Blogger Issues and Wish List - with possible Search implications

[Marcia]

After much checking around of the different CMS and blog scripts available, Blogger has turned out to be the most convenient and user-friendly for someone who doesn't want to start learning Perl or PHP or delve deeply into mod_rewrite to make modifications. Most of the necessary features and conveniences are already built in, and it only takes a few minutes to figure out how to modify templates or create new ones.

There are, however, a few issues that are causing problems and could use some modification.

Duplicate content issue when using a domain
If a blog is created on a Blogspot subdomain and then a domain is taken and used as the publishing location, the same content will appear at both locations. That is a built-in duplicate content situation, and Google Search will not like that.

Wish List Item #1:
Very important! If a blog is moved from Blogspot to a domain there needs to be a way to delete the original, or redirect it, without having to delete the entire account and start over.

Profile information with multiple blogs on the same account
There is only one profile, and if there are several blogs with different focus it may not be a good thing or something someone wants, having the same information on all of them. Personally, I want to have one that's "practical" internet issues and one on a very personal journal level. No way should those have the same personal profile description.

Wish List Item #2:
Have a separate profile for each blog on one account. That way the administrative simplicity is retained and meets the user needs more adequately.

The little pencil
When the blog is a Blogspot subdomain, there is a "little pencil" icon you can click on to get right in to edit or add to an entry. Not so when a blog is on a domain.

Wish List Item #3:
"Little pencil" editing cabability for blogs located on their own domain.

As a side issue, I notice that there are issues that can possibly affect SERPs for domains using Blogger. There's talk of differences in value of links within the same domain or from sites that have the same whois, IP or C Block as a site does. Of course, those issues don't come up if the blog is physically located at Blogspot, nor for one hosted on an ISP space, but for a domain site there is a difference.

If it's best from a site visitor user perspective, which is what we're always encouraged to think of rather than Google rankings, to have a blog located physically on the domain itself, it seems to be causing unnecessary problems, particularly with a duplicate content possibiity.

[quotations]

Wish List Item #3:
"Little pencil" editing cabability for blogs located on their own domain.

This also works on domain hosted blogger weblogs.

Go to Edit Settings; Basic.

There is an item near the bottom:

Show Quick Editing on your Blog?

Set it to Yes; save settings; Republish entire weblog.

The Quick Editing Icon should then show up.

[georgeek]

Blogger has turned out to be the most convenient and user-friendly for someone who doesn't want to start learning Perl or PHP or delve deeply into mod_rewrite to make modifications.

Marcia, I think that used to be the case but for SE friendly urls and some of your wish list take a look at ExpressionEngine [pmachine.com].

[Small Website Guy]

the same content will appear at both locations. That is a built-in duplicate content situation, and Google Search will not like that.

Actually, the web has a lot of legitimate duplicate content, (ie: two domains point at the same site), and I've never gotten the impression that Google doesn't like it, all Google does is ignore the dupicate site with the lower PageRank.

[Marcia]

Well, a duplicated blog isn't legitimate. It's also a problem because people do not want "ignored" sites or or ignored sections of their sites unnecesarily. It's a problem on their end because if you indicate where it's located, then that should be where it's located - not two places. Once you "move" it, you can delete posts at the new location, but not at the original place. Even if you change the publishing back, if you try to delete at the Blogspot location it will come up with an error.

georgeek, it's a good suggestion and certainly worth putting on the list for something commercial. But one of the reasons for using Blogger is that it is not only excellent and virtually idiot-proof, but it is free. $199 software for just one license (even more than MT) for something like a totally non-commercial informational domain site or a personal journal isn't feasible, and ISP space doesn't support running any scripts so Blogger is ideal - actually the only option on ISP space.