Landing pages vs internal pages.
-
Hey everyone I have run into a problem and would greatly appreciate anyone that could weigh in on it.
I have a web client that went to an outside vendor for marketing. The client asked me to help them target some keywords and since I am new to the SEO world I have proceeded by researching the best keywords for the client. I found 6 that see excellent monthly searches. I then registered the .com and or .net domain names that match these words. I then started building landing pages that make reference to the keyword and then have links to his site to get more info.
My customer sent the first of these sites to the marketer and he says I am doing things all wrong. He says rather then having landing pages like this I should just point the domain names at internal pages to the website. He also says that I should not have different looks for the landing pages from the main site and that I should have the full site menu on each landing page.
I wanted to here what everyone here has to say about the pros and cons of the way to do this cause the guy giving the advice to me has a lower ranking site then I do and I have only started working on getting my site ranked this year. He has atleast according to him been doing this forever.
Thanks, Ron
-
I am in the US (North Carolina), my name is Dutch though...
Always good discussion, and I don't think either one is right or wrong here.
-
Put simply, the marketer sounds right. But the purchase of exact match domains is not a total loss.
What should have been done:
1. Keyword research done, but not for the keywords that just have the most traffic, but rather those that are relevant and have the most traffic. The relevance is key there.
2. Identified the content on the site that should rank for those terms.
3. If no content exists, creating it on the site so that the content answers the query of the searcher and gives a call to action.
4. Worked with the marketer to influence the links to the pages for each keyword.
What can be done now:
1. 301 redirect the domains to the pages that make sense.
2. Only use those domains for sites if there is a reason for another site to be made on the topic. If your site can do it, leave it to one site, it's less work and less link building.
3. Work with the marketer to get GOOD, relevant links to the page on the clients current site. It's not about him being better than you, it's about you guys working together.
-
I agree.. The marketer's methods are ineffective... and the OP's methods are ineffective. And, they are at odds with one another.
However, he says that he prefers the school of hard knocks.
In my opinion they are wasting client money until they come to an agreement and develop a genuine plan for marketing and SEO..
-
In my opinion, neither of these strategies is very good.
Redirecting domains like the marketer suggests will offer no benefit, SEO or otherwise.
Building content on an exact-match domain could work, but why not just try to rank for those exact match terms on the main site? Getting the new domains to rank may still take a good amount of work. If searchers do click through to those sites, they're still going to have to click again to get to the main site. This could be simplified by just doing a good job to bring searchers to the main site directly.
-
If you are already on the first page of Google with your new domain, whats the problem? Sounds like you were already headed in the right direction....
-
If you redirect it to another site with 301 the domain will disappear from google. If you like to keep it then use a 302 redirect. I hope that this helps.
-
I read the post of Rand. Is totally out of my point of view. This kind of subdoamins I know that they don't pass anything to your site. http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors#predictions. Read this post and you see what I mean. I mean to build subdomains of your site which include the keywords in and my main domain to be with your brand. Like this you avoid the devaluated old trick from the exact match domain, you build your brand and you have also the keyword inside the domain and not in a subdirectories as a subdomain is much powerful like a subdirectory. Me like this I am working and is going pretty well. Also the content on the subdomain must be related to the main site and to be connected between them. I think Egol can tell us if me or you is correct. Maybe we are both wrong but me I don't think so .... Anyway cheers and be happy. From where are you? Me I am from a small island called Cyprus, in Mediterranean sea, down from turkey.
-
You say that you are a beginner at SEO. That's honest.
However, you are jumping in with keyword research, registering domains, building landing pages, giving sites a diverse appearance.
I don't agree with a lot of your strategy.
In my opinion, it would be a good idea to put on the brakes.
Before you sink more of your time into things that are probably not going to work well it would be a good idea to increase your knowledge or hire someone who can get you moving with a solid plan. Your team might also need a referee.
-
I actually prefer subdirectories over subdomains.
http://www.seomoz.org/blog/understanding-root-domains-subdomains-vs-subfolders-microsites
There is a good resource on the topic... there were a couple of good instances to use a subdomain, but it also said you wouldn't necessarily get the authority of the root (which you will with a subdirectory).
