For the SEO experts.... what is the best strategy? Solution A or B?

[WGarden]

Hi beautiful people

What is the best way to do this? Say you got a product that helps acne suffers (just as an example) and you found four different keyword-phrases that you want to target. e.g. 1:"acne treatment", 2:"how to get rid of bacne" (acne on the back), 3:"how to get rid of zits", 4:"pictures of acne".

Now these four phrases are not completely interchangeable, but they are closely related and blog posts, articles for each keyword-phrase will resemble each other in some way.

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SO... should I:

A) get one EMD (or as close as possible) for each phrase, where each site contains a sales page (static page) and other pages such as wp blog posts, FAQ etc. that targets only one of the four phrases (all internal pages link to the sales page) and then link, when relevant, between these four individual sites.

OR

B) create a more general site (I then loose the EMD advantage), where I create one sales page (static page) that tries to target all four phrases (would that be a problem? I guess it is difficult/impossible to optimize for all four phrases on the sales page, title, description, h1 etc.) This site will also have a wp blog, FAQ etc. that deals with the individual phrases. Once again all these pages link to the sales page.

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Some will probably say why not do both but wouldn't you compete with yourself if you did so? If I choose A wouldn't Google dislike that you link between your own sites, sites that contain somewhat similar information? I get the EMD advantage with option A but the content of each site will be rather thin. If I choose option B I loose the EMD advantage, but the site will contain more content (would be nice to have an authority site/category listings one day...). Problem with option B is that it would look weird with almost similar blogposts such as "acne treatment" and "how to get rid of zits"....

What is your experience? What works best? I am not trying to make a few quick bucks for a short time so it has to work longterm.

[owenlee]

i would go for A)

is more targeted in a way and also help in SEO

[TheFBGuy]

I agree with owenlee. Go with A, unless you want to be a true blogger in that particular niche by constantly updating the site with new unique content than I guess B would be ideal but... this is having too many eggs in 1 basket, not good. If Google changes the rules or just decides to drop you, your screwed. Go with A. A is safer, specific niche blogs collectively working together, even if Google destroys 1, it's not that big of a deal.

[ZachWaldman]

I would go with A as well. You're basically creating a bunch of feeder sites all linking to your money site (sales page).

In addition to the EMD's having text links to the sales page, I would also fill your blogs with lots of banners linking to your sales page.

Don't forget to include banners for each individual post page as well.

[rabbi45]

A would be better IMO. EMD would help you to rank better.

[UMS]

Personally I would go for B.

A site with more content is potentially going to been see as having higher authority than a bunch of mini-sites that all link to each other.

Also, it makes it much easier to optimise for new keywords. Using the other model, you really wouldn't want to be creating >5 sites as it gets very inefficient in terms of maintenance.

While EMD are good, they are not the most important factor of SEO.

[DPM70]

I agree with UMS - I'd go for the authority site that encapsulates all of those keyword phrases. Start with a good keyword static front page (perhaps even more ambitious than your current keywords). Create the best on-site SEO'd posts that you've ever created in your life on your blog for the keyword phrases listed. Create other content on the blog that internally link to your 4 sets of keywords. Create backlinks to those posts and the main keyword phrase ones and your main domain keyword.

Keep adding related longtail and LSI content to your site around those keywords and backlink every post, even if it's just bookmarking it to make it stick. Find high PR authority related sites to get a few quality links from. Wikipedia (if you can get one), Newspaper sites and certainly try press release submissions for syndication to decent websites.

[arnie19]

I would go with B. It will still depends on your content and quality of it. Haven't you seen lately that mostly those who ranks in SERP does not have an EMD? more often they are general in form. Also, EMD won't help if your site is new.just a thought from me.

[ExploringInfinity]

Both are good, I would go with A if you need quick results, B if you are willing to spend a bit more time for a larger payout in the end.

[WGarden]

Thanks to all of you!

Some say A and some say B... now I wonder if I should start out with B (because I would like to end up with an authority site) and then do A with heavily spun content. I might get in trouble if I link A and B sites because I would probably use the same pictures, and all the rest would resemble each other... hmmm... Would it be okay to host all five sites (4xA + 1xB) with the same hosting account (HostGator Baby Plan) if you don't link between the A and B sites?

I am not even sure I want to link between the four A sites - a handful of links probably doesn't do much of a difference anyway... and Google isn't dumb. I would hate to loose all of the sites because I did something stupid. Is that still a risk even if I don't interlink between any of my sites?

[WGarden]

So what is your opinion on my last questions? I don't want to get a penalty the very first day I launch my site/sites. Do let me know if you base your opinion on personal experience - good or bad.

[MikeFriedman]

I would go with the second option. EMD's are overrated, especially in a competitive niche.

[ryanjm]

I'd go with B. Seems like Google doesn't like sites that are too targeted lately with no anchor text variety, etc... I think you would have better luck creating an authority site covering all of the keywords.

[pats311CList]

A is the best but it depends ton your content and the quality hope this helps. wish you success

[JustaWizard]

As you can see from the many replies, both approaches have their merit.

The real question, however, is how much time, energy, and money you're willing to put into this.

If this is going to be something dead-serious, you're in this niche "for life" and you'll never, ever, surrender no matter what because this is what you're about, then guess what...

... do both.

