New - Borrowed or Blue?

[kwburke]

I have an informational site now that has been up for about 4 years with a PR4.

I am looking to sell widgets online that are not related to my informational site. I would prefer not to "start over" with a brand new URL etc. What would be better:

-Bite the bullet and register a keyword relevant new URL

-Buy an existing URL.

-Blow up my info site and publish the new ecommerve site on that URL.

-Buy an existing site/URL with good PR and inbound links and redesign (any idead where you can find sites for sale?)

I guess I am hesitant to be put in the "sandbox" of a new site. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[caveman]

*bump*

[kwburke]

Not sure what you mean by *bump*

k

[leadegroot]

('bump' is used to artificially push the thread back to the top of the 'latest posts' list to gain it more attention)

Your other options include maintaining your info site (on the assumption that it has a strong link history and good rankings) and adding a a subdomain.
eg newtopic.widgetinfo.com
While its true that you have to do some new link building for a subdomain you can legitimately link to it left right and center from your existing site :)

This works best when there is some relationship between the old topic and I just re-read and saw that there isn't, but its worth thinking about :)

[kwburke]

Thanks for the subdomain idea. Will the subdomain be treated similar to an interior page by Google in terms of PR?

[mjtaylor]

A subdomain is a viable way to handle your problem ... and yes, the PR will flow from your home page to the subdomain via links just as it would to any other internal page.

That said, there are advantages to a domain just for your product.

The sandbox is really not as bad as it used to be ... of course, that also depends on the competitiveness of your terms, but starting fresh does keep the integrity of your established, but unrelated site.