Which Ranks Higher For SEO: WordPress Pages Or Posts?

Which Ranks Higher For SEO_ WordPress Pages Or Posts_ _ MediaOne Marketing Singapore

Getting ready to rock your WordPress website?

Whether you’re whipping up fresh content, giving it a facelift, or tinkering with the code, you’ll soon discover the age-old debate: WordPress Pages vs. Posts. 

What’s the dealio? Why are they separated at birth? And most importantly, how do you put them to use? Will choosing one over the other affect your site’s SEO? 

Join the WordPress Page vs. Post brawl and find out which one comes out on top. You’ll learn the difference, the purpose, and the impact each has on SEO.

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WordPress Pages Vs. Posts: The Technical Difference

The technical difference between WordPress posts and pages lies in their primary purpose and structure.

While posts are intended for dynamic, time-sensitive content, such as blog entries or news updates, and are organized in reverse-chronological order on the website’s blog page, pages are intended for static, timeless content, such as “About Us” or “Contact” pages. They are usually linked from the main navigation menu.

In other words, the two aren’t created equal. Nor can they be used interchangeably. 

Technically compared, the two are different in the following ways:

Static Vs. Dynamic Content

By definition, pages are static, one-off publications. On the other hand, posts are time-sensitive, chronologically listed entries.

Think of pages as timeless individual files. They don’t need to be tagged or frequently updated, unlike posts.

Publication Date 

Posts are organized by their publication dates, where the most recent post shows up first and chronologically so to the first one you published.

On the hand, pages have no dates. It doesn’t matter when they were published. They’re timeless and don’t rely on publication dates for the organization.

News Feeds and Site Navigation

WordPress pages are often included in the website’s menu, while posts stream on the blog page and RSS feed. 

Taxonomy

Only posts have tags and categories. Pages don’t. 

By default, pages can’t be categorized unless you use a plugin or get under the hood and do some hard coding yourself. 

Among the plugins you can use to add categories to WordPress webpages are Create And Assign Categories For Pages and Pages with Category and Tag.

Hierarchy

Only pages have hierarchies. One page could parent another and have it show in its URL.

For example, if you’re in the fitness industry, you could create a page for workout routines and have it parent two others pages: at-home workouts and gym workouts.

However, you cannot do the same with posts.

Why Do We Even Have Pages and Posts?

Why Do We Even Have Pages and Posts? | MediaOne Marketing Singpaore

The core reason for having pages and posts has to be time. Time is of the essence as far as information dissemination goes.

Your website has two types of content – the one that will stay on your website for good and the one that needs to be updated periodically.

Another possible reason has to do with organization. Pages aren’t easy to organize. Usually, website owners prefer to work with only a few pages they can link from their menu. 

But imagine having thousands of pages, and organizing them can prove problematic until you develop a plan. 

On the other hand, posts arrange themselves chronologically based on the date published, categories, and tags.

You can still have thousands of posts, but if you can remember when they were published or the categories they’re in, you can access just about any one of them in a matter of minutes.

Another plausible explanation has to do with the origin of WordPress. Initially, WordPress was meant to be a blogging platform. It was created with the sole intention of providing people with a platform to publish their content online.

However, with time, the platform has evolved into a website builder. You can use it to create just about any type of website, not just a blog.

In fact, the first setting you’ll be making when setting up a WordPress site is choosing whether you want the homepage to be static or show the latest posts.

If your primary reason for setting up a WordPress site is to blog and not anything else, making the homepage show the latest posts makes a lot of sense.

But if you have a service or product to sell or other things you’re doing, then perhaps you should consider setting up a static page for the homepage and customizing it with the information you want.

5 Things You Need to Know About WordPress Pages

5 Things You Need to Know About WordPress Pages | MediaOne Marketing Singapore

#1. Pages Contain Evergreen or Static Content

The main difference between pages and posts is that pages contain static or evergreen content. Examples include contact pages, FAQs, Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policies, and About Us. 

What most people don’t know, WordPress stores the dates a page is created and modified. They just don’t display it.

A page is considered a part of your website that’s not limited by time. It will remain relevant and evergreen throughout the life of your website.

#2. Pages Can be Organized in a Hierarchy

By that I mean you can have a page parent another. In other words, you can group your pages into categories and subcategories. 

That will reflect in the page’s URL.

For example, if your website deals with health and fitness. You can have categories for males and females under the workout routine of each gender.

So the URL becomes something like this: www.example.com/female/ab-workout

www.example.com/male/ab-workout

But you’ll first have to set your page attributes correctly to get this right. 

#3. Page Have their Own Settings

The WordPress Page option is listed on the sidebar menu in the WordPress dashboard, right below Media and Post.

When you click “Create a New Page,” there are a few key items you’ll want to note.

First, most things don’t appear by default. You have to enable them manually. 

For example, to enable comments on a page, you’ll have to go to “Screen Options” and check “Discussion.” 

Now scroll down to the bottom of the page and check “Allow Comments.” 

The same goes if you want to allow Author and other settings.

