Hi,
I'm currently working on promoting myself for local kids parties and have an idea for improving my seo. I'd be very grateful if anyone could let me know if this idea is workable or not. I only have a basic understanding of seo, and this idea seems perhaps a little too simple to work.
(I'll change my performing name and area so this page on the Café doesn't come up in a google seach for me.)
I plan on having my main website (for example http://www.magicphilparties.com), then setting up some other sites with search engine keywords in the title for example http://www.surreykidsmagician.com http://www.magicpartiessurrey.com http://www.childrenspartysurrey.com.
These sites would all redirect to the main website.
Hopefully anyone searching for the keywords would get one of my sites and end up at my main website. Also all the sites could have links to the main site increasing the seo of that site.
I think it would probably be a fairly cheap way of getting good seo results, certainly a lot cheaper than google ad words or paying for seo.
Or am I being a bit naive?

Cheers,
Phil

I think you are going to have a lot of fees in domain names, aren't you. How will you get your local area to search for your name.

I think an internet site is really just a new kind of brochure. The people that want to find out about you and your services, can find out more facts by going to your web site.

How will this plant the seed in parents minds that it would be a good idea to have a magician at their kids birthday party. How will they even know to search any of your domain names.

Just some food for thought.

I think the domain fees could be a lot less than many other forms of marketing.

I wouldn't expect them to search for my name, but to search for the other keywords such as "magician" "Surrey" or "parties".

Phil

Phil
Just how many keywords do you need to describe kids magician? I question how many more hits you will get in return for all of your time and money.

Now that you have posted those names someone will buy them up in hopes that you will have to buy the domaine names from them. There are all kinds of crooks on the internet.

I believe all web site software lets you list "key words" for search engines. These will be the words going to the search engines as search words that directs to your site.

I'm not sure that's true. As he stated:

------ [next topic] ----

Actually, the domain name is an integral part of the search ranking. For example, while my wife owns her name, she also owns phillycaricatures dot com, Harrisburgcaricatures dot com, and many more of our area's cities. People might not know of her or her name, but they'll search for those exact phrases. This isn't the only factor, but it is enough of a factor to be important.


$8-10 per year on average, per domain. And I pay $104 per year to host my sites. That's $104 for ALL my sites, not for EACH of my sites. I'm allowed an unlimited number of domains on my hosting plan.
Even with the huge number of domains I own (I own more than 50), it still comes out to less than a yellow page advertisement in our area for one year.

Al you would be suprised!!

Scott,

Thanks for your information. I guess from what you say I may be along the right lines.
Do you have shadow sites at each of the other addresses? Or do they redirect to the one site?
Is google clever enough to notice they are copies of the main site and maybe dismiss the content?

Cheers,
Phil

Ps I really like your wifes caricatures!

Scotts wife Angie is a real professional, and very attractive I have worked with her a dozen or so times.

Thank you, both.

Phil, while the sites look very close, none of the text is a copy/paste job. Each site stands on its own, despite having the same general 'theme.'

Google DOES recognize when you have multiple copies of the same site, which is why each of ours are different enough to stand on their own.

As far as the redirection, I only have a few redirection sites. They are not for SEO purposes, since as far as I know, redirected sites do not help with Google ranking.

I use redirection domains as a "shortcut" to subpages on my main site, simply to make it easier for folks to remember.

For example, since I make apps for the iPhone, I created a website ( http://AngieToons.com ) that is easy to remember that redirects to a page on my main site (which has a harder to remember address: http://DigitalBlacksmiths.com/AngieToons ). This is not for Google at all, but for people to remember.

Thanks Scott,

I guess that makes things much harder, having to create different content for each site.
Still possible, but a lot more work, or expense with my website designer.
I'll have a look at your different sites to see how much they each have to be changed.

Phil

OK I SOOOOO need to check the forum more often...

(OFFTOPIC Ya seen Google instant yet NICE and a SEO Game Changer I HATE YOU GOOGLE)

anyway

Phil.. now your thinking like a seo consultant..

a few things..
1. Redirects won't help the SEO

you need hosting for each of these sites and Duplicate content won't hurt you over multiple domains as long as your on multiple c-class IP ranges (simply put http://www.seohosting.com/)

2. Do your keyword research before you buy your domains.. and with google instant you might want to get them in different order as well.

