Google’s John Mueller addressed the potential impact of having two websites on search rankings. His response is notably relevant to various interpretations of the query.
A user posed a query to Google, asking if maintaining two websites could harm their search rankings. The question, as presented on Google, is brief yet somewhat ambiguous, allowing for responses that diverge from Mueller’s initial answer.
This is the question:
“My rankings have dropped due to Google finding out I have two websites. Is this correct?”
Google’s John Mueller answered:
“No. That’s not likely. Many people have several websites. Separate websites are not a problem.
The issue is often more indirect: if you work on a lot of websites, you’re not going to have a lot of time to make truly awesome websites everywhere. And, if you’re making websites that aren’t awesome, then that can be something which our algorithms pick up on when it comes to recommending your site to others.”
John Mueller answered the question as if the two sites in question were about different subjects. He prefaced his answer by first saying that lots of people have multiple sites, which is true. But not everyone has multiple sites about different topics. The person asking the question was unclear about whether their sites were about different subjects or not.
It’s entirely possible that each of these sites covers the same topic. If that’s the case, it raises some questions about how Google can find all of those sites, and it might fall under manipulative search results. Why would you go to the trouble to keep up with all those sites on different topics?
If those sites really have the same subject, then the answer to that question would take a different turn. But when one person has various sites on the very same subjects, the motive for doing so-often revolving around manipulation of rankings becomes a critical determining variable in that case. This isn’t really a very good premise on which to find any website.
Another reason some people build numerous sites mainly targeted at ranking, rather than for reasons of quality, is that they believe by breaking down a topic into subtopics, they can create stronger sites that are about those particular subtopics instead of having one site about several similar areas.
But what often happens is the administration of several related sites, which can be much more robust combined into one single authority website.
Bill Hartzer, Hartzer Consulting, asks a question about whether having multiple sites on the same subject could affect ranking.
Bill agreed with me and shared:
“A lot of people, after building a website that ranks well, will think that they can simply create another website on the same topic and “make double the money” or get “double the traffic” and it’s simply not true.
Companies will also have one main website, but they’ll create a separate website on a separate domain name for each of their products or services. Over the past 10 years or so, that hasn’t been a good strategy. While it’s good to register the domain names of your products or services, it’s better to combine all those websites into one main, more authoritative website.
Typically if they’re on the same topic, one website, the original site, will continue to rank well. But the second website doesn’t rank as well. In most cases, it’s always better to combine the websites into one website.”
John Mueller’s point about having multiple sites (on various subjects) potentially diluting one’s ability to excel with a single site is valid; he notes an indirect negative impact on rankings. He also rightly states that there’s unlikely to be a direct negative effect on rankings.
When accounting for how it will impact ranking, considering that many websites would cover the same information, the answer will remain more complicated and closer to the opinion of Mueller himself, who said it prevents them from creating something truly great, while usually leading to a lot of average results instead.
However, this is not necessarily the scenario when operating multiple sites on various topics. As a matter of fact, success can be achieved even under these circumstances but more so when there is a collective effort and different people creating content and marketing the websites.
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