#4. Pages Can Have Different Templates

Unlike posts, WordPress allows you to choose a template for your pages. Meaning it’s possible to have a different template for each page. 

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These pages are generated by the theme you’re using, and WordPress allows you to choose which template you want to use for each page you create. 

You can use the template to determine the format or layout on each page. 

#5. Pages Don’t Appear in RSS Feeds By Default

To have pages appear in an RSS feed, you must manually configure the settings to include them. 

5 Things You Need to Know About WordPress Posts

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Most of the WordPress content you see is in the form of posts. That’s why “Post” is the first menu option in the WordPress dashboard.

#1. Posts Are Time-sensitive and Dynamic

A post is at its most relevant the day it was posted. After that, its relevancy begins to diminish. 

Generally, posts are designed to be informational or news updates about a topic, unlike the evergreen content on your page. 

#2. Posts Are Listed By the Date They Were Published

The latest post you publish will always appear first. That’s because WordPress lists posts in reverse chronological order. 

WordPress posts are date-oriented, like newspapers. Their primary role is to serve as the news outlet for your website or blog.  

By default, WordPress inserts a timestamp to your posts, along with the Author’s name and avatar.

#3. Comments Are Enabled on Posts by Default

By default, WordPress allows readers to comment on your blog posts. The comments will also be displayed at the bottom of the post. 

To turn them off, you’ll have to head over to your WordPress admin dashboard => Settings => Discussions.

#4. WordPress Organizes Your Post into the Blog Page You Create By Default

Also, by default, WordPress organizes your blog posts into the ”Blog” page you’re required to create. WordPress refers to this page as the Archive page. 

To change the page where your blog posts will be displayed, you’ll have to head over to “Settings,” => “Reading,” and select the page for the homepage and another for the post page.

But before doing this, you must make sure you have created the page first.

So, go to “Page” and create the page, and then head back to “Settings” => “Reading” to set it up.

#5. Posts Can Also Be Organized by Tags and Categories

A common issue with WordPress posts is that they tend to get buried under other posts over time. They’ll get lost, buried by your recent publications. 

Since WordPress arranges your posts in reverse chronological order, if you post frequently, you may lose track of your posts as they age.

That’s where tags and categories come in handy.

WordPress Posts Vs. Page: How Ranks Higher for SEO?

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Do search engines have a preference? How do they rank website pages and posts?

The answer is NO. All they see is content, whether it’s packaged as a post or page. They’ll still index them the same.

However, other considerations come into play and may ultimately influence your organic ranking.

When distributing content between pages and posts, it’s good to remember that:

Search engines love structure

Search engines prefer websites that are well organized, with a content hierarchy and menu system they can understand. Even more important, make sure you have sitemaps in place.

Search Engines Love Taxonomy

Taxonomy makes your content easy to sort out. When you have your website content categorized based on topics and semantics, search engines will easily understand it. 

For this, you want to ensure your content taxonomies are well chosen and distributed between your website pages and posts based on the keywords you want to rank for.

User Experience is Still at the Centre of Everything that Google Prefers

The easiest way to know if Google fancies what you’re doing is to look at your site users. If they’re happy, then Google certainly is and will respond by ranking you higher.

Google can tell if your site’s users are happy by looking at metrics such as conversion, page visits, bounce rates, dwell time, etc.

In other words, whether to use WordPress pages or posts, it’s not just about what Google prefers but what your users want.

When to Use WordPress Posts and When to Use Pages

We want to assume you’re building your website from scratch. The first thing you’d like to do is to assemble everything you want to publish and place them on the table.

Next, sort them out, decide what goes where, divide your content between pages and posts, build menus, and set taxonomies.

You want to use the common sense principle, which requires you to answer a few questions first:

#1. Why Are You Creating the Content in the First Place?

What’s its purpose?

Pages work best with telling your main story – who you are, what you do, and what you offer. 

They’re timeless as a book, while blog posts are as time-sensitive as the newspaper.

Content Purpose
Your Website Pages Your Website Posts
Tell About Who You Are What do You Say (Your personal opinions and everything)
To You The Name of Your Business They Relate to You
As a Business Asset They Present Your Business to the World They’re Your Online Media: They Sell Your ideas to the World
Focus Primary Focused on Your Business and What You Do Primarily Focused on Your Clients and What they do: They’re their Information Hub
Type of Content Your Core Content and Text Your Industry Knowledge and New
Can be Compared to  A Text Book Newspaper or Magazine
Function A Shop for Selling Your Products or Services A Library for Storing Your Product Information
Sections Your Services

Customer Testimonials

How-to and FAQs 

Case Studies

How Many Do You Need As Much as You Can Produce Unlimited, but Should be Scheduled Regularly

How to Style Your Page and Post Content

Your pages are where you sell yourself. It’s where you talk about your business and everything you do.

It’s where you showcase your brand and is expected to sound more like an advert. 

So be sure to use strong headlines and catchy texts. It’s what your site visitor expects to see when they click on your pages.

While checking out your blog, they’ll most likely be looking to learn something.

Traditionally, blogs are considered PR tools.

