Howdy workedream-ga,
As a former Internet Service Provider (ISP) owner/operator I can advise
you that there is only one sane way to go with this. Combine the sites
as soon as possible and point both domain names to the one site.
The duplicate content and search engines bans on such sites is a problem
you already know about, but you need to start making changes now to avoid
that potential ban happening to you.
By combining both sites, you free up the time you spend on maintaining two
sites, and you can then use that time in improving and increasing the content
of the new single site.
Even though the discussion is about content versus links, the point made
on this WebProWorld posting about the importance of content can't be
emphasized more.
http://www.webproworld.com/viewtopic.php?p=70309
"I've stated this before, elsewhere; however, I vote for Content as being
the most critical -- As others have stated so well, content is the reason
for being ..."
You also eliminate the possibility of people running across both sites and
holding that against you. This WebmasterWorld posting sums this point, and
others, quite well. The whole message thread makes for good reading.
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/4207-1-15.htm
"The negative image you are building up in the mind of you[r] visitors. When
somebody will search for 'Engine performance Porsche' for example, and your
reviews are exactly the same in both sites, whatever the design and layout
tricks you use, this searcher will see exactly the same phrases coming up
duplicated in his search results. It will be clear immediatly that there is
duplication. And believe me: this irritates all searchers. It also makes clear
your company is using tricks, which is very negative and extremely difficult
to make up for."
You do not want to do a "META refresh" redirect though, as this might
get you into some spider problems. Instead, have your ISP/SysAdmin
point both domain names to the same site. More on the perils of using
a META refresh appears on the NetMechanic web site.
http://www.netmechanic.com/news/vol4/promo_no15.htm
"Many webmasters use the META refresh tag to send visitors to the correct
address until everyone's links are updated. But most don't know that innocent
use of that tag may significantly lower your page rank or even get you banned
in some search engines."
Makes sure to announce to your users what and why you have done this,
as you do not want people who are used to seeing getcv.com to all of the
sudden start seeing getresume.com and think something funny is afoot.
Something such as "In order to bring you the best, and most current
information, getresume.com and getcv.com have been combined," etc. would do.
If you are paying separate fees for hosting each site, the redundant
charge for hosting is eliminated, so there is potential costs savings.
By combining the sites, you save time, or at least are able to invest that
time into more productive endeavors such as content enhancement. You might
also be saving money on hosting charges. All the time, you also avoid the
potentially costly event of being banned by some search engines.
If in the future you decide that you can some with up some real content,
and not just cosmetic, differences for the two domain names, you can then
develop them as two different sites with no problem.
If you need any clarification, feel free to ask.
Search Strategy: Personal experience, and:
Google search on: redirect "search engines"
://www.google.com/search?q=redirect+%22search+engines%22
Google search on: "two sites" "same content"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22two+sites%22+%22same+content%22
Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher |
Clarification of Answer by
denco-ga
on
12 Mar 2004 15:44 PST
Howdy workedream-ga,
The WebmasterWorld thread I referenced in my Answers has several
posts on exactly that point.
http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/4207-1-15.htm
"You're getting warnings here from some people (including me) who have been
burned because they put up duplicate content and their sites got dropped
completely. Some of us (like me) did it accidentally (through lack of
expertise and/or technical foul-up), and some tried it to increase exposure,
but the end result was the same. If you want to try this, then please do it
very carefully and incrementally, all the time remembering that at some point
the search engines may well drop both sites, and then your traffic will drop a
little or a lot, depending on which search engine it is, and how you rated in
that engine. It 'would be nice' to be able to do what you seem to be intent on
finding a way to do, but the search engines do not like it and call it spam.
You can try, sure, but you are playing with fire here."
...
"Google, or whatever search engine in the near future, will discover identical
content. No trick will indefinitely mislead the search engines. The penalty
will be severe for your sites, traffic and credibility. Rebuilding this up will
cost you a lot in money and time."
So yes, if you keep both domain names and both web sites and have lots of
duplicitous content, I think there is a good chance you will eventually get
banned or penalized on one or more search engines. It's not a certainty,
but also not worth taking the chance.
Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher
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