Combining 20 websites into just one.
I have about 20 websites. These are directories, each devoted to a separate city. I have become convinced that it would be better SEO to move them all into one large website. But I want to avoid engine penalties for duplicate content, so after I have moved them into the larger website, should I just park the originals, or what? As far as engines are concerned how do they treat parked websites?
JeevesBond posted this at 19:44 — 1st February 2006.
He has: 3,956 posts
Joined: Jun 2002
Well it depends on how your host operates but typically SE's hate a redirect.
I wasn't aware of any specific penalties for duplicate content, thought the SE's would simply ditch one of the sites.
a Padded Cell our articles site!
Henry posted this at 22:02 — 1st February 2006.
They have: 44 posts
Joined: Nov 2005
But what if they ditch the big site into which I am moving the various city sites? That would be a boomer!
How do the engines treat parked sites?
The Webmistress posted this at 13:40 — 2nd February 2006.
She has: 5,586 posts
Joined: Feb 2001
Why minimise your chances of being found? IMO it is better to have separate sites that can be targetted specifically for localised keyword searches and by combining them into one new site you'll be making it harder for yourself by starting from scratch!
If you leave the existing sites as well as building the new one it is 'possible' that you could be penalised for duplicate content if it was brought to the attention of the SEs, however I think this would be unluckly (but don't quote me on it!)
If you do just 'park' the domains, if there is no site for them then the domains will drop from the SEs as they'd have nothing to crawl and list.
Julia - if life was meant to be easy Michael Angelo would have painted the floor....
Henry posted this at 00:46 — 4th February 2006.
They have: 44 posts
Joined: Nov 2005
Thanks Webmistress:
The reason I am combining them all into one website is because:
All of these city domains are cross-linked one way or another, and I think I am being penalized for it. Everyone says that there is the constand danger of penalties if sites are cross-linked. And I want to avoid that.
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