Your website harbours a lot of information. Some parts will tell your story; others will be remotely related to you. 

Some stories will include you; others will be about your customers and their pain points.

When customers search for solutions, they’ll be directed to your website’s blog. They’ll read whatever you’ve written and confirm that you’re an expert in the field. Some will click your service page, others will contact you directly, and that’s how you land business.

That’s how your website content work – you build your industry knowledge and prominence and then direct them to your pages to complete a purchase. 

Copy and Style
Site Pages Blog Posts
Copy Function Your page copy works a lot like an advert. It’s where you sell yourself and what you do Your post pages are like your PR page. It’s where you solidify your reputation, confirm your expertise, and give your site visitors more reasons to trust you
What’s the Story? Your site’s pages are where you tell your main story Your blog page is where you post related stories
Characters Your company, you, and your team Your customer personas
Tone of Voice We’re the best A chance to benefit from our expertise, knowledge, and competence
Copy Style Slogans and strong headlines

Figures of speech

Superlative

Provocations and catchy headlines

Keep to facts and knowledge

Sound competent

Authoritative and friendly

How Do You Want Your Users to React?

Your websites will cover topics and texts your visitors will read in full or skim through. 

Your goal should be to get them to remember your business after they read your content. That’s not the only thing: there are other actions you’ll also want from your visitors.

Do you want them to share your content, like your posts, or subscribe to your email list for more content from you?

You’re allowed to experiment with your website’s content. Put your contact forms in different places or make them more permanent, like the pages related to your campaigns.

You can also insert them strategically in your posts. 

Simple, clients buy from you because of who you are, what you do, and how you do it (your core page content) and they’re attracted to you because of what you speak about and think (blog posts).

Marketing
Site Pages Blog Posts
Stage in the buyer’s journey Conversion and sales Attraction and Engagement
How Users Should Read Read your page content and remember your business Read solutions, use them, and share them with their friends and family
Readability Interesting enough to read everything Formatted for easy skimming and reading, with bullet points and a lot of headings
Sharing Not necessary, at least not for liking or commenting Highly shareable, with a comment section and social sharing buttons

How Many Posts and Pages Can a Website Have?

There’s no limit.

You can have as many pages and posts as you wish on your website as long as they’re well-organized and logical. 

But you want to make sure you have a structure in place.

What Are Sticky Posts?

As we’ve mentioned, posts are usually arranged chronologically according to their publishing dates, with the latest appearing at the top.

However, you may choose to feature a few of them as sticky. That means they won’t be moved down the order the more you produce new content.

They’ll appear before every other post on your blog page. 

How Are Your Portfolios Related to Your Website’s Pages and Posts?

Your portfolios are timeless. They’re like pages.

However, WordPress builds them with blogging attributes, like posts (with categories and tags).

Why is this so?

Using the existing post framework is easier and more efficient than creating a separate system for portfolio items. Additionally, categories and tags can still help organize and categorize portfolio items, despite the timeless nature of portfolios.

What’s Cornerstone Content? And should it feature in the page or post section?

What’s Cornerstone Content? And should it feature in the page or post section? | MediaOne Marketing Singapore

Cornerstone content is, as the name implies, the core content of your website.

It’s the content that you want everybody visiting your website to read. You also want search engines to prioritize it when crawling your website’s content.

The question is, where should this content be placed – on your page or post?

The answer is you’re not restricted.

You can either publish them as pages or posts.

You also want to limit them to about five, so you can design and write them in the best way possible.

You want to ensure the content has been placed strategically, where it can be easily viewed and read.

You also want to update them frequently with updated data and keywords.

How to Change a WordPress Post to a Page

Maybe you didn’t know, but changing a WordPress post to a page is possible. 

While WordPress doesn’t allow you to do it on its dashboard, plenty of plugins can help you with that.

The first plugin we recommend is Page Type Switcher. The plugin will add a dropdown menu to your publish box, allowing you to switch between blog posts and pages.

This plugin comes in handy in a lot of ways.

First, imagine a situation where you create a post or page wrongly, and you want to switch it to either a post or page. 

Instead of deleting everything and publishing them afresh manually, you can use the plugin to facilitate the whole process. 

Some Final Words

The difference between WordPress posts and pages are more technical and related to purpose and logic and less about SEO. 

Pages and posts have different functions, attributes, taxonomy, and structure. 

The choice between pages and posts should be more about the common sense decision to satisfy your marketing and communication goals and customer expectations and less about its impact on SEO – because there’s none.

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About the Author

tom koh seo expert singapore

Tom Koh

Tom is the CEO and Principal Consultant of MediaOne, a leading digital marketing agency. He has consulted for MNCs like Canon, Maybank, Capitaland, SingTel, ST Engineering, WWF, Cambridge University, as well as Government organisations like Enterprise Singapore, Ministry of Law, National Galleries, NTUC, e2i, SingHealth. His articles are published and referenced in CNA, Straits Times, MoneyFM, Financial Times, Yahoo! Finance, Hubspot, Zendesk, CIO Advisor.

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