What to do about all of the other domains we own?
-
So I had asked this question a while back in a previous thread and thought I had the correct answer to it, but just actually heard differently on a webinar by Dr. Pete.
Basically, we have a large number of domains that just replicate our website. Some are brand names, some are exact match keyword domains, some are clever plays on words. This is a tactic that our marketing department thought was a good idea. Obviously its not.
My question is - Some of these domains actually have a significant amount of link value coming into them. How people found them I'm not sure, but nonetheless, I want to try to take advantage of the incoming links somehow if possible.
Dr. Pete recommended against 301 redirecting back to our main domain all at once because that would be a signal to Google that something fishy is going on.
This is what I was going to do, but now I'm really not sure what to do now... If possible, it would be great to get Dr. Pete in this thread to get his comments. I wasn't able to get an answer on the SEO in 2012 Pro Webinar.
-
Sounds like solid advice to me. I'm very glad I attended today. I was about to pull the trigger on 75+ redirects
Thanks for taking the time to Chime in Dr. Pete and thanks to Robert as well for the great answer.
-
"It's important not to go overboard with this approach. The content should always be top-notch so that these smaller sites still have significant value to the visitor."
Exactly. The Devil is in the details. Strong micro-sites with unique value can work. 500 carbon copies of your home-page are going to make a mess.
-
Thanks for the suggestion.
This may work for some, but we're not really looking to create any kind of mini-sites. With the way the trends are going it seems that having one property is going to be the way to go, unless there is a really good reason to separate your brands, which, in our case, there is not.
-
I think Robert's right - it's a matter of moderation. Sites change domains, for example, and 301-redirects are perfectly valid. Sometimes, sites consolidate and, again, that's natural. The problem is that people have also bought tons of domains and redirected them to game the system, so Google is watching.
The gradual approach is very sensible. You don't want to lose this link equity - absolutely agreed on that point. So, start with the most powerful sites and redirect one by one. Measure what happens and adapt along the way based on the data.
When you get to the weaker sites, it may be time to let them go (especially if they looks like duplicates). This isn't all or none. I'm definitely not saying to NEVER 301 or to always 301 - it's a balancing act. My fear is that if you do this with dozens of domains in one day, you'll get smacked down. So, ease into it.
-
One approach that we have found to be successful is to build mini-sites on the other domains with links to the other sites. A platform like Wordpress makes this easy and you can give each site a different look-and-feel. Throw in a $27 logo from LogoNerds.com and you have a completely descent brand. Put a few pages of good content on the site and link back to your main site.
It's important not to go overboard with this approach. The content should always be top-notch so that these smaller sites still have significant value to the visitor. Often adding things like video can help here both in helping the visitor and increasing their time on your site.
Hope this helps - I think this is my first time on the forum but I thought it was time I dove in!
All the best,
Morgan
-
I would listen to DrPete. It's conservative advice.
-
Seems solid to me. Kinda what I was thinking, but also looking forward to other replies. This seems to be something there is a lot of confusion about. Appreciate the input Robert.
-
Cody
Well, since I have accepted his advice in the past I should agree with Dr. Pete again. That said, why not take it one step at a time. I have done this with one client (three sites redirected to one over time). First, take whichever other domain you decide on and redirect it url to url to your main site. Sit on that a month or so and then do the same with site two. Again, wait a while, then redirect another.
To me, I do not see where it would present a problem done this way. You state that [some of the domains have a significant amount of link value] and this would seem to say others do not. If that is true and ultimately you are only going to redirect 3 or 4, I do not think it would be a red flag to OZ...I mean Google.
Looking forward to other responses.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Client Wants To Use A .io Domain Name - How Bad For Organic?
Hi, I have a U.S. client who is stuck on a name that he wants to get as a .io (British Indian Ocean) domain name for a new site. Aside from the user confusion/weirdness, how much harder do you think this makes this sites organic in the U.S. in the future with a .io domain name? FYI, the other part of the domain name he wants to use is short, meaningless and implies nothing in and of itself. Thanks!
