# Do redirected domains cause low SE ranking?



## inkie (Jun 28, 2007)

Hi friends,

Quick question - I am about to open a store with either Yahoo or Shopify, as I have NO knowledge of HTML and absolutely need an out-of-box store. BUT I have read that sites that have redirected domains are not easily found by search engines, and that it is much better to create your own free-standing store in which the domain is not redirected. Is this true? I'm not looking forward to paying a designer to create a store from scratch for me, but if my store is too hard for the public to find, I may have to. 
I'd appreciate any input, but please keep in mind I barely know what I am talking about here!
Thanks,
Inkie


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## robby (Oct 29, 2007)

hi Inkie,

I'm not really an expert in this, but from my experience SE ranking depends also on your website's traffice, more people visit it, more higher the SE rank will be.

And as far as I know, redirected address won't do you any good, both in marketing aspect and the site's SE rank. I suggest you to buy a domain and a host package that's suitable, and after everything is set up, promote your site frequently. You might also want to consider using a SEO service (though I'm not sure 100% of its effectivity).


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## inkie (Jun 28, 2007)

Hi Robby,

Thanks for the helpful info - it does kind of confirm my suspicions that redirecting a domain (which I've already bought) isn't such a good idea. I've done more research since I first posted this question and and they say a redirected site has no pages, no content, and the search engines will only index the final destination. Like you say, that for SEO purposes, it's better to have a free-standing, content-rich custom home page under your personal domain, and then LINK your store to it. But then, on the other hand, 10's of thousands of Yahoo stores have redirected domains and I assume they're doing okay...that's what still confuses me. I'd do it that way in a flash, but there's not a lot to SAY about what I'm selling, except as product descriptions, so a home page with store link would be a little peculiar. It should probably be just a straightforward store.

Thanks, Inkie


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## tim3560 (Jan 7, 2007)

inkie said:


> Hi Robby,
> 
> Thanks for the helpful info - it does kind of confirm my suspicions that redirecting a domain (which I've already bought) isn't such a good idea. I've done more research since I first posted this question and and they say a redirected site has no pages, no content, and the search engines will only index the final destination. Like you say, that for SEO purposes, it's better to have a free-standing, content-rich custom home page under your personal domain, and then LINK your store to it. But then, on the other hand, 10's of thousands of Yahoo stores have redirected domains and I assume they're doing okay...that's what still confuses me. I'd do it that way in a flash, but there's not a lot to SAY about what I'm selling, except as product descriptions, so a home page with store link would be a little peculiar. It should probably be just a straightforward store.
> 
> Thanks, Inkie


I don't claim to know a lot about SEO, but I'm learning as well. From what I know and from my own opinions:
1. Redirecting is better for consumers if you use a fulfillment company. If my company sells shirts about elephants, but I use a company like cafepress, it's a lot easier to get consumers to type elephantshirts.com (disclaimer:if that's a website, it's not mine) than it is to get them to remember and type cafepress.com/elephantshirts . The shorter the better.
2. As for SEO, the indexing will be done at your main store location. The redirected website will not have any content, but the site that you're redirecting to will have all the SEO content imbedded in it once you place it there. This site will be picked up and listed in searches if someone searches "t-shirts with elephants", or "elephant shirts" or "wearable elephant designs", etc. In this case you won't need the redirected site, because people won't have to type in anything. I think that the redirecting site is more pleasing aesthetically that anything else.


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## Timewarp (Nov 15, 2007)

A redirected domain is NOT a problem for SEO if done correctly. If you have a choice when forwarding choose a 301 redirect (not a 302) and your domain will pass on it's link juice to your yahoo store. As Tim mentioned a custom domain name will look much nicer to customers and also be more memorable.

Another alternative would be to find an "out of the box" store script that lets you run on your own domain.


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## DesignsToSigns (Aug 4, 2007)

PLus you will already have the domain rights when you decide you want to pay a web designer


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## inkie (Jun 28, 2007)

Thanks folks for the additional info. I think a lightbulb FINALLY went off in my head! If I understand correctly, it is true that the actual redirected page has no content, BUT the store that I list with WILL have all my content imbedded in it, so it doesn't really make a difference...the search engines will still pick it up. And to do this correctly, I should use the 301 direct. Got it!! 

Here's one more related question...I bought three other potential mispellings of my domain. When I set up my store with the REAL domain name forwarded, do I point the other three domain names directly to the store also, or do I point them to the real domain name, and then point THAT to the store?

Thanks a lot, Inkie


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## Timewarp (Nov 15, 2007)

Point all the domains directly to your yahoo store.


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## viraj (Jun 20, 2007)

my website http://www.logofactory.comwas done by a company in Sri lanka. 
http://www.weblook.com send them an email and ask them a few questions. They are very reasonable but you may have timing 10.5 hour difference and accent issues.

thanks

Viraj


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## inkie (Jun 28, 2007)

Thank you both for your helpful information. Don't know what I'd do without my friends on the Forum!

Inkie


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

inkie said:


> Hi friends,
> 
> Quick question - I am about to open a store with either Yahoo or Shopify, as I have NO knowledge of HTML and absolutely need an out-of-box store. BUT I have read that sites that have redirected domains are not easily found by search engines, and that it is much better to create your own free-standing store in which the domain is not redirected. Is this true? I'm not looking forward to paying a designer to create a store from scratch for me, but if my store is too hard for the public to find, I may have to.
> I'd appreciate any input, but please keep in mind I barely know what I am talking about here!
> ...


Just to clarify, if you use shopify or yahoo, you don't need to worry about "redirected".

Those services can "HOST" your domain, which is different than redirection.


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## inkie (Jun 28, 2007)

Rodney said:


> Just to clarify, if you use shopify or yahoo, you don't need to worry about "redirected".
> 
> Those services can "HOST" your domain, which is different than redirection.


Rodney,

Thanks for this information - I've never thought about what "hosting" a domain means as opposed to "redirecting" a domain - I see what you are saying, and it's very reassuring...proof that my little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing! I'll stop worrying.

Inkie


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