Looking to the future, expanding horizons?

[rpiereck]

I actually like keeping SAAB World for the same reasons Lex Andrews states. Is there a way to keep both?

[nordwulf]

Hey, I've just put the only 2 stickers on my car in the past 3 weeks. One's the SAABWORLD.NET on the rear screen and a GB sticker. The car's earnt both, through hard work and because it's an individual against many. Not sure what i'm trying to say but, going with a more generic name could wipe out the individualism of the site. I'm not saying don't expand and diversify, just do it steady and remember the core demographic. US LOT. Is this a pre-cursor to a buy out like on SAABCENTRAL???.

Absolutely not! The enthusiast spirit without commercial exploitation from SaabWorld will remain. This possible change to expand is to provide an independent site for any kind of brand and put a bit more emphasis on the general topics related to automobiles and their use. And when someone sells their Saab, they can still stay here if they enjoy being part of this community.

I actually like keeping SAAB World for the same reasons Lex Andrews states. Is there a way to keep both?

We'll definitely keep the saabworld.net domain name which will be forwarded to the Saab section. We can even keep on using SaabWorld as the name. And VolvoWorld, MercedesWorld and so on.

We can't keep using the same saabworld.net links because Google doesn't like duplicate content with multiple links. The site software is also licensed to one domain.

So for example, a URL like this: http://saabworld.net/f141/9-4x-tow-hitch-24639/

will become: http://automobileworld.org/f141/9-4x-tow-hitch-24639/

Perhaps we can use something like http://saab.automobileworld.org/f141/9-4x-tow-hitch-24639/ but I haven't researched that in depth yet, especially how that will affect search engine ranking. It may be better to have it like that.

So perhaps we can have separate sub domains for each brand. saab.automobileworld.org, volvo.automobileworld.org and so on.

[rpiereck]

I think as long as the original SAABworld.net links to the SAAB section we are good. I would have to lose that direct connection.

[Dave T]

So perhaps we can have separate sub domains for each brand. saab.automobileworld.org, volvo.automobileworld.org and so on.

The saabworld.net name will always be catchy. People may click on it just for that, just like someone might click to pontiacworld.net. How about subdomains like volvo.saabworld.net and bmw.saabworld.net?

I wonder if there is any interest to follow the civil airliners, Saab 340 and Saab 2000? Or how about the saga of the Saab Gripen? The latest news is about the development of the JAS 39E/F and whether Switzerland will complete its plans to buy it. If Switzerland buys it, Sweden will go through with plans to buy it, too. The JAS 39E/F will have a largely new airframe, new mid and aft fuselage sections and landing gear.

[Mark_Venture]

We'll definitely keep the saabworld.net domain name which will be forwarded to the Saab section. We can even keep on using SaabWorld as the name. And VolvoWorld, MercedesWorld and so on.

We can't keep using the same saabworld.net links because Google doesn't like duplicate content with multiple links. The site software is also licensed to one domain.

So for example, a URL like this: http://saabworld.net/f141/9-4x-tow-hitch-24639/

will become: AutomobileWorld

Perhaps we can use something like saab.automobileworld.org but I haven't researched that in depth yet, especially how that will affect search engine ranking. It may be better to have it like that.

So perhaps we can have separate sub domains for each brand. saab.automobileworld.org, volvo.automobileworld.org and so on.

I like the idea of Saabworld.net being a landing page for the Saab section.. from there, the links to the forum, garage, etc would take us to the "new" domain name.

If possible to have sub domains for saab.automobileworld.org, volvo.automobileworld.org, etc. with each being a "landing page" for news/info on those brands, again with links to the main forum, garage, etc... (like volvo.automobileworld.org lands on a re-director to the "volvo only" news page...) would probably work best... IF its do-able.

Maybe have saabworld.net land on a re-director to the "saab only" news articles of the automobileworld.org site. so that saabworld.net and saab.automobileworld.org take a user to the exact same place.

[nordwulf]

Great discussion so far, thanks for your input.

This is a post I made in another forum to get some advice on how to set it up the domain and subdomains. Hope it makes sense.

Domain change and new subdomains - vBulletin SEO Forums

Our site currently is a single brand automotive site with specific forums for that brand and a few general sections/sub forums. We would like to diversify and make it a site for many brands with a new domain name.

For example, our current site is saabworld.net and we want to switch to something like autoworld.org. For each brand, we would like to have a sub section maintaining a unique identity. For example volvo.autoworld.org, saab.autoworld.org and so on. Or even autoworld.org/saab/ , autoworld.org/volvo/ and so on. And keep all common automotive forums at autoworld.org.

