Blog - on the domain or place on separate site, now that Panda ranks for bounce, TOP, depth of visit

[ahw]

Over 10 years ago, we decided to run our blog external to our main website. contrary to conventional wisdom then, we thought we’d have more control/opps for generating external anchor text links, plus working in a bona fide blog software environment (WP). As we had hoped, the blog generated alot of strong inbound links, captured inbound links of it own from other sites and I think, helped improve our SERPs and traffic. Once the blog was established and with the redesign of the website, we capitulated, and finally moved the blog onto the main domain.

After reading a number of pieces on Panda and the new reality of SEO, sounds like bounce rates (in particular), time on page, and other GA measures may have a more profound influence on google rankings now. Given that blogs are notoriously for high bounce rates (ours is), low time on site, depth of visit, seems logical that it adversely affects our site averages for the main domain). Is it time to re-consider pulling our blog off the main domain to reassert the ‘true’ GA measures of the main domain?

I guess it still gets down to the question... is the advantage of all the inbound links to the blog on the main domain of greater value than moving the blog off-site and reasserting better 'site stats' for google's pando algo?

Thanks.

[EGOL]

**...we capitulated, and finally moved the blog onto the main domain. **

In my opinion, this was a good decision.  Now all of the links that hit the blog are directly hitting your important website.

Given that blogs are notoriously for high bounce rates (ours is), low time on site, depth of visit, seems logical that it adversely affects our site averages for the main domain).

Before I move the blog from the main domain I would attack this problem with....

1. Improved content that grabs and engages the visitor

2. Improved design that lures the visitor to explore other content on your site.  Text links in the blog posts to related content on your site, seductive "related boxes" full of thumbnail images and links to more, "most popular" boxes to market your best content to the visitor.  Visit a popular news site because many of them are experts at getting more engagement from their visitors.

Finally, look at where does SEOmoz have their blog?  In a folder on their own domain.  Look at the content on that blog... those articles blow your socks off with their depth, detail, illustrations, expertise and community engagement.  What type of content can you generate related to your industry that is similar?  I don't know what you have on your blog but maybe you should post less often but with greater quality?

[Thos003]

I have found it beneficial to have a separate offsite blog. But that is how we built our sites original. Honestly, I think having an offsite blog allows you a little more flexibility. You can be a little more aggressive and shelter some of the risk. But you do give up some of your direct linking advantage by hosting a separate blog. In the past year we have opted to have an onsite blog and an offsite blog. We are hoping to target different audiences with the two blogs.

If you do opt to move to an offsite blog you could still capitalize on the inbound links you currently have to your blog but consolidating your posts and then providing outbound links to your new blog. I believe google penalizes most for bounce rates back to the search engine and much less for bounces forward.

It sounds like you understand the advantages of both... so I would say that you are the best qualified to make that decision for your business.

[Thos003]

Great points.  Further using SEOmoz, they even have a section for their quality blog: http://www.seomoz.org/blog and their perhaps lesser quality blog: http://www.seomoz.org/ugc

[jennita]

Hey Thomas, I just wanted to jump in here on this side topic. I'd hardly say that YOUmoz is a lesser quality blog, in fact many of our top posts each month/year come from YOUmoz. We do our best to keep the posts that show up in YOUmoz, as good of quality as the ones you see on the main blog. Obviously not everyone will agree on this, but I wanted to add my 2 cents. Thanks!

[Thos003]

Sorry. Didn't mean anything by that. Lesser quality didn't mean poor quality. YOUmoz has great content. The main blog has even better content. And there are exceptions to every rule.