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I hope this question is different enough from this thread [webmasterworld.com], but I'll apologize in advance if it belongs in that existing thread instead.
We have a client who has been online for 4-5 years now. Let's say their web site is www.widgethouse.com. They are licensed to sell products from several widget companies (AAA Widgets, BBB Widgets, 123 Widgets, etc.) at this URL.
Back in the day, before it was known to be a negative with SEs, our client registered several additional domains, some of which used names related to the company names (AAA Widgets, etc.). All of these domains pointed to (but did not redirect) the same web site as widgethouse.com, showing the same content but from the other URL.
We know now that this is a no-no and I do believe our client's site has been penalized for this in Google and other SEs. But surely our client is not the only company on the Web with multiple domains and one web site.
So my question is this: what is the current state of using multiple domains on a single web site? Should they, like the other thread discussed, use 301 redirects on all the additional domains so that all visitors end up at widgethouse.com? Or is it okay if we point the additional domains to sub-sections of the existing site -- i.e., if we point AAAWidgets.com to the sub-page on widgethouse.com where all of AAA Widgets products can be found and purchased?
Any assistance would be appreciated.
Now, there is another way to look at this. If your site has enough content to effectively break it down into a small network of sites, then there is legitimate reason to use the multiple domains. But, do not, I repeat, do not duplicate content amongst them. Do not heavily interlink between them or what is also referred to as crosslinking.
Best thing to do is pull the ones that are serving no purpose whatsoever and just keep them in the client's domain portfolio. If you've got a couple that are being typed-in and there are visitors to be had, then 301 the type-in traffic to the main domain.
What would be the purpose of having multiple domains pointing to one main domain? Usually it's for type-in traffic.
I'm sure that was the big motivation, yes. And the fact that years ago when this was done, you could get away more easily with having multiple domains appears in various SERPs.
In that scenario, I believe a 301 is the only option. The very last thing you want to have are multiple domains being indexed with duplicate content. Trust me, I've been there done that, and it was by accident. I suffered the consequences just as everyone else has.
This client's rankings have gone down pretty heavily in the past couple months, and I suspect they/we, too, are suffering the consequences.
Thanks for your thoughts, por. :)
