uk vs com domain

[onedaydayone]

I have 2 websites for 2 different locations. For the entire US I'm using a .com domain, and for the UK, a .co.uk domain.

Currently, I'm creating content and blog posts for both and publishing them through both domains. Topics are the same, but the content differs slightly, I'd say ±15-20%, mainly in language changes such as soccer vs. football, etc.

It seems that in some cases, when I search for a specific long-tail term in the US, I get UK domain results instead of .com domain results. Does that mean I can't avoid cannibalization?

One domain has been live for 3+ years, the other for only half a year. What would you recommend? Remove all the content from one domain, or keep growing both and check the results later?

 

[NirvanaWolf]

If both of them essentially have the same content, why compete against yourself?

I'd personally stick to just the .com one and redirect .co.uk one to the .com

 

[ads studio]

this is actually the worng way to go about this even if the domain service are the same it shouldnt be the same comtent each country have its own selling keywords to use and content, so it wont work at all

 

[BlackShield]

here I wouldn't delete anything yet. Keep both domains, make the content more locally relevant, and use proper hreflang + self-canonicals. Monitor GSC for a few months; only consider removing/merging pages if Google consistently chooses the wrong version.

 

[Panther28]

Have you got 2 different revenue streams? As well as 2 different host packages? If so you made a smart move. Keep them. Otherwise, well think Ebay operates 2 different sites and so do many others, and they share content. If you are finding you can make it work, then you have an advantage with 2 stacked options in the card deck of SEO.

Also if you sell advertising, you might be able to get different options and rates for each site, depending on the analytics. Keep what you can manage though. If your issue is costs, and scalability then maybe yes scale back and consolidate to one site, like @NirvanaWolf says redirecting to the .com daddy.

I never heard what hreflang (thanks @Galilei ) is but yes, you can use that if you want as a first call, to see if you can consolation your domination with both sites still up and running? Up to you. Try, and test.

Good luck.

 

[dimdavid0]

I have 2 websites for 2 different locations. For the entire US I'm using a .com domain, and for the UK, a .co.uk domain.

Currently, I'm creating content and blog posts for both and publishing them through both domains. Topics are the same, but the content differs slightly, I'd say ±15-20%, mainly in language changes such as soccer vs. football, etc.

It seems that in some cases, when I search for a specific long-tail term in the US, I get UK domain results instead of .com domain results. Does that mean I can't avoid cannibalization?

One domain has been live for 3+ years, the other for only half a year. What would you recommend? Remove all the content from one domain, or keep growing both and check the results later?

Nothing should be removed at the moment, Google is capable of understanding geo-targeting; however, similar topics within two different domains may confuse signals. I would suggest you to localize the content and use proper hreflang; then, give some time to see the results.

 

[MajestySEO]

I have 2 websites for 2 different locations. For the entire US I'm using a .com domain, and for the UK, a .co.uk domain.

Currently, I'm creating content and blog posts for both and publishing them through both domains. Topics are the same, but the content differs slightly, I'd say ±15-20%, mainly in language changes such as soccer vs. football, etc.

It seems that in some cases, when I search for a specific long-tail term in the US, I get UK domain results instead of .com domain results. Does that mean I can't avoid cannibalization?

One domain has been live for 3+ years, the other for only half a year. What would you recommend? Remove all the content from one domain, or keep growing both and check the results later?

curious, at what point does the content difference between two geo targeted domains become enough for google to treat them as genuinely separate? is 15-20% variation actually sufficient or does it need to be closer to fully localised content?

 

[onedaydayone]

curious, at what point does the content difference between two geo targeted domains become enough for google to treat them as genuinely separate? is 15-20% variation actually sufficient or does it need to be closer to fully localised content?

I don't think anyone knows. I'm just running some experiments and checking how it goes. Currently, the main AI Overviews for the UK domain seem to come only from the same country. However, for the .com domain, AI Overview results come from different countries across Europe, Asia etc.

 

[MajestySEO]

I don't think anyone knows. I'm just running some experiments and checking how it goes. Currently, the main AI Overviews for the UK domain seem to come only from the same country. However, for the .com domain, AI Overview results come from different countries across Europe, Asia etc.

that's actually a really useful data point. the AI Overview sourcing pattern (uk domain pulling uk sources, .com pulling broader international ones) suggests google is already treating them as separate enough at the entity level, even if the content overlap is still high. worth tracking whether that pattern holds as you push the content difference further

what's your current content variation sitting at roughly, still around 15-20% or have you pushed it further since?

 

[onedaydayone]

This was my first ever experiment with this case.

If 15-20% isn't enough, I will try increasing it to 20-30% by fully rewriting some paragraphs and adding more region-specific wording, inches/cm, pounds/kg, etc., to make the differentiation clearer.

 

[MajestySEO]

This was my first ever experiment with this case.

If 15-20% isn't enough, I will try increasing it to 20-30% by fully rewriting some paragraphs and adding more region-specific wording, inches/cm, pounds/kg, etc., to make the differentiation clearer.

humm... makes sense. the unit/measurement localisation (inches vs cm, pounds vs kg) is actually one of the cleaner signals google can pick up on since it's factual differentiation not just rewording. worth testing that 20-30% range and seeing if the AI Overview sourcing pattern shifts at all. curious what you find.

 

[gregstereo]

I have 2 websites for 2 different locations. For the entire US I'm using a .com domain, and for the UK, a .co.uk domain.

Currently, I'm creating content and blog posts for both and publishing them through both domains. Topics are the same, but the content differs slightly, I'd say ±15-20%, mainly in language changes such as soccer vs. football, etc.

It seems that in some cases, when I search for a specific long-tail term in the US, I get UK domain results instead of .com domain results. Does that mean I can't avoid cannibalization?

One domain has been live for 3+ years, the other for only half a year. What would you recommend? Remove all the content from one domain, or keep growing both and check the results later?

I wouldn't remove the content yet. A .co.uk domain showing in US results doesn't automatically mean cannibalization. Focus on proper hreflang, clear US/UK targeting, and enough localization beyond just changing a few words.

Keep both growing, but make each version clearly targeted to its intended audience.

 

[Lucianiu]

I have 2 websites for 2 different locations. For the entire US I'm using a .com domain, and for the UK, a .co.uk domain.

Currently, I'm creating content and blog posts for both and publishing them through both domains. Topics are the same, but the content differs slightly, I'd say ±15-20%, mainly in language changes such as soccer vs. football, etc.

It seems that in some cases, when I search for a specific long-tail term in the US, I get UK domain results instead of .com domain results. Does that mean I can't avoid cannibalization?

One domain has been live for 3+ years, the other for only half a year. What would you recommend? Remove all the content from one domain, or keep growing both and check the results later?

still, I would insist on using both version nd the 2nd one could be localized specifically for the UK audience to make sure that the latter version is indeed localized nd not just re-keyworded.

 

[GFXnext]

Keep the content unique and localized for each market.

 

[Maria Vendor]

I would not remove the content yet Since the sites target different countries I would focus on stronger geo signals and make the content more locally relevant rather than only changing words like soccer and football Then monitor both domains before making a major decision

 

[Rank Master]

I wouldn't remove the content yet. I would make the US and UK versions more different with local terms, measurements, examples and search intent. Then give Google some time and see which domain it prefers for each location.