But start with a flagship site; put your best, highest quality content there. Build up seriously good backlinks from related sites, partners, vendors, associations, entities that you have relationships with then branch out from there.

Create seriously great link-worthy content and promote it on your favorite social media channels.

Then, make a few satellite sites that are more micro-niche; point at your money site or use other ideas like link pyramids or wheels or your favorite geometric shape.

Not in this for the long haul? Going to just schlock a bunch of crap content out there hoping to retire on a beach? Please don't. Get a job instead. Or keep the one you have. Please, I beg you, don't pollute the internet more than it already is. Create a quality site, the best there is, or lie down until the feeling passes, okay?

[WGarden]

Thanks a lot guys! I really appreciate your help - sorry for not answering sooner, I've been offline for a few days.

JustaWizard: I know exactly what you mean, I also hate crappy content and the people behind it - as I said in my first post, I'm in this for the long haul!

So what about my last question? Would it be okay to host all five sites (4xA + 1xB) with the same hosting account (HostGator Baby Plan) if you don't link between the A and B sites?

[packerfan]

If you actually have something to sell, I'd focus on paid traffic and spend your time optimizing your offer and copy.

[blogworker]

A) get one EMD (or as close as possible) for each phrase, where each site contains a sales page (static page) and other pages such as wp blog posts, FAQ etc. that targets only one of the four phrases (all internal pages link to the sales page) and then link, when relevant, between these four individual sites.

i also go for A, the reasons are saying by above guys.

[WGarden]

Thanks, good advices but can someone perhaps answer my last (and final) question?:

Would it be okay to host all five sites (4xA + 1xB) with the same hosting account (HostGator Baby Plan), if you don't link between the A and B sites, or will Google consider that spammy?

[Newbieee]

i would go for C. haha sorry.
buy media. its better.
IMO.

[ak1lz]

The answer is BOTH A & B

and let me show you how to implement this correctly.

Buy 3 - 6 Domain names to your liking, if it has the exact key phrase in it nice! +1/200th of a point (whatever its puny weight is).

Now your going to take all these sites and dedicate a master granddaddy site. your main site is going to squeeze emails and deliver a product when ordered or send the user somewhere else. the other websites are going to be your info sites. These sites can be simple wordpress blogs filled with UNIQUE content about how to tell if you have bacne and if you need to seek treatment, or home care remedies, do content about how bad it is to pop those suckers, talk about when they clean up their face their self esteem will rize.. stuff like that.. give good information and make sure it is UNIQUE.

Now our granddaddy site will be site (A) and the other info sites will be site (B) & (C).

In my opinion this linking method will be best.

Link site (A) to site (B)
Link site (B) to site (A)
Link site (C) to site (A)
Link site (A) to site (C)
Link site (C) to site (B)

Then that's it. You can simply use the blogroll link system in wordpress to hook these up.

Now if you are using Word Press, you can download a plugin named "WP Keyword Link"
It will auto link keywords in all your blogs posts, so point all "acne" "bacne" ect keywords to site (A).

After you get this all setup, your info blogs have at least 10 posts each, you have your on page SEO tweaked to best as you can, I would suggest hand making social bookmarks. After you have about 10 for each site.. start back linking to those back links. Keep an eye on Google Analytics and Webmasters and watch for what keywords your site is dancing for or ranking in, and improve on those. Take the easiest keywords first and work your way up.

say you have 5 keywords. 3 of them you are ranking 1st page and 2 are on the second page. It would be more beneficial to you to get that 2nd page keyword to the first.. since only 5% of people go to page 2. not sure if that's the real numbers but it sure seems like it. Once you have about 10 keywords per website that you rank for page 1, then start focusing on moving up the ranks on the 1st page.. more times than not, Google just needs a little more testing with you site before it deems you #1 ^_^

Now, keep those blogs updated. post at least every other day. Hook it up with a twitter and a facebook page too! won't hurt. everytime you post a wordpress post you can use this site to auto post its title and a link back to your site, and vice versa with facebook page's, youtube channels, you want a "presence" in as many places as possible that are relevant. meaning a youtube channal about HUMONGO black heads or social bookmarks about 5 tips to clear up your armpit acne? O.o.. Use this service, IFTTT.com <- It's Really simple and the basic concepts it works off of is genious! It will automate the task of you posting links of content back to your websites. and might teach you a little thing about IF Then statements.

I have used this method dozens of times for myself and clients, all done with WordPress info sites and came out with fantastic results. I haven't thought about sharing this until I saw the post and saw these peoples answers :[. This info is pretty old, but it is the cream to the pudding. And the whip cream is your F***** Unique Content. <- cant stress that enough haha.

If you think about it. when you make a site, target a niche, and make sales you are taking a piece of the "Pie". Make your "plate" big enough, and you can walk away with the whole thing.

[golferman13200]

What is EMD stand for also IMO

[wipeoutmedia]

Definitely go with solution A and good luck

[Newbieee]

Originally Posted by golferman13200

What is EMD stand for also IMO

EMD is exact match domain.
IMO is in my opinion.

after a while you will get use to it and get it.

[WGarden]

Nice post ak1lz - you spend a lot of time on that one, thanks very much. Thanks to all of you for taking your time to help, I got a lot of things to think about. You guys are amazing!