21 replies to this topic

[BrianR]

I was trying to discuss the difference between parking a domain and a permanent redirect with a host by email, but he kept talking about 'aliasing' as though it were something completely different.

Is it??

And if so, can someone please explain the differences to me in words of one syllable or less.

Thanks,

Brian

[Wow!]

Brian, I wouldn't live or die by this but since no one else has volunteered to answer your question let me tell you my understanding.

1. I think a parked domain is a domain that has been setup on a server and it address established in all the DNS servers. If there is no web site developed for this domain then a 301 redirect can be set up for anyone who actually tries to access that domain, which will take them to another web site.

2. I believe that aliasing has to do with email addresses. If you want to set up several email addresses like sales@mydomain.com or info@mydomain.com etc. But you want all these to come to a single email account then aliases are setup for each address.

I hope I have this correct. But that's the way I think it goes.

[Jill]

Welcome, Wow!

Brian, some hosts use the word "alias" to be the same thing as parked. It may or may not also be permanently 301 redirected. If that's what you want, make sure that you specificy that aspect of the alias and/or parking.

Because to Google, they are different.

Jill

[Ron Carnell]

I agree wholly with Wow and even more wholly with Jill.

The web hosting industry is an infant, arguably less than ten years old, and because of very low entry costs, includes a whole lot of people with very little real experience. The nomenclature being used is NOT standard and, in many cases, not even logical. Until the industry matures, either through regulation or with time, the words being used will continue to be slippery little critters.

In trying to determine what a term means, the first question I usually ask is where (or at what level) a configuration will be made. Many of the things we want to do, such as a redirect, can be done at the DNS level, the web server level (Apache, for example), or the file level (symlinks or .htaccess). When two people agree on the level being used, they often find themselves much closer on the details.

Chances are your email buddy was referencing an Apache directive called ServerAlias, which is NOT the same thing as a Permanent Redirect. The confusion is a common one, though, because they essentially accomplish the same thing from a user standpoint. The only differences are subtle ones, and usually only important to search engines (and, thusly, to SEO).

[BrianR]

Ok, thanks guys - that's helped my understanding a great deal.

Bear with me for one more question, please:

Although I understand that a permanent redirect (a 301??) is the preferred option, I've never really understood why the difference between a permanent redirect and parking/aliasing is so important with Google and SEO generally.

Can one of you please enlighten this largely non-technical marketing bloke/ seo copywriter!?

Thanks for your help,

BrianR

[mcanerin]

It's a link thing.

If you have www.hissite.com and www.hersite.com both parked on the same IP and (more importantly) the same site, then they are considered duplicates.

The logical way to handle a duplicate is to ignore it. Along with all its backlinks.

So lets say that 47 sites link to www.hissite.com and 56 to www.hersite.com. IF you park them both there you only get credit for the links that are associated with each site. So, on the same page, you are splitting your backlinks.

If, however, you do a permanent forward (301) of one to the other, you now get credit for 103 backlinks. Much better.

Here is an example of this, though it shouldn't be because it's on my own site and I know better

Go to www.mcanerin.com - currently the pagerank is 6 and there are about 51 backlinks showing up.

Now go to www.mcanerin.ca - it's currently pageranked at 1 with one backlink.

Both of these domains are parked on the same site. Not forwarded. This is the symptom.

Note the SE isn't upset, because of course it's the same pages, it's just not passing on any credit. What I should have done was do a permenent redirect and then I'd have 52 backlinks and no problems. Since I'm never promoted the .ca site ( and the backlink is internal) it's not an issue, but imagine what the problem would be if I had a bunch of directories and backlinks on the .ca one.

That's why. It really isn't an issue unless you care about search engine rankings, but that's occasionally been known to happen on this forum

Ian (I should really practice what I preach sometime) McAnerin

[BrianR]

Ok thanks, Ian - I understand the backlink implications now.

But if you've just got an alternatively spelt domain name - eg. your website's domain is www.domainname.co.uk but you've also registered www.domain-name.co.uk - it makes no real difference whether the second domain is parked or 301'd - yes??

