Why 1 website is better than numerous microsites

There has been no shortage of providers recommending and businesses building micro- websites for each product or service.

If this is still you, you need to be asking why?

I've never been a big fan of this approach as in most cases it just doesn't seem natural. Thankfully Google has been cracking down on exact match domains, thin websites and low quality links. This has resulted in a reduction of microsites and online clutter.

When this practice was heavily adopted, each microsite ranged from 1 to a few pages and was usually attached to an exact match domain name such as; www.micrositeaudit.com.au , www.websiteaudit.com.au , www.searchaudit.com.au

In today’s world of Google, the benefits are minimal if any and at best these would now be sub sections within one website.

The benefits in building your content within one website include;

1. More focus and cleaner strategy by concentrating on one asset
2. Greater authority
3. Bigger footprint
4. Cross readership of content and services by your potential clients
5. Easier maintainability
6. Reduction of old and out of date content
7. Reduced costs and headache of owning and hosting large amounts of domain names/websites

While microsites still have their place, it’s now more about brand than manipulating Google search results for more exposure.

Microsite benefits include;

1. More focused offering – topic – content – call to action
2. Less menu options and distractions – unique menu
3. Different format – creative and branding compared to main website
4. More engaging with video, social and other elements

Microsites can be used for;

1. Movie release
2. Product launch
3. Specific campaign

Remember whatever you do;

1. Back it with intel
2. Be able to answer why your taking this strategic approach
3. Always ask yourself what is my target audience looking for and;
4. Always embed a business outcome relevant to the activity