Member Avatar for cmills83

I have made 5 sites, all about the same thing. There is 1 site specifically I want to outrank all the others, I built the other 4 just to link to the main site so it ranks well. However for some reason the others are ranking better than the main site. I only have incoming links from the 4 going to the main site and I have the other 4 backlinking to each other, do the backlinks carry more weight than the incoming links?

  • 4 Contributors
  • 8 Replies
  • 124 Views
  • 1 Week Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by stymiee

Dani AI

Generated

Short summary tied to the thread: ran into the classic multi-site problem — several similar domains fighting for the same keywords instead of one clear winner. ’s consolidation move clearly helped, and ’s point about relevant external links is on target. ’s suggestions (IP/link swaps) are low‑value and often irrelevant compared with real topical authority.

Practical diagnosis checklist (quick, actionable)

  • Compare which domain gets impressions and clicks in Google Search Console to see which pages match user intent.
  • Use a backlink tool (Ahrefs/Moz/Majestic) to compare link quality and anchor‑text distribution across the domains.
  • Scan for duplicate or thin pages and overlapping title/H1 targets that cause keyword cannibalization.
  • Check for manual actions or unnatural‑link warnings in Search Console.

Next steps to stabilize rankings and grow the main site

  • Consolidate the best, unique content into one authoritative site and remove or repurpose thin duplicates so users and search engines have a single destination that satisfies the primary queries.
  • Improve local signals: claim and complete the Google Business Profile, add schema for local business/winery pages, keep NAP consistent across directories, and publish high‑value local resources (maps, tours, event pages).
  • Earn links the right way: outreach to local tourism boards, wine bloggers, event partners, and regional publications. Avoid paid link networks or doorway-site tactics that try to game rankings.
  • Monitor results weekly in Search Console and your backlink tool. If a legacy site is confusing Google about which page to show, investigate canonical selection and the Links report to see where equity is flowing.

Official guidance worth reading: Google’s pages on link schemes and doorway pages explain what to avoid and why consolidation/quality beats webspam tactics (link schemes, doorway pages).

Recommended Answers

All 8 Replies

Member Avatar for stymiee

This is a common "technique" used by people to try to manipulate the SERPs. Needless to say Google is good at filtering this kind of stuff out. Your best bet is to scrap the four unnecessary sites and put all of your content on one website. Then redirect the other four domain to the main site using a 301 redirect. Then promote that one site and that one site only. You'll be surprised to see how much better it ranks when you're not trying to play games and make a serious effort for it to be successful.

Member Avatar for cmills83

I redirected 2 urls, thanks. The sites are all about Temecula Wineries, one targets that keyphrase, one is about wine tasting tours and the other is more of a city guide. Sound ok?

Also I have another city guide for a city close by that I link to all 3 of the wine sites on different pages, is this a bad idea too? I worked the links into the content so it looks natural and I only link to each one time. This guide is a pr2 so I thought it would help.

The links seem to help, the sites rank well on msn, and do come up on google just seemed to go down a little with the latest site. Should I buy some links? Make some unrelated sites for backlinking? Not really sure what to do. Thanks!

Member Avatar for Harry smith

Try to get links from other winery sites and related sites such from wineyards sites, wine manufacturer, grapes farms, wine producing machinery sites etc..... dont play just within your sites, go and get more links from other relevant sites this will increase traffic for your site and improve your SERP.

Don't buy links if you got caught then you have to face Google better get links naturally.
Directory submission along with forum posting will help you.

Make some unrelated sites for backlinking

Don't ever do that..... this will not help you, build links naturally from relevant sites

Member Avatar for cmills83

Yeah guess I just need some more time to get more backlinks. I left 2 of them just backlinking to my City of San Marcos site and see what that does, hopefully I made them good enough people will link to them.

Member Avatar for cmills83

Stymee - I removed most of the backlinks between the 4 sites and just backlinked the two main ones with another unrelated site I have. Anyways they got recrawled and both jumped in ranking and my conversion for adsense is hovering between 20 and 40%...so thanks!

commented: Good luck +8
Member Avatar for stymiee

Awesome. :)

Member Avatar for Sunny Side

There are 2 absolute advantages you are getting in this way:
1. You can use 3 way link exchange
2. If your other websites have different IP adresses - you will benefit from you scheme sooner or later!

commented: You didn't read the thread and gave bad advice -2
Member Avatar for stymiee

There are 2 absolute advantages you are getting in this way:
1. You can use 3 way link exchange
2. If your other websites have different IP adresses - you will benefit from you scheme sooner or later!

Um, did you read the thread? Those "advantages" obviously didn't work out. They only saw improvements after they got rid of the extra sites.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.