Hi, We have a 5 domains xyz.com and 4 other country domains xyz.in, .us, .co.uk and .au We are a little cash strapped so wondering whether we can keep a single entry page on xyz.com ( and give info there in the business etc.) which shows also shows links to the other country domains. Seo this page completely so it shows on all searches on page 1 for the specific keyword which in turn will take the traffic to the other domains. The other domains we will do some basic seo. Will this work. Rajiv
This is why it is so costly to maintain multiple domains in different hosting for similar purposes. In this case, here is my suggestion: Your plan will work but only if: First: You will need to select only one domain. This domain is your canonical domain. Second. You will transfer your content from other domains or even geographical location to your official domain. For those non-country specific domains , you can structure it as folder like: www dot yourdomain dot com/folder1 www dot yourdomain dot com/foder2 For country specific domains:, you can structure it as sub-domain, like: us dot yourdomain dot com uk dot yourdomain dot com These are how big sites are configured and you should be doing it also. So what happens to the old domains (other domains)? You will simply 301 redirect them to your new location, to avoid duplicate content and transferring ranking/link juices. Then you only have one entry page for all of your services, in the navigation, your user can select either they will go to your sub-domain (which is country specific) or other pages in your website. The result? You only have one domain and one hosting space to maintain, less cheaper and more flexible. You can SEO the whole or a portion of the domain, depending on your priorities. As long as you have successfully transferred those content by using 301 redirection, your plan will work and your SEO campaign will be fruitful.
Hi Codex For the other country domians can I make subdomains so when I select say uk from a dropdown it goes to subdomain xyz.co.uk ( instead of uk.xyz.com) Rajiv
I won't recommend a drop down menu for some reasons: a. Google won't index and follow links in drop menu. b. It is not professional to look at. c. It is not user-friendly and make those hardly visible to readers. What I suggest is to add a flag in the top menu of your site. Those flags are image links going to your country specific sub-domains. This is more user-friendly and more professional approach as long as you are not duplicating content.