Bought Competitor Domain - Run 2 Sites or Merge Into 1

[jedimonkey]

Hello - I'm J, a long time lurker - looking to see what you guys think of this:

The owner of one of my largest competitors went bankrupt, and I bought their domain name recently as it was registered to him personally - it is now pointing to a website we setup for it.

For this post I will call their old domain (our new one) Domain1
And our existing site Domain2

Both sites sell quite a few of the same items - but not all the same, pricing is slightly different. Content is worded differently etc so we dont get duplicate content - although there is some at the moment.

Domain1 comes up page1 on google for good terms and always has (altho recent SEO activities they have tried has made it slip) - Domain2 is starting to rank for keyterms, altho no 'proper' effort has went into SEO (this year SEO will be a priority), and we rely quite a bit on Google Ads and Amazon etc.

Domain1 has 8-9years or so history (domain2 has 1-2years) - Domain1 has lots of incoming links, Domain2 is still building.

We are currently running 2 websites independantly - but not sure this is the best for the future. Our site on Domain1 has the feel/colour of the previous owners old site etc - and they have a good customer base - and we are taking orders through the site no problem....

We noticed just after taking control of Domain1 that the previous owner has registered the same name with a different TLD - they have it pointing to their previous site and will probably be trying to mailshot previous customers... and will be trying to rebuild it from scratch again.

MY QUESTION IS.
Do we do a 301 redirect of Domain1 into our existing Domain2 - hoping that previous Domain1 customers are not put off buying product from Domain2
or
Do we run the 2 sites independently as competitors - where previous Domain1 customers may feel more comfortable buying from.

Also: Is it possibly to 301 Domain1 into Domain2 but keep Domain1 in the addressbar of the browser (I assume no)
Thank you and well done if you have read this far ;P
J

[CPC_Andrew]

jedimonkey- I'd recommend running them as two separate sites. If you can implement the same strategies that made your original website so strong SEO wise, etc, I don't see why you can't fill more of the market by doing the same to your second URL.

There are some curve-balls so to speak though when dealing with these two websites. Are you going to look into more products, or gather the second domain's suppliers, or just list two websites with the same product line?

[jedimonkey]

Not sure - we shared a lot of suppliers already. We are looking to expand products all the time anyway, but wasn't sure if to keep the 2 sites with the same core products, but also have some slightly different products/brands - or just have same products with slightly different pricing etc

However with the previous owners also having a similar domain registered with different TLD - I'm not sure if there would be site/brand confusion.... already had emails from some Domain1 customers saying they have had marketing emails for the previous owners site with different TLD. J

[CPC_Andrew]

One thing to be aware of if you do have similar product lines is that Google Product Search has been stepping up their enforcement of disallowing duplicate content on their shopping engine, sometimes shutting listings from what appears to be the duplicate site down all together.

Make sure it's clear to them that it's not a child, but a completely separate business. Sometimes that means making sure the product lines are different. I would also not copy the formatting of your first Google Product Search feed either if you can.

I think the slightly different pricing is a great idea.

[CPC_Andrew]

*shutting down listings from what appears to be the duplicate site all together.

[digitalv]

already had emails from some Domain1 customers saying they have had marketing emails for the previous owners site with different TLD

Probably too late for this now, but for future reference this is where non-solicitation/non-compete agreements come in handy. I buy a lot of aftermarket domains to develop sites and always ask the owner to sign one. Usually they do without reading it in full and I end up getting their other TLD's of the same name later. It basically states that my company's intent is to apply for a trademark and build a brand around the domain we're purchasing and prohibits them from selling or developing any same or similar TLD'd names and grants us first right of refusal at the original registration price to acquire it.

So even though you have no such agreement, there is still something you can do - I would have a lawyer draw up a cease and desist on the grounds of business ethics violations, and request that he provide you with a list of everyone he's solicited encouraging them to shop from his domain instead of yours. If he's recently dealt with a bankruptcy, he may comply simply because he doesn't want to deal with a legal battle.

If you get those names, you can then contact those customers and explain what really happened, without disclosing any confidential details. The short version would be a simple letter that states the previous site owner sold you the website after filing for bankruptcy, and has now moved on to a new venture under a similar name. Don't blatantly tell customers not to do business with him, but point out how unethical this practice is and let them make their own decision.

As for whether or not you should run two sites - in my opinion, you should do this until you have been able to communicate with as many past customers as possible, but the eventual goal should be to merge the two websites into one since you're selling the same products. While the previous owner is still out there attempting to capitalize on the same name, there will always be that confusion and some customers may end up going his way. Phasing out the name over time will solve that.