pros_cons_building_article_reserveI’ve talked previously about the importance of producing a consistent blog schedule for your site, both so that your readers can anticipate your content and to demonstrate to the search engines that your site remains current and constantly updated.

I find that in order to maintain a consistent schedule it is essential to develop a reserve of articles that can be published at any time. I know that I will inevitably face days where I’m unable to produce quality content, but I don’t want my website to suffer as a result.

In this post I’ll talk about some of the pros and cons of taking this approach.

Cons of Building an Article Reserve

First let’s address the negative aspects.

In my mind the #1 reason NOT to have an article reserve is that it means your content will take longer to get ranked. There is a definite lead time with any site before content begins to appear in search results, and most articles also need to “sink in” before showing up.

The logic, then, is that if you’re producing content, you should publish it immediately to begin ranking faster. The sooner you publish an article, the sooner you will be able to derive traffic from it.

This is a valid consideration and I know many blogs that use this approach; however, I’ve found it’s not right for me.

Pros of Building an Article Reserve

The reason I don’t always publish content immediately is because to me there are extreme benefits of providing consistent updates.

I don’t usually hold onto articles too long before publishing, so the difference in traffic that I would potentially see from any given article is minimal, and not my primary concern. To me it’s far more important to be consistent about updates than it is to get everything out there as soon as possible.

Slow and steady. Not bursts and lulls.

Ready to get started? Read more on how to build and manage an article reserve.