So what is your opinion about this website from a marketing standpoint? It’s a clean good looking website targeting a very specific audience in a clean manor, but I’d be really worried if I was Rutgers about it not staying consistent with their message for a few reasons.
Why is it hosted on it’s own domain?! I always think it’s a bad idea to build something on a new domain when you already have an established domain. Besides all of the SEO reasons against this, you also have credibility issues. If someone sees something that is on a domain or sub-domain of Rutgers.edu then the user knows that the can trust it. You have a perfectly good and VERY well trusted domain not to mention the fact it’s a .edu domain and going out and setting up a .com domain. Why?!
To me this site looks like an example of someone splitting off the message and rebelling against the school to do what they want. I know not my problem, but I just felt compelled to speak out I guess. Just my 2 cents…
I think it is a pretty common trend, is to use a different domain for microsites. Yes there are some SEO type issues. But you can take a different approach than your typical marketing / message.
My favorite microsite is the Biola Undergrad site. It stays in the domain but diverges quit a bit from their usual look and feel.
I think another common place where external domains are used is for development or giving sites. In some case it is because it is a separate entity from the university.
I’m not saying I don’t agree with you, I was just being devils advocate and giving some of the reasons this is done.
That Biola site is definitely one of the “purdiest” Higher Education websites on the web no doubt! That being said I don’t think it hurts their message at all either. And as noted it still resides on the biola.edu domain. I guess that’s my biggest thing, keeping it all on a single domain. Not to mention there is the Alexa traffic value bundled and ability to segment and join the tracking in services like GA.
3 Comments
March 7th, 2008 at March 7, 2008
Matt,
So what is your opinion about this website from a marketing standpoint? It’s a clean good looking website targeting a very specific audience in a clean manor, but I’d be really worried if I was Rutgers about it not staying consistent with their message for a few reasons.
Why is it hosted on it’s own domain?! I always think it’s a bad idea to build something on a new domain when you already have an established domain. Besides all of the SEO reasons against this, you also have credibility issues. If someone sees something that is on a domain or sub-domain of Rutgers.edu then the user knows that the can trust it. You have a perfectly good and VERY well trusted domain not to mention the fact it’s a .edu domain and going out and setting up a .com domain. Why?!
To me this site looks like an example of someone splitting off the message and rebelling against the school to do what they want. I know not my problem, but I just felt compelled to speak out I guess. Just my 2 cents…
March 7th, 2008 at March 7, 2008
I think it is a pretty common trend, is to use a different domain for microsites. Yes there are some SEO type issues. But you can take a different approach than your typical marketing / message.
My favorite microsite is the Biola Undergrad site. It stays in the domain but diverges quit a bit from their usual look and feel.
I think another common place where external domains are used is for development or giving sites. In some case it is because it is a separate entity from the university.
I’m not saying I don’t agree with you, I was just being devils advocate and giving some of the reasons this is done.
March 7th, 2008 at March 7, 2008
That Biola site is definitely one of the “purdiest” Higher Education websites on the web no doubt! That being said I don’t think it hurts their message at all either. And as noted it still resides on the biola.edu domain. I guess that’s my biggest thing, keeping it all on a single domain. Not to mention there is the Alexa traffic value bundled and ability to segment and join the tracking in services like GA.