If you own a web site AND you have multiple domain names registered, you might want to read this with your full attention. There are a great many web sites out there which, by inappropriate use of multiple domain names, effectively cripple their search engine rankings by blatantly breaching search engine guidelines!
Site owners often register more than one domain, and there are sound reasons for doing this, including; – The main URL includes a keyword phrase but is too long to type quickly, so a shorter, cryptic one is utilised and maybe is also used on business cards and letter heads. – You take various versions of domains to prevent competitors from grabbing them – dot.com, dot.co.nz, dot.biz, dot.info etc, and point them all to the "main" site. – You take various country versions – dot.co.nz, dot.com.au, dot.co.uk because you are going to expand into those markets – but in the interim you point them all to the "main" site.
There are also misguided reasons for doing this, including; – Having multiple domains pointing to the same location in the hope that the search engines will be duped into indexing ALL of them as different content, giving you lots of top rankings under different domains.
Search engines hate duplicated content with a passion… but their automated spiders and bots cannot determine which category YOU fall into – uninformed and innocent of intent, or deliberately and knowingly manipulative. So all sites who transgress can expect to be treated equally. And yes, you can be banned from the SE indexes for getting it wrong!
The search engines do not give out many guidelines – in fact they are all very coy about giving too information much away. However, when they do make a statement by way of guidelines, regardless of how politely it is worded, you had best sit up and take notice because they are really, really serious about it!
Google Guidelines on Multiple Domains
In the case of Google, their Webmaster Guidelines are unambiguous! E.g. on this page; http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?answer=35769 Google are quite clear on this;
Quality Guidelines – Specific Guidelines – Don't employ cloaking or sneaky redirects. – Don't create multiple pages, subdomains, or domains with substantially duplicate content
What This Means to You
There is a clear and present danger in having multiple sites pointing to the same location if they load exactly the SAME content this is a SERIOUS breach of Google's Webmaster Guidelines and is expressly FORBIDDEN because the search engines can only interpret this as a blatant attempt to generate duplicate content under different URL's. Regardless of your actual intentions in this, its likely to result in a BAN from search engine indexes. :) Not a good start to an online presence, right?
Ignorance of The Law is No Excuse
Ignorance of search engine guidelines is not a valid excuse either! Unfortunately, many web designers and hosting companies are blissfully unaware of the correct way to implement multiple domain names. The result is that many web site owners unknowingly jeopardise their site's inclusion in the search engine rankings.
My advice is that if you have more than one domain name, you check how its been set up. If your have two domains; www.domain-no1.com and www.domain-no2.com and BOTH load the same pages but with the different domains showing, then you have a problem. If you can also load the sites as http://domain-no1.com and http://domain-no2.com then totals 4 different ways of indexing the SAME content!
The Right Way to Do It
That said, it IS permitted to have multiple domains pointing to the same content BUT it may only be done via the use of a Permanent 301 Redirect being applied to the secondary domains, e.g. typing in the URL for any of the secondary domains will redirect you to the main site. This change can easily be implemented, at no cost other than a few of minutes of time.
In this example, www.domain-no2.com is redirected to www.domain-no1.com and and neither visitors nor SE spiders ever "see" content under the secondary domain name. The same logic should also be applied to the non-www versions of both domain names to complete the process and to prevent potential conflicts with the search engines.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- Multiple Domain Name Penalty
- How to Get an Expiring Domain
- There Is No Such Thing as a Duplicate Content Penalty
- The Domain Name Debate: Brand Versus Keywords
- Global Domains International GDI Conference Call
- How to Host Multiple Websites Under a Single Account
- Website 101: No More Duplicate Content Penalties Use The New Canonical Html Tag
- Website 101: Avoid Duplicate Content Penalties, Use The New Canonical HTML Tag




This article was exactly what I was looking for, to forward on to a friend to emphasize the danger of multiple domains pointing to the same web space.
What Is Reseller Web Hosting?
By: Clark Scott | 03/01/2010Article Summary
Want To Learn The Hosting Business…Simple, Get A Mentor
By: Hamar Hosting | 03/01/2010The hosting business can be a challenging and technologically deep industry that can seem daunting to those who wish to enter it. The article explores how a mentor can be effective in providing guidance and experience within the field of web hosting.
