Hi, I run a supporters site for a sports team. The site is named Silvertails and the domain is Silvertails.net . The team however is called Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, but known most commonly as Manly Sea Eagles. The clubs website has the domain name manlyseaeagles.com manlyseaeagles.com.au seaeagles.com I forever rank lower in search engines than many of the sites (I currently rank around 5th or 6th for the search term "Manly Sea Eagles" So I am considering purchasing further domains and rather than have just a branded URL such as Silvertails.net which does not help me for the main keywords related to my site. So I am now considering domains with the keywords in place. However I have the following questions in relation to this. Will a .net or .org domain have any negative impact on my ranking, if I were to buy say ManlyWarringahSeaEagles.org? Would I be given a lesser ranking if I bought say ManlyWarringahSeaEagles.org and then placed a 301 redirect back to Silvertails.net? Would I be better off having silvertails.net 301 redirect to ManlyWarringahSeaEagles.org? Thank you Dan
Hi Dan. If you do switch domains you should move everything there and redirect it with a 301. Just buying the new domain and redirecting to your current website shouldn't change your rankings. The decision should depend on how long you've been using the current domain. If you've built up a bit of a following, it could hurt to switch domains. .org and .net should still be able to rank well, but some preference may be given to .com. Just make sure you avoid .biz or .info, which are often used by spammers. You may want to contact the Sea Eagles to ensure that they are fine with you using a domain like the .org you suggested. It is misleading and could be considered copyright infringement. You may be best off sticking with your current domain, but working at getting more links.
Thanks for the response. I have had the domain for around 3 or so years and it is fairly well known, it is just next to impossible to get links etc. Any suggestions on building links would be helpful also It's kind of tough for them to prove copyright in particular because my content actually is described by the domain and there are clear markings that it is not the official site. I am half tempted to run the gauntlet and cut my losses if I have to ditch the domain. I just really want to make sure that the gamble will be worth it ranking wise Dan
If you are a supporter of a team called: Manly Sea Eagles, then create a web site that is Manly-Sea-Eagles.com or Manly-SeaEagles.com Then ask you supporters to link their site to you to "help the team". With your SIG links, you should be in the Top 10 with ease. Manly Sea Eagles is not a very competitive keyword. Just make you link <a href="http://www.manly-sea-eagles.com/" title="Support site for the Manly Sea Eagles">Manly Sea Eagles</a> Make your <title> <title>Manly Sea Eagles Support Site : Get information on our team - Manly Sea Eagles</title> This should get you there.
Submit a press release containing your site link and its keywords and along with catanich's suggestions your a shew in.
If you're not the official team owner you had better be prepared to say so readily. copyright problems might arise by using their name. I'd 301 back to silvertails.