Separate Domains for Different Locations (in Different Cities)
-
We are in the process of building a new website for a client with locations in Tucson and Phoenix. Currently, they have one website that encompasses all locations, however, we are going to build them location specific websites (as many of the services are different between locations).
Now my question is, as far as SEO goes, which one of these options would be the best?
Option 1: Have separate domain names for each location. For example, StevesPetTucson.com and StevesPetPhoenix.com.
_Pros: Easy to target specific, local keywords. Better looking domains. _
_Cons: Splits backlinks between two domains. _
Option 2: Setup StevesPet.com/Phoenix and StevesPet.com/Tucson.
Pros: Keeps all backlinks pointing to one root domain.
Note: We are going to use seperate WordPress installs for both websites, regardless of how we setup the domains. As we will be using different templates, menus and so on, we found this to be the best option.
Thanks for any advice!
-
Bill, thanks for the great advice!
-
Jeremy, a while back there was a time when having two separate websites was preferred. However, that's not the case anymore. It's more important now to build your site's Domain Authority and Trust, and then let that DA and Trust pass throughout the site to help all of your site's pages rank well.
If you were to have separate websites, then you would have double the work to build the same Domain Authority and Trust. If you had one site, it's not as much work.
Let's say, for example, you get mentioned in the media and they link to your Phoenix location page. Well, that Domain Authority and Trust will pass throughout the site--and will actually help your other locations rank, well.
So I would definitely NOT set up separate websites. But, you might consider registering those domains and 301 redirecting them to your location pages on your main domain name.
I would, though, set up separate Google Plus Local pages for each location, and make sure each is verified. They should also link directly to the location page, as well.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Does having 2 separate domains with similar content always = duplicate content?
I work for a global company which is in the process of launching their US & European websites, (just re-launched Australian site, migrated from an old domain) all with separate domains with the purpose of localising. However, the US website content will essentially be the same as the Australian one with minor changes (z instead of s, slightly different service offerings etc) but the core information will be the same as the AU site. Will this be seen as duplicate content and Is there a way we can structure this so that the content won’t be seen as duplicate but is still a separate localised website? Thank you.
Local Website Optimization | | PGAUE0 -
What Is your view on wix domains?
For almost 3 years I am the owner of www.cheflekker.com. A wix domain.... It was sure easy to set up and still easy to change the layout. Only problem is... SEO. For the most part I find it difficult to monitor my site on areas of improvement and actually see the results. What is your opinion on the wix (ajax) program? any tips?
Local Website Optimization | | cheflekker0 -
Listing multiple schema Things (e.g. Organization, LocalBusiness, Telephone, Locations, Place, etc)
Greetings All, My law office features many pages with what are essentially directory listings (names, addresses, and phone numbers of places, agencies, organizations that clients might find helpful). Am I correct in assuming that using schema for each of these listings might cause confusion for search engines? In other words, are search engines looking for schema on pages or sites to tell them only about the company running that page or site, or do search engines appreciate schema markup to tell them about all the pieces of content on the pages or that site?
Local Website Optimization | | micromano0 -
For a generic domain say www.purplecola.com where the company is based in India (IP address there too), how should they best optimize for US search traffic?
Let's just say that they want to target the US market. Should they add a US based IP address? Would love to hear insight from people who have managed this, experienced this or have expertise. Obviously, a US based physical address would help. Thanks!! Chris
Local Website Optimization | | Sundance_Kidd0 -
What is the optimal approach for a new site that has geo-targeted content available via 2 domains?
OK, so I am helping a client with a new site build. It is a lifestyle/news publication that traditionally has focused on delivering content for one region. For ease of explanation, let's pretend the brand/domain is 'people-on-the-coast.com'. Now they are now looking to expand their reach to another region using the domain 'people-in-the-city.com'. Whilst on-the-coast is their current core business and already has some search clout, they are very keen on the city market and the in-the-city domain. They would like to be able to manage the content through one CMS (joomla) and the site will deliver articles and the logo based on the location of the user (city or coast). There will also be cases where the content is duplicated for both regions. The design/layout etc. will all remain identical. So what I am really wanting to know is the pros, cons and ultimately the best approach to handle the setup and ongoing management from an SEO (and UX) perspective. All I see is problems! Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks,
Local Website Optimization | | bennyt
Confused O.o0 -
Business in one location, be found in others?
Hi all, A bit of an interesting one but I am sure you can all help. My client has a business in a town called location A. Surrounding town A there are several other towns - My client wants to make sure they also appear in SERPs for these surrounding areas, even though their business is not physically located there. E.g. Product town A
Local Website Optimization | | HB17
Product town B
Product town C
Or even just being physically searching from one of those locations and typing the product name, they want to be on that first page. For example if you live in town B which is 20 miles away, my clients still wants to appear right at the top of the SERPs as they are competing against other businesses for that area. They also want to appear for town C, D, and E, all of which are surrounding town A. How can I make this happen? Would I need to create multiple landing pages and focus the SEO on each individual location? I'm just worried Google would see duplicate content but with varied location keywords. I don't have any room left in the page title to add every location. They do legitimately serve these areas, if you are looking for their product there are a few competitors around but this is in their 'territory' so to speak. Any help big or small would be great. Thanks!0 -
Sub-Domain Google Search Nested under main Domain?
Hello, I have a strange issue that I have not come across before:My subdomain is: michigan.dogdaycare.com. Some of the Keyword searches show our subdomain being nested under the main domain for Google searches instead of being indexed individually. Example search term: Dogtopia Bloomfield https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=dogtopia+bloomfield -This will show two subdomain links nested under the main domain Example search term: Dogtopia Birmingham https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=dogtopia+birmingham -This shows the subdomain showing correctly in searches and not nested. Any idea as to how to fix this? Thanks in advance!
Local Website Optimization | | dogtopiamichigan0