From Advertising to Service: I reconstructed the content system of the blog with a “series categories”
01 A seemingly small question makes me tangled for two days
The starting point of the matter is actually very simple.
I wrote an article ‘Blog Advertising: Profits vs User Experience’, and carefully analyzed why I decided to give up pure advertising model and switch to providing technical services through CTA. Immediately afterwards, I wrote ‘Farewell to Copy and Paste: Using Ad INSERTER to Automatically Add Multilingual CTAs in a series of articles’, which recorded the specific implementation method in detail.
After two articles are posted. I have a small problem myself:
Which ‘series’ does this Ad Iserter use tutorial belong to?
The series I had at the time were:
- WordPress Performance Optimization Notes
- WP blog multilingual practice
- Blog Search Engine Optimization Log
Obviously, it doesn’t belong to any of them. I face two choices:
- Create a new ‘Blog Revenue’ series and put both of them in.
- Create a new ‘Ad INSERTER’ series, which is a separate article.
After struggling for a long time, I found that the essence of the problem is not ‘where the article is placed’, but:
My blog is missing a top-level content framework.
02 A function that I have always known but never used
When I repeatedly open the PublishPress Series backend and stare at the series list in a daze, my eyes are on the function that I have always known but never really used–‘Series Categories’.
In fact, I have long known that the PublishPress Series free version supports ‘series categories’ (it is next to the ‘series’ menu, and the location is not hidden). But before, I have always regarded it as a dispensable additional classification, and I think it is enough to use ‘series’, there is no need to have one more layer.
It wasn’t until this time I was faced with the ‘Which series the AD INSERTER tutorial should be included’ that I realized:It’s not that the series category is useless, but that the amount of my content is not enough to need it. Now, the five series are side by side, and the logical relationship between them is no longer clear – the series category just provides this missing top-level framework.
As you can see from the backend of the plugin, the ‘series category’ is a group higher than the ‘series’:
- Series Categories: For example, ‘Blog Operations Practice’
- Series: Specific series belonging to this category, such as ‘WordPress performance optimization notes’
In this way, I canUse a series of categories to carry the big theme of ‘blog operation’, and then subdivide small series in different directions.
03 Pyramids of the content I finally determined
After some sorting, I determined this structure:
博客运营实践 （系列类别）
│
├── WordPress 性能优化手记 （系列）
├── WP 博客多语言化实操 （系列）
├── 博客搜索引擎优化日志 （系列）
├── 博客商业模式探索 （系列）
└── Ad Inserter 使用笔记 （系列）
The five series correspond to five key dimensions in blog operations:
| Series | core problem |
|---|---|
| Performance Optimization Notes | Is the blog fast? |
| multilingual practice | Can the reader understand it? |
| Search engine optimization logs | Can readers find it? |
| Business Model Exploration | Does blogging make money? |
| AD Inserter usage notes | How exactly? |
04 Series sequence I arranged this like this
After identifying the five series, I seriously thought about their sorting problems.
When readers come to my blog, what logic should they use to understand these contents? The order I finalized is:
1. WordPress Performance Optimization Notes
Performance is the foundation. Whether you want to do multi-language, SEO, or monetize, if the page loads slowly and frequently freezes, all follow-up efforts will be in vain. So I put performance first.
2. WP blog multilingual practice
The foundation is well laid, and more people will be able toUnderstandyour content. I have been using polylang for a while, and this series will record the complete process from basic configuration to various pits.
3. Blog Search Engine Optimization Logs
When the blog is stable and the content is readable, the next step is to let the readerFind you. SEO is responsible for draining traffic, which is the key to blogging from ‘self-entertainment’ to ‘influential’.
4. Blog Business Model Exploration
With traffic and user trust, you can think about howmonetize influence. This series of records my complete exploration process from advertising to technical services – including decisions, failures, adjustments and results.
5. Ad INSERTER Usage Notes
The business model ultimately depends on the implementation of specific tools. AD INSERTER is the core plugin I used to automatically add CTA in multi-language environment. This series specially records its various usages and experience of stepping on pits.
The logic of this sequence is:From the foundation to the upper layer, from general to dedicated. Each layer is based on the previous level. If readers read in sequence, they can see a complete path of a technical blog from construction to profitability.
05 How do I implement it in PublishPress Series
If you are using the PublishPress Series free version like me, the steps are as follows:
Step 1: Create Series Categories
Enter the WordPress background → series → series → add a new series category. as shown in Figure 1
- name:
Blog Operation Practice - Aliases:
blog-management-practices
Step 2: Create a series
Go to Series → Manage Series → Add a new series. as shown in Figure 2
- Name (for example):
WordPress Performance Optimization Notes - Aliases:
wp-perf-notes - Series Category: Select ‘Blog Operation Practice’
Repeat, create all five series, and each series is associated with the ‘Blog Operations Practice’ category.
Step 3: Adjust the sequence
At this time, the five series are already under the category of ‘Blog Operation Practice’. Next, you need to arrange the order.
On the series list page, first use the filter function to only display the series under the ‘Blog Operation Practice’ category, and thenDrag each series directly to adjust the order——Drag it up and down to the position you want, which is very intuitive.
There is also a small trick: if you add a series to a certain series category,Add in the order you want, then after the addition is completed, the default order of the series under this category will be automatically arranged in the order of addition. In other words, if you add it in order at the beginning, you can even save this step by dragging and adjusting.
My final order is: Performance Optimization → Multilingual → SEO → Business Model → Ad Inserter. This order is just the natural evolution path of my blog from building a blog to trying to monetize it.
Step 4: Include existing articles in the series
Edit each article and check the corresponding series in the ‘Series’ panel on the right. Articles that have been published before can also be edited quickly and quickly.
06 Why is this worth writing an article specifically?
Some people may think: isn’t it just to classify the article? As for so tangled?
But my own real feelings are:
The content structure itself is part of the blog strategy.
When you decide to switch from ‘make money from advertising traffic’ to ‘make money with technical services’, your blog content needs to support this new position.
- Performance Optimization Series → Prove that you have a technical foundation
- Multilingual series → Prove that you can solve the problem of internationalization
- SEO series → Prove that you know traffic acquisition
- Business Model Series → Open your thinking process and build trust
- Tool family → Provide reusable solutions to demonstrate execution
The combination of these five series is not just a bunch of articles for me, but a complete set ofProfessional Proficiency Proof System.
When prospective customers read my blog, they will naturally build their trust in me through this structure: this person is not only technically solid, but also has a clear way of thinking, and more importantly – he has made his exploration process from 0 to 1 public.
07 What will I do next
After this series of category frameworks are built, my content plan has become clearer:
- Put all the existing articles into the corresponding series (I have done most of this).
- Write a ‘Introduction’ page for each series, stating what content this series will cover and who is suitable for reading.
- Add the navigation portal of ‘Blog Operation Practice’ to the sidebar or the ‘About’ page, so that readers can quickly find the direction of interest.
- Continue to output content in these five directions, especially the ‘Blog Business Model Exploration’ series – I will continue to share the real data of the transition from advertising to technical services (revenue changes, user feedback, trampled pits, etc.).
If you are also running a tech blog, or are struggling with how to organize your own content, I hope this article can give you some inspiration.
Welcome to share your content structure in the comment area, and we will communicate together.
