Develop Microsites As Part Of Your Search Engine Optimization Strategies

Writing by Nick Stamoulis on Friday, 18 of April , 2008 at 6:47 am

Microsites have been around for many years, however they have generally been used for special events such as product releases or for special tasks such as secure checkouts. Microsites are gaining in popularity as the search engine optimization benefits become more apparent.

What is a microsite?
In simple terms, a microsite is a mini site that is an off shoot of the main web site. Blogs attached to web sites can be an example of a microsite.

How do I create a microsite?
This is one area that creates much in the way of discussion in the Search Engine Optimization world. You have three main options. A dedicated domain of its own, microsite.com; a sub-domain under your website, microsite.yourdomain.com; or a subdirectory, yourdomain.com/microsite. Each option has its benefits and the choice will depend on why you are establishing a microsite and what you hope to achieve.

Why create a microsite?
There are many benefits to creating microsites one of which is the ability to help in search engine optimization oucomes. Microsites lend themselves to hub type activity where your main web site sits at the center of a hub. Each microsite then sit, much like moons orbiting a planet. You can define each microsite for individual products or services. This is useful if you sell a variety of products or services that are either not related or only loosely related.

Example: you run a wedding arrangement service. This service also provide catering, flowers and transport. Your main site would be the complete wedding arrangements service. You could then create separate microsites for each of the business units. They would all link back to the parent site (and eventually provide search engine optimization benefits) whilst at the same time either trading individually and/or sending traffic to the parent site.

You can see the benefits that could be gained from such a setup. The type of setup you use would depend on your requirements. Do you want each business unit closely associated with the parent, or loosely? For loose associations, individual domain names would be ideal. For close associations, either a sub-domain or directory could be used.

Microsites can also be built around individual keyword groups with content dedicated to those keywords. Microsites with their own domains can have keywords built into the domain name.

How do microsites help my search engine optimization outcomes?
Microsites can provide strong link building opportunities particularly if the microsite has its own domain (on a separate host may even be better). Microsites that share the same domain help build the ranking of the parent site through increased links, content and tighter keyword usage.

Microsites can provide added momentum to your online business and deliver search engine optimization benefits to your main website. If the idea of using microsites appeals to you but you are not sure how to go about it give us a call at 877-295-0620.

Category: SEO

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