Domain strategy needed for growing site, really struggling!

Subdirectories/separate domains... Will this work?

[ap_frome]

Hi everyone,

I have just joined the supporters forum and am really enjoying the quality of the discussions going on back here.

I have been reading up on the challenges of optimizing an expanding site using new domains, subdirectories and subdomains, and find the advice I am hearing compelling; namely build out one big site with themed directories. My head gets it, but I see mostly keyword-rich domains as top performers in my target results, so my heart just doesn't buy it.

We currently have a successful site selling garden widgets with 'garden' in our domain name. The site has great traffic and good PR. We are growing into other types of widget and imagine getting to a point were we are selling all sorts, and based on current advice, on a domain something like:

www.super-widgets.com/garden
www.super-widgets.com/garage
www.super-widgets.com/kitchen
etc.

However, currently we are on www.garden-widgets.com.

So do we bite the bullet and go for migration towards a new domain, assuming that the sites that could perform in my target areas with single domains - and the businesses are definitely out there - simply aren't optimizing well?

If so, we imagine starting with a 'garage' widgets directory off our garden-widgets.com domain, where the relevancy of 'widgets' will see it perform pretty well we hope. Simultaneously we intend to launch www.super-widgets.com with both garden and garage directories, but keep them out of the SEs using robots.txt, as the content will be identical. This way they can start developing their own traffic (some of which we'll refer - using nofollow) and inbound links.

Then at a point we feel is right, we will permanently redirect all the 'garage' requests to the new domain, then followed by the any other types of widget we launch in the meantime, ending up finally with the 'garden' requests, so that the new domain assumes the historic value of the old domain and ultimately supersedes it.

The alternative is to migrate the categories to www.garage-widgets.com and www.kitchen-widgets.com, etc. If we were careful not to interlink them, other than with nofollows, then this could be a viable alternate route. As I said, my head thinks this is overly complex to administer and I do believe that the collective PR across a bigger site will bring the rewards we seek, however with the SERPs full of garage-widget domains my heart is struggling to follow.

We have considered subdomains, but given something Matt Cutts said recently, we are likely to reserve those for language variants of the site.

Do you have any wisdom to impart to a fellow traveller, to get my head and heart aligned?

Thanks in advance.
ap_frome

[Webwork]

Hi ap and welcome to WebmasterWorld.

It's a "way big" question(s) that you ask, one for which it's possible that today's strategy (advice) may cease to apply at any moment in the future.

The bottom line advice I have heard repeatedly is to avoid anything that is designed or calculated to game the ranking algo.

My mantra is this: If you are planning a business endeavor for the long term then making your website loveable by a search engine ought to be secondary to making a website that is loveable (worthy of link votes) by people. If your website is truly loved by people then chances are - or ought to be - that a search engine, one intent on having a future based upon its utility, will find reason (construct its algos) to love your website "as is".

When the engines can't get their algos to love (rank) websites that real people actually love then people will look elsewhere, besides that search engine, for guidance.

Go for people love. No kidding. Make your website a resource, link worthy without asking. Keep your SEO focused on usability, accessibility and keep your SEO efforts simple enough that even a dumb search engine algo will be able to figure things out. :)

[edited by: Webwork at 7:49 pm (utc) on April 27, 2006]

[SteveJohnston]

That's great advice Webwork, but it appears to leave the fundamental question unanswered. Assuming ap really is going for 'people love' should he stick his lovable sites on one domain or on separate domains?

I'd argue that consolidation is the most secure option for the future because Google, in particular, sees the domain as the location of a site and is likely to do so indefinitely. Therefore the more lovable content you put on it, the better it will be regarded.

Steve

[jtara]

I agree with Webwork. What will send the clearest message to your users? The search-engine issues will fall into place on their own. Maybe whatever scheme you use won't be best for the flavor-of-the-day search-engine strategy. But if you do what servers your users best, it will work out in the long run. Search engines are constantly tweeking their algorithms, but their ultimate goal is to satisfy users requests.

I sometimes get annoyed when the same company uses multiple domains. Forget about gaming the system - it makes me feel that they are gaming ME.

I'll give you an example. I was looking for a particular keyboard stand. I found it on Froogle at three stores:

homeofficewidgets.tld
officewidgets.tld
donthurtyourbackwidgets.tld

They were all the same company. Different shipping policies, different phone numbers, different mailing addresses, but when quizzed on the phone they admitted they were all the same company.

I bought from somebody else. It didn't give me a nice feeling about them.

They are targeting different market segments - I understand that. But, at the same time, they are gaming the system (and ME), getting 3 Froogle listings.

I see no problem with using subdomains, though. It makes it clear that the multiple sites are under common ownership. Yet it reinforces "this site is for some users, this other site is for other users". If you have widely-different product categories, this might be good.

home.officewidgets.tld
business.officewidgets.tld
donthurtmyback.officewidgets.tld

This is probably a poor example, and a marginal case for using subdomains. Your own situation is more compelling. But these guys are scumballs, and you are not. :)

If you have a recognized BRAND, though, that can be a good case for an entirely seperate domain name.

Think about your users - or customers - and what your domain naming scheme will make them think about you.