so i wasn't sure where to place this thread so i selected this one.

so, i have 5 websites. will it hurt my rankings if i place all 5 sites on the same server? and also use the same database for all?

will google think that they are kinda the same site and will hurt all of them?

thanks in advance!!

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downtown san diego real estate
Freelance Programmer
downtown san diego condos

I'm not an SEO, but from what I understand it should not be a problem. As long as its unique content on each site your fine.

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Dallas Office Space - San Antonio Real Estate - Dallas Real Estate

You referenced Google specifically so I moved it to the Google forum.

Will 5 sites on the same server alone effect your SEO in a negative manner? Absolutely not - in fact some shared hosting providers host hundreds if not thousands of domains (Granted not all for the same client) on the same servers - Google understands that not everyone can afford a dedicated server and most will have to go shared (Mom and pops) so not an issue at all.

What this does open you up to (If you are doing anything shady) is making it easier for a search engine auditor to find your sites, should they feel the need to assess penalties etc, you are providing them a roadmap to your other sites (But it's not like you can hide anything from Google anyways, people who think unique IP's are protecting their spammy activities are fooling themselves)

If you are above board - don't sweat it - if you aren't, you have bigger problems than a shared server

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Want to save up to 50% off Real estate webmasters product websites & common upgrades? Check out my latest blog post regarding our end of the year sale.

I would just be careful to avoid excessively cross-linking the sites together.

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John Allen
Realtor®/Broker
Allen Real Estate Services, Inc.
Sarasota, Florida
Representing buyers and sellers of fine Sarasota real estate.

John,

How would you describe "excessive" cross-linking?

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Tim Golden
Real Estate Webmaster
Huntsville Alabama Real Estate
Huntsville Alabama Homes

Moderation is the key.

Here is a older artice, but still pretty good information -

www(dot)associateprograms.com/articles/23/1/Excessive-crosslinking-woes

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John Allen
Realtor®/Broker
Allen Real Estate Services, Inc.
Sarasota, Florida
Representing buyers and sellers of fine Sarasota real estate.

John - Thanks for the link to that article. I found it very useful information in what Allan G was expressing to the reader. I think I had experienced that situation on one of my smaller less used sites. the site had disappeared from the top ten page results with g. As soon as I noticed the problem and fixed it...I was back to normal within a month. Cross linking was definitely the problem.

If I ever make any big changes to my sites, I always make a quick note in a save word doc for each of my sites. By doing this I can trace my steps if a problem arises, and work backwards to fix the situation.

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Jerry Campbell, CRS, GRI
Muljat Group
Bellingham, WA 98225
Professional REALTOR for 15 years
BA WWU Management of Information Systems
Bellingham Real Estate | Bellingham Homes For Sale | Whatcom County Real Estate

If you want to talk about excessive crosslinking...why doesn't realtor.com get penalized, just look at the bottom of their home page.

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Jason Painter
Broker | Owner | REALTOR®
PROGRAM Realty, LLC
Englewood Florida Real Estate | Boca Grande Real Estate | Port Charlotte Real Estate

Diversity of link portfolio, it is not excessive (This is opinion) if the interlinking between a few associated domains makes up a very small portion (Not the majority) of your link portfolio.

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Want to save up to 50% off Real estate webmasters product websites & common upgrades? Check out my latest blog post regarding our end of the year sale.

Exactly, I have 13 personal real estate sites on the same server and they all share links but there are many more links involved. Most of the sites have page one rankings for various terms.

It is only natural for me to link my different sites to each other. They are all different and offer the user a different experience but they are all related.

Now if I was trying to game the system it would be another story.

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