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Now, in the normal business world, this would just be capturing the market, like owning walmart and kmart, however in the SEO world, this could be a problem, or so I hear.
My questions are as follows:
1. Will this be considered duplicate content?
2. How different does a site need to be from the other to avoid duplicate content?
3. If there is no way to avoid duplicate content, do I just create 1 site and foward both domains to 1?
Thanks for your help...
That's exactly right....is this a bad thing according to Google?
If so, how come major players like "powered by..." can have 20 different sites that act exactly the same? Is it bc they focuse on different keywords for each site?
no of course not, I don't spam, and I said I am considering doing this and I wanted the opinion of some of the veterans on this board about how Google views this....
and again, its like owning kmart and walmart....wouldn't that be smart in the real world?
I don't think you will get much help here on how to spam google with duplicate content. You asked and got the answer. What your proposing to do is SPAM and if I were your competitor and saw you incorporate that technique, I would turn you in faster than you press submit on the spam report page
If you have a problem with some other site spamming, then turn them in with a spam report.
[edited by: mrguy at 6:57 pm (utc) on April 29, 2003]
I have no idea where this funny notion comes from that people are not allowed to have more than one shop on the web selling the same goods.
What is frowned upon by Google is if a siteowner tries to push the rankings of the sites by heavily interlinking them or making them duplicates.
I don't think owning kmart and walmart would be smart in the real world. I think it would be better to own one of them and make it a better store. If you own just one, you can save a lot on administration costs and advertising expenses.
Agreed that if you want more than one store front, there is a way to do it.
In the context of the way he asked the question, it is plain he is looking strictly to capture more space in the top SERPs with basically using the same content across both sites.
In that light, I think that would be viewed upon as spam since that approach directly goes against what are in the guidelines for Google.
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They will have the same layout but different colors and images. Keyword content will be slightly different. Titles will be slightly different. Both sites will be trying to hit the same market.
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On this pretext, what value does a second site add to the user?
None! It is strictly done to try and get more traffic.
If you cut and paste large sections of body copy into both sites it could be seen as duplicate content. To avoid duplicating your content write original copy for all the sites. By adjusting titles, headers, anchor text and keyword phrases you can cover more phrases.
>>2. How different does a site need to be from the other to avoid duplicate content?
If you write original copy for all the sites in question you don't need to worry about it.
>>3. If there is no way to avoid duplicate content, do I just create 1 site and foward both domains to 1?
There is an easy way to avoid duplicate content. Write original content for all the sites.
Creating independent sites that sell the same product is quite common. Some benefits of creating several sites to sell the same product include:
1. Targeting slightly different phrases.
2. Test long copy versus short copy and determine conversion rates.
3. Write several versions of your copy to see which version is the most effective.
4. If you manage to rank in the top 10 for three sites you own one third of the first page of the SERPS for engines that display 10 results by default.
5. Adword campaigns. Yes, you can own the RH side of Google. :)
If the sites are well thought out and you take care to avoid duplication of your content no one will ever know that you own all the sites. Just don't use the same 800 numbers or contact email addresses. If you're an affiliate, don't use the same affiliate code for all the sites.
Creating several sites allows you to create a testing platform for copy and design. Use that to you advantage.
thank you for your response...that is what I was looking for, a real answer not a lecture
I DO NOT SPAM and I really get annoyed when I ask a legitimate question and get bombarded with responses like I am a bad person...goodness gracious.
so having 2 storefronts for the same product or service is not considered duplicate content? I was not planning on cross linking (I know that is bad) and thanks for the suggestion on that.
Think about it this way: using the same basic goods to sell and thus basically the same keywords, you could very well use the second site to optimize your keyword strategies. You'd have more keyphrases to target, and you could put different weighting on keyword phrases.
I also would like to remind some of the participants here to take their time and read a little in our community forum, for example:
[webmasterworld.com...]
thanks for your excellent response...you seemed to focus on the body text, title and anchor tags as the deciding factor for avoiding Google duplicate content
does google care if the design structure is exactly the same...you know, like having 20 different dating sites with the same structure but for different markets?
thanks again...and I agree with the forum post you put up there...I'm almost scared to ask a question for fear of those type of responses
I guess I just don't understand the concept of "duplicate content".
To paraphrase what I think the starter of this thread is is being told:
It is OK to have two sites selling the exact same thing for the exact same company as long as:
a. They look different and have different content except the item being sold.
b. You cover your tracks so that no one will know you run both sites.
