Member Avatar for HelenLF

I have a client who runs two closely related businessess from the same location.
It is unlikely he will have much content for these at the moment but plans that his website(s) will grow in time.
Is it better from an SEO point of view to have two really small sites (about 2-3 pages each) or one larger site so that it gets noticed in Google, and then split the sites into two later?

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Short answer: with only 2–3 pages per business it’s usually better to launch one well‑structured site and treat each business as its own silo (example: example.com/service‑A/ and example.com/service‑B/). That concentrates link equity, avoids “thin site” problems, and gives search engines more content to index from a single domain. Split into two distinct sites later only if each business develops a clear, separate brand, audience, and enough unique content and backlinks to support its own domain.

Practical setup when you start with one site: give each business its own top‑level section with unique H1s, title/meta tags, and descriptive copy that doesn’t repeat across sections. Use clean navigation and breadcrumbs so users and crawlers see the separation. Add LocalBusiness schema (with the correct business subtype) and keep NAP consistent where appropriate. Track performance by section (use analytics and search console filters) so you can tell when one silo is ready to become its own site.

When two sites make sense: the offerings must be materially different, the client has resources to create several pages and separate link campaigns for each brand, or legal/branding reasons require independent web presences. If you do go two sites from day one, make the content, branding, and value proposition clearly different; avoid duplicate pages across domains and don’t rely on reciprocal cross‑linking as the primary way to build authority.

Short migration checklist if you later split a silo into its own domain: build the new site in parallel, map old URLs to new targets, implement 301 redirects, update internal links and external citations where possible, add both domains to Search Console and monitor indexing/errors, and keep analytics tracking during the move. Both and make good points about niche sites—use that approach only once you have the content and backlink muscle to support two distinct properties.

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Member Avatar for canadafred

I'd suggest you start with two completely different sites right from the get go. When I mean different, I am talking about two web sies with unique designs and content. The search engine seems to like web sites that evolve over time more so than those that are static. Make sure, if possible, that the two sites are tightly inter-linked so as to reinforce each other's off-site ranking influences. It'll take time for your web pages to generate decent rankings but they will come with continued growth.

Member Avatar for Dani

I echo canadafred's opinion on having two separate very niche sites. As long as they link to each other, and you have a handful of backlinks going to each one of them, I can't see the disadvantage.

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