Member Avatar for omidiu

hello,
i have two websites built on the same keyword and hosted on the same provider. one of them is 2 years old, the other one was created a few time ago. the first site was on the first page in google search.
now, the second site is placed in first places in google search but the first site disappeared. some times they shift back. the second one disappeared and the first site is in first places.
can i have both toghether on first page in google search?

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Two sites using the same primary keyword will often “trade places” because Google tries to avoid showing near-duplicates from the same owner or network. As explained, similar titles, meta tags, page intent and heavy cross-linking make the engine pick one canonical result and swap it as signals change. What helped here (as noted) was making one site's title/meta different — that’s the right first step.

If the goal is to have both pages rank, make them genuinely distinct in user intent and signals:

  • Target different keyword intents or long-tail phrases (e.g., “legal translation services for contracts” vs “certified document translation for immigrants”).
  • Rewrite title and meta to reflect those distinct targets, make H1s and on-page content unique, and change anchor text on any cross-links so they don’t signal the same primary keyword.
  • Add structured data or local info if each site serves different regions or audiences.
  • Avoid heavy reciprocal cross-linking with identical anchors; natural, contextual links work better.

If the sites are truly duplicates or you want to consolidate ranking power, use canonicalization or a 301 redirect. A simple canonical tag looks like:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://www.example.com/preferred-page" />

For a full-domain redirect (Apache):

RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} ^old-site\.com$ [NC]
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://new-site.com/$1 [L,R=301]

Google’s docs on duplicate content and on consolidating duplicate URLs explain how these signals are treated: Duplicate content and Consolidate duplicate URLs.

Troubleshooting checklist: use Search Console’s URL Inspection to see which URL Google considers canonical, run “site:yourdomain” queries to check indexed pages, and watch Search Console for manual actions. If you don’t need both sites, ’s suggestion to consolidate is valid and will simplify ranking signals.

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Member Avatar for canadafred

hello,
i have two websites built on the same keyword and hosted on the same provider. one of them is 2 years old, the other one was created a few time ago. the first site was on the first page in google search.
now, the second site is placed in first places in google search but the first site disappeared. some times they shift back. the second one disappeared and the first site is in first places.
can i have both toghether on first page in google search?

I've seen this type of behaviour frequently lately. It's not easy to swamp the lead pack of keyphrase compeitors but can happen. When the search engine bounces rom one to another in a networked SERP approach it's the search engine realizes that both sites mean basically the same thing, have very similar corporate agendas (they market the same business in the same way), their on-site ranking factors parallel (Titles, keywords tags, images etc.) and are probably closely intertwined from a linking perspective (lotsa' cross-linking). Because of the similarities, the search engine struggles to determine which webpage is more valuable for your keyphrase search.

You can get them both up in rankings simultaneously but you'll have to radically refocus one of them. You have to create two uniquely devised web presentations.

Edited by canadafred because: clarification
Member Avatar for omidiu

I've seen this type of behaviour frequently lately. It's not easy to swamp the lead pack of keyphrase compeitors but can happen. When the search engine bounces rom one to another in a networked SERP approach it's the search engine realizes that both sites mean basically the same thing, have very similar corporate agendas (they market the same business in the same way), their on-site ranking factors parallel (Titles, keywords tags, images etc.) and are probably closely intertwined from a linking perspective (lotsa' cross-linking). Because of the similarities, the search engine struggles to determine which webpage is more valuable for your keyphrase search.

You can get them both up in rankings simultaneously but you'll have to radically refocus one of them. You have to create two uniquely devised web presentations.

the content is quite different, images are different but they have the same title, keywords and they one of them has links to the other one. i'll try to change that

thanks a lot

Member Avatar for ithelp

It is called sandbox phenomenon , even the new website will disappear after few weeks.

Member Avatar for canadafred

It is called sandbox phenomenon , even the new website will disappear after few weeks.

I'm getting the impression that we're talking about two web sites both two years old, battling it out for authoritativeness; the search engine is trying to determine which is the more credible business version.

Now. I could have completely the wrong impression about this scenario and a brand new web site could, in fact, now be in suspension (pending the evolving proof of its own importance).

Edited by canadafred because: made no sense to me, had to clarify my brain
Member Avatar for omidiu

I'm getting the impression that we're talking about two web sites both two years old, battling it out for authoritativenes, the search engine is trying to determine which is more credible. Now. I could be wrong in my impression and a brand new web site could now be in suspension, pending evolving proof of its own importance.

no, one of them is two years old and one has several months

Member Avatar for canadafred

no, one of them is two years old and one has several months

Well then. in that case, it would appear like the sandbox theory has better footing than mine. Thanks for causing me to think and spew.

Member Avatar for AirForceOne

I don't think this is a problem for they are both your sites. :)
This phenomenon between your 2 sites has no inner relations, I think.

Member Avatar for MktgRob

This might sound preumptious but if they are both based on the same keyword and this sandboxing thing is happening, why not take one down as they seem redundant?

Member Avatar for seoindia

Please tell me your URL

Member Avatar for chandi786

can you tell me the URLs of both the websites along with the keywords you are targeting? Thanks!

Member Avatar for omidiu

problem solved, i've change the title and meta description on one of the web sites and now they appear both together in google searches :)

Member Avatar for Flower

Try to maintain that website should not have duplicate content nor on web pages and neither in Meta Tags.

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