How to utilise both singular and plural domain names?

[Simsi]

Hi guys

I have a plural domain name (ie: bluewidgets.com) which does well on picking up searches in G! for "blue widgets", but not so much for "blue widget". Now I have the option of buying the singular "bluewidget.com".

Were I to buy it, how would I best utilise it to aim at the singular keyword searches? It seems silly (and probably detrimental) to duplicate the existing site simply optimising for the keyword, so I am assuming maybe a redirect would be the answer. But I can't see how best to do that so that both domains can rank for their respective terms. These aren't type-in searches, they are from SERPS, so it needs to be listed if there is to be a benefit.

Any thoughts?

Cheers,

Simsi

[internetheaven]

If your rankings are based soley on the keywords in the domain name then you probably are in a very, very small industry so creating a new mini-site (Google would call it a doorway but they seem to love those at the moment despite stating they hate them) with unique content that directs users to the main site would be best. Set your blog/news/reviews or such like on there.

[Simsi]

Hmmm its the "at the moment" bit that concerns me ;) Actually that said, algos change so I guess anything you could say is at the moment. Does seem silly to duplicate content, even if it is slightly re-written. Kind of goes against what the SE's want.

FYI, it's a huuuuge industry, but a niche area within it I am aiming at.

No better way?

[edited by: Simsi at 11:27 pm (utc) on May 7, 2008]

[wheel]

If you do a 301, you're only getting the type in traffic benefit. But that's not what you're implying I think.

Sounds like you want the benefit of using the algo loophole that bluewidget.com will rank easily for the search 'blue widget' without actually doing something like a doorway site? My suggestion is to just do the doorway approach above (no reason it can't be a quality site) and move on. In this case the term 'doorway' doesn't have to be something shady. Heck, I have my blog on a seperate site with all unique content - and it's set up to drive any leads to my main site. Nothing wrong with that.

Since you're worried about the algo changing, two sites ranking on two terms is better than one.

[Robert Charlton]

Does seem silly to duplicate content, even if it is slightly re-written. Kind of goes against what the SE's want.

You're correct... it's not what the search engines want. If you do try the two sites approach, they should be substantially different.

On a domain that's not been previously promoted, a 301, as wheel points out, only gives you type-in traffic. That's what I recommend you do with the domain, to keep competitors from using it. If you promote the site first and then redirect it, it's likely that you'll make Google unhappy.

It's possible, if the singular "blue widget" is not super-competitive, that you can simply optimize for it and try to get some inbound links with the singular anchor text. Many sites I optimize rank for both singular and plural on the same page... at least on Google.

[Simsi]

Thanks guys

Food for thought there :) Bearing in mind the domain would cost me a fair whack, I'll try Robert's approach I think. The plural site does actually rank Top 20 for the singular already (after 9 months Live) so maybe I should chip away at that for now.

Many thanks

Simsi