~~~High Search Engine Rankings~~~
From: Colin Mansell
I have a client who wants to buy more domain names to try and get more
hits. Is it worth his while? Thank you in advance.
Colin Mansell
~~~Jill's Response~~~
Hey Colin,
I'm glad you brought up this issue, because it's been one of my pet
peeves for a long time. This gives me the perfect opportunity to
rant. (And you all know how I love to rant!)
In my opinion, buying additional domain names for the sole purpose of
obtaining more search engine rankings is NOT a good idea. If you are
using the same IP address and simply parking the domains, most search
engines will avoid the additional domains. Occasionally you'll see
both domains in an engine, but it doesn't appear to make much
difference in the rankings. Some will try this option thinking they
can use the additional domains to get extra listings in the
human-edited directories such as Yahoo! or DMOZ. Although some of
these duplicate sites do slip through the cracks, the directories are
very much against listing these "mirror" sites. If you try to get
these types of sites listed, you run the risk of having *none* of your
sites listed. Even if you have unique content on each of the various
domains, and they have their own IP addresses, Yahoo! will usually
avoid listing the site. Yahoo! usually will only list any given
company once. Other directories may not be quite as vigilant and you
might be able to pull a fast one on them, but is that really the way
you want to do business? I've even heard of some people creating
fictitious companies in order to get additional listings. The lengths
people go to in this biz never cease to amaze me!
With that in mind, it can certainly be frustrating when a directory
will only list the main page of a given Web site. It is often
difficult or impossible to sum up everything a site has to offer with
one description of 15 words or so. It's understandable why some
people feel the need to try and get additional domain names listed.
It seems to me that it would be beneficial all around for places like
Yahoo! to do a better job of allowing inner category pages to be
submitted. Right now it appears to be more of a hit or miss kind of
deal, and not every company is willing to risk the $199 fee on such a
gamble.
Another reason a company may want to purchase additional domain names
is because they may believe that domain names with keywords in them,
e.g., www.my-particular-keywords.com, will help them get a high
ranking. I think that most engines have caught on to this *trick* and
do not give the domain names as much emphasis as they may have at one
time. If you do feel that the tiny boost it may give you is worth it,
then go ahead and buy the keyword-rich domain and use it as your main
URL. You'll need to decide which is more important to you: branding
your company by using it in your domain name, or having keywords in
your domain name. My feeling is to choose ONE domain and stick with
it. Also, don't forget that if link popularity is part of your SEO
strategy, then using only one domain is truly a must. (See our last
issue for more info on Link Popularity
http://www.rankwrite.com/archives/issue030.htm.)
We have had companies approach us who have bought literally hundreds
of domain names. Their thought is to have us optimize each domain for
a particular keyword phrase. However, these are usually nothing more
than glorified doorway pages, and we'll have nothing to do with those!
What possible, legitimate reason could there be for having hundreds of
similar domains, other than trying to outsmart the search
engines/directories? In my opinion, there's no room for trickery in
the search engine optimization field. When a company is spending so
much time and money worrying about hundreds of domains, there's a good
chance that their actual Web site is lacking in substance. The
company's *real* Web site, the one they are ultimately trying to drive
traffic to, should be where the time and money are spent.
So...I will repeat my mantra yet again...If you spend the time it
takes to create great content, you'll naturally be able to obtain high
rankings. Instead of buying up additional domain names, keep adding
worthwhile pages to your existing site. Never forget that if done
correctly, each and every page of your site is a gateway to the rest
of the site. If everyone would spend less time trying to figure out
the best way to *trick* the search engines and more time providing
useful content, they'd not only reduce their own stress levels, but
they'd end up eventually getting the high rankings they crave. Really.
Jill
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