Google Loves These Websites…

Summary

In this video, the speaker compares WordPress and Next.js websites, focusing on SEO performance. While WordPress can lead to stagnant growth due to excess duplicate or low-quality pages, Next.js offers a cleaner, more streamlined approach that may result in better SEO outcomes. The speaker shares personal experiences with both platforms, using real-world examples like Bis Guru (WordPress) and FinderTradespersonIreland.com (Next.js) to demonstrate the differences. Additionally, issues with Shopify’s SEO performance are discussed. Ultimately, the video highlights how minimizing unnecessary content is key to achieving better SEO results in 2024.

Takeaways

• 😀 The speaker has extensive experience in creating WordPress websites, having built over 100 of them, but only a handful of them are publicly available due to client confidentiality.
• 😀 In the comparison between WordPress and Next.js websites, the speaker discusses their own experiments and observations from agency work rather than claiming to be an expert on the topic.
• 😀 The website example used (bisguru.com) is a basic WordPress site with numerous blog posts aimed at ranking for business-related keywords in Ireland, but it has seen stagnant traffic over the past 16 months.
• 😀 One theory presented is the impact of page quality score on SEO, where pages with low-quality or useless content, such as duplicate or filter pages, negatively affect a website's ranking potential.
• 😀 The speaker believes that having a large number of useless pages (such as those generated by WordPress or Shopify) can drag down the overall page quality score of a website, potentially limiting its SEO success.
• 😀 The example of a successful directory website (findertradespersonireland.com) with minimal pages but a strong focus on valuable, user-centric content demonstrates better SEO performance and more useful pages.
• 😀 The website findertradespersonireland.com, despite having been online for only a month, is already ranking for specific local keywords with fewer non-indexed pages compared to WordPress sites, suggesting a better page quality score.
• 😀 Shopify, like WordPress, can generate large quantities of non-indexed pages, many of which are considered low-quality or irrelevant, which may hurt SEO performance if not properly managed.
• 😀 The speaker stresses that having fewer low-quality pages on a site can improve its overall SEO potential, with examples from both WordPress and Next.js websites to illustrate the point.
• 😀 The final example involves a private project, where the website has generated 15,000 impressions within 13 days and has a higher proportion of indexed pages compared to non-indexed ones, showing promising SEO results.
• 😀 The speaker emphasizes the importance of a clean, focused URL structure and avoiding the generation of unnecessary pages that don't serve the user or SEO goals, especially in large e-commerce platforms like Shopify.

Q & A

What is the main comparison being made in the video?

The main comparison in the video is between WordPress and Next.js websites, focusing on their SEO performance, particularly how page quality and indexing affect website rankings.

What is the speaker's background with WordPress?

The speaker has created over 100 WordPress websites, with significant experience working on client projects. However, only a few of these websites are publicly discussed due to client confidentiality.

What is the purpose of the Bis Guru website example in the video?

The Bis Guru website is used as an example to illustrate the typical SEO performance of a WordPress site. Despite having numerous blog posts, it has shown stagnant traffic over the past 16 months, which the speaker attributes to issues such as thin content and lack of backlinks.

What is the Page Quality Score, and how does it relate to SEO?

The Page Quality Score is a rating given to a website based on the usefulness and quality of its pages. Websites with many low-quality pages (e.g., duplicate, thin, or useless content) may have a lower Page Quality Score, which can negatively impact their search rankings on Google.

How does WordPress generate unnecessary pages that could harm SEO?

WordPress can generate many unnecessary pages, such as duplicate filter pages, 404 pages, and other dynamic query-based pages, which do not provide real value. These pages can lower the overall Page Quality Score of a website, hurting its SEO performance.

What is the relationship between indexed and non-indexed pages in SEO?

Indexed pages are those that Google recognizes and includes in search results, while non-indexed pages are ignored. A higher proportion of indexed pages that are useful and relevant to users can improve SEO, whereas a high number of non-indexed or useless pages can harm a site's SEO performance.

Why does the speaker compare FinderTradespersonIreland.com to Bis Guru?

FinderTradespersonIreland.com is used as a contrast to Bis Guru. Despite being a newer site with fewer blog posts and backlinks, FinderTradespersonIreland.com performs better in SEO because it has a higher proportion of useful, indexed pages, as opposed to Bis Guru, which has many non-indexed and potentially useless pages.

What issues does the speaker point out with Shopify websites?

The speaker points out that Shopify websites often generate many unnecessary or duplicate pages, such as pages with incorrect canonical tags or pages in foreign languages. These pages contribute to lower Page Quality Scores and could negatively affect SEO.

What is the speaker's hypothesis about Next.js and its SEO advantages?

The speaker hypothesizes that Next.js websites, which are often static and not dynamically generated like WordPress, may have an SEO advantage. Static sites tend to generate fewer unnecessary pages, which could lead to a higher overall Page Quality Score and better SEO performance.

What can be inferred from the private project mentioned in the video?

The private project mentioned in the video has achieved high traffic (15,000 impressions in 13 days) with a strong ratio of indexed pages to non-indexed pages. This suggests that focusing on creating useful, indexed pages can lead to better SEO performance, even in the early stages of a website.

How does the speaker suggest websites can avoid the 'death' of SEO after launch?

The speaker hints at future content discussing strategies to prevent websites from losing SEO momentum after launch. This likely includes maintaining a high-quality page structure, avoiding useless pages, and ensuring proper indexing of valuable content to sustain growth over time.