Multiple domains for the same website

Question

Short question: What is the optimal method for routing multiple Domains for the same website? Specifically, how to route a uri with an international tld (.рф or .срб) and an ascii tld (.ru or .rs respectively)?

Long question: I have two domain names for the same website, one ascii and one international (cyrillic), http://domain.rs and http://домен.срб pointing to the same website. On the one hand, I know many websites which use both domains equally and parallelly (such as for example http://rts.rs and http://ртс.срб), but on the other, I've been advised that it's a bad practice from SEO point of view, and that instead I should have one domain redirecting to the other. Аre there any advices, or resources where I could get informed about how to handle international domains alongside with ascii ones?

Answer 1

Using "parallel" domains, without some kind of canonicalization in-place, will result in duplicated content issue. So, I wouldn't suggest it at all.

(There is a "loop-hole", sort of speak, that allows different TLDs to appear independently for different locals but truly this gains you nothing at all, just removes some of the DC issues...)

If I understand you correctly, the right thing to do here is to stick to one Main Domain and use 301 redirects for all others (page to page preferably). Ascii or not, is irrelevant. For Main Domain, choose you "oldest" one or/and the one with most inbound links.

In the long run this is also most practical solution as it will allow you to concentrate your link-building efforts, focusing all inbound links around one Winner instead of just spreading them around among several Mediocres.