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | 945012 -
Redirect a sub-domain to other domain
Hi there! Suppose a domain 'abc.com' has a subdomain 'news.abc.com'. If we redirect (301) only subdomain 'news.abc.com' to 'xyz.com'. so is there any SEO harm on main domain 'abc.com'? Even both abc.com and xyz.com are running separately. Rajiv
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | gamesecure0 -
Best URL structure for SEO for Malaysian/Singapore site on .com.au domain
Hi there I know ideally i need a .my or .sg domain, however i dont have time to do this in the interim so what would be the best way to host Malaysian content on a www.domainname.com.au website? www.domainname.com.au/en-MY
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | IsaCleanse
www.domainname.com.au/MY
domainname.com.au/malaysia
malaysia.domainname.com.au
my.domainname.com.au Im assuming this cant make the .com.au site look spammy but thought I'd ask just to be safe? Thanks in advance! 🙂0 -
Domain change after over optimisation
Hi Guys, Wanted to get some second opinions. I have a client who worked with someone on their SEO for about 15months, during which time they reaped the benefits of being top of Googles organic rankings for their main keyword. Unfortunately, the link building that was completed was terrible with no care taken for future updates, over optimised anchor text links on totally irrelevant websites. Contacting webmasters in order for links to be taken down was an impossible task, these websites were pure spam sites which I doubt anyone oversees with any care. So went the disavow route, it caused a slight increase, but the way Google indexes the website and its pages is still all over the place. We have a good new content marketing plan in place for the next 12 months, and already have some great in depth articles, videos and interactive infographics created, but the problem is my client really needs some quick wins and cannot risk the domain never recovering fully from the issues. They own the .com version of the .co.uk they have so my thoughts at this point are to move them to the .com, and the new content strategy can be worked on as if its a new project. For the keywords they target there are sites on the 1st and 2nd page with DA of 16-18, so it wont take long with the new content we have to get them back to a level playing field with the competition. The one worry I do have is Google seeing the .co.uk go down, and the .com appear with the same website on and looking down on the "start from scratch" method.... does anyone know of any examples when they have acted on this? We started an AdWords account (very small spend) and this has been going to the .co.uk, if we start a new one, with same billing info going to the .com could that also cause problems? So basically, because of my clients situation, and the level the competition is it, moving to the .com seems like the best move, its just whether there is any risk involved. I've never read of there being any, but thought I'd get some opinions before comitting to it. By the way, I'm only seeing this as a feasible option as they can still keep branded traffic due to buying both domains at the same time. Thanks in advance.
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | gamnaking10 -
Best Location to find High Page Authority/ Domain Authority Expired Domains?
Hi, I've been looking online for the best locations to purchase expired domains with existing Page Authority/ Domain Authority attached to them. So far I've found: http://www.expireddomains.net
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | VelasquezEF
http://www.domainauthoritylinks.com
http://moonsy.com/expired_domains/ These site's are great but I'm wondering if I'm potentially missing other locations? Any other recommendations? Thanks.1 -
Best use of domains with keywords
I own a domain with just the company name in it (no keywords) that I use as main domain. I also own some other domain with keywords inside that right now I redirect all to the main domain with a 301 redirect. What is the best use for these domains? Should I use them when I do link building or is better to use just the main domain? Can they be useful to increase the main domain link juice/page rank? If yes, how? Thanks
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | darkanweb0 -
If I redirect a penalized domain to a non-penalized domain, will the new domain still be penalized?
If I redirect a penalized domain to a non-penalized domain, will the new domain still be penalized?
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | MangoMan160 -
How Google deal with a Domain Buy
Hello folks, How is google dealing with those clever peoples who decide to buy a famous place on internet( domain ), to be their domain name. For example if someone buy a very well ranked domain name for some keywords in their niche, is there any punishment? Whats the bad things about buy a domain? Thanks.
White Hat / Black Hat SEO | | augustos0