We currently have vBSEO set up to use forum numbers, for example

http://saabworld.net/f10/
http://saabworld.net/f10/infotainment-bluetooth-phone-new-saab-9-5-a-26300/

So the new setup should be, for example

Saab

http://autoworld.org/saab/f10/
http://autoworld.org/saab/f10/infotainment-bluetooth-phone-new-saab-9-5-a-26300/

or

http://saab.autoworld.org/f10/
http://saab.autoworld.org/f10/infotainment-bluetooth-phone-new-saab-9-5-a-26300/

Volvo

http://autoworld.org/volvo/f165/
http://autoworld.org/volvo/f165/volvo-car-corporation-presents-all-new-volvo-v40-26373/

or

http://volvo.autoworld.org/f165/
http://volvo.autoworld.org/f165/volvo-car-corporation-presents-all-new-volvo-v40-26373/

Is it possible to set up a site with vBSEO like this?
And equally important, are search engines going to like this setup?

[nordwulf]

I also started with testing in setting up the brand forums to show sidebars with specific information for that brand like latest articles, forum posts. Mercedes-Benz

I also set up new calendars to show events for that brand only. I would also like to set it up so it shows random garage images, random Gallery images and ads from the Marketplace for that brand only.

And if you view the common Automobile world forums, you should the above information for all brands. It's not finished by any means but it gives an idea of the final setup.

[Dave T]

I also started with testing in setting up the brand forums to show sidebars with specific information for that brand like latest articles, forum posts. Mercedes-Benz
.

Consider what brands to have. Here are my initial thoughts:

Geely: no
Kia: no
Subaru: maybe
Nissan: no
Acura: maybe
Ford: no
Cadillac: no
BMW: yes
Mercedes Benz: yes
Volvo: yes
Audi: yes
VW: maybe
MINI: maybe
Porsche: no
Rolls Royce: no

Basically, Saab-like cars.

[rpiereck]

But what if a future member has a SAAB and a Kia? Or a SAAB and a Ford? I think if we go into the direction of opening this as a general automotive forum then we need to have all brands, including those that don't sell in the US, like Skoda, Lancia, Daihatsu, Samsung, etc.

What could be done is grouping brands one way or another. Euro, Asian, American, etc. Or we could do VAG (VW, Audi, Bentley, Skoda, Lamborghini, etc), Fiat Group (Fiat, Dodge, Chrysler, Ferrari, Maserati, etc). BMW Group (BMW, MINI, Rolls Royce), Hyundai Group (Hyundai, Kia), etc.

Also, if you go by which brands are more SAAB-like you will need to define SAAB-ness, and that is highly subjective. I believe Subaru is very SAAB-like, while BMW is nothing at all SAAB-like. I would include Subaru before BMW if SAAB-ness is a requirement.

[nordwulf]

I thought about grouping as well. With globalization, it becomes increasingly difficult to group automobiles in regions. With a brand like Saab, it is easy to see that should be under Europe. What about Nissan? Their offerings and consumers for the North American market are very different from Europe and Japan. The Altima and Maxima aren't even sold in Europe and it is made and designed in the USA. So should Nissan still be grouped under Asia?

Chevrolet sells small cars Europe which are basically rebranded cars from Korea. Should those be listed under North America? Ford is another one that has common world platforms but distinct offerings for each region. The Focus is pretty much the same now in Europe and North America but it wasn't like that with the previous models. In Europe they have the C-max and Kuga and other models not sold in North America. So should we have a Ford Europe, Ford NA and Ford Australia forum?

You can also make an argument for grouping forums into platforms. GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado are different brands but basically the same truck. Those combined had larger sales numbers than the Ford F150, even though the F150 was always considered as the 'best selling truck in North America'. Same for the Saab 9-7X and other GM trucks on that same platform. Subaru Impreza and Saab 9-2. The new Subaru BRZ and Toyota GT 86 are pretty much the same car so should those be grouped in the same forum or separate under Toyota and Subaru forums?

I used to work for the publishing company Crain Communications and worked with their automotive data center (Automotive News, AutoWeek) trying to group all technical and sales data into one single database. And that was just for the North American market. It sounds fairly easy but try to normalize this data for the worldwide automotive market and it can become pretty complicated. Very interesting though.

Perhaps it is best to just stick to brands without additional grouping for now. Most auto owners identify mostly with a brand and often don't know where their car is designed or made. When we have 1000s of new members talking about their automobiles, we can go from there if additional grouping is needed.