Skip root page for brandname domain and just forward to key-word URL document?
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SEOMoz community,
I wanted to get your guys' ideas around what I would consider an unorthodox but potentially effective approach:
I am currently internationalizing a brandname domain by building up different CCTLD domains and assigning them to local server resources. In order to push the brand of the project, all international CCTLDs share the same root domain, however the main key word for each CCTLD is different.
My question is essentially if it would make sense to configure the root landing page of each international project as
http://www.<brandname>.<cctld>/<market_keyword></market_keyword></cctld></brandname>
rather than the typical approach
http://www.<brandname>.</brandname>
This would allow me to get the market specific keyword into the landing page URL. The root domain would have a 301 redirect to the keyword landing page.
Anyone has any experience with this approach? Does a true root domain URL get some sort of SEO bonus that would not justify the above approach or will the URL with the keyword in the path will have higher SEO power.
Looking forward to your responses - even if its just projections/SEO gut feeling.
Thanks /Thomas
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Q&A is a little slow on the weekends, and really slow this Labor Day weekend, so it's taking a little longer to get responses than it might at other times. Hang in there, and I'm sure you'll get some comments. If not, ask the question again in a couple of weeks, in the middle of the week (and leave me a note on here and I'll delete this copy of the question).
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Does anyone have any thoughts?
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