3. USE wordpress and setup a RSS scraper from your main site (remember Duplicate content across domains and IP-Class has NO PENALTY) on the same domain it does..

this will allow you to manage it as 1 site and not multiple sites.


As far as a website being a brochure

watch a few videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypmfs3z8esI

If the Internet is just the same as a business card or a billboard WHY.. has it directly effected our lives. WHY has major corporations converted marketing systems to ONLINE ONLY..

This is the fundamental shift of OUR TIME

Just like we went from Barter to currency.
From MA and Pa to the Supermart
from Radio to TV

There is a fundamental shift from
Printed to Digital
Advertisement to SOCIAL

Stong testimonials on multiple websites pointing back to you have more weight than VIDEO on your site.
Someone commenting about how much they loved your show on facebook is worth more than FLASH animation..

and if your NOT catching those things and not interacting with people as they talk about you...

YOU LOSE..
It is no longer what happens in vegas stays in vegas.. it's now What happens in vegas becomes eternal because of Facebook, Twitter, Flicker, Linkedin and the list goes ON AND ON

I have a 2 hour lecture I do for business owners on how to effectively use these things and I turn down speaking engagements left and right. what does that mean..

Corporate America has seen the writing on the wall and to ignore it and shrug it off puts you behind the times WAY BEHIND and that can have a SLOW effect on your business but a SLOW gradual death is not the one you want for your business.

as far as keywords..
ranking for MORE AND MORE phrases gives you a higher reach.. (DEFIANTLY THE RIGHT TRACK PHIL) think of it this way..

If you rank for "1st birthday party for a girl in Arden NC" and someone calls you from that phrase.. they are sitting there with their wallet out..

and MANY of my corporate clients have keyword strategies of HUNDREDS of phrases and many are LOCAL service providers like dentists..

No each of these don't get you TONS of traffic but the LITTLE traffic they get from them CONVERT

I would rather get 10 people a week to a site and 9 clients than 100 people and 2 clients.. the better targeted your strategy the higher quality your traffic is..

OK back to figuring out how "Google Instant" is going to make my life miserable over the next few weeks

Google is not only clever enough to notice, it sometimes hurts the site rankings, so you need different content.

Both Scott and Mike Clay have given you enough information to get you started.

Hey Phil,

If you're looking for local traffic make sure that the name of your city is included in the domain name, title tag, image alt tags and text on the page. Each landing page has to have different text or Google will penalize (maybe even ban) you.

Also, when thinking about keywords think about what a mom or dad planning a birthday party in your area would search for. For example, party stores, birthday cakes, invitations, party rentals, etc. This will help you pull in additional traffic from people that may not have considered a magician because they hadn't thought about it.

I would also have some gift bags made up with your website address printed on them and a business card inside. Give away a few magic items in each bag and maybe a certificate (with your website and contact info on it) for each child that attends so they show their parents and plant a seed for their upcoming birthday.

Finally, get your website listed in http://www.google.com/local/add/businessCenter?pli=1

This is very important and can send you straight to the top of Google when someone with a local IP is looking for magic in your area.

My statement earlier, must have been mis-interpreted. What I ment by a web site is a new kind of brochure, is, that a brochure tells the "5" basic elements of why you have a site at all.

It must tell - who, what, where, how and why. If people do not know 'who' you are, 'what' you do, 'where' you work, 'how' to contact you and 'why' they should be looking at the site. No social interaction will even begin or exist.

wmhegbli ... do you have a website?

I've been reading your "food for thought" for some time
and would like to know more about where it comes from

BB

BB funny,
The who, what, when and where, etc is the basic concept to any pitch!

Not trying to be antagonistic, but like BB, I too am curious as to wmhegbli's qualifications to comment on websites and SEO. Tell us William.....what qualifies you to dispense "food for thought" on the issue of websites? Do you have a website?