Redirecting one domain to another...

[krx]

I'm wondering about "redirecting" traffic from one domain to another...

Say for example I own the domain Socks [dot] com (I don't) and I notice that WoolSocks [dot] com is for sale.

If I sell a lot of wool socks on my site, I assume it might make sense to pick up WoolSocks [dot] com and redirect the traffic to my site Socks [dot] com. But how do I place a value on it? Is there a formula for calculating what the traffic is worth?

Also, if I understand correctly, redirecting Woolsocks [dot] com would send all direct navigation traffic for it to my site. But WoolSocks dot com would not get much search engine traffic since it has no content - correct?

What if I were to put up seo-optimized content on WoolSocks [dot] com? Would this get it indexed in SERP and bring in more traffic? Or not? Is it an acceptable practice - seems like it might be questionable.

Thanks!

 

[shockie]

you can value the traffic that's redirected from woolsocks by how many sales you get on average from its traffic and how much profit you make on each sale (average).

woolsocks shouldn't get any search engine traffic.

it would get indexed, but there's no telling how much traffic it would bring it and how much of that traffic would then trickle down to socks anyway.

 

[krx]

you can value the traffic that's redirected from woolsocks by how many sales you get on average from its traffic and how much profit you make on each sale (average).

Thanks. Is there a method for valuing it before I buy it - for purposes of making an offer or knowing if it's worth the price? Also in my current situation I don't know the actual traffic just the adwords search volume.

it would get indexed, but there's no telling how much traffic it would bring it and how much of that traffic would then trickle down to socks anyway.

So the standard practice would be to leave the redirecting domain empty - with just a landing page or something - but no content?

 

[shockie]

i personally would build a site around woolsocks with good content, but also have its links all link to relevant pages on socks. this should help get traffic and also redirect it to where it would help you achieve the most conversions.

 

[HuntingMoon]

if it would bother you that a competitor acquired the keyword name, then it is another reason to acquire it.

 

[enlytend]

You'll usually do better with one big, site than a bunch of smaller ones - for one thing, if someone comes to your site looking for WoolSocks but then decides they'd rather buy a high-tech synthetic they can just go to another section of the Socks site - you don't risk losing them when they go offsite. Fewer maintenance headaches too.

You *could* use WoolSocks for a separate site, but you'd have to be careful of duplicate content issues between the two sites.

Assuming WoolSocks gets good direct-navigation traffic, I would 301 (permanent redirect) it to the top level page of a section on Socks that deals with Wool Socks. WoolSocks will NOT get indexed, but that's OK because Socks will be indexed, any pages on Socks featuring Wool Socks will still be indexed, and you'll get the type ins from WoolSocks.

For pricing - you could ask the owner about traffic and proof of traffic stats (if it's significant).