Similar domains. What is the line between spam and entitlement?

If you own more than one related domain, can't you use them both?

[MrSavage]

This is a bigger picture type situation. I've had some recent experience with owning a large number of similar type domain names. The issue seems to be, am I labeled a spammer if I launch multiple website on the same subject. Of course I'm not a spammer, but there is a feeling out there that having more than one site by one person is wrong, deceitful and dishonest.

So, for example, you have a domain buywidgets.com and buywidgetsonline.com. Now, 10000 people search for buywidgets.com a month, but 2000 search buywidgetsonline.com. People are typing in the two different phrases into search engines, but by the unwritten rules, I shouldn't be able to have both those sites online. However, shouldn't I? What about buywidgets.com and buywidget.com. They are similar, but there is a vast difference in the monthly searches for those terms. If there is a big difference is searches, aren't they unrelated in a sense? So, if I choose one, say buywidget.com, then I'm not able to target the buywidgets.com searches because it's considered spamming the index trying to manipulate search results? I'm saying hang on a sec, I'm tarketing different keyword searches. The volume of searches for each phrase is vastly different.

My question really is, as webmasters, should we actually have our hands tied in terms of how many sites we can launch? If I don't launch buywidgets.com and you do, isn't that essentially the same thing? You will show up in the search results instead of me, but as a visitor how might you even know who owns the website? Should it matter?

My issue is that there isn't a playbook. Nowhere have I found what I can or cannot do in terms of the number of domains on a given subject I'm permitted. I think in the real world, not the internet, there is no limit on any company in terms of how many stores they can open or how much property they can buy or how much advertising they can do. Simply said, in the real world, businesses and corporations are always trying to outdo each other. Should the internet be any different? Or, is this line between being labeled a spammer vs. aggressive much to rigid.

My main point is, if you are targeting different keyword searches with each domain, are you actually spamming? Or, instead are you just being smart by targeting the widest possible audience?

[edited by: tedster at 3:27 am (utc) on Aug. 9, 2009]
[edit reason] widget-ize the domain examples [/edit]

[StoutFiles]

This must be along the lines of your 100 thin domains rant.

Here's what you should do. Create one big site about buying widgets. Then, 301 redirect any other people who go to your similar domains to the big site about buying widgets.

You may be able to get away with your other domains having a one-page landing with links to your big site about buying widgets but in your current situation it's unlikely. Will you lose a lot of search traffic? Yeah, most likely. But if you make the big site a great place of original, unique content with plenty of keywords containing your other domains you may get that traffic back.

My main point is, if you are targeting different keyword searches with each domain, are you actually spamming?

If these people are being sent to incredibly thin sites, then yes. You are only providing just enough content to get in search engines and make money. All these sites need to be original and bigger. Since you don't have that option, just concentrate on one for now.

[MrSavage]

I appreciate your comment. To clarify, my intent is not, and never has been to have 1 page affiliate sites. This was merely a stage one of my strategy. I do have a company now, and will be launching ecommerce stores, using those domains, or domain, heh. I do hear what you're saying and what most people are saying in terms of having one big site, and I can appreciate that. However, because of this limitation of one site, I must give up trying to sell to the other 40% of potential customers?

In terms of originality, think about an online store. How can you make a product description more original than the other 1000 websites selling the same thing? I question how much originality I can squeeze out of a widget. I can paint it differently, but at the end of the day, there is only so much originality to go around. Agreed?

I'm not talking about 1 page websites. I'm speaking of an estore type website. Products and shopping cart let's say. I'm not talking affiliate links or adsense.

[StoutFiles]

However, because of this limitation of one site, I must give up trying to sell to the other 40% of potential customers?

I'm still confused how you're limited with one site.

Say you own thewidgets.com and bluewidgets.com. thewidgets.com is your most searched term and best marketable, so you make that your main site.

Anyone who searches for bluewidgets will hopefully get thewidgets.com/bluewidgets/ in the search results.
Anyone who types in bluewidgets.com will be 301 redirected to thewidgets.com/bluewidgets/

Google is not penalizing you for duplicate descriptions in relation to other websites(assuming everyone is using these same descriptions), but in this case they are because they are YOUR websites. Also, sites like buywidgets and buywidgetsonline are just too similar, you can't have content on both sites because you're going to have way too much duplicate content. Pick one and 301 the other.

