Domain Forwarding/Masking SEO Implications

[getMarkus]

Hello,

I am unfamiliar with the potential consequences of domain forwarding/masking and whether or not a 301 or 302 redirect is appropriate given my situation.

My situation goes like this...

I have my "Main" site which I focus the majority of my attention on. I also have about 50 highly related domain names to the main site. Currently I am parking those sites while I start to slowly develop them over time. However, developing them all will take a numerous amount of time. In the mean time I was thinking about forwarding the domains to my main site. I would prefer the added traffic rather then the parking revenue.

Most likely anyone typing in the related domains would be happy to go to the main site based on the highly relevant information it provides.

What is the best way to accomplish this?

Should I just do standard forwarding using either a 301 or 302 redirect? If so, which should I use? If I go 301 (permanently) and then get to developing the domain in a few months will it be hard to get the site back into the search engines?

I've heard mixed reviews on masking... does masking hurt your search rankings due to duplicate content or is this just a rumor?

Any information the more experienced could provide would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Markus

 

[cache]

if you later on develop different contents than your current main site, it will really does not mater. If your domains have type-in taffic, then they will help your main site though

 

[sags]

Because you are forwarding to your main site, it might not matter, but I created some websites at blogger.com

The problem is Google indexed them, they rank high in search results, but a visitor is taken to the blogger site where it says they don't exist.

Maybe just my problem but it is irritating. Once Google indexes a dead link, you are stuck with it for awhile.

 

[getMarkus]

if you later on develop different contents than your current main site, it will really does not mater. If your domains have type-in taffic, then they will help your main site though

Thanks for the response... There is a decent amount of type-in traffic which I figured would be worth redirecting to the relevant main site rather then a boring parked page in this instance.

I am going to run some tests using a couple of the domains to see what happens with indexing and then develop them to see if there is a delay or trouble getting them indexed. Normally with the types of sites I create they are indexed within a few days.

Because you are forwarding to your main site, it might not matter, but I created some websites at blogger.com

The problem is Google indexed them, they rank high in search results, but a visitor is taken to the blogger site where it says they don't exist.

Maybe just my problem but it is irritating. Once Google indexes a dead link, you are stuck with it for awhile.

Right, I am not looking to be stuck with dead links in the eyes of Google since I rely so heavily on them for traffic. Hopefully, the spiders will pickup on the fact the domains are now developed and adjust the status fairly quickly.

Anyone else have any experience with forwarding that can chime in?