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THIS IS NOT GOOD! I'm Ranking #1 Above the Brand website, OPPS.

by Michael Nguyen
17 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hi everyone

I set up this website in April 2009 and it's been ranking #1 for a secondary related keywords. Making good sales here and there.

For the primary keywords, (which I didn't optimize for) it gets the bulk of the searches. Since then I've been ranking at the bottom just above the fold.

I thought I'd never get past the brand website and to be honest, I never did want to, just in case the brand gets touchy with me being on top of them.

I've hosted on Hostmonster and to be honest the speed of the site is damn slow since I'm targeting UK searches. Ever since then I've always wanted UK hosting.

I purchased some UK hosting a few days ago because I'm pretty sure the slow loading time has affected visitor experience and has caused high bounce rate.

I transferred the site this evening to a UK host and I know for sure that Google has pushed me to numero UNO because the server is UK based.

I'm a bit worried now cause this does not look good for the brand name.

Not sure whether to flip the site or keep it and hope for the best. (And by the way, if the brand is going after me, I wouldn't sell it to some poor soul).

I really don't know what to do now. Kinda wishing Google send me back down just underneath the brand website.

What would you do?

Michael
#advice #brand #opps #ranking #website
  • Profile picture of the author Topgunb
    Make hay while the sun shines!
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  • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
    Let me get this right, you are complaining about being #1 in Google? Grats...must be a first

    (Does "the brand" have a reason to go after you, eg. TM violation or similar?)
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Nguyen
      Originally Posted by GeorgR. View Post

      Let me get this right, you are complaining about being #1 in Google? Grats...must be a first
      Sounds silly but considering I have the brand in my domain name.

      (Does "the brand" have a reason to go after you, eg. TM violation or similar?)
      No reason, I'm just a law abiding affiliate but I've had a domain in the past with brand name and while ranking on first page, the company wanted the domain.

      I'm kinda attached to this site. Its like my baby, my first proper site.
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      • Profile picture of the author Landis
        Originally Posted by Michael Nguyen View Post

        Sounds silly but considering I have the brand in my domain name.



        No reason, I'm just a law abiding affiliate but I've had a domain in the past with brand name and while ranking on first page, the company wanted the domain.

        I'm kinda attached to this site. Its like my baby, my first proper site.
        perhaps get a new domain and 301 the old to the new. you might loose some rankings in the short term if you were getting some added points from having an emd, but its better then praying you wont have any issues.
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      • Profile picture of the author TiffLee
        Originally Posted by Michael Nguyen View Post

        Sounds silly but considering I have the brand in my domain name.
        Ahhh, that explains a lot.

        Here I was thinking you were crazy for being a little "off" about being in the #1 spot -- I mean, it isn't your fault that the company doesn't have proper SEO practice to maintain the top spot.

        But, with the brand name in your domain, you may have something to be slightly worried about. I'm by no means a lawyer (among many other things) but I'd venture to say that the company could do something if they so wished.

        Of course, I could be completely wrong which won't be the first, or last, time.
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        • Profile picture of the author mikeroosa
          Not to worry you even more, but I had a domain for about a year. I was in the second spot of Google and the product company was #1. I built a ton of backlinks and overtook them. About 2 weeks later I got a letter from their attorney telling me I was violating there trademark. Hopefully it won't happen but don't be too surprised if it does.
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      • Profile picture of the author TBInternetMarketing
        Originally Posted by Michael Nguyen View Post

        I have the brand in my domain name.
        Yea this is always a bit of a risky business. I've heard a few stories of guys getting forced to shut down their sites due to lawsuits.
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  • Profile picture of the author misterkailo
    If you are using their brand name in your domain name, then yea... I'm pretty sure the company wants a piece of that to add on to their portfolio.
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  • Profile picture of the author blueberries
    Yeah, I know this lady who had a site called "farmville sneaky secrets" The farmville people came calling and she gave it up.. due to their threats of suing.

    So enjoy it until they come knocking.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mohammad Afaq
    You are infringing their trademark and so they have every right to take the domain away from you.

    I think what you should do is get a new domain and do a 301 redirect on your previous domain to the new one.

    Also, I think there is a setting in Google Webmaster Tools where you let google know about the 301 redirect and you won't lose any backlinks as google bot will give all the link juice from your old domain to the new one.

    That's what I would do in this situation

    EDIT: And yes, it is very much possible that you might lose some rankings in the short term (it happened to me every time I did a 301) but it's better than losing the site forever.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rob Marr
    If you are helping them sell their own product why would they complain?
    Unless you are selling their competitors product then they will get pissed about it.

    Check if their name is trademarked or registered. If it is, you might as well bring it down just in case you get sued for it or another idea is sell it to them! But not sure how this will turn out though.
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    • Profile picture of the author IcedSEO-CEO
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Rob Marr View Post


      Check if their name is trademarked or registered. If it is, you might as well bring it down just in case you get sued for it or another idea is sell it to them! But not sure how this will turn out though.
      Once you try selling it to them, they will want to get it for free, either way I don't see it turning out so good.

      So, I recommend a 301 redirect and don't forget to notify Google via Google webmaster tools once you are done.
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  • Profile picture of the author Terry Hatfield
    Well, you could always back link the main site. lol.
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    • Profile picture of the author FredJones
      Looks like you are sitting on a frying pan all set to jump onto the fire. 9 out of 10 (in my belief) you are set to receive a letter from an attorney talking about trademark violation, since you have the brand name in the domain.

      I would consider doing a few things.

      (1) Start your site (the first paragraph, preferably first or second sentence) clearly mentioning that the official site is elsewherre, and link to it. I guess an affiliate link here will not hurt. In fact it may come as a blessing in disguise.

      (2) Sell the site off to the brand owners proactively. Careful, this has a double implication so think 10 times before you do this. But this is still an option.

      (3) Another option is to get in touch with the official brand owners proactively and talk to them seeing how you can mutually resolve this.

      But again, you may choose to do nothing and still remain very lucky too.
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  • Profile picture of the author ajrwestrop
    You should be OK, but if and when the brand starts to kick up a fuss, you should be able to negotiate a better position with them
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  • Profile picture of the author Sweely99
    Just do what I once did -- place a 301 from your old domain to a new one.

    It'll get replaced in the SERP.
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    • Profile picture of the author inter123
      You could sell it and move on. A tiny minority of folks might be worried about the hassle potential hassle the new owners might face through...
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