I'm just trying to understand what some of the more experienced people on this board are saying for my own sake. If that is the case, it opens some more possibiites for my own site.
Regarding your original question: A year ago someone duplicated one of my sites exactly under a different domain name (obviously). It got indexed by Google, and *my* site disappeared from Google's index. I managed to get it sorted out, but I would suggest that you change the content of each site.
you said my focus was more traffic...isn't that all of our focus?
of course, we are all, or should be trying to provide a quaility service to our customers while at the same time trying to maximize traffic in legitimate ways....
so my question was - is it ok to create multiple sites to try and capture the market...and most said that is fine bc that is business 101...do you agree or is there something more you would like to add in opposition?
thanks for you help...so google only considers body text and not design layout in its decisions about content?
Nope. Google doesn't look at your design. For dupe content they look at body text. They will take a hard look at your inbound and outbound links though. Use different link partners.
>>you seemed to focus on the body text, title and anchor tags as the deciding factor for avoiding Google duplicate content
If I did I didn't mean to. To avoid duplicate content issues all I ever do is write original content for the body text. Anchors, headers and titles reflect those changes because I like pages with a tight focus.
The idea that creating several sites to sell the same product is spam is absurd. If the product is viable across several market demographics then you will need copy that targets those demographics effectively. You need a different voice to connect with the 18-21 crowd than you do to connect with the 65 and older crowd.
I couldn't agree more and thank you for your detailed response. Regarding the link partners...if I have 100 link partners with anchor text widgets for www.widgets.com, can I use those same link partners for www.widgetsonline.com with anchor text widgets online?
I'd worry more about competitors spotting a design similarity (and turning the sites in) if both sites achieve good rankings in the same keyword.
Part of the problem is that there isn't a strict guideline as to what is acceptable. Related sites dominating the results would generally be considered to be risky if there was a way to establish the relationship.
IT IS NOT like owning kmart and walmart as kmart and walmart are vastly different from brick & mortar design and layout, marketing, sales promotion and brand concepts.
A second site will not help develop a two company market diversity strategy -- if only the domain name changes.
If you really want to get ahead > develop a new site > new design > new content > new links > and a new focus gets the best results
If these are near identical > I wouldn't link them together what-so-ever.
ogerd brings up a valid point > it is unlikely Google would sniff this out > just the same every person who has ever been banned goes merrily along developing great returns > and then the radar comes on > that can be a near business killer. Being wise at the start > means not ever falling over the edge.
To save time > a new design "shell" for near same text is a fair approach. But I would consistently chance the focus of page text over time > otherwise you are not attempting to capture a different market but merely targeting the difference of searching habit of the same market... poorly.
[edited by: fathom at 7:41 pm (utc) on April 29, 2003]
thanks...and good luck with your projects as well
One of the things touched on at pubcon was duplicate content. Listening to Matt Cutts from Google during his (loooong) q&a I took away that G does look for "exactly" what you are contemplating, basically the same content with "minor" differences in title and keyword emphasis.
Somebody else also brought up the?fact? that SEs can check for duplicate site structure, basically, looking to see if the directory structure and navigation of both sites are the same.
I'd say if you go with digitalghost's recommendations you'll be okay and acutally maximizing what you have to work with.
Jim
I think that really doubles the work load as Webwoman posted.
What I've seen in my industry, are duplicate sites with duplicate content trying to capture all the leads end up getting all the sites banned. In all fairness, the ones that got banned were all heavily crosslinking with each other.
So, I think there really is fine line as what Google will ban and will not and you just have to walk the line to see what happens.
Then you have to decide, where does it stop? Do I create 10 websites and try to get all top 10 postions? How does that increase the relevance of a person doing a search. It narrows their options down to your site so it really doesn't enrich their search options which is what Google hates.
If you were my competitor and I could not break into the top 10 because you had all the top 10 spots with 10 different sites, you can be I'd be looking for a way to tie them all together and report them. I've noticed Google seems to take quicker action on sites when they monopolize the listings. At least in my industry.
thanks for your response...I was reading the last part of your post and I'm not sure I understand what you mean -->
To save time > a new design "shell" for near same text is a fair approach. But I would consistently chance the focus of page text over time > otherwise you are not attempting to capture a different market but merely targeting the difference of searching habit of the same market... poorly.
do you mean a new design structure, when you say design "shell"?
