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8673 Views 12 Replies Latest reply: Jul 28, 2011 1:28 AM by smallbus01
ErinHeaven Newbie
ErinHeaven
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Jul 12, 2010 12:50 PM

One main business site or multiple sites?

Right now, I offer a variety of services which, though tangentially related, are distinct enough that I think each one merits its own site. My main business site had gotten me a good degree of business, in contrast to my other service sites which has gotten me a trickle of results. Should I consolidate everything under my one site? My main concern is that some of my services may strike customers of the others as irrelevant and distracting, and therefore put them off as it may look like I'm spread too thin as a "jack of all trades/master of none". Thanks.
  • LUCKIEST Master
    LUCKIEST
    Currently Being Moderated
    Jul 12, 2010 12:53 PM (in response to ErinHeaven)
    Re: One main business site or multiple sites?
    main business site

    It would help to know more about you. How long have you been in business??

    Do you have an accountant?? A business plan??
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  • hmansfield Newbie
    hmansfield
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    Jul 14, 2010 7:11 PM (in response to ErinHeaven)
    Re: One main business site or multiple sites?
    The way I do it is with multiple sites, under one umbrella company. IF the products or services are completely different and don't compliment each other, then there is no reason to put them together.
    Plus it'seasier to target specific demographics for each rather than trying to attract several to one site.

    Even Honda doesn't sell lawn mowers and cars together. But we all know they make both.
  • SmoothPixel Newbie
    SmoothPixel
    Currently Being Moderated
    Jul 21, 2010 9:42 AM (in response to ErinHeaven)
    Re: One main business site or multiple sites?
    I agree with those who mentioned building multiple sites.
    Having a parent company and working with multiple channels that control a certain product or service you do seems more localized.
    Customers feel more secure knowing that you focus on one product or service at a time, rather than all your products or services in one area.

    I build websites and if you need any additional information, you may contact me at ori@smoothpixel.com.

    Good Luck!
    • Barky_Dog Apprentice
      Barky_Dog
      Currently Being Moderated
      Jul 21, 2010 10:33 AM (in response to SmoothPixel)
      Re: One main business site or multiple sites?
      This is a good question. I have thought about creating multiple sites under my main umbrella company.

      Here's what has held me back, though- duplicate content. My understanding is that Google penalizes sites that that have duplicate content. Much of the information on my sites could be the same. For example the "Company Information", "About Us" & "Contact Us" would not need to be changed much.

      So, all you SEO experts- would Google penalize me? Would I have to write unique content for every single page?

      Thanks in advance,

      Barky
  • seo_wiki Newbie
    seo_wiki
    Currently Being Moderated
    Jul 21, 2010 1:34 PM (in response to ErinHeaven)
    Re: One main business site or multiple sites?
    People nowadays get distracted easily, especially when it comes to the Internet medium.

    The more distractions you spare them from, them more sales you will make.

    Also, from a search engine stand point, it is easier to rank a website that is entirely dedicated to a keyword than one that targets many keywords that are not semantically very related.

    Multiple websites are definitely the way to go. Just ditch the losers that don't justify the effort and put more effort in the winners. Remember the Pareto rule: 20% of your efforts will be responsible for 80% of your revenue.

    Hope I could help,
  • Justin_W Newbie
    Justin_W
    Currently Being Moderated
    Jul 30, 2010 5:44 PM (in response to ErinHeaven)
    Re: One main business site or multiple sites?
    My company chose to go with multiple sites even thought the products are related. But we divided them among the major services. I can be a good way to give further information about individual services/product offerings and you can get some benefit from interlinking the sites if they all perform fairly well.

    Justin
    http://www.patlive.com
  • Newbie
    SEOhelper
    Currently Being Moderated
    Jul 31, 2010 10:40 PM (in response to ErinHeaven)
    Re: One main business site or multiple sites?
    I will have to go against the grain, and recommend you consolidate into one larger site.

    Not sure why everyone suggests multi-sites, when you said you don't get much business from the other sites.
    If it's not working, then clearly you need to do something different.

    Since you didn't say what it is exactly that you do I can't say specifically my recommendations.

    But if the services/products are similar enough, here are some reasons why one site is better than many.

    • Less work: Obviously maintaining one site will be a lot less work than maintaining 5
    • Save money: If you have contracted a web design firm, you'll need their services a little less. And if you maintain your site yourself, well... doesn't time = money?

    From an SEO perspective.
    • Links inbound: your main site may have done well, because it had the time and history to develop links. Now, you have to do the same for all of your other sites. Which means lots of work and time to wait
    • Links internal: When you have multiple sites you are bound to link them to each other. Google will know you control them all and devalue and perhaps soft-penalize you.
    • Site size: Typically a larger site can have a better SEO campaign, so by consolidating your sites you can achieve better results than separate sites.
  • ErinHeaven Newbie
    ErinHeaven
    Currently Being Moderated
    Aug 2, 2010 11:21 AM (in response to ErinHeaven)
    Re: One main business site or multiple sites?
    Thanks all! Right now I've decided to stay with multiple sites. They aren't costing me that much. I've paid for them up to the next five years & I've made way more than that. I might let a couple expire after that, but I'm good for now.
  • smallbus01 Novice
    smallbus01
    Currently Being Moderated
    Jul 28, 2011 1:28 AM (in response to ErinHeaven)
    Re: One main business site or multiple sites?

    Well it depends on what you are trying to sell, if it is related then go all out on one main website but if it isn't then use your main website then link all the other websites to it so a positive review from your main website is a positive review to all your other websites. Will make your business bigger faster.

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