Having 2 similar sites with same database on the same server

[at2000]

Hi All,

I have a site that was penalised by Google. I don't want to delete it, but rather create one more site with similar (and often the same) content on the same server by 2 reasons - use the same database and hope that first one will revive in the future.

I watched video from Matt Cutts saying that generally 2 sites on the same server wouldn't cause any problems.

How possible that new website will take bad history of the first one? I'm using AdSense so moving to completely different server doesn't make sense to me at the moment as Google anyway will know that sites have the same owner.

Thank you.

[tedster]

It's not the same server issue - it's the similarity that will do you in, especially when combined with the same IP.

[at2000]

The sites don't have unique content - they are affiliate sites with added value...

[tedster]

That alone is more and more of a problem with Google. They don't want to show non-unique affiliate pages at the top of search results. You've got to add a LOT of value these days to rank well with an affiliate site.

The basic approach needs to be strong, unique content with some affiliate links added, rather than an affiliate site with some extra value added.

[LifeinAsia]

What will you be doing differently with the second site that won't eventually get the same penalty that the first site got?

[at2000]

tedster, lots of websites have the same content in top results mostly having only user review system.

[at2000]

LifeinAsia, I made a lot of mistakes, to begin with is lack of added value, mess with URLs, creating lots of duplicate content due to incorrect managing of robots.txt file. I read a lot since then and will not make the same mistakes again.

[tedster]

lots of websites have the same content in top results

What I said applies very strongly if you hope to rank well on comeptitive search terms. Once you rank well on a strong term, your url will be subject to human editorial opinions [webmasterworld.com]. These quality raters at Google have explicit instructions on their criteria for rating sites with affiliate links. That can mean "ranking today, gone tomorrow".

If you want lasting success, I suggest the approach of "how much can I set my site above the comptetition", rather than "what's the minimum I need to do." Google has been raising the bar more and more in this area.