Forum Moderators: open
The question is...
Is it better to add new pages and info to my old site, OR register a new domain and start adding new sections there?
For example, (and this is just an example so all you leaping lizard lovers PLEASE DO NOT flood me with requests for this service! And moderators, for the sake of the environment and all global warming concerns PLEASE DO NOT <snippety snip> the poor things from my example):
Let's say I sell leaping lizards with polkadot tails (hmm...could even register that domain...).
My bread and butter site no longer appears for the numerous searches leaping lizards with polkadot tails.
Now I want to add a section on how to clip the wings of those beautiful creatures right...? (Ok ok...I know you are all thinking "but leaping lizards don't FLY they LEAP. True, but where I live they stand on their heads and spin...)
So...
Do I add the new section to my already existing site, knowing full well that I will ONLY find people searching for that particular service?
Or would it be wiser to move ahead with a new domain and theme it to the first but focus on other aspects? Perhaps reaping the additional benefit of pulling in people searching for leaping lizards with polkadot tails.
What are the pros and cons of such a strategy?
What are the pros and cons of such a strategy?
Hi Bobby,
I'm thinking down a similar track as you are. In fact sinse I realised that the hidden meaning of a domain name may be being interpreted in Google's new algo taking some action may be becomming even more essential.
To be honest I don't see why you can't do both except for the extra work involved and the necesity to ensure that you don't produce dupe content. I guess that it depends how important it is to you.
To start from scratch has some attractions to me but I would be giving up what backlinks and PR I've gained over the years. Also the most appropriate DMOZ categories have been without an editor for many months, in one case almost 2 years. I might just leave what I already have trundling along at #1 on Alltheweb and Ink and develop something in parallel to suit Google's new tastes. That way I don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Just in case Google is interpreting or has plans to interpret domain names I'm going to look for a none product related domain name should be easy enough it was all of the hyphenated generics that had been taken previously.
If I do this carefully and avoid cross linking and duplicate content I don't really see how I can lose. There's too much to gain to sit back and rot. Google just moved the target which simply means that we have to aim somewhere different.
Best wishes
Sid
The cheap experiment might be to add some under SEO'ed pages to the existing site and watch how Google ranks those.
I feel its better to add new pages. More original content along with appropriate KW density.
For my main keyphrase which I should have ranked high for I am nowhere to be seen, over 70% of sites in the top 100 were removed by Florida. On the plus side of things I am highly visible for single word and multiple word searches pertaining to my site, which is bringing in sales.
I think that it would be better for me to simply add a large volume of content relative to the subject of my site, and hope for the best. I also submitted to Fast, Ask and Ink yesterday so there should be a little more traffic coming soon.
If you have a subject matter that allows you to write then I think it would be best to do so and get ranked highly for more specific phrases, which will in the long term make up for the loss. I think that too often we look for immediate remedies to a long term problem. Once you get that large body of content behind you it will always be there for you, it will be easy to carry.
Relative content, done properly, will get spidered and should get you ranked pretty well in the short term, but will also mean that there is a chance of getting in customers you would never otherwise have known. Less work too.
Use words like information in your title and anchor text to internal pages
ogletree I think those are excellent suggestions for a new site, it attacks the problem from another angle. In addition to becoming an *information site* (which could possibly reap the benefits of NOT being a *commercial* site and would not be subject to the same scrutiny, it might also get listed in the SERPs for the original search phrase I had before - leaping lizards with polkadot tails.
Checking the backlinks of competitors is always sound advice, in my particular case I am a lone raisin up against lots of portals, and I just don't have the re$ources that they do.
appropriate DMOZ categories have been without an editor for many months
Sid, you ain't kidding! I submitted my site a year ago and watched it get moved around from one category to another, mostly because nobody took the time to look at it. As a dmoz editor myself I can track what happens but certainly have no influence on sites outside my own categories (if I did the site would be listed).
I think your idea of looking for a non-product domain name is a good one, I suspect the great Google in the sky sees all and knows that I am a SEO trying to get my site ranked well thru KWs in the domain name!
nileshkurhade, I plan on adding more pages to the already existing site and focusing better on KW density as you suggest, but that will not remove the *filter* which prevents my site from being found in the SERPs for the main search phrase. I think it's a good strategy to implement BOTH new pages in the already existing site as well as a new site with a different thrust.
Andy, the subject matter can easily be expanded but the conversion rate into 'sales' is mostly from the search phrase which no longer appears in the SERPs.
One thing I focused on from the beginning was to get visitors looking for photos. You're probably right, in the long term the additional listings will compensate for the banned search phrase, but I need some bacon and eggs on my table tomorrow morning!
I'd like to get some thoughts on the idea of developing many similarly related sites on a single subject to gain strength through networking, wouldn't it be an investment in the long run? If one site gets bumped you still have the others.
Thoughts?
Add a directory [url...] and put an index page about clipping the leapin lizards add a page about how to do it, one about why you should, one about ways to do it, picture pages of before and after clipping etc. Try to write the copy so that if either the word "leapin" or "lizard" or both was obfuscated from your content you would still get the general idea of the page from the related text...this is the hardest part I know but to me is why seemingly less-relevant pages are doing well now for some terms.
Also build a related site if you have the time. Maybe buy an .org name just in case and build it up some as an informational site. Build content with the concept what if my target keywords were obfuscated? Can I deliver the message with just complimentary text? Use it to try concepts with word pairings and semantics you wouldn't be comfortable with experimenting with on your flagship site. Then you will be on the path to webmaster life post AS. That is pretty much how I am dealing with it anyway.
