Can we have 2 websites with same business name and same business address?
-
I have 2 websites with same business name and same business address, and obvious 2 different domain names. I am providing the same services from 2 websites. Is this is a problem?
-
I have 2 websites as well and they are in the same niche, i made sure the write completely different content that is helpful to my visitors. Different titles and descriptions as well.
-
Hi William,
Agree with your summary, but do want to stress that there generally isn't a good enough reason to be running two sites and that Google finding your complete or partial NAP on more than one site is definitely BAD!
-
Thanks for the tip, Miriam.
-
Heh, I think we've been talking about the same thing, just miscommunication.
The bottom line:
-
Best case is one site and one list
-
Worst case is 2 websites, 2 listings
-
Bad, but not worst case is have 2 sites and one listing (if you have some sort of super important reason for having 2 sites).
-
-
Hi William,
I think you might like to check out Google's John Mueller's advice on this topic:
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-one-site-locations-15454.html
http://www.seroundtable.com/google-one-site-15963.html
I think this advice about a single site vs. multiple sites is especially important in the local business scenario.
Hopefully, these links will be of help to everyone participating in this good discussion.
-
Hi Alexander,
Good question and good discussion going on here. I am going to recommend against having two websites, as it sounds like you are operating a local business with a physical location.
What is the purpose of you having two websites? How do you feel this helps your customers?
I believe you are right to be concerned, and here is why:
When Google crawls the web to bring data into the 'cluster' they have about your local business, what they are 'hoping' to find is a clear business name, clear address, local phone number and authoritative website consistently associated with your business. In your case, what Google is finding is that two websites are associated with your business name and address. What are they to trust in this situation? By the same token, which website are your customers meant to trust?
Having multiple websites for a single business often represents risk for:
-
Citation inconsistencies
-
Ranking problems
-
Merged listings
-
Duplicate listings, including hidden duplicates
-
Duplicate content
-
Customer confusion
-
Bot confusion
I don't know all of the nuances of your unique situation, Alexander, but chances are, if a client came to me with this scenario, I would be recommending that he pick a single authoritative domain and redirect the second domain to it, then work on building his authoritative domain into a powerful asset. Splitting up your authority over multiple domains just seldom makes sense, and there are definite risks involved. Hope this helps.
-
-
"remove listings from the index due to there being too much similarity with existing locations"
But wouldn't that be for multiple listings, that had similar or exact addresses? (for the listing itself, not the website) But I do agree it's a risk to have both.
I agree if a competitor saw both ranking, they could submit it as spammy, but technically, he isnt breaking any "rules" by having two sites. Having the same content on both, yes.
Good points on your end, not discrediting any of them. I see what you mean, I'm just trying to let the OP know what he is potentially up against by having both.
-
Some of the page titles on each site are the exact same. The content is different, and the descriptions are different, so you might be able to get by on that.
The contact pages being so very close is worrysome. I would mark up one with snippets, and the other without. Also, your domain names are very close. Have you seen any adverse effects in ranking due to this?
After looking at the two, I would invest a bit more into the http://gtawindows.com/ domain. Personally, I think it looks better, and google seems to rank it better according to keywords like "vinyl windows toronto", and "entry door toronto".
Noticed a few errors you will want to look at:
Script error that is affceting a few pages:
http://gtawindows.com/patio-doors/patio_door/Duplicate pages due to tagging system:
http://gtawindows.com/toronto-exterior-doors/
http://gtawindows.com/tag/fiberglass/http://gtawindows.com/tag/ontario/
http://gtawindows.com/tag/handles/There are quite a few more. I would invest some time in looking at this, unless you already have them blocked in robots. Do a site search, and look at page 11 results and beyond.
Hope this helps.
-
That's fine, in my opinion.
-
The phone call or postcard will get you past the automated verification, but I have seen listings sites (Google specifically), remove listings from the index due to there being too much similarity with existing locations. If you tried to add two listings with everything the same, except the domain name, it's a risk. So yes, the initial automated verification will be accepted, but that doesn't mean it will stay that way. Especially if a competitor sees that both are ranking.
Both sites can have an identical NAP on the contact page, as long as both aren't submitted as listings or aren't extremely similar.
-
Alex, post the links to domains. I would like to see what you have in place. They are no-follow, so it shouldnt be an issue.
-
I did business listing only for one website. But same business address in on both website contact us page.
-
I agree with only having one marked up, but I would still submit both. If the content is different between the two, I don't think there will be any issues with ranking. If they are similar, and you have 2 domains saying the same thing, that could have a negative effect.
As to having 2 domains, is there a specific reason you have it set up this way?
@william do you have evidence of having location info listed on both sites causing an issue? I'd like to know more about the potential issues this could cause if you have seen it cause trouble before. You mentioned that it would cause issues with getting listings accepted, but since most listings are verfied by phone or by postcard, I cant see how having it displayed on multiple sites would have an impact on the acceptance or validation of the listing, simply because it's displayed on more than one domain.
