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I am a content writer. I work for an eCommerce site.

The server help desk wants an extortionate amount of money for integrating a WordPress site into our existing website and I do not have the ability myself to do it. So my question is, if we set up a new page titled "Blog" (or words to that effect) and setup a 301 redirect to the WordPress site, would this be beneficial for SEO?

Any advice appreciated.

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You would be far better off with a sub-domain hosted somewhere else, such as... say... Wordpress.com!

This would (hopefully) ensure that your WP install is always fresh and all updates have been applied and that your WP site stays as safe as possible.

This would not require a redirect. Just a link.

There are quite a few hosts specifically designed for WP sites so you have a lot to chose from. Just chose a good one.

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  • It's correct that hosting the blog on a sub domain or another domain in its own jailed environment is an extra layer for security, however its incorrect for SEO purposes its always best to host a blog on the same domain. Hundreds of thousands of ecommerce sites host their blog on the same URL path as there domain without any issues. As a eCommerce company they are expected to take extra security measures and blog can be secure using symbolic links, file premissions, a jailed Apache process and a seperate database.
    – Simon Hayter
    Feb 8, 2016 at 20:13
  • Sorry, if this sounds like a dumb question, so basically there is no other secure way around it other than paying up to get it integrated into the existing domain or as a sub-domain? Although the first answers seems a much more viable and cost effective method, I appreciate that a direct link to it from the domain may dilute SEO content and may affect our rankings, if not secure.
    – Sarah-Elizabeth Rooks
    Feb 8, 2016 at 20:29
  • @SimonHayter I don't disagree. Many times, a blog on the parent domain is best. However, it seemed to me the OP was looking for a simple solution and I cannot imagine how to effectively make a sub-directory reference another site effectively and painlessly. I thought just using a sub-domain would be the easiest solution especially if the host is responsible for the set-up and up-keep of the sites code and security. I am, however, not a WP fan due to the security risks. It is likely better not to run WP on an e-commerce site unless you really know what you are doing - too risky.
    – closetnoc
    Feb 8, 2016 at 20:30
  • @Sarah-ElizabethRooks Having the blog on a sub-domain will not dilute SEO for the parent site. In fact, the opposite is true. It is possible that a blog on the parent site, if not written strategically, will dilute the rest of the site. Adding a blog to a sub-domain simply does not add as much value to the parent site. WP is the most hacked software ever. If you are comfortable taking on the security issues, then adding WP may be an option, however, there may still be a risk. Having a blog on a sub-domain is common, though I admit that I generally prefer it on the parent site.
    – closetnoc
    Feb 8, 2016 at 20:35
  • @closetnoc Do you have any suggestions with safer alternatives? I personally don't like WP as it is - being a simple writer and not a designer, I find it quite awkward to get things where I want them anyway and often my posts end up looking clumsy due to my lack of coding knowledge to get things where I want them. We have an existing WP database but I don't believe that it was on the parent site anyway. We are now wanting the blog to work more for us and do what it was intended to do - draw people in.
    – Sarah-Elizabeth Rooks
    Feb 8, 2016 at 20:44
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This is what I learned (and yes I fallen in the same trap before), and I'm assuming you'll use a common template for your sites.

If you use a subdomain, it will be treated as a separate website. If you're making a blog via a subdomain, then at least have other pages attached to that subdomain as well and accessible so that your blog does not look like a "doorway" page.

For example, you can have a blog page for the homepage of the subdomain, and then have a link to information about who writes the blogs, and another link to an option to talk to someone about the blogs and maybe another link to information as to why the blogs are started, etc. What you want to avoid is having your template (such as a common website footer) containing common links on the blog page with no other links about the blog because the common links will be outside of the subdomain.

If all you are able to do is one or two pages about blogs, then you're better off having just a url from the same domain as the rest of the site.

You can then verify your setup with powermapper tools at:

http://try.powermapper.com/Demo/SortSite

Then put the URL of your blog in the box and check for errors and if there's one about avoiding doorway or cookie cutter approaches with regards to the URL, then go on the safe side and make domain of the blog URL the same as the rest of your site. For example:

http://www.example.com/ecommerce  <-- for the ecommerce section
http://www.example.com/blog       <-- for the blog
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