2 sites in the same field (well kinda.)

should i merge them?

[Scally_Ally]

Hello,
I have recently created a new ecommerce site that sells goods in 1 particular field. The URL for the site has no keywords related to what it sells in it and doesnt describe what the site is about / selling but is a "cool" title.
I am about to create another site selling goods in the same area but not the same genre (if you get me), so they are related but not totally.

I was wondering what you all would think to creating a new site specifically for this type of product, or whether i should just add new categories to my site that i have already to incorporate these products.

Plus points i was thinking for having 2 (could be 3 or 4 over time) sites are:
specifically target keywords in domain name etc.
Specifically target users with design / functionality of site.

negative points are:
could be potentisally paying for 4 sets of hosting / domains
dont know if having 4 smaller sites is not as good as having 1 big one?
card handling etc has to be setup on each..

Just wondering what peoples thoughts were.

Thanks
Ally

[derekwong28]

We used to have two different sites selling the same producs; one claimed to specialized in products A and the other products B. Although both sites carried both products A and B, the site that specialized in product A would mainly sell product, while that in B, would sell mainly product B.

However, it got so complicated in the end that we had to merge both sites into one. We took this decision after sales of product A slumped and decided to concentrate on product B.

If you have few products, it may well be better to experiment with two different sites. But as your business grows, you may be forced to dump one site.

[BradleyT]

Seems like 4 seperate sites would be 4 times the work in some areas (ie link building).

[King_Fisher]

Absolutely merge them. If they are similar its better to have one mega site.
Probaly half the work and expense for the same amount of sales...KF

[minnapple]

Merge them, it will reduce you admin cost to sales ratio.

[rocknbil]

Devil's advocate! :-) The below is all theory from the info I've gathered on this website, I'm leaning toward targeting.

First, this:

could be potentially paying for 4 sets of hosting / domains

If you plan on getting serious about doing 'net stuff, you should begin looking at a dedicated box or at least a virtual dedicated server. The second is not that much more than hosting multiple domains and the performance is X 100. This is a critical point in the next answers.

specifically target keywords in domain name etc.
Specifically target users with design / functionality of site.

Bingo. The big deal is targeting. Why would you want to "dilute" a site's content by lumping them all together? By targeting each of the four sites, collectively they would all do better.

Someone please argue this point! But do so in consideration of the following:

If you're set up with your own VPN/VPS/dedicated server, re-consider the following "negatives":

1. card handling etc has to be setup on each.. no
2. Seems like 4 seperate sites would be 4 times the work in some areas (ie link building). maybe
3. Probably half the work and expense for the same amount of sales a. no, and b. not likely
4. A slumped and decided to concentrate on product B. Good argument for WHY YOU SHOULD

1. You can set up a single administrative interface to manage and monitor all four sites. I do this for a particular client, it is very slick and each site is succinctly targeted to a particular market. Each one excels in their targeted area, and would bring down the other if we merged them. You can maintain a secure server at a fifth location, secure.companyname.com for all sites. Or even do all four sites in one as a fifth site to compare targeted vs. combined. I'm sure there has to be someone who has experimented with this . . .

2. See #1, with exception to link building - I am no expert in this area but there is a great deal of discussion to the effect that link building and page rank is nowhere near as important as once thought. Additionally, if you are building links targeted to a specific topic, it will be easier to gain links to that topic than a more general one - a site may be willing to link to automotive repair, for example, but not to auto sales.

3.a see #1, 3.b - by targeting the sites to specific topics, people are finding exactly what they want. Although the potential is lost for "impulse buying," you can always link to the other sites for these other products.

4. By separating the products it isolates the effectiveness of each, which IMO is a good reason to run them separately. Would the slump in product B actually cause the sales of A to decrease, or would A cause B to increase? Or would both of them suffer more due to diluted results in search engines?

I say get a VPS and try them as separates.

[Scally_Ally]

Thanks for the replies everyone..
While i was reading down i was convinced that the answer was going to be so easy - that was until i got to rocknbil's reply.
I must admit that after my first stint of SEO i didnt realise how hard, or how much time, it was going to take to get noticed within search engines (just being a naive programmer and all!). That along with having the ability to advertise my other products along side one another with the posibility of customers inpulse buying is causing me to sway towards having one 'MEGA' site..

Surely if you can add products to a fully optimised site that is getting high rankings (i hope) for products that are kind of related then surely that has got to be a massively important factor. In the same way that if you open a small shop within a large department store then it will naturally get traffic because of where it is situated (people visiting the other stores within the department store would have to walk past your store). A website must work in the same way - you put new products in amongst ones that are already established (although not totally related) and they will generate interest, even though they may not ultimately sell?

Ally