Entering different but related industry, keep it on the same domain or new domain?

[eunaneunan]

We rank well across many online furniture keywords within google.ie here in Ireland, this is our core business and it is successful. Now we want to branch out into the related field of "kitchens". So the question is do we setup a new domain (a sister site) or keep it on the same domain with a new sub category. So the main categories off the home page would be:

• Sofas

• Bedroom Furniture

• Dining Furniture

• Kitchens

I know all the benefits of keeping to the one domain (the domain has age, and already has DA of 30 with many landing pages with PA from 30 to 49), so for the short term SEO angle keep it on the same domain. But from a Branding perspective this is not a great approach. Is it better to have a dedicated domain/site for kitchens (and the bonus of having a keyword match in the domain)? We are always thinking longer term so we see this as a 3 year plan outwards rather than a get rich quick.

There is an additional overhead of course with managment of the domain, templates SSL, PCI etc etc and we are conscious that a new domain is not a easy route to success.

Looking at the top 10 for the main keywords within the "kitchen" keyword cloud most if not all are dedicated kitchen sites, or kitchens are the main business so their homepage is there kitchens landing page. The competition in the google.ie space have 20-30 DA and PAs roughly 30 being the highest DA, we are thinking that this has not a huge challenge to overcome?

Thanks for any help, assistance or comments really appreciated. Ware regards, Eunan @ Love Furniture

[StoresDirect]

We have different websites for our different brands. It's a lot more work, but gives each brand its own separate internet presence. From a search viewpoint each website can be tailored to different groups of customers, and links between our sites are well travelled with good conversion rates.

While it is a lot more hassle to run multiple websites, remember that trying to address multiple markets from one domain presents its own set of challenges. You have to think about the impression you make on both suppliers and customers (are you a kitchen specialist, or a furniture retailer dabbling in kitchens?), as well as whether your brand is easy for customers to remember.

People expect different levels of retailer expertise for different products, and I think your customers would need more help with kitchens than with furniture. While you could demonstrate your kitchen expertise in a sub-folder of a single domain through great content, a separate domain more specific to the kitchen market would send a powerful message that you are a kitchen specialist (thereby implying that you are a kitchen expert before they even click your link).

I think the answer is to do what's best for the brand. It seems to me that you have a great name already with Love Furniture, and developing a separate Love Kitchens brand could work very well.

Just for the record, my personal preference is for single domains where possible.