BrianR

[mcanerin]

It's good practice to 301 it anyway, but if it's just for catching errors and is not being linked to by anyone, it's not strictly necessary.

Just make sure no one is, or you'll run into the backlink splitting issue...

Ian

[BrianR]

Understood. Thanks again, Ian.

BrianR

[Jill]

Brian, it can be fine to park it at the same IP, which is how I always did it for years. The problem is that if one link gets out there for the parked domain, Google can then start picking up the other domain name and may list it instead of the one you'd prefer.

And sometimes, they will use both domains and list duplicate content. Now, the bad guys like this because it gives them a chance to dominate the SERPs, however, it's something Google tries to avoid. In order to be completely "safe" where Google is concerned, the 301 seems to really help.

You may recall my Advisor article where I discussed how I re-configured all my domains to work this way. It got rid of all my old domains showing up in Google, so in that respect, was really worth the little bit of trouble for me.

Problem is, the other engines don't seem to treat the 301 the same way. I still see my redirected domain names showing up instead of my "real" domain in both Inktomi and I believe in FAST.

It's a shame they don't standardize how they treat these things.

Jill

[t49]

my 2 cents ... that's Canadian ... 1.53 cents U.S.

Parking:
If you are not going to use your domain name,obviously you don't need hosting services,so you 'park' the domain name at someWebHost.com. If somone goes to your domain,they will see someWebHost.com welcome page/ads/portal,or anything else that they want to show them.Often you can park for free,if you register your domain through them.

It's like you're not going to drive your car for a while,so you park it at my place.No one knows that it's your car,they just know that it's 'parked' at my place. And NO,you can't have your mail delivered here,if you are not paying me to park your car here. ... get it!

Aliasing:
Lets say your a boy named Sue,but you tell everyone that your name is Brian.When the internet operator gets a request for Sues' web site,she gives Brians' website address.
The search engine 'software' [ as opposed to the human who sets the parameters of same ],doesn't care which 'name' it displays.It's only function is to get you where you want to go.

There's more tech stuff,but if it hasn't already been answered by others,before I started my response,it has probably been answered while typing. ... I took time out for 3 phone calls,2 cups of coffee,and now if you will excuse me,it's time for lunch ...

Tom

[Jill]

Tom, I disagree about the parking. Most hosts allow you to specify the IP you want to park the domain at. You don't have to (nor should you ever) use the default one from your hosting company. If you go into your registrar account, you'll usually see that you can change the dns and/or the IP the domain points to.

Jill

[t49]

Tom, I disagree about the parking.  Most hosts allow you to specify the IP you want to park the domain at.  You don't have to (nor should you ever) use the default one from your hosting company.  If you go into your registrar account, you'll usually see that you can change the dns and/or the IP the domain points to.

Jill

Sorry,but it seems that some people have been misusing the term 'parked'.
A web site,like a car,is either in use,or it's parked.Some people think that just because they have not put anything online,that their site is parked.
If the owner of the domain can control what is displayed,when the domain name is typed into a browser,then it's not parked.If it's redirected,it's not parked.If the mail is redirected,it's not parked.

Maybe these people think the way a friend of mine does.He figures if he's not doing at least 50,he's parked.
I argue with him too,but it doesn't get me anywhere.


Quantum physicists would enjoy this debate.
The state [ parked/not parked ]of a domain can not be precisely determined,as a domain,by it's very nature,is in a constant state of flux. A contributing factor in the determination of the state [parked/not parked] of a domain,is the perspective of the observer.However,the state of the observer [ both mental and physical ],is also in a constant state of flux.Therefore by the time the state is determined,it has once again fluxed to an indeterminate state.
.

Edited by t49, 01 December 2003 - 10:56 AM.

[Haystack]

It sounds like Ron's post about the varying definitions of Parked is coming into play. The my preferred hosting company, parked means they'll point to your primary site from a 2nd, 3rd, etc. domain (server level). A better term for this would be 'aliased' but that's not what they use.

[BrianR]

Ok - thanks again, guys.

Now that we've strayed in quantum physics, my brian smees to be in a cnotsnat satee of fulx, so I cnat tpye poreprly!

BrainR