Domain name redirecting may lower your ranking
Let's say your website has been out there for 6 months or more and you assume, for whatever reason, that you can get a higher search engine ranking if you were using a keyword in your domain name instead of the one you have. In addition to your company web domain, maindomain.com, you rush to purchase keyword1.com, keyword2.com and keyword3.com.
From Google's perspective, there is both a good way and a detrimental way to assign these additional domain names to your site. This can cause a much greater problem in terms of organic ranking if you get it wrong in terms of duplicate content and trust. Have you ever heard of duplicate content? Which domain name does Google have more history and trust with, your current domain name or one you just bought?
Common methods webmasters use to point multiple domain names to your web server include:
- Domain Mirroring/Masking
- Domain Cloaking
- Domain Alias/URL Alias
- Domain Redirecting
Domain mirroring/masking is sometimes called a pointer domain. It looks like it is the domain name when it is used in a browser, but it is simply a mask overlaying the real domain name and its content. When someone types in http://www.yourdomain.com/, it's really forwarding to domain.blogspot.com without the address changing in the address bar. The user continues to see http://www.yourdomain.com/ in the address bar, although the site and its contents are really from domain.blogspot.com.
Domain cloaking uses an iframe or embedded frameset to display the content of another site.
Domain redirecting (also called URL redirecting) requires all traffic that is sent through the new domain name to be redirected to the main domain name. This can also be a domain redirected to a subdirectory of the main domain, or multiple domains redirected to a complex URL. This is different from domain mirroring/masking and domain cloaking because, when a user types in http://www.yourdomain.com/, they end up on http://www.yourdomain.com/ and the address changes appropriately in the address bar.
But, let's back up a second and look at the issues you must consider before making this decision.
- To limit confusion, it's better to change the brand (or company) name to better reflect the keyword-rich domain name. This could be as simple as recreating the company logo, but you might consult your customer base first.
- The technical procedure of redirecting domain names must be done so that the search engines do not get confused about what you are trying to do. Otherwise, you risk tripping a duplicate content filter, which would force Google to accept only one domain with that content (explained below). But the biggest risk is setting off an alarm at Google that you are trying to trick them to get a better rank.
Just for fun, let's say you've gone through the trouble of changing the company name to reflect your new keyword-rich domain. Now it's time to get technical.
If you use any method other than domain redirecting, you are going to be disappointed with your search rank. Domain mirroring, masking, cloaking and aliases confuse search engines because they see the same content under a different domain name. Google then selects one of the domain names to display that content and leaves the others out of the search results. Google chooses for you - since you are not aware of how to manage your duplicate content issues - and no one knows which domain name Google will choose. You could be saying "bye-bye" to all the hard-earned link juice pointed at your main domain name.