I have two domains: one .co.uk (which I bought) and one .f2s.com (free with my ISP). The first domain will blindly forward any URL to the second with a 302 Redirect. For example: xxx.co.uk/mypage.html with be forwarded to xxx.f2s.com/mypage.html. I have not control what-so-ever over the .co.uk domain, so I can't change how it works. My question is this - should I take advantage of the redirects, and actively link to URLs on the .co.uk domain? Will this improve the number of backlinks I can get for my site? Or should I play it safe steer clear of the whole thing? Thanks, Cryo.
I would forget about redirecting the free sub-domain unless you have established traffic (and it doesn't sound like it). You should also use a 301, not 302. If you are building backlinks, use your primary domain. It isn't going to help you to use different domains and then redirect them.
Let me clarify some points: mydomain.co.uk/anypage.html is automatically redirected to mydomain.f2s.com/anypage.html Redirect is done with a 302 - I cannot change this! mydomain.co.uk has PageRank 3 Some pages on mydomain.f2s.com are also PR3 All my existing backlinks are to mydomain.f2s.com I can easily generate tons of reciprocal links between the two domains Question is: would I see a benefit, or a penalty? Alternatively, can anyone think of a suitable experiment to test this? Cheers, Cryo.
If that's the case I'd drop using the f2s domain altogether and just focus on the bought domain. A 302 may well harm your site rather than helping.
If you are talking about cross linking both of these domains instead of doing a redirect, it would have limited benefit at best. Multiple links from the same site are discounted so I wouldn't put more than two in any event. Reciprocal links do not carry as much weight as a one-way, non-reciprocal link. As the previous poster said, drop the f2 domain and concentrate on developing the domain which you own. I wouldn't worry about PR, especially if it is a PR3. If you own the uk domain, you should move it to a host that gives you access to the .htaccess file.
I should have mentioned that mydomain.co.uk is parked, and doesn't (can't) have any real content on it. I guess I could buy a proper hosting service and point the DNS at it, but I'm simply too tight. Cryo.
I don't think you're really going to get anywhere without hosting. I certainly wouldn't put my business in the hands of someone else on a free domain. Personally I'd set up a host $5pm and host the real domain to it and concentrate on building that site up, the sooner you can get away from a free subdomain the better.
If you are serious about making money, then you absolutely need to get a hosting service. You can get decent shared hosting for around $5 per month and such a small cost shouldn't even be a consideration.