One domain name with sub-domains or 10 different domains?

22 replies
Hi everyone,

I have 10 keywords ("abc xyz", "def ghi xyz", "jkl xyz",... - the last word is the same for all keywords).

Help me to choose the domain, how is better?

1. Ten separate domains (com, net or org).
or
2. One single domain with subdomains. But there is no com, net, org domain name available, only eu.com (For xyz.com.eu I will have these subdomains: abc.xyz.eu.com, defghi.xyz.eu.com, jkl.xyz.eu.com,...)

For option #1:

Advantage: I will rank faster on Google (The keyword is more targeted).

Disadvantages: Domain costs (I have to buy 10 domains instead of 1), Management of sites (I have to manage 10 sites instead of 1), Promotion (I have to promote 10 sites instead of 1).

For option #2:

Vice-versa.


I want to use option #2, but it is no com, net, org domain available. Not only info or us. I've found only a eu.com domain name, but I'm afraid of bad ranking for americans because it is an eu domain name.

What do you know about eu.com domains? Do they rank as com, net, org for american people?

Thanks for help,
Georgia.
#choose #com.eu #comeu #domain #domains #net #org #subdomains
  • Profile picture of the author Daniel B
    I choose option #2.
    The .eu.com is as good as .com domains.
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    • Profile picture of the author Marc Meole
      If you don't want to spend the extra money, go with the subdomain option...It can be easier to manage subdomains (everything in one place)...I do it all the time and, I know you will heard differing opinions, but I have have just as much success with subdomains ranking high as regular domains...
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      • Profile picture of the author GeorgiaB
        Originally Posted by Marc Meole View Post

        If you don't want to spend the extra money, go with the subdomain option...It can be easier to manage subdomains (everything in one place)...I do it all the time and, I know you will heard differing opinions, but I have have just as much success with subdomains ranking high as regular domains...
        Thanks for your reply.

        What do you think about .eu.com domain? Will it rank, as .com or .net or .org for american people?
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        • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
          The .eu.com could rank as high in the USA, depending on your competition.

          If all other things are equal and a .com and a .eu.com domain are competing then the .com will probably win. Google does give some preference to geographical domain names, and geographical hosting.

          Of course, you are not planning on all other things being equal, you are planning to outperform your competitors, right?
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          • Profile picture of the author GeorgiaB
            Originally Posted by KansasDragon View Post

            The .eu.com could rank as high in the USA, depending on your competition.

            If all other things are equal and a .com and a .eu.com domain are competing then the .com will probably win. Google does give some preference to geographical domain names, and geographical hosting.

            Of course, you are not planning on all other things being equal, you are planning to outperform your competitors, right?
            Thank you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Anomaly1974
    Personally I would go with the add-on-domains but you may have issues if you are going to be posting the same content of different sites. This is an issue for both add-on-domains, sub-domains as well as for sub-directories. However, hosting separate domain names generally requires separate hosting as well and with the add-on-domains you can easily post them on one "parent" account and they are still easily transferred if any of them gain enough popularity to start sucking up your bandwidth.

    One guy I know went with the add-on-domains and he was actually complaining because he had about 15,000 members on one of his sites and it was driving his hosting costs up. (We should all be so unfortunate huh?) then I placed some advertising for him and moved it to a new hosting account and now he is definitely back to happy. I would say the ultimate decision for you would likely be based more on hosting and bandwidth use than the domain names themselves. Even if you use add-on-domains, you will still have to pay to register all of the domain names. You could use sub-domains but that may lead to lead to some long URLs for people to remember.
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    • Profile picture of the author GeorgiaB
      Originally Posted by Anomaly1974 View Post

      Personally I would go with the add-on-domains but you may have issues if you are going to be posting the same content of different sites. This is an issue for both add-on-domains, sub-domains as well as for sub-directories. However, hosting separate domain names generally requires separate hosting as well and with the add-on-domains you can easily post them on one "parent" account and they are still easily transferred if any of them gain enough popularity to start sucking up your bandwidth.

