How to approach SEO for a business with three distinct focus areas

[flashie]

I have a client who has asked for the development and optimisation of three websites for a business located at one address.  They offer specialised skin care, have a make-up artistry division and also a luxury portraiture/photographic service offered to clients.  I have suggested one website, based on all I have read in this community (Possum etc.).

Their concern is that they will seem like a "master of none" and envision three sites interlinked.  Before I push back and categorically say that this is a poor idea, I wanted to gain some insight from those of you who may have dealt with this scenario before.  I need to explain how one domain can be structured to present all three these areas as distinct, given that the home page will speak to all three.  Any ideas regarding site structure and optimisation strategy would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

[WebMarkets]

Three websites = 3x the work...and budget needed. Similar to a medical clinic when it comes to services. List this company's services and optimize accordingly. If it is an incredibly competitive market, niche website may be the way to go.

If I had it my way, in a medium to low competition market, i would focus on strengthen the content & DA on one site, rather than 3.

[MiriamEllis]

Hi Werner,

This is a really interesting scenario, not typical of this type of question, in that you are genuinely talking about 3 different businesses here. Most often, we see questions in the forum from something like an HVAC contractor who wants to do one website for heating and another for cooling. The answer to that is an unequivocal "no", because the business is really a single entity trying to fake the appearance of being multiple businesses for the sake of SEO.

In your client's case, she has 3 unique businesses that would be represented by 3 unique Google My Business categories. Because of the different categories, we'd think less about Possum problems in this scenario, despite the shared address, because someone looking for a make-up artist is not going to be doing the same search as they would if they were seeking a portrait photographer. If she had 3 different offices, each offering just one of the services, it would make sense to consider 3 different websites accompanies by 3 sets of citations/reviews/social outreach, etc.

But, the fact that this is one owner, at a single location would make me steer her away from the multi-site approach. Managing the marketing for 3 businesses is likely to lead to burnout of either finances or creative resources, and there is the off-chance that Google could mistake the model as spam, deciding that the 3 businesses are actually just one, given the share address. I'm actually not too scared that they would do this, but it is a risk, even if she were to establish the 3 separate phone lines staffed by people who always answer the phone for only the correct business.

I think the dilemma/opportunity facing your client is one of business identity. She needs to identify what connects her three services instead of dividing them up by how they differ. If she can hit upon a single business identity that covers this wide range of services, she'll have a single business to market, at a single address, with a single phone to staff, a single reputation to manage. Your client sounds creative. I'd advise brainstorming with her so that you wind up with something like a business called "Best Face" that covers having your makeup done, your portrait taken, and your skin treated all under one roof, rather than being Anna's Makeup, Anna's Skin Care and Anna's Portraits on 3 different sites. Build a single brand that revolves around celebration of the human face, or something along those lines, and put EGOL's good advice into full action, cross selling the services and creating an indelible reputation for the owner.

[EGOL]

Yes, guiding structure.   Showing clear ties from one service of the business to another.

[flashie]

You are spot on with that description! She is a very gifted and versatile person who needs to continue to apply what has been natural...with a little bit of guiding structure.

[EGOL]

Your client sounds like a Renaissance Man.  A person who has mastered many things.  A Leonoardo da Vinci.  If this person also has panache, presenting a business of many artistic services seems natural.

[flashie]

Thank you very much EGOL.  This confirms my intended strategy, and gives some substance to the conversation I need to have.  I'll need to figure out how to best structure this website so that potential clients see each offering as valuable in their own right, but also see the relevance to other services, as you have pointed out.  This would also need to be coupled with some landing pages, me thinks. Thanks again.

[EGOL]

I would work on convincing the client about....

-- the value of cross-selling, many current clients probably use more than one service, they bought one and then bought more

-- the importance of uniting all of your assets to perform well in search

-- the relevance of these services to one another and how that might help them rank better in google and appeal to multiple customers

-- in these businesses it is hard to find someone you can trust and satisfies you... once you find that person or business it is much easier to allow them to do additional services for you... this is building loyalty of the customer and building their respect for your business