Need advice to fix a strange link-building strategy

[dsdd]

I have a bit of a situation that I need some advice for.

I have taken on a site with an interesting set-up regarding their SEO strategy.

The main site is a catalog of sorts, with pages for various products. On the same server, using the same database or an API, are a bunch of other sites (mostly built using the same template, although there are some variations) that are basically directories with links to the product pages on the main site. The links are all one-way, from the directories to the main catalog site. The main site performs OK but has been losing lots of traffic recently. The link directory sites mostly do not appear for 99% of any related searches.

The site owner is adamant that these extra links from the directory sites are good for business, but I think the main site would be better off without all of the junk links pointing to it.

My question is how good are these links for the main site and what should I advise my client?

[frank]

Are you saying the main site is linked from all the other sites in the same server? If yes then i will say that its a bit risky!!

[dsdd]

Are you saying the main site is linked from all the other sites in the same server? If yes then i will say that its a bit risky!!

Yes, the other sites are all within the same shared hosting account, so on the same server. They all link to the main site.

Would moving the directory sites to different servers be an option or is the while idea a bit sketchy?

[white knight]

I would say move them asap.

[ksmith29]

If they are sharing the same ip then you have to move them now. Or, otherwise get new ips separately for them.

[dsdd]

If they are sharing the same ip then you have to move them now. Or, otherwise get new ips separately for them.

Would they all need their own IPs to improve their "worth", or can they all be moved to a single shared hosting account on any server away from the main site?

[ksmith29]

Its not about worth. If google finds that they are sharing the same ip then it will know that its owner is one person in this case you. You will probably get penalized.

[hema29]

I have a bit of a situation that I need some advice for.

I have taken on a site with an interesting set-up regarding their SEO strategy.

The main site is a catalog of sorts, with pages for various products. On the same server, using the same database or an API, are a bunch of other sites (mostly built using the same template, although there are some variations) that are basically directories with links to the product pages on the main site. The links are all one-way, from the directories to the main catalog site. The main site performs OK but has been losing lots of traffic recently. The link directory sites mostly do not appear for 99% of any related searches.

The site owner is adamant that these extra links from the directory sites are good for business, but I think the main site would be better off without all of the junk links pointing to it.

My question is how good are these links for the main site and what should I advise my client?

Are they all directories? And they are same or alike?

[danni]

Basically you have a server. So, build a couple of sites and the just link back to one?!!

I will just ask that what were you thinking while doing that?

[dsdd]

Basically you have a server. So, build a couple of sites and the just link back to one?!!

I will just ask that what were you thinking while doing that?

That's what I was thinking. I don't know who put this "plan" in place, or when it was done, but it's up to me to try fix it for my client.

The directory sites are mostly all the same, with a few of them tailored to focus on particular product sub-categories. They don't have any unique content as everything originates from the main site and they are not very well optimized either. Visually they look quite dated, so I'm assuming that they were built a long time ago when it was possibly easier to manipulate search results with link schemes such as these.

I am going to recommend that the directory sites are taken down and follow a more textbook approach to link-building and other SEO improvements for the main site. I feel that moving the directory sites to their own IP addresses isn't really going to solve anything as it still feels like a "not completely honest" approach to the task. If the client refuses I might drop the job.

Thanks for everyone's input.