Setting up Multiple Domains

[2much]

Sorry for the basic question, hadn't had to handle multiple domains before.

What's the best way to set up the following situation:

* Main domain is a .com
* They want to rank in the uk, so I've told them to get a .co.uk

Should the .co.uk redirect to the .com ? Vice Versa? What kind of redirect? Are pointers a problem?

Also, they have a couple of other domains, should we take these down? Or should these also redirect / point?

To show an example, (if I'm allowed to post URL's):

www.meditationinlondon.com

I've asked them to get the .co.uk so they can rank in google.co.uk (uk only)

They also have www.meditateinlondon.com , www.meditateinlondon.org , www.meditationinlondon.org

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Marcela

[Nacho]

Hola Marcela! So nice to see you here.

Here are some threads that have discussed the issue of foreign domains:

One hosting + two domains + two languages = HOW? (http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=1997)

Should Search Engines adopt different results outside the U.S.? (http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=139)

The Google domination factor (GDF) (http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=279)

What is the best way to create multi-lingual sites? (http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=1156)

Multiple Country Sites Hosted in U.S. (http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showthread.php?t=1512)

Hope these help, and if not let's figure it out here in this thread.

Saludos! :)

[2much]

Appreciate the threads Nacho, enjoyed reading them.

However, still not sure how to handle the situation?

Someone mentioned setting up a subfolder on the root domain and configuring the DNS at the server level to point to this folder. Is this the best way? What about for SEO?

[coc]

Marcela,

I'm in the UK, and unfortunately when I developed my site I was given a whole load of bad advice. One of the things I asked about and was given wrong advice on was about how to get your site recognised in the UK search engines. I was told it didn't matter if I bought a .com or a .co.uk and it didn't matter where I hosted it. That is RUBBISH.

I hosted my site in the US as it was cheaper to do so. I spent about 10 months just not being picked up by any of the UK search engines. I asked another SE site for advice and what they told me was that to be recognised as a UK site, for inclusion in the UK search engines, you have to have either a .co.uk domain name OR host your site in the UK. Either will do. You don't need to do both.

I moved my .com site to a UK host and within a couple of weeks I was getting listed in the UK search engines.

If you go down the route of hosting the .com in the UK then one thing to beware of is the huge number of UK hosting companies that claim to be 'UK hosts', but aren't. I found that almost all of them (after a lot of questioning) had their servers in the US, France, etc. Basically, everywhere but the UK ! The search engines need the IP for the server to be seen as being in the UK for the .com to be seen as a UK site.

If you haven't built anything yet then it would be easier to just buy the .co.uk !

Chris
====

[2much]

Thanks for the advice. Unfortunately, they can't change the hosting, it has to remain in the UK.

The problem is they already have inbound links, traffic, and rankings for the .com So their strategy has to include both domains.

Still, I'm not sure what to do to set them up.

[I, Brian]

My personal experience with redirects is that the traffic/ranking advantages of the redirected site are quickly lost - certainly in the shorter term.

If you're finding the whole issue to be overcomplicating itself, then one of the simplest approaches would be to have a mini-site based on a .uk domain, which is simply linked to from your .com site.

[Nacho]

What's the best way to set up the following situation:

* Main domain is a .com
* They want to rank in the uk, so I've told them to get a .co.uk

Should the .co.uk redirect to the .com ? Vice Versa? What kind of redirect? Are pointers a problem?
OK, now to your concern.

First observation is that your site seems to be well indexed in google.co.uk. I see (http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=site:www%2Emeditateinlondon%2Ecom) 124 pages. Whether it was because your site is hosted in the U.K. or other, you're in.

Second observation is that Google's international properties have been moving back and forth as "Search the web" vs. "Search pages from the U.K." first. I believe that since early January this year, the have defaulted to "Search the web", but perhaps someone from the U.K. can confirm this for you. Anyway, this being the case, then keeping your site as .com with the current backlink structure seems like a better strategy. Therefore, don't worry about any redirection.

Now in terms of SEO, other than your usual on-page factors, I would add a UK address and phone on each page (perhaps near your copyright info in the left nav would work well). This can get picked up and be identified when the page is analyzed. You might also want to boost your inbound linking structure from other UK websites, which will put your site in the right spot of the www map in terms of link structures. Then you might want to link to other related websites in the UK for your main topic ("buddhist meditation"). Think hubs and authorities here.

I'm sure there are many other ways you can help increase your ranking for the UK searches, but these are just a few things I can think of now.

Buena suerte Marcela!

[KeywordMonkey]

1. Google.co.uk currently defaults to "search the web"

2. Try to get to Google.com from a UK IP and you get redirected.

3. Inbound links from UK categories on global directories, on UK-specific directories and from UK content sites are important too.