      One guy I know went with the add-on-domains and he was actually complaining because he had about 15,000 members on one of his sites and it was driving his hosting costs up. (We should all be so unfortunate huh?) then I placed some advertising for him and moved it to a new hosting account and now he is definitely back to happy. I would say the ultimate decision for you would likely be based more on hosting and bandwidth use than the domain names themselves. Even if you use add-on-domains, you will still have to pay to register all of the domain names. You could use sub-domains but that may lead to lead to some long URLs for people to remember.
      Sure, if I choose option #1, I'll go with the add-on-domains.
      But, yet I'm not sure...
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  • Profile picture of the author Lisa Gergets
    Separate domains...simply because if you should decide to sell off sites, you can't do that with subdomains.
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    • Profile picture of the author GeorgiaB
      Originally Posted by Lisa Gergets View Post

      Separate domains...simply because if you should decide to sell off sites, you can't do that with subdomains.
      This is a good point for option #1.
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      • Profile picture of the author Lisa Gergets
        Originally Posted by getmoneyzone View Post

        This is a good point for option #1.
        Yup...you may not plan on selling the sites, like a site-flipper would, but I can't tell you how many I've sold due to:
        • getting bored with the subject
        • not making enough money with the site
        • finding myself with too much on my plate
        • needing quick cash
        There are lots of reasons you may decide to sell and for that single reason, the investment in separate domains is well justified.
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  • Profile picture of the author mr2monster
    Are your keywords all in the same niche?
    i.e.
    bass fishing
    trout fishing
    crappie fishing
    etc.

    Or are they different niches
    i.e. Traffic guide
    Wordpress guide
    Backlinking guide
    etc.


    In the first scenario, I'd opt for a domain name that used the general keyword and then use directories to divide the keywords (fishing.com/bassfishing/)

    In the second scenario, I'd use separate domain names for each one.
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    • Profile picture of the author GeorgiaB
      Originally Posted by mr2monster View Post

      Are your keywords all in the same niche?
      i.e.
      bass fishing
      trout fishing
      crappie fishing
      etc.

      Or are they different niches
      i.e. Traffic guide
      Wordpress guide
      Backlinking guide
      etc.


      In the first scenario, I'd opt for a domain name that used the general keyword and then use directories to divide the keywords (fishing.com/bassfishing/)

      In the second scenario, I'd use separate domain names for each one.
      Yes, all keywords are in the same niche.
      As in your example: bass fishing, trout fishing, crappie fishing

      If I choose domain "fishing.eu.com", I have sub-domains:
      bass.fishing.eu.com
      trout.fishing.eu.com
      crappie.fishing.eu.com
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      • Profile picture of the author mr2monster
        Originally Posted by getmoneyzone View Post

        Yes, all keywords are in the same niche.
        As in your example: bass fishing, trout fishing, crappie fishing

        If I choose domain "fishing.eu.com", I have sub-domains:
        bass.fishing.eu.com
        trout.fishing.eu.com
        crappie.fishing.eu.com
        I've found that sub domains don't rank as well or as easily as directories do.

        JMO.
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        • Profile picture of the author GeorgiaB
          Originally Posted by Lisa Gergets View Post

          Yup...you may not plan on selling the sites, like a site-flipper would, but I can't tell you how many I've sold due to:
          • getting bored with the subject
          • not making enough money with the site
          • finding myself with too much on my plate
          • needing quick cash
          There are lots of reasons you may decide to sell and for that single reason, the investment in separate domains is well justified.
          Originally Posted by mr2monster View Post

          I've found that sub domains don't rank as well or as easily as directories do.

          JMO.
          Thanks.
          More advantages to go for option #1.
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          • Profile picture of the author Daniel B
            I would go with option #2.

            It's easier to have all keywords in the same site (because they are in the same niche).

            As for rank,

            a. .com is better than .eu.com
            b. domain is better than sub-domain
            but,
            c. It's harder to rank high for 10 sites (promotion) than for 1 site with 9-10 sub-domains.
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            • Profile picture of the author GeorgiaB
              Originally Posted by dan2010 View Post

              I would go with option #2.

