Forum Moderators: open
So do you see the problem? How do I organize this site so (for instance) the doctors looking for expert advice on HIPAA and computer security don't wind up getting abducted by the aliens page and vice versa? (The sections themselves will be pretty simple.) I gather this can be done using user-specific cloaking scripts, gateway pages, etc.--but I also want to optimize everything for the search engines, obviously.
I've spent weeks searching the web for this and all I can find is (A) HTML for Dummies tutorials and (B) advanced SEO info.
Anyone know where I can get STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS on something like this?
Thanks! You can email me at zfiles@rcn.com.
(edited by: rcjordan at 6:23 pm (gmt) on Dec. 28, 2001)
You needn't get into anything complicated, and certainly not as complicated as cloaking!
It shouldn't be a problem if you use separate directories and treat the top page of each directory as a separate domain. In other words, let's say you have techie/index.html with the techie stuff beneath it, detective/index.html with the virtual detective stuff beneath it, hubbysbook/index.html with the book stuff beneath it, and jewelry/index.html with the jewelry stuff beneath it.
You'll want to ensure that there is no crossover content. In other words, you don't want a section about jewelry in the techie section, although I doubt that you would do that.
Submit domain.com, domain.com/techie/index.html, domain.com/detective/index.html, domain.com/hubbysbook/index.html, and domain.com/jewelry/index.html to search engines separately.
My husband has a site that has a section on the bible, one on hardtack, one on Soldier Pond, Maine, one on people who share his first and last name, and of course, our cats' personal home pages. This works very well for him.
For navigation, map out each of the above pages with the subpages beneath them.
Edited for clarity. The sun is totally gone here by 3:30 p.m., which makes me more confused than I was before!
(edited by: Laisha at 9:00 pm (gmt) on Dec. 28, 2001)
Some search engines also seem to like pages named index.html. Using separate directories would provide an index.html page for each subject area.
For that matter, last time I checked my favorite hosting company (catalog.com) was still offering free basic hosting on Unix if you register a domain with them, so with deals like that going around why not have a good top level domain for each separate type of business? Sure would make any search engine optimization easier if you weren't trying to optimize for 4 separate lines of business in one web site!
If you need to (for personal or business reasons), you could also have a ourcompany.com web site that links to the 4 other domains. Think of Kellogs (or however you spell it) with the main corporate site plus separate domains for things like Rice Crispies. Corporate links to everyone, Rice Crispies links back to corporate. Great for link pop, as well!
IMHO, separate domain names for wildly divergent lines of business are a must, since they help with your advertising and branding. May mean a few more fees paid out to registrars, and a bit more work in site architecture and design, but in my mind well worth the fees to keep potential clients un-confused.
I carry that further. If the content has even a whiff of independence it deserves a domain.
Dollar-wise, domain names can be gotten for as low as 8.95 each, and full-featured hosting can be gotten for under $30 a month for all 4. So if any of the sites start to produce revenue, a change could be a possibility.
