Benefits of multiple small sites pointing to your main site

[Garri]

you'll know best but from your own admission this is an attempt to get better ratings in Google searches isn't it

Harry, as I read Craig's idea, I cannot see where he mentions this technique as an attempt to get better ratings with Google.

It's merely a case of cross-selling, surely? Delivering specfic and relevant content to different types of holiday-makers with the aim of taking bookings off-season seems to be the raison d'etre here, not gaining better rankings with Google.

[craigkillick]

If I'm honest PJA, the best way to answer that is with results (which I don't have yet) so it is hypothesis.

I am purely basing this model on the results I am getting in other industries for web sites.

It is about getting different types of traffic (which is directed as being more specific) rather than more in general.

[Highams Park Harry]

Agreed Garri, sloppy ol' post from me

Better traffic from google would be better, better in numbers and diversity I imagine

I still think (no expert on this) that a single site can perform all the same functions, different pages optimised for different topics and searches, big site with plenty of quality content is always best and will become more so over time as google slowly weeds out the people 'cheating'

things that were almost respectable a few years ago are now simply wrong

just my simple and inexpert opinion

[craigkillick]

google slowly weeds out the people 'cheating'

I agree with you that no-one likes a cheat. That's what makes all our jobs that much harder.

What you can offer though is more specific information to specific groups of people. I wouldn't in a million years think that any one of these sites would be a simple sell. It would actually have quality (relevant) information, ie. The Golf site would give lots of value-added information about golf, local courses, golf shops, maybe even golf advice. These 'extra' messages tells the golfer that THIS is the golf villa for him/her because it caters for them.

I also wholeheartedly agree that it is extra work and effort, but the upside is an increase in rental over the entire year.

[Garri]

Harry, true enough and I suspect that whilst Craig's motives are decent and honorable, this technique could be hijacked by spammers that could potentially affect honest sites.

The problem I have with 1 big site accommodating different needs is that most of the do a poor job at promoting the most basic need. Perhaps that has to do with my heavy exposure as an internet user to web 2.0, I expect greater things.

Not one rental listing site has even managed to use RSS effectively, which is one of the cornerstones of web 2.0

[ourinns]

I'm far too stingy to do it via having multiple domains for this but I've been trying a similar strategy myself through specifically targetted pages for example:

mascamps.com/sig/bikerfriendlysecurestorage.htm
mascamps.com/sig/househuntingbasenearperpignan.htm

I've been running those plus a few more special offer versions since around October and have had a number of hits on all of them. One thing I have found is that the conversion from click to book is very high on those pages so a relatively small number of hits on them has certainly repaid the time in producing them.

In my case, I don't think that there's a duplicate content issue in that each is a new version of the homepage and the wording on them is quite different.


Arnold

[sazzleevans]

Hi

I think having various sites is a good idea. I have only one apartment which i bought last year. The same as you in a very quiet area.

I have tryed to make a triangle of site.

I have www.islacanelaholidays.com (my apartment site which has expanded a bit)
www.eyeonislacanela.com ( a chat forum i created which trys to get people interested who maybe buying off plan in the area and well....may need accomodation too!!)
www.islacanelagolf.com ( a site to promote the local golf course plus my thinking like you is they may search under the name and find me.)

Good luck its hard work from scratch but i hope by next year it will start to pay off.

SARAH

[craigkillick]

Arnold,

Love your site and what you have done with it. Specific to bikers, translated, etc. A lot of hard work but a great site with great relevant content.

This is kindo of where I was initially leading from... nice one.

Sarah.. same as. Love what you are doing as well - a lot of hard work no doubt but two very good examples of what can be done. Hope I can live up to what you have achieved with your sites.

Craig

[ourinns]

One unexpected special interest group that we seem to have attracted inadvertently is the "dirty weekend" crew. Well, not so much the "dirty weekend" as the "dirty afternoon" French.

Whilst we'd not want to be running a brothel, it's certainly quite profitable to be able to book a room for the afternoon and again that night!

It's, of course, only the French that are at it (in more ways than one: the arrangement of the bedding afterwards is a constant source of amuzement!). Anybody any idea what's special about our French page that's bringing them in? It's at www.mascamps.com/fr



Arnold

[Splash Internet]

I actually intend to build small 1-2 page web sites for each of these domains that link into a main site (I might even centralise the data and feed it into each of the sites using reference pages so when I change it on one, it changes all of them). These pages can be very specific and qualify that you fit the criteria that someone may search with, for instance, the golf version will be all about golf, the district about the district, etc.

These have cost about £70 for two years all in and to host them will cost about £40 each (will only do one for co.uk or .com not both - I will set the otehrs to forward)) so that is approx £195 per year.

Gateway domains - I fail to see where you gain here, if you have multiple domains and sites then you have to promote them all seperatly, link build them all seperatly, pay for them - and at the end of the day they will all be less than the 'whole' could be
I think if was considering something like the above then i would go down the sub-domain route and at least save yourself some cash

With one large site covering all the angles the smaller sites could, you have one marketing campaign to run, one link building campaign and one content rich website which SE's love.
Each page in the site becomes a potential landing / entrance point for a client, Golf searches get the golf page (s)
One large site also heads you towards 'authority' status and the benefits that brings

Just my thoughts

[TravelPixel]

A more effective approach is to use sub domains for your specific content..ie:

holidays.rentals.co.uk
hotels.rentals.co.uk
taxis.rentals.co.uk

In this way you can target your traffic while remaining under one domain and 'pooling' your resources for maximum SEO.

To do this your server provider needs to offer DNS changes.

my 2 cents