-
Here the marketer is wrong. Dont have any effect if the domains dont have authority.
-
Anyway I think you did wrong that you purchased them , you shouldnt, this what you should do was to create subdomains including the desired keyword like
http://keyword.yourdomain.com as this method will give a faster ranking for the subdomain if your main site have an authority. Now you will have to build for all domains the authority. I think you should throw them and build the subdomains. Also I have to agree with the marketer which said that should look like the main site.
yoursite.com/keyword-phrase this method Keith also got devaluated from this what I know and what I saw in action on my own domains.
Another minus of your tactic is the extra money for the domain names and hosting etc...
My method is absolutely free if your hosting provider allows you to host multiple or unlimited subdomains. For example hostgator allows me to have unlimited subdomains at no charge.
-
They have zero benefits if they dont have backlinks from niche directories or whatever related to the keyword. I have to agree with you.
-
Hi there Ron
First of all the exact match domains get devaluated from Google. You mean subdomain by the term internal pages? What you mean by the term "point domain names at internal pages" ? To redirect them to internal pages? Or to create internal pages from the keywords? Example:
or
ot to redirect the exact match domain to this one ?
please tell me some more details so I can help you...If I can !
-
Are they getting any traffic? Redirecting url's has zero SEO benefit (as far as I know), especially new domains.
If you are getting traffic, yes, redirect. If not, does it really matter? I guess if you already built links it wouldn't hurt to redirect with a 301.
-
Ok, but I have already purchased the domain names. What would be the best way to incorporate those into this scheme of things? Just redirect them to the internal pages?
-
Ok, but I have already purchased the domain names. What would be the best way to incorporate those into this scheme of things? Just redirect them to the internal pages?
-
I wouldn't consider myself an expert on this one, but I would have most likely created internal pages that have yoursite.com/keyword-phrase and optimize them, especially if the site already has some authority on the topic.
Pointing the new domains to internal pages won't do anything as they don't have any rankings yet, and you can't get any if they don't have any content (I don't think).
Just my .02
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
-
Redesign Just Starting - Should I Leave The Previous Incomplete Site or Setup A Temporary Holding Page and Redirect Previous URL'S?
Hi All I've picked up a new website project and wanted to ask about the best way to proceed with the current site during the development process. The current site is incomplete although it has been live for a while and has over 80 pages in the sitemap. Link to site https://tinyurl.com/ychwftup The business owner wants to take down the current site and simply add a landing page stating "new website coming soon". From an SEO perspective, am I better to keep the current site live until the new site is ready? Or would it not make any difference if I setup the landing page and add 301 redirects from each page in the sitemap to the landing page. Many Thanks In Advance For Any Assistance
Web Design | | ruislip180 -
Ecommerce Category Pages
First, let's define the terminology for the various types of ecommerce pages. The terminology differs from organization to organization: Product Description Pages (PDPs): These pages have a single product, pricing, an "add to cart" button, reviews, and a product description. Product Listing Pages (PLPs): These are product category/subcategory pages that have product image links and text links to Product Description Pages (PDPs). Category Pages: These pages have subcategory image and text links to subcategory pages. No product images are displayed Hybrid Category Pages: these pages combine sub-Category Images and text at the top of the page and product listings below. Our CMS currently does not allow us to create hybrids. This conversation revolves primarily around mobile. Our ecommerce team is having discussions around the appropriate use of PLPs vs Category pages. After doing a quick audit of the mobile sites of some top ecommerce players, there is definitely a trend to use Category Pages at the top of the category and sub-category hierarchy and use PLPs at the very bottom. The logic from a usability perspective is to allow visitors to navigate a site without ever using the hamburger navigation. ex: Baby (Category Page) => Car Seats (Category Page) => Convertible Car Seats (PLP) The sites I audited all had hamburger menus. A visitor would navigate from a home page image for "Baby," an image on the "Baby" page to "Car Seats", and an image on the "Car Seats" page to the Convertible Car Seats page. At that point, they would be able to shop for "Convertible Car Seats" on a PLP. This appears to be excellent UX and easy to use navigation. Theoretically, good for SEO as well. In short, category and subcategory pages are being used as navigation to allow visitors to easily navigate to the bottom of the hierarchy and shop on the most narrow page in the hierarchy. Much easier to use than a hamburger menu, but it does entail more clicks. The discussion revolves around allowing users to shop for product at a higher level in the taxonomy. For example, what if a visitor wants to shop all Car Seats? In the above taxonomy, we are precluding users from shopping in this manner. There is no "Car Seats" PLP. Our CMS has the ability to create both a Category Page and a PLP for "Car Seats". We could theoretically place an image on the "Car Seats" category page for "View All Car Seats", and allow users to click to a "Car Seats" PLP. None of the major ecommerce players I've audited are adding a PLP option higher up in the hierarchy. That doesn't mean that it's not good UX. Problems: From an SEO perspective, having a Category Page and a PLP for "Car Seats" would cause cannibalization - they would be competing for the same keywords. I am skeptical that canonicals would work. The pages are not near duplicate content. One page has category images, the other has product images. We could place content blocks on the page to make them more similar. We could noindex the PLP, but that's a waste of internal link juice. Need advice: Will canonicals work in this situation? Should we trash this idea entirely? Does adding a PLP add value or confusion? Is noindex a good idea? Is there an option to target keyword variations with the PLP? Is there another solution?
