Thread: Template vs. Custom Website

It's tough to answer this without knowing what your template has in terms of seo.

Are you able to change all meta headers/tags/titles/descriptions? Do you have a sitemap? Robots.txt?

Now, I also want to say that OFF-PAGE optimization; backlinks, social bookmarking etc, is MUCH more important currently for SERP then ON-PAGE optimization.

The backend SEO is pretty friendly. You are able to modify all of the meta information.

You mean social bookmarking like getting your website mentioned on Digg?

Just checked your website on validator.w3.org - it showed 145 Errors, 21 warning(s)

I am not sure how much control you have over the template. It can have enough flexibility in terms of SEO, but a custom website is always preferred over themes.

Moreover when you use a template, your website ends up being 'just another website' - there can be others who are using the same template. To stand out of the crowd, you need your own website designed by a professional. That's my opinion.

Yes, do a search for top social bookmark sites. Digg, reddit, stumbleupon, etc are great for creating backlinks and traffic through article marketing. Personally I feel this is one of the strongest SEO strategies currently.

Thanks for the suggestions. I will start working on these

Before doing SEO link building for your site, make sure that you do on-page optimization first for you to customize your website for being an SEO friendly and Search Engine friendly as well.

No, that does not make much of a difference. If you are after SEO, you can just edit your template's HTML (Meta tags and keywords) a bit to help it rank good. But it's not necessary to go out and create a whole new website just for SEO purposes. But if you want to add advanced functionalities in your website that's a different story...

Appears in a more professional business, it looks more credible. Many business owners do not really understand the difference between a custom Web design is complete, use the site template. In this article, we will look at both sides have set up your web site and the costs involved. As a business owner, you have been looking for ways to save money, make your business profitable. When it comes to creating an online presence for your business, just like your marketing materials and office look, your site needs a professional image.

It is possible for the template to affect the seo which will be translated in: yours works ... but there are other much better.
However I did not found a link for the site. Can you provide one?