Question about multiple websites in same field

[BobAnderson]

I know what most people say that it is best to only have the 1 website for focus but if we can put this to the back of our minds, if we create 2 different websites that are totally different designs (one upmarket one and one targeting the cheaper market) but in the same fields (printing) and go after 80% of the same keywords is this ok (could we be penalized).

Please note we will not be interlinking the websites, the website .will be on different servers and the names will be registered under different people (2 partners in the business).

We will however be accessing webmaster tools from the same location.

[Mike.Goracke]

Are you creating both websites under one company name or two?

The only reason I ask is that from a usability standpoint people may find it confusing.

Let's say a user visits your upmarket site, but does not contact you during that visit. Then they perform a Google search again looking for your company name and the stumble upon the cheaper market and don't find the same solution and the website now looks completely different... that might be confusing, unless you are using two different company names... and if that's the case, I would hope that the companies would actually be "legit" or it may seem deceptive.

That said... I don't think you would get penalized for creating two sites in the manner you are suggesting.

I do think it may become confusing if you rank for both pages on the same page of Google, because having different URLs, different designs, but the same company name may seem deceptive to users.

Just my thoughts.

Mike

[Matt-Williamson]

Accessing Webmaster tools from the same location won't be an issue otherwise there are lots of agencies that would have problems when carrying out work for different clients in the same or similar niches. You are essentially operating both your sites as stand alone and there is nothing that is connecting them, so having two sites in the same niche should be fine. Just make sure that you write unique relevant content for each. Up until the end of 2012 I worked on two sites that would both rank for certain keywords and I actually acknowledged the relationship between both sites - having a link from one to the other and also having them on the same Google Account for analytics and webmaster tools. They had separate hosting but both were registered to the same company. One site was stronger than the other but there was no issue in terms of search engine rankings as the content was unique on each even if it was about the same or similar things.

Both had a legitimate reason for being there and I think Googles algorithm when it comes to things like attempted manipulation through link networks is cleverer than a lot of people give it credit for!

These are my thoughts and experience hope it is of some help...

[SVmedia]

It's not something you'll be penalized for, but you may find it naturally harder to build value for a second site.  Which one do you list on your business/directory/social profiles?  Which one would you refer customers to? or tell someone else to link to you with?  It's easy to wind up diluting your efforts.  Not saying you shouldn't do it, but just make sure you're confident it's worth your while, and obviously rewrite content and you should be fine.

[djlaidler]

Hi Bob,

In Cases like this, I take a step back and think is this being deceptive, is this already occuring on the web? The answer is no its not deceptive and yes its already happening in business today. I am sure there is an example where Google themselves are trying to capture top and bottom ends of the market (insert example here), but I'll give you this one.

In Australia a company called Coles Myer have two supermarket chains Coles and Bilo which capture the mid-to-top end and budget end of the supermarket market. They are shown as two completely separate companies, but I'm sure in an obscure about us page are still listed as part of the Coles Myer group.

The moral of my story, run both but ensure almost all aspects of the site are unique. Separate themes, separate dev teams, unique content, separate hosting etc. They should be seen to have been created by two separate teams to ensure success.

Hope this helps,

Dan

[JustDucky]

Nor would it help local search.  This could be a major factor in deciding where to purchase heavy printed materials.