looking at ways to stretch the content I have written. Rather than writing more.

And actually the content I have written for the "static' pages wont be fully appropriate for the blog, as I want the blog to be more personal that factual.

Bollocking acknowledged and received!!!

Thank you, by far the best response I have ever.

Have a great day, Ian

[cookie777]

Great video too... Highly recommend