Subdomain vs. Folder: Which one is better for SEO?
Webmasters often have to address concerns that using a subdomain for a blog could hurt SEO performance.
The debate whether to use a subdomain or a folder for a blog is not new in the SEO world. Just a few clicks away you can find tons of articles on Google that claim one option is better than the other. Some even disclose studies and traffic data trying to debunk this SEO question.
So, should you put your content on a subdomain, or should you put it in a folder?
This question is especially important when it comes to blogs, but there are other types of content where it might apply:
- specific language/country content
- different department content: HR, Developers, Support, Affiliates
- niche content that you want to be distinct from the main site: Laptops, Groceries, Cosmetics for an ecommerce site; Paris, London, Barcelona for a travel website;
What’s Google’s official stance on the subdomain vs. folder SEO debate?
The historical context is that Google used to crawl based on host (ex. subdomain) and it would only display 2 results from each host. In that situation it might make sense to have more subdomains to increase your chances to have more URLs listed in the search results. When people started abusing this to get more and more subdomains on a results page, Google changed that in a way that would display only a limited number of URLs from a given domain, not just from a subdomain.
Now, Google says that subdomains and folders are roughly equivalent. Matt Cutts’ advice is to go with whichever is easier for you in terms of configuration, CMS, etc.
Here’s Matt Cutts‘ video explaining this in 2012:
John Mueller, Webmaster Trends Analyst at Google, says that Google recognises that some sites use subdomains as different parts of the site, in the same way that other sites might use subdirectories.
Here’s the hangout where he answered this question in 2016:
Some webmasters argue that Matt and John’s videos are not specific enough and that you need to read between the lines.
Moz’s position: Go for the folders
Moz has a very strong recommendation of using folders over subdomains. This recommendation is supported by the tests they’ve done:
“I can’t tell you how many times we’ve seen and we’ve actually tested ourselves by first putting content on a subdomain and then moving it back over to the main domain with Moz. We’ve done that three times over that past two years. Each time we’ve seen a considerable boost in rankings and in search traffic, both long tail and head of the demand curve to these, and we’re not alone.”
SEO Theory’s position: No difference between subdomains and folders
SEO Theory is a great SEO resource and their articles are all considered and coherent. Their position on this issue is that if you’re doing it right, there is virtually no difference in performance between subdomains and subfolders.
Their advice can be summarized:
“You have to support the content with real search engine optimization, and that means you have to know what you are doing. There is absolutely no reason for a blog on a subdomain to underperform a blog on a root, except your own incompetence at search engine optimisation.”
They even cite their own case studies where subdomains outperformed root domains.
Read their whole article here: http://www.seo-theory.com/2015/02/06/subdomains-vs-subfolders-what-are-the-facts-on-rankings/
Let’s see some practical examples
Every time you encounter a SEO challenge, first read Google’s official documentation on the issue. Also, do your research and see other points of view. It’s also a good idea to check how others addressed the issue. And by others I mean industry leaders like amazon.com, tripadvisor.com, zillow.com, or other brands with a strong online presence in your niche.
Amazon.com
Amazon is known for selling virtually anything online, so it’s not a surprise they use a lot of subdomains for different parts of their business. However, given that we’re talking about brand extensions, their choice was not whether to use subdomains or folders, but more whether to use subdomains or entirely separate domains.
How about their blogs? Here are some of their URLs:
https://developer.amazon.com/blogs
https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/
https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/
They use folders for their blogs, however, this may be an entirely technical decision or they might just not like how a sub-subdomain looks like. (https://blogs.aws.amazon.com/security actually existed and it’s still in Google’s index, but is now redirected to https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/)
TripAdvisor.com
They use different domains for country specific content. For their blogs they chose folders:
http://blog.tripadvisor.com/
http://blog.tripadvisor.co.uk/
However, they also have an engineering blog which is hosted under a subdomain: http://engineering.tripadvisor.com/
Zillow.com
http://www.zillow.com/blog/ is their blog, using a folder under the root domain.
In the same way you can analyse your niche leaders and see their choice.
How about en entirely different domain?
Using entirely distinct domains for a blog is less common. A separate domain is usually an appropriate solution for microsites. A microsite is a small(er) auxiliary website designed to function as a supplement to a primary/parent website. You might need a microsite for a certain marketing campaign, event, etc. However, using them only makes sense when you have enough resources to market that content as a different brand or as a differentiable extension of the parent brand.
In other words, always ask yourself: Is this content unique enough to separate it from the parent brand? Do we have the resources to pull this through?
Here are 2 great example of using a new domain:
Domino’s Pizza uses an entirely distinct domain for their DXP “ultimate pizza delivery vehicles”: http://www.dominosdxp.com/
Red Bull uses a domain for their “beyond the ordinary” blog-like magazine: https://www.redbulletin.com
As you can see, if you are to use a separate domain for your content/blog, you need a strong message, in line with the parent brand personality, but still with a unique voice.
Which one is better for SEO rankings?
Google says it got better in merging ranking signals between subdomains and folders. Taking Google’s advice means it doesn’t matter whether your content is on subdomain or in a folder under your root domain.
Another point to consider is how your traffic and SEO data will be reported in Google Analytics and Search Console. When you have a subdomain blog you’ll most likely have different profiles in Analytics and Search Console (even it’s also possible to “merge” them). Being able to separate data between your main site and your blog could be an advantage for some or a mess for others, forcing them to always use Excel or Sheets to put everything together.
In summary, don’t let this debate stop you from publishing.
If you haven’t started blogging yet, consider the technical details that might make one of the choices easier for you and do what is convenient. Whether it’s on a subdomain or in a folder under your root domain, you need to start creating content. Just start blogging, focus on creating relevant and meaningful content about a specific topic and ace your SEO.
If you already started and your blog has history, migrating your blog from a subdomain to a folder or vice versa is an effort unlikely to worth the expected benefits. So, continue blogging, focus on creating relevant and meaningful content about a specific topic and ace your SEO.
Originally published at mihaelagordon.com on February 7, 2017.