              It's easier to have all keywords in the same site (because they are in the same niche).

              As for rank,

              a. .com is better than .eu.com
              b. domain is better than sub-domain
              but,
              c. It's harder to rank high for 10 sites (promotion) than for 1 site with 9-10 sub-domains.
              abcxyz.com will rank higher than abc.xyz.eu.com

              abcxyz.com has 2 x "+" : it's a .com and will rank higher than eu.com for US people.

              abc.xyz.eu.com has 1 x "+": I have to promote only 1 site.

              But, there is another problem:
              There are not available .com / .net / .org domains for all of my 10 keywords. In this case, I will not be able to use all keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lisa Gergets
    But, there is another problem:
    There are not available .com / .net / .org domains for all of my 10 keywords. In this case, I will not be able to use all keywords.
    Not a problem at all...simply place an "info", "tips", "guide", etc. after your main keyword phrase...I guaranty there will be something available and it will not affect your ranking in the serps.

    For instance, if your keywords phrase is bass fishing but bassfishing.com, .net and .org are all taken, try bassfishinginfo.com, .net or .org...
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    • Profile picture of the author GeorgiaB
      Originally Posted by Lisa Gergets View Post

      Not a problem at all...simply place an "info", "tips", "guide", etc. after your main keyword phrase...I guaranty there will be something available and it will not affect your ranking in the serps.

      For instance, if your keywords phrase is bass fishing but bassfishing.com, .net and .org are all taken, try bassfishinginfo.com, .net or .org...
      For the 10 keywords I have:
      3 x .com domains available
      2 x .net domains available
      1 x .org domains available
      1 x .us domain avalable
      3 x ... - no other domain available

      If I would add an "info" / "tips" / "guide",
      an abcxyz.com rank higher than a abcxyzguide.com for "abc xyz" keyword.
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      • Profile picture of the author Lisa Gergets
        Originally Posted by getmoneyzone View Post

        For the 10 keywords I have:
        3 x .com domains available
        2 x .net domains available
        1 x .org domains available
        1 x .us domain avalable
        3 x ... - no other domain available

        If I would add an "info" / "tips" / "guide",
        an abcxyz.com rank higher than a abcxyzguide.com for "abc xyz" keyword.
        Assuming you will be spending the same amount of time promoting each of these domains, I do not think it would make a huge amount of difference. Of course, the strength of your competition needs to be taken into account as well, but I'm assuming you already know that.
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        • Profile picture of the author GeorgiaB
          Originally Posted by Lisa Gergets View Post

          Assuming you will be spending the same amount of time promoting each of these domains, I do not think it would make a huge amount of difference. Of course, the strength of your competition needs to be taken into account as well, but I'm assuming you already know that.
          Yes, I agree.
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  • Profile picture of the author zoobie
    well it depends on what do you want with your site. Most likely you will targeted pages with your domain if your keywords are in the same niche. You don't really need to do subdomain or extra domain. In fact, if you are going to add the extra domains in the hope of getting rank for your main domain and all your domains are in similar contents then this is called spamming and Google doesn't it.

    So I will go for an internal architecture where Page A targets your primary keywords, page B targets other keywords etc..

    Make sure your URLs on every page on your site contain the keywords you wish to rank.

    Hopes that answer your question.
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    • Profile picture of the author GeorgiaB
      Originally Posted by zoobie View Post

      well it depends on what do you want with your site. Most likely you will targeted pages with your domain if your keywords are in the same niche. You don't really need to do subdomain or extra domain. In fact, if you are going to add the extra domains in the hope of getting rank for your main domain and all your domains are in similar contents then this is called spamming and Google doesn't it.

      So I will go for an internal architecture where Page A targets your primary keywords, page B targets other keywords etc..

      Make sure your URLs on every page on your site contain the keywords you wish to rank.

      Hopes that answer your question.
      Thanks for your post.

      In this case I need subdomains because the last part (word) of every keyword are the same.
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