Keeping Tabs on Broken Links
By: Marcus Lim | 02/01/2010When you visit other websites, are there any aspects to your visit that you found less than thrilling? If you are like most people, you probably are quite annoyed when you click on a link only to find that it is broken. It is disappointing when you wish to learn more about a subject, product, or service and the links just are functioning. It also does not say very much positive about the web hosting company either. Really, broken links make a website look like amateur hour which is why you need
Best site builder web hosting Top 10 - Web Hosting
By: Burt Mitchell | 02/01/2010Many users of pure email to get hosting to finish. About this may be the communication between two different operators through a mail server, or possibly multiple mail servers. About this is going to be the communication between two different operators thru a mail server, or probably multiple mail servers. Pure e-mail hosting is typically free of charge up to a certain extent. Pure email hosting is often free up to a certain extent. If we , however , special services like If we, h...
An Overview of the Green Web Hosting
By: spinxwebdesign | 02/01/2010With so many talks over climate change and taking initiatives to be more conscious of the impact we have on the environment it is no wonder that many of the top web hosting companies are taking the lead to "Go Green".
Basic Parameters For Web Hosting Selection
By: Abdul Quddoos | 02/01/2010Apart from those discussed above disk space, bandwidth and price are the few other factors to look for. Here I must mention, never compromise on price if you are satisfied with features.
Why You Need Hosted Exchange Email
By: erniemoon | 02/01/2010There are things in business that you can cut corners on but getting the right hosted exchange email in place for your online enterprise should be a priority item. This is an industry where the information that is transferred from computer to computer in a network is the lifeblood of your business. It needs to be kept safe and sound and should something happen to it you need to be able to regroup quickly.
Getting the Best Hosted Exchange Means Having the Right Information
By: erniemoon | 02/01/2010Although many people think that getting applications like the best hosted exchange on the Internet is just a matter of pointing and clicking on a company name, there is a little more to it than first meets the eye. In fact, with the right information you'll be able to get a list of the right hosted exchange providers that will suit both your budget and business needs.
The Why of SEO - a Thermal Lifejacket for the Economic Ice Age!
By: Ben Kemp | 20/01/2009 | Online PromotionDespite the many and varied articles written on how SEO is done, most people have only a vague appreciation of WHY it is absolutely essential. As the economic downturn bites into revenue streams, can you afford to ignore a key website business strategy?
Suicide in Cyberspace -Your Outward Links Can Kill Your Rankings
By: Ben Kemp | 21/08/2007 | Link PopularityLink building strategies have, for most people for a long time, revolved around reciprocal link exchanges. BUT... the rules have changed... significantly! ome links are bad, and can put a worl of hurt on your rankings.
Website Business Risk Management
By: Ben Kemp | 19/06/2007 | SEOIs placing all the eggs in one basket, in the form of 1-stop shop website design, maintenance & hosting the best option? In my opinion, it most definitely is not! Keeping all website elements separate is sound business risk management practice!
Blog Search Engine Optimisation
By: Ben Kemp | 23/03/2007 | SEOAttention to detail in Blog posting generation and publishing, plus Search Engine Optimisation finesse on the page production, will deliver dramatic improvements to blog traffic and ensure that visitors get exactly what they were seeking due to the resulting accuracy of your content cataloguing.
Content Management Systems Equal Business Suicide!
By: Ben Kemp | 30/01/2007 | SEOOne of the fastest way to minimise your chances of web business success is to use a Content Management System (CMS).
What The Hell is... Latent Semantic Indexing
By: Ben Kemp | 21/12/2006 | SEOLatent semantic indexing (LSI) is a concept whereby your site is also assessed on content other than the keywords that you are obviously targeting in the on-page and off-page elements of the site.
Location, Location, Location - Is Your Site Located Where Your Customers Are?
By: Ben Kemp | 14/10/2006 | Web HostingThe importance of your web servers physical location to your site rankings, traffic and consequent success.
Multiple Domain Name Penalty
By: Ben Kemp | 12/09/2006 | Web HostingIf you own a web site AND you have multiple domain names registered, you might want to read this with your full attention.