Better to have one subdomain or multiple subdomains?
-
We have quite a bit of content we are considering subdomaining.
There are about 13 topic centers that could deserve their own subdomain, but there are about 2000 original articles that we also want to subdomain. We are considering
a) putting the 13 centers (i.e. babies.domain.com, acne.domain.com, etc) and the 3000 articles (on a variety of topics) on one subdomain
b) putting the 13 centers on their own subdomain and the remaining 3000 articles on their own subdomain as well (14 subdomains total)
What do you think is the best solution and why?
-
We are considering experimenting with this as a Panda solution (worked for hubpages), that's why we don't want to put it in subfolders. We can't move to an entirely new domain, so are considering experimenting with subdomains.
I understand there is quite a bit of disagreement about whether subdomains work or not, but we want to try it.
The content topics are different (beauty vs asthma).
-
Hi Michelle,
Without further information, you're asking us to choose between two bad solutions, so that's a choice we can't make.
What is the piece of information missing that explains why you don't want to put them in subfolders?
How different are the content topics?
If you go with (b), what content is left on the primary domain?
-
Thank you for your feedback. I agree with you, I know subfolders are better. But, if you had to choose one of the above options, what would you choose?
-
I agree.
Zero subdomains here.
-
Hi,
agree 100% with Kane it is also recommended by google for localizations
etc...
It increases domain authority and this is what everyone site owner wants
-
Without knowing anything else, none of the above.
9 times out of 10 I'll recommend the use of subfolders instead.
Is the content dramatically different (babies, acne, race cars, etc.) or is there an overall purpose to the site that makes sense?
To quote myself from some other Q&A answer:
Subdomains are treated slightly differently by Google. Essentially they are seen as less connected to the rest of your content than a subfolder. So, when you get a link to one subdomain, it doesn't count as much towards the other subdomains.
Take wordpress.com as an example:
- surferdude.wordpress.com has little relation to www.wordpress.com
- surferdude.wordpress.com has little relation to skaterguy.wordpress.com
- surferdude.wordpress.com has lots in common with surferdude.wordpress.com/surfboards/***
By using subfolders, you'll retain more value across the single subdomain rather than spreading it among multiple subdomains.
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
Does a root domain get SEO power from its subdomains?
Hi there! I'd appreciate your help with the following case: a) Current 10-year-old website (community) on root domain "example.com" (250,000 incoming quality-backlinks) will move to the new subdomain "newsub.example.com" (301 redirects to the new subdomain for all current subfolders) b) A new website (shop) will launch on the root domain "example.com" Question: Will the new website on "example.com" get SEO power from the old website on "newsub.example.com"? SEO power = linkjuice/authority/trust/history/etc. from the 250,000 backlinks. What I'm trying to achieve: Maintain the built-up SEO power for the root domain "example.com" Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this! P.S. Plenty has been written about subdomains inheriting from their root domains (so please don't share input on the subdomain vs. subfolder debate). But I can't find satisfactory info about the other way around (root domains inheriting from their subdomains), e.g. if wikia.com gets SEO power from its subdomains superman.wikia.com, starwars.wikia.com, etc.)
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | ebebeb0 -
Onpage optimising for multiple sites
I’ve been given the task of optimizing a company’s websites (15 in total) that has multiple websites selling the same product. In terms of optimizing them, can I use the same set of meta descriptions, page title tags and key words for them all or do I need to produce a different set for each? The sites are for independently branded companies that are set up in a franchise-like arrangement. They all exclusively sell the parent companies joinery products
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | aplnzoctober180 -
Moving multiple Sites to One Site and SEO Impact/Ideas
Hi there, We are in the process of moving 2 sites with higher page authority to another site we own (that is our company brand), so essentially 3 sites into one. We're at risk of losing a lot of SEO from the original 2 sites that have all the product information. We are doing this since we merged companies a couple years back and need one web precense. Anyhow, the site launch date is in 3 months and the recommendation is to start moving content over prior to that for top pages, which is a big undertaking when we are launching all the pages again with new content, redeisgn and moving sites in 3 months. If it's the right move, we should do it, but I just wanted to get opinions on how others have handled something similiar when moving to a site with lower site authority and trying not to lose rankings.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | lauramrobinson320 -
Which One Would You Suggest Me in Terms of Internalization?
Hi Friends, This is my website http://goo.gl/fYndv. As of now, we have only one domain and we have contents in both English & Arabic. Arabic is translated content from English. So, we use alternate tags to indicate Google about that. We mostly receive traffic from Saudi Arabia because we are based out there. Now, we are planning to target major countries like India, Australia & So on. We know like creating sub-folders over sub-domains would be good like example.com/in/ over in.exmaple.com. But we are not going to change any contents only currency gets changed in those geo-graphic sub-domains or sub-folders. I just want to know, since I am not going to change the contents will it be good if I go with sub-folder like example.com/in. Is there any chance for Google penalization?
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Prabhu.Sundar0 -
Multiple 301 Redirect Query
Hello all, I have 2 301 redirects on my some of my landing pages and wondering if this will cause me serious issues. I first did 301 directs across the whole website as we redid our url structure a couple of months ago. We also has location specific landing pages on our categories but due to thin/duplicate content , we have got rid of these by doing 301's back to the main category pages. We do have physical branches at these locations but given that we didnt get much traffic for those specific categories at those locations and the fact that we cannot write thousands of pages of unique content content , we did 301's. Is this going to cause me issues. I would have thought that 301's drop out of serps ? so is this is an issue than it would only be a temporary one ?.. Or should I have 404'd the location category pages instead. Any advice greatly appreciated. thanks Peter
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | PeteC120 -
301 from one site to another
I have two e-commerce websites and i'm going to remove some products from website as requested by a supplier and sell them only on one site. Is it a good idea to 301 redirect the pages from site 1 to site 2?? Thanks for your help
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Aikijeff0 -
Question about multiple websites in same field
I know what most people say that it is best to only have the 1 website for focus but if we can put this to the back of our minds, if we create 2 different websites that are totally different designs (one upmarket one and one targeting the cheaper market) but in the same fields (printing) and go after 80% of the same keywords is this ok (could we be penalized). Please note we will not be interlinking the websites, the website .will be on different servers and the names will be registered under different people (2 partners in the business). We will however be accessing webmaster tools from the same location.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | BobAnderson0 -
Should I Combine 30 websites into one?
I have a Private health care company that I have just begun consulting for. Currently in addition to the main website serving the whole group, 30 individual sites which are for each of the hospitals in their group. Each has it's own domain. Each site, has practically identical content: something that will be addressed in my initial audits. But should I suggest that they combine all the sites into one domain, providing individual category pages for each hosptial, or am I really going to suggest that each of the 30 sites, create unique content of their own. This means thirty pages of content on "hip replacements" thirty different versions of "our treatement" etc, and bearing in mind they all run off the same CMS, even with different body text, the pages are going to be practically identical. It's a big call either way! The reason they started out with all these sites, is that each hospital is it's own cost centre and whilst the web development team is a centralized resource. They each have their own sites to try and rank indivdually for local searches, naturally as they will each tend to get customers from their own local area. Not every hospital provides the full range of treatments.
Intermediate & Advanced SEO | | Ultramod0