2 sites using 1 CMS... issues?

[lauratagdigital]

Hi,

We are working with a client that has 2 sites in the same sector.  They are currently on separate servers, with separate blogs, images galleries etc.

Both sites rank combined for over 200 terms.

IF we were to "combine" the sites on one CMS, with one IP, two separate front ends, one blog stream, one image gallery what do you think the SEO impact would be from this?

We had an issue with another client whose sites were too close and we had to separate in order to get them both to rank.

Further to this we want both sites to now have their own https certificate however this wouldn't be possible if combined.

Interested to hear thoughts on this.  Thanks

[EGOL]

Merging two sites in the same sector or launching a second site in the same sector should always be given careful consideration.

My thoughts on this are.....

1. If you own the dominant site in a sector then you are in excellent position to launch a second site in that sector.

2. If you don't own the dominant site in a sector then you are better off putting all of your work into your best site (or your only site) to build it into the dominant site.

To me, those two situations are very clear.

About merging sites....

To me, if Site A and Site B have very little content overlap then a merger makes good sense.  The strength of the sites will be merged and the rankings might go up for lots of keywords.

However, if Site A and Site B have a LOT of content overlap then merging them requires more careful thought.   If one site is strong and the other puny, then the merger of the puny site into the strong site will not accomplish much.  I would rather put work into the strong site.  If both sites are moderate in strength then the merger will likely give a nice boost to the site that remains.

Before doing any merger I would be sure that both sites are clean of any Panda, Penguin or other problems.  Because you don't want to merge poison into a good site.

[SilverDoor]

Great answer.

Couldn't have put it any better myself!

[lauratagdigital]

Thanks for that.  Just to expand on this slightly.  The idea is that both the front end sites remain.  But their assets are still managed from one CMS.  So the only merging would be on the server and assets, both ideally want to keep their own brand and rank for their own terms.

One site ranks very well, the other is still strong - but not as strong.

There is a lot of content overlap .. the difference is one is slightly more high end but target a lot of the same keywords.

Further to this I'm conscious about streamlining the blog, as then there is only one blog content stream for essentially 2 sites.

[lauratagdigital]

One more point on this, would it be better for the sites to be on separate servers? Or would it impact if they were on the same server?

[EGOL]

When I read your question I was on the assumption that they were on separate servers and that you were going to merge them into a SINGLE DOMAIN.

Now I am thinking that you are going to run both of them from a single CMS install.  That just sounds strange to me.  I wouldn't do it.

[lauratagdigital]

Correct, I have thought the same as you.  However it has been a case of business logistics that this request was put in.

Say we say, ok we will put both sites on separate CMS, blog etc ... what about having these two sites, separate URLs on the same server? They are both in the same sector?

[EGOL]

I know lots of people who have two domains in same sector on the same server.   If there content is unique and very different and they are not heavily interlinked then I would be comfortable with that.