Web Design | | Satans_Apprentice0 -
Location of body text on page - at top or bottom - does it matter for SEO?
Hi - I'm just looking at the text on a redesigned homepage. They have moved all the text to the very bottom of the page (which is quite common with lots of designers, I notice - I usually battle to move the important text back up to the top). I have always ensured the important text comes at the top, to some extent - does it matter where on the page the text comes, for SEO? Are there any studies you can point me to? Thanks for your help, Luke
Web Design | | McTaggart2 -
Link colour on page?
I always thought that the link colour has to be different from text colour? I have come across a site http://www.printandpackaging.co.uk/ and it has made me question this belief, they seem to only have bolded the link which would be very nice if this is fine.
Web Design | | BobAnderson0 -
Does DNS location affect international SEO?
Hi All Smart SEOmozers! I have another dumb question =] I have almost no knowledge on how DNS works and all the website background work. I understand that DNS is the server that translates a domain name to the IP address. Furthermore, I also know that IP Address location or web host location plays a small factor in international SEO. Webhosts usually provide the DNS service as well but for this case ABC Company uses a different domain service, diferent DNS service and different webhost service so things get complicated. So the question, does the location of DNS service we use affect International SEO like how the location of the webhost does. Thank you in advance for your help!
Web Design | | TommyTan0 -
How do I identify what is causing my Duplicate Page Content problem?
Hello, I'm trying to put my finger on what exactly is causing my duplicate page content problem... For example, SEOMoz is picking up these four pages as having the same content: http://www.penncare.net/ambulancedivision/braunambulances/express.aspx http://www.penncare.net/ambulancedivision/recentdeliveries/millcreekparamedicservice.aspx http://www.penncare.net/ambulancedivision/recentdeliveries/monongaliaems.aspx http://www.penncare.net/softwaredivision/emschartssoftware/emschartsvideos.aspx As you can tell, they really aren't serving the same content in the body of the page. Anybody have an idea what might be causing these pages to show up as Duplicate Page Content? At first I thought it was the photo gallery module that might be causing it, but that only exists on two of the pages... Thanks in advance!
Web Design | | BGroup0 -
Does on page links have an effect on SERP rankings with PANDA
I have been doing some competitive analysis basing my company on others and have noticed a pattern. Very high ranking sites seem to have limited the internal and external on page links on their subdomains to under 100. my site has a lot of links but all are relevant and lead to unique content. I am interested to know if anyone else has noticed this pattern in changes in the SERP results. bIs google now penalizing pages with to many on site nav links? And if a full site restructure is needed to allow google to index and rank these pages or if a it is a non issue and does not need to be addressed. Panda confuses me!!!!! HELP!
Web Design | | Brother220 -
Is there any difference in using an underscore vs. a dash in the directory portion of the url?
A friend who is a software developer asked this question regarding the directory portion of the url: Is it better to use dashes or underscores? I know in the domain name Matt Cutts recommends dashes, but what about the directory extension?
Web Design | | RobertFisher0