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Someone noticed a problem with a site I manage in that somewhere all the old alternative domain names which we keep paying for were in the Google search results. Some problem had come up somewhere possibly with a .htaccess file and now Google has indexed alternative domains displaying our main website (ouch.. SEO)

Once I let google honour the 301 redirects I've added back into the .htaccess from those old domains, is it actually worth having them resolving to our website at all?

Would I lose anything by just not setting the DNS at all, and just keep them renewing indefinitely not pointing at anything?

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    Do the alternate names get any users hitting them? What is the point in having them at all if they don't redirect to the website?
    – Stephen Ostermiller ♦
    Aug 3, 2022 at 16:54
  • @StephenOstermiller No they were never sites, just domain names, all resolving to the main domain. But is there any point in doing that? (Putting aside my current issue with duplicate websites which I need to propagate a 301 redirect from).
    – ja_him
    Aug 4, 2022 at 7:35
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    And the idea is often to capture type in traffic from misspellings or keyword domains. That's why I'm asking whether these domains actually get any use from users
    – Stephen Ostermiller ♦
    Aug 4, 2022 at 9:44
  • Oh I see, yes thanks... good point I'd forgotten about that aspect
    – ja_him
    Sep 5, 2022 at 13:36

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I think it all depends on how valuable the old domains are, if they do not have any reference weight and characteristics, I think it is easier to stop referring 301 redirect But if you have any share of traffic or for example your old domains know and go to them, I think you should make a 301 redirect and over time the search engine will assign the actual domain Imho it's just my opinion

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  • yeh, thanks... kinda a grey area I guess.. and "up to me"
    – ja_him
    Sep 5, 2022 at 13:37

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