Duplicate Content Question

[stevefidelity]

I have a client that operates a local service-based business. They are thinking of expanding that business to another geographic area (a drive several hours away in an affluent summer vacation area). The name of the existing business contains the name of the city, so it would not be well-suited to market 'City X' business in 'City Y'. My initial thought was to (for the most part) 'duplicate' the existing site onto a new site (brand new root domain). Much of the content would be the exact same. We could re-word some things so there aren't entire lengthy paragraphs of identical info, but it seems pointless to completely reinvent the wheel. We'll get as creative as possible, but certain things just wouldn't change. This seems like the most pragmatic thing to do given their goals, but I'm worried about duplicate content. It doesn't feel as though this is spammy though, so I'm not sure if there's cause for concern.

[Travis_Bailey]

Most plumbing companies just can't devote the resources to rebrand. What you said was a permutation of what I said, so I can't disagree. Though getting a smaller business to rebrand is terribly difficult.

We all know the benefits. But are there any tactics you know of that would help?

[Cyrus-Shepard]

Yes, it's a pickle. Here's what we're dealing with:

1. You need a new business name for the second business.
2. Unless you completely change the business name so that it's appropriate for both locations

Now that I think about it, I like option #2. It's more work, but in the long run the branding benefit of having the same name recognized in both cities will likely pay off in some way.

Regardless, let's assume #2 isn't an option. I really want it to be, but let's say a name change is off the table. Then you need 2 business names, and presumably 2 websites.

In this case, duplicate content is likely going to hurt you. Each business should be unique. Because it's essentially Local SEO, you can rely on the quality of the citation building and unique reviews.

In theory, you could get away with it if all your other SEO signals were strong, but you still have the challenge of starting all that work from scratch, and maintaining two sites.

Still, I'd rather you change the business name for both businesses, and run the entire operation from a single site with multiple location listings.

[stevefidelity]

I hear ya. I don't know if you're from the western NY area or not, but not living too far away from there, I know that 'Seneca' means more to people than just the tiny city in NY. The first thing that comes to mind to someone in Buffalo when they hear 'Seneca' is _not _the city.

This is turning into more of a discussion about marketing in general than a discussion about duplicate content.

This particular situation is unique. It's not a franchise. It's not a company expanding into a neighbouring city. In order to _not _change the name while expanding into this secondary market, an awful lot of money would have to be invested into branding, which just isn't worth it.

[Travis_Bailey]

There's a Seneca Plumbing organic on the first page for 'buffalo plumbing'. It has to be worth something. Seneca is nearly two hours away, but they have a Buffalo address and what appears to be a local number.

If it really became an issue, they could possibly rebrand. It's expensive, I know, especially for the average plumbing company mktg budget. But if it becomes evident their current brand is harming their expansion, it's something they should think about now.

It wouldn't be too hard to redirect the old domain to the new branded domain. Even though exact match domains are going down as a ranking factor, it wouldn't hurt to be XYZplumber.com/buffalo.

[stevefidelity]

I agree with all of that, but I feel this situation is very different. If you have a company called 'Albany Plumbers', it seems kind of weird to market 'Albany Plumbers' in Buffalo. That's basically what I'm dealing with. Client has the city name in their business name. Users are not going to think the site is relevant in this secondary market they're looking to target.

[Travis_Bailey]

Look at it this way, what would be an easier/more effective use of your time and your client's budget? Would it be diverting your efforts from one site, in order to support two? Whenever this particular question is asked, the prevailing answer is more or less; "Don't dilute your efforts with multiple properties when you can better achieve your goal with one property."

So in general, you would want a page dedicated to that area, rather than rewriting the entire site. When it comes to your local listings, you can likely set a service area that encompasses the targets where possible.

You should be concerned about duplicate/thin content. Why go through all of that trouble to slightly rewrite a site, just to have it come up short? Plus there are other concerns, like the domain would be brand new - so you would have to get over that hump as well.

Local Landing Pages: A Guide to Great Implementation should be helpful. Mirium kind of, sort of, knows a lot about Local. : )