Mistakes to Avoid

I see a lot of business owners making the same mistake. They purchase dozens of domains and then they forward all of them to their main website. As an Atlanta SEO company, this is the equivalent of scratching a chalkboard with your fingernails.

When you ask them why they are doing that and what they are trying to achieve, they usually respond by saying something like, “It’s probably good for SEO…..Isn’t it?”

Why Do Small Business Owners Purchase Dozens and Dozens of Domains?

Wrong answer: If you’re doing it because you have very keyword-friendly domains (such as ‘atlantawebsitedesign.com) and you think, by having them forward to your main website, it’s going to help your SEO, then I feel bad that you’ve spent so much money and time. You should have spoken with your Atlanta website design company first! More on this below.

Correct answer #1: “I purchase dozens of domains because they are just variations of my website’s main domain and I don’t want anyone else to have them.”

Correct answer #2: “I buy a lot of domains and I create landing pages or websites with original content for each of them.

Correct answer #3: “I buy and sell domains for a living. This is my business.”

Is Forwarding Domains Good For SEO if They Are Keyword-Friendly?

The bottom line is no. So long as the domain is doing nothing but just forwarding, it’s considered completely obsolete to search engines. Forwarding your domain to a website does not give instant power to that domain. It’s nothing more than a “parked” domain that is being told to direct people to a different destination. So why would Google want to make these domains with “no home” relevant?

If someone does a Google search that matches word for word with the domain that you are forwarding, Google is not going to list your domain in a search result and then take the visitor somewhere else. How would that make Google look?

Also, think about it. If this did work, then everybody would be doing it. Google is too smart for that.

Forwarding Dozens of Domains to Your Website Will Actually Hurt Your Rankings

If you are forwarding a bunch of domains to your main website, let’s just say that you are muddying the waters and making it difficult for Google to understand who your true identity really is. You are essentially masking your website with the 20 domains that are forwarding to it. Let’s not confuse Google, okay?

When is it a Good Idea to Forward a Domain?

The only time forwarding a domain to another website is a good idea is if you had an old website, and for one reason or another, it was time to shut it down. You can then funnel anyone who was aware of that website to your new website. Or, if Google had that website indexed, you can send that traffic to the new site or new business.

So What Should I Do With All of My Extra Domains Then?

Well if you don’t want anyone else to have them, I suppose you could just hold on to them. You could try to sell them perhaps, but that’s a hairy business. Your only other option is to create websites for them, or maybe landing pages. Will they rank on Google searches? Only if you give them the same time, dedication, and love as your main website- or else, it won’t stand a chance against all of your competitors. Also, don’t forget to give it 100% original content. Perhaps you are starting to see all the work that you would inherit by doing it this way. That’s why Google will tell you that the best thing to do is to give your main website 100% of your focus.