Could having 2 sites in Google damage serps?

Hey there.

I'm working in a really competitive niche and my client has 2 seperate domains targeting the same type of keywords indexed in Google.

Both the sites have fluctuated between position 30 - 100 over the last 12 months - but neither have made it any further up the rankings (currently they both sit about 20 places apart at 60 & 80).

The sites are hosted on the same server, but have a slightly different IP. The content is also different however the footer 'boilerplate' is the same on both sites.

Does anyone think that they could be cancelling each other out or something?

Do you think we should just focus on one site, and maybe remove the weaker one alltogether - just redirect the domain via 301? Would a 301 redirect add power to the remaining domain?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts

 

Try targeting different keywords for both sites. Use more important keywords for the higher ranked site. You could also try to get the lower site ranked better in other search engines.

Doing a 301 is a waste. Might as well remove it altogether.

 

It doesn't sound like they are ranking high enough in the serps to be canceling each other out.

 

No it can not damage

 

If both sites are hosted on the same server I don't think you'll rank in top SERP's for both sites using the same keywords. Try to target different SERP's for each site.

 

Your case won't damage your SERPs ranking.

if the competition is tough, it's a matter of doing SEO a lot..

 

Cheers for the input. Lol - i know they're too far down to matter at the moment but didn't want to risk cancelling them out in the future. Advice appreciated.