SEO: Forwarding Vs Pointing Multiple Domain Names to Same URL

Why do people register multiple domain names?

Many business owners register multiple domain names for various reasons.

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1. In most cases, it is done to protect their brand such as registering the same name with different URL extensions ( .com, .net, .info, .org, etc.) or registering domain names that are similar to their company name or their brand.

2. There are times a company might launch a marketing campaign and it might be easier for prospective clients to type in a shorter domain or one with easy words to memorize and spell out.

3. Other times, the registration of multiple domain names was done for search engine optimization purposes. This SEO technique started years back when Google mentioned that owning a domain name with strong keywords would help having a better ranking. People went crazy and registered lots of domain names. As you know, Google is always evolving and what was true back then is unfortunately no longer a valid optimization technique. We all remember the “mullet” back in the 80’s, well that too is no longer a great hair cut for anyone!

Ryan Perry founded SBS in 2009 to help small business owners increase sales through Google search.

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RP: We’re going to talk about pointing and forwarding, and how it relates to SEO. A lot of business owners you… Over the years, we acquire URLs, and I don’t know if it’s still a big thing today because there’s so many different kind of… You can get.com.info.org. But it used to be, back in the day, you always bought your domain name plus.com and.info, or.org. I guess those were the two or the three that were available. And then it was a matter of, “Okay. Well, what do I do with that?” And that’s what we’re going to talk about today ’cause we want to make sure that you’re not being penalized by making the wrong decision.

VD: Correct. So, when that happened, people typically either pointed or forwarded those multiple domain name to their main website. So, today we’ll discuss about why first people register multiple domain names, and why may be, it is a good option for you as a business owner. The second thing we’re going to talk about the differences between pointing and forwarding. There’s a great difference between the two and people often get confused, and including webmasters, and that can have some SEO impact on your ranking. And number three, our recommendation about which one you should be using for your particular situation.

RP: Okay. And then, just for clarification, because I’m familiar with the term “redirect.” Where does that fall in to this SEO lingo?

VD: Okay. So, redirect is forwarding. So, when you forward a website, it’s called a 301, or 301 redirect. And that’s a permanent redirect to your main domain.

RP: So, when we talk about redirect or forwarding, they’re pretty much one and the same thing.

VD: Correct.

RP: Okay. Perfect.

VD: So, well, let’s start with why people register multiple domain name, and maybe again, being a good option for you, or not. You mentioned protecting your brand. A lot of people do the.com.net.info, and so forth, just because they didn’t want the competition to register their domain name. Sometimes they also do it with similar company name. So, maybe your company is ABC Gift Shop, you might do ABCgiftshop, they give ABCgiftstore, and so forth. Again, just to protect your identity and your company name. So, that’s a good option to do that. Domain name are very inexpensive, $8 to $12 a year, it’s a price of a coffee. Worth. It gives you peace of mind that nobody else is going to grab that name and use it for their advantage. So, that’s number one.

VD: Number two, is sometimes people did it when they launched a marketing campaign. So, they might have elaborate domain name but it’s a bit long. But on the marketing campaign… For instance, TV ad, you want the domain name to be very succinct, very quick, easy to memorize, easy to spell out. So, sometimes they will register a unique domain name just for that campaign, which will be either forwarding or pointing to their main website. So, that’s good to do it if you’re in that situation. And the third instance why people register lots of domain names, and it started years back with Google’s announcement, was to… For SEO reasons, Google years back said, “Oh, if you have great keywords in your domain name, it’s good for your rankings.” So, people went crazy with registered 20+ domain names, all with good keywords they wanted to be found for, and either pointed or forwarded them to their main website. So, that’s where we are going to focus today. Is like, is it still a good SEO technique? And actually, it’s not, and we’re going to explain why.