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2 Domains, 1 WebsiteMay 14, 2008 Dear Jill,
I have a client who has 2 domain names: namehere.com and differentnamehere.us pointing at the same IP address. Is it bad SEO to have multiple domain names for the same site? And will this negatively impact search engine results for each? Patrick ++Jill's Response++ Hi Patrick, Two domains for one website is not in and of itself a bad thing. I have tons of domains for my one website. But problems can arise if your additional domain is simply a parked alias of your main domain and it somehow gets indexed by the search engines. Even this is not really a problem, but it's best to allow only your main domain to be indexed so as not to inadvertently trip any duplicate content filters. You may already be doing this, but if not, what you want to do is set up a 301-permanent-redirect from the additional domain to your main domain. This will ensure that all visitors end up at the correct site, and that only your main domain gets indexed by the search engines. It will also help to pass to the main domain any link popularity that the additional domain may have accumulated. Hope this helps! Jill  del.icio.us
Post Comment  Jill said: Hi Patrick, You mean what if he had 2 completely different websites? (Rather than 1 website with two domains.) Certainly nothing wrong with that assuming they're providing different information. And certainly nothing wrong with cross-linking them where it makes sense to do so either. It's completely normal and natural for companies to have more than one website for various reasons. Now, if you're talking about two websites that are basically the same, but with just minor changes, that's not a very good idea, nor is it necessary. One should suffice (which is what the search engines would believe as well). Jill Hetal Patel said: I have a site and has 18 subdomains, obvious subdomains point to the same ip address. I list the products on based on category and categories assigned to the subdomains Some of the category assigne more then 2 subdomains. So product listing of that category is duplicate when u go through category..of subdomain. like http://1.mysite.com http://2.mysite.com some of the Categories of this two subdomain is same, So my question is that does google consider Product pages of the same category spam or google will index. or any other impact. If anyone can answer Thank You Hetal Patel Wyn Snow said: Is there a way to do a 301 redirect without having hosting for a domain? I have several clients with more than one domain name, and the secondary/other domains are forwarded to the main domain through the registrar (Bulk Register). I've been told that this is exactly the situation that can create an SEO problem of duplicate indexed content. Thanks! Jill said: @Hetal Patel Google won't see it as spam, but it IS duplicate content so it may not all get indexed, or some of it may not be found in the main search results. @Wyn Snow There are ways to redirect via the .htaccess file, but it does depend on what sort of access they have. Take a look at our 301-redirect forum at the High Rankings Forum. There's more info there and also some techie gurus who can explain exactly how to do it if necessary. Shawn said: When I set up my 301, the 301 only redirect the people who land on my index page right? what if people land on my deeper page? let say namehere.com/secondlayer.htm, will the 301 redirect those people to the other domain as well? Thanks. Jill said: @Shawn, it depends on how you set it up. The typical .htaccess 301 redirect will redirect every page on your old site to its equivalent counter-part on the new site. For anyone who wants more info on using redirects, please visit the High Rankings 301-redirect forum. Paul Friedman said: Are there penalties in the case of two unique domains with one or two meaningful cross links on the same site? The Main domain is hosted and the second domain resides on a subdirectory of the main domain. The hosting service permits this even proving php code for redirecting the second domain Jill said: You can meaningfully link however you want without penalties. The key is "meaningful." Denny said: Perfect timing Jill! I have a long url domain to my main site and have found a short memorable domain I want to use to lead to the same content on the main site. Reading the posts, it seems doing a 301 redirect is all it takes. Is that right? The secondary domain will be used only for "remembering" mostly from my blog (with nearly identical domain) to the site Jill said: @Denny Generally, that's all it takes but sometimes Google's aging delay throws a monkey wrench into the works. If your current domain has built up a lot of trust and authority, then the redirect to a new domain should most likely go smoothly. But it sounds like you're keeping the main domain and just redirecting the new, shorter one, is that right? If that's the case, you'll be fine, yes. SpostareDuro said: just wanted to thank you for that answer. i had recently wondered the same thing. Jill said: @SpotareDuro You're welcome! Hetal Patel said: Thanks Jil That's what I am thinking some of the pages has been indexed and some of not. Denny said: Thanks Jill, Yes the new "short" domain is just sooo memorable, wheras the original site domain is long, but being full of keywords that match the site name, it works very well in Googles eyes even though it has been up for a month a #5 and a #18 for the main two very competitive keywords! Anyway, the new short site will contain no content, just re-direct to the original. So aging shouldn't be a problem should it? Should I just have my host, host them both on the same account IP then with a permenant 301 re-direct? Jill said: Denny, the aging delay doesn't matter for the new, short domain because you're just going to redirect it anyway. So yes, just have your host 301 redirect the short one to the long one and you'll be fine. Add Your Comments |
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Hi Jill,
What if Patrick's domains had unique content with some cross linking between the two?
Thad