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What to do with 2 similar domains? (Complex Business Question)

by jpweber
3 replies
This is more of a business question and less of an SEO / internet marketing question. I started a company that is primarily a Genesis (WordPress) consulting firm.

Where I'm At Now:
I registered a name with a business I started, so it's incorporated. The domain is a .net top-level domain, and the .com variety is taken. So I developed it.

Call it www.netdeals.net ... and it's about 2 months into my SEO campaign.

But a .com TLD Became Available:
I then realized that a similar and more appropriate .com TLD wasn't taken, and I bought the new .com and the according .net. So that's www.webdeals.com / www.webdeals.net.

I incorporated NetDeals LLC, not WebDeals. But I registered an assumed name with WebDeals, and have duplicated the WordPress site onto the new domain.

So now I have NetDeals LLC and WebDeals (assumed name "doing business as" under the NetDeals corporation), and they're both identical websites, which I know isn't a good thing.

Hence the Dilemma:
I figure that using the .com TLD is the way to go. But what should I do with the original website, netdeals.net? It's the corporation.

Should I completely erase the netdeals.net (which is duplicaed on webdeals.com) and create a new website? If I create a new website for the corporation, should it be like a 1-pager? All my Genesis deals and prices will be on webdeals.com.

I know this is long (and perhaps confusing), but any guidance in this regard would be greatly appreciated!
#business #complex #domains #question #similar
  • Profile picture of the author Chris Silvey
    Actually this is more SEO based and some of the SEO experts here are better fit to answer your question. Your current domain may have better domain weight, PR, domain age, referral links. Not sure if a redirect would affect this or not. Chop that up to my short term memory.
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  • Profile picture of the author GforceSage
    You could use the original page as a corporate page that has contact info and mentions that you are the parent company for webdeals.com

    All of your tax and government business will go through the original name. When you file your papers with the secretary of state, they ask that you list all ficticous names, DBAs, and anything else that may be associated with your business or draw revenue including website names.

    You then redirect the.net traffic to your new .com or better yet, don't use the .net. Just sit on it so noone else uses it. Now the new .com will be the site you use. The government will know you through the original name unless you decide to change it at a later date or at tax time or LLC license renewal time. You might want to register the DBA for your new .com The LLC paperwork can be updated to include other names to be used. Not sure how long you can wait on that. This is not legal advice, I am just sharing info I know from a similar situation. Check with an attorney as each state deals with these things in their own manner. I was sharing from a case in California.

    Best of luck.
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    • Profile picture of the author jpweber
      Originally Posted by GforceSage View Post

      You could use the original page as a corporate page that has contact info and mentions that you are the parent company for webdeals.com

      All of your tax and government business will go through the original name. When you file your papers with the secretary of state, they ask that you list all ficticous names, DBAs, and anything else that may be associated with your business or draw revenue including website names.

      You then redirect the.net traffic to your new .com or better yet, don't use the .net. Just sit on it so noone else uses it. Now the new .com will be the site you use. The government will know you through the original name unless you decide to change it at a later date or at tax time or LLC license renewal time. You might want to register the DBA for your new .com The LLC paperwork can be updated to include other names to be used. Not sure how long you can wait on that. This is not legal advice, I am just sharing info I know from a similar situation. Check with an attorney as each state deals with these things in their own manner. I was sharing from a case in California.

      Best of luck.
      Thanks GForce!

      Yes, the fictitious DBA name is registered under NetDeals; it just cost me $35 bucks or something.

      I think, based on what you're saying, is basically to do what I'm probably going to do.

      That means using WebDeals as my primary website (it's only 4 months fresher than NetDeals ... so basically, the same age). Then I'll make the NetDeals into a more corporate based website ... which can leave room for expansion if I ever get to that point.

      Thanks for taking the time to respond!
      Signature

      JP
      "Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons" ~ Woody Allen

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