-
This can be an issue if you are also focusing on local SEO with Google Maps and other listings like that. An identical NAP (name, address, and phone number) spanning two sites will cause you issues with getting listings accepted and ranking properly.
You are also splitting your assets, so consider if it's really worth it to have two sites. If you have to have two sites, I would only mark up and submit one site, if they provide the same services.
-
There are a few ways to look at this.
As long as you have to resources available to properly optimize both sites, and provide distinct, separate content, then no, there should not be any adverse affect to your seo or ranking.
I think it's wiser to invest your efforts in one site, but I can understand the cause for a separate site, particularly if it is using a keyword-driven domain name.
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
-
A client rebranded a few years ago and doesn't want to be associated with it's old brand name. He wishes not to appear when the old brand is searched in Google, is there something we can do?
The problem is there was redirection between the old branded site and the new one, and now when you type in the name of the old brand, the new one comes up. I have desperately tried to convince this client there is nothing we can do about it, dozens of news articles crop up with the two brands together as this was a hot topic a few years ago, but just in case I missed something I thought I'd ask the community of experts here on Moz. An example for this would be Tyco Healthcare that became covidien in 2007. When you type tyco healthcare, covidien crops up here and there. Any ideas? Thanks!
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Netsociety0 -
Do authority brand (business name) anchor text links still drive SEO rankings?
i have a question about links....if you get a link from a really good authority e.g. bbc.co.uk - website but the anchor text for that link is only your business name e.g Moz and not a chosen SEO keyword target..do you still stand to gain in terms of your overall SEO rankings?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | CayenneRed890 -
Can we have differnt Domain name and Busienss name?
Can we have different domain and Business name for website? I want to create real-estate website. I want to registered domain name ‘Nycityhomes.com’ and want to my business name (in logo as well) is ‘Sunny Associates’. Can we do that for local SEO?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | AlexanderWhite0 -
Combining 2 Websites
Any assistance/feedback is greatly appreciated. The scenario: We currently own two website, and we'd like to combine them and eliminate some expenses. Although the content is very similar in nature, it is not exact. www.KF.com that is managed by a third-party provider & www.KFA.com that is managed by the manufacturer of the product we sell. (*sites url's are not accurate) We have ended the contract of KF.com, however, this site has the best SERP/SEO.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | FX4nWOO
We assume we'll take a hit, no matter what we do - however when it comes to SEO, but what is the right move to make? Do a domain "Transfer/Redirect" of KF to KFA.com or Do we simply change the KFA.com to KF.com? Still very much a rookie when it comes to this stuff. I do have the ability to SEO the KFA.com webiste. Hoping this makes sense - and apologize for the bad url's just not sure I can actually post the true addresses. Thanks in advance.0 -
Can I swap a website yet keep it's high ranking for a competitive keyword?
Couldn't fit the entire question in the main bit so the explanation is here: Working on a client's website which is hosted by volusion and also been doing SEO for them for about a year. Now we've finally got them ranking at the lower end of page 1 (around 10+) for their main keyword. They now want to move from volusion over to Amazon Web Store 😢 which seems to be an SEO nightmare from even my basic understanding of SEO. From looking at the coding and the way Amazon Web store is built on top of how restricted you are from doing anything with it, I am almost certain the shop will be extremely difficult to optimise and we will have to completely change nearly all of the content. Finally! the actual question; I was thinking I could get them to delay their move to Amazon webstore until they are ranking in the top 5 for this top keyword. Once they switch over, i assume they'll keep this ranking for at least a short while? This keyword attracts a high volume of traffic and if this traffic is clicking on the result for their website, and google sees that people are finding this website valuable (not clicking back onto google results). Will they be able hold onto this high ranking? Basically what I'm asking is, this will be a terrible outdated badly SEO'd shop, but if a high volume of people are clicking on it and staying on it from their lingering ranking will Google just let it stay at the top? A massive amount of gratitude in advance for anyone who tries to help with this! 😄
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | acecream0 -
Backlinks from one website to my 3 websites (hosted in 1 c-block) ?
We are making some linkbuilding. And have very nice backlinks offer. So we are planning to put our 3 websites in it. Our 3 websites are on separate IP, but same C-block. Can it be a red flag for google? Can i put my 3 backlinks in one blog post?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | bele0 -
Websites with same content
Hi, Both my .co.uk and .ie websites have the exact same content which consists of hundreds of pages, is this going to cause an issue? I have a hreflang on both websites plus google webmaster tools is picking up that both websites are targeting different counties. Thanks
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Paul780 -
How can you rank for several cities ?
I have a website design client who wishes to rank for several cities they are willing to service locally. I have seen a competitor do this, Main-site.com/web-design content all about web design subcategories main-site.com/web-design/city-name-website-designer Content about web design plus content about the city itself and hiring a website designer in that city main-site.com/web-design/next-city-name-website-designer Content about web design plus content about the next city itself and hiring a website designer in that city Is this a great strategy, it seems to be working for them, or will Google eventually penalize this ? Or would you just put all 4 city names in the title and descriptions and content on one page ?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | jlane90