multiple sites ranking for same terms?

Hi,

I have a website that ranks #1 for many of the terms I want it to, and I've created a few other websites which I'm working on ranking for those terms too.

I have the resources behind me to get all three ranking on the first page of Google.

Each site has unique content however uses the same theme but with a different logo and name...

Has Google published any guidelines on this or what should I keep in mind whilst trying to rank the additional domains? They've entered top 20 for the target keywords so I want to make sure as they progress to the first page, the sites are not at risk of being penalised.

Will I run into issues and if so, what should I keep in mind to avoid penalties? The sites have unique content and whitehat backlinks.

I have seen a local company dominating the search engine rankings in top 20 results with atleast 5 sites having same theme. So if it is a local keyword then same theme is fine as long as content is unique. However if i were them, i would make some significant design changes to make all sites look quite different from each other.

In a perfect world, you should be fine if you separate all of them and don't connect them in any way. Like @Real SEO Lab said, change the design at least

No problem

This is not only advisable but currently the main practice for some of the largest media companies in the world.

Next time you Google anything look at the ranking on the first page.
most of the big players are conglomerates (techradar - healthline - cnet - reviews.com) most of these sites are owned by a small number of companies.

Just like when you go to a convenience store and look at the candy bar options. Each bar isn't an individual company but rather different "selections" offered by the same company to capture more of the market appetite.

So hells-to-the-yes if you have the money DO IT!

Grab as much of the first page spots for as many keywords as you possibly can with different sites.

I do this on all the really good keywords I find. Just keep them as separated as possible (like if you were building a PBN). Domain registrar, hosting, themes, etc etc.

Keep them on different servers and domains on privacy, that how they gather millions of traffic in adult niche. It works for mainstream too. Just don't connect them in mainstream niches.