You can have stand alone sites like bluewidgets.com if you want to, and make all the content on that site about blue widgets, but if you have a bluewidgets page on one of your other sites you're going to once again have a duplicate content problem. Since Google has already marked all these sites as thin, I still say your only option is to make one big site and 301 to either the main page for similar terms or subpages for website names that have product descriptions in the domain name.

[MrSavage]

I enjoy the debate on the subject. I'm trying not to discuss my personal situation, but more from the perspective of the bigger picture. My personal situation is clear on what I need to do to move forward and follow proper guidelines as it were. One successful site on Google is worth 1000 decent ranking sites on other search engines. So for me, yes, one big website is the obvious option. However, this really still doesn't address the issue around how many or what type of websites one individual is allowed to launch. I think it's kind of odd to speak in terms of what people are allowed to release. Don't you?

Does it seem right to you, if a free world, that you are allowed to have widgets.com/bluewidgets but not bluewidgets.com? What if a different search engine (that say increases their market share in the search engine business) puts more value in the fact that your main url has the "blue widgets" which is exactly what you typed into the search box? Aren't you then taking yourself out of the running in capturing those people searching for "blue widgets"?

I certainly do find the debate interesting in the fact that, with the internet, we are now in a situation where we have to limited our potential market share, because we cannot own similar type domain names with websites, that have comparable products.

[StoutFiles]

Does it seem right to you, if a free world, that you are allowed to have widgets.com/bluewidgets but not bluewidgets.com?

You ARE allowed to have both of these sites, but if you put the exact same content on both sites you get penalized for it. Google doesn't want all their search results to pull up the same content. Link #1 needs to differ from Link #2, and so on. If they are all your sites with the same duplicate content then Google looks like a bad search engine.

this really still doesn't address the issue around how many or what type of websites one individual is allowed to launch

If I make a site about movies and a site about gardening, that is ok. Movies and gardening are nothing alike. If I make a site about movies and a site about good movies, that is ok only if the content is different. If I write an article about good movies on my movies site, I can't put the same exact article on my good movies site. Do you understand? It's called duplicate content. If you choose to make content that would work on one site but instead try to stretch that content to lots of different domain names then you're just increasing the duplicate content to the point where Google has to step in to save face on those keywords.

Google's job is to not only provide the best links at the top but to provide different links for following terms. If I don't like Link #1, I don't want to see the same kind of site for Link #2 and so on. Link #2 needs to be the same topic but different content.

we are now in a situation where we have to limited our potential market share

You aren't limiting your market share. One site can do what 100 domain names is doing. What I believe your angry about is that instead of being #2,#4,#6, and #7 on a keyword you have to limit yourself to just being #2.

Google is a company too. If they let one person dominate the search results for a particular product they come off badly. You can't use hundreds of domain names to dominate some keywords. Just make one site and be the best. You can roll on the ground crying, pounding the floor, and kicking your feet but you can't change the situation. I'm telling you that one quality site can dominate like 100 thin sites never can.

[MrSavage]

Your last paragraph sums me up heh. I can't change anything and yes I'm pounding the floor and stomping my feet. In a sense I feel like my hands on tied as to what I really want to do with my domain names and websites. As I move forward I will see where the invisible boundaries really are. I'm just curious what other webmasters experiences are with regard to using widgets.com, widget.com, cheapwidget.com. Or, has everyone been resolved to the fact that they cannot have those as 3 different sites. If you have been able to launch and rank 3 different, yet related sites, I'm very interested to hear your story. I'm sure there are many people who might say you don't deserve to have cheapwidgets.com and widgets.com on the internet at the same time. That makes me wonder about the overall health of the internet quite honestly.

[buckworks]

has everyone been resolved to the fact that they cannot have those as 3 different sites..

Ah, but you can, if they are truly different. Populate your domains with unique, quality content that provides genuine value for your visitors, and you can develop as many sites as you want on whatever domains you want.

Focus on quality. Focus on quality. Focus on quality. In your content, and in your promotional strategies.

I agree 110% with Stoutfiles:

I'm telling you that one quality site can dominate like 100 thin sites never can.

Beware of the self-styled marketing gurus out there who preach all sorts of convoluted tricks to make money ... anything and everything except actually creating websites of genuine usefulness.

Focus on quality.