Redirect on keyword

Eye seven · 21 Jan 2013 at 11:33

Hi guys, need some help on getting this right. Bit of background. I run a travel website that is very geographically targetted. However, the area name coincides with a large tour operators' name so I get a lot of traffic that should go to them. So, here is my thinking. I can become an affiliate of said tour operator and then redirect traffic based upon that one keyword phrase to either forward them directly having put my affiliate ID onto it or onto a specific page where they can then click through to the tour operator.

So here are my issues. I am happy with how to do this technically but I am unsure on how good an idea this is in as far as would Google frown upon me doing this and which method would be best. I don't want to jeopordize my sites ranking as it does well and earns me some good pocket money. On the other hand if I did redirect I have calculated that it would earn me around another £3,000 a year based on my site stats. So, any help on how to handle this would really be greatly appreciated. Ask any questions if I have been unclear on any point as I really want to get this right. Thanks very much in advance.

Eye seven · 22 Jan 2013 at 11:42

Shameless bump but also: I know this is a really specific question so does anyone know a forum that would be better equipped to give me some answers to the above? Cheers.

Eye seven · 23 Jan 2013 at 11:13

Thanks for the reply. As I said technically I am happy on how to do it. A 301 would not work as almost all traffic from that particular keyword lands on my home page so I would not want to redirect that. All I want to do is intercept traffic arriving to the site that has that keyword and redirect just that but I am unsure on how good an idea that is from a Google point of view. If anyone has any views on that aspect I would be really interested in your opinions as the last thing I want to do is lose my current Google ranking.

Eye seven · 24 Jan 2013 at 12:34

Dave,

Thanks for the reply and here are some answers to your questions in the hope they will help you help me make the right decision.

The page they land on is my home page as that is the page most optimised to the area (which shares the name of the tour operator). The search they are making is within search engines, I have no search facility on my site. The bounce rate is over 90% so I think we can be pretty sure they are on the wrong site and those that do browse my site do so very quickly and with way under my average page views so again probably just curious rather than someone I could count on for a potential sale.

Hope that helps but just a point on your last paragraph as this is really the question I was trying to ask. As I see it I have two options. The first is I can intercept the keyword and move them to a page on my site saying something along the lines of "Were you looking for XYZ? Then click here". The other option is to intercept the keyword and then automatically forward the user to the other site having apended my affiliate ID. So, based upon the fact that a user is arriving at my site incorrectly using that one keyword phrase what is the best option and does either option have any negative impact with Google for my site ranking for other keywords?

Phew, hope all that makes sense. Cheers.

Eye seven · 24 Jan 2013 at 15:23

Thanks once again. My preferred method is to do a URL redirection with my affiliate ID attached - leave nothing to chance! I am top of Google currently for my main couple of keyword phrases. So, anyone any experience with this in regards to negative SEO impact or can I go ahead feeling happy and very slightly better off?