International SEO Question with regards to Sub Folders in Webmaster Tools
-
So, we have a website in 18 or so different languages.
etc
I have added each sub folder in Google Webmaster Tools and 'pointed' them to be at their respective geographic specific.
However, the United States version of the website is sitting on the root domain. Is there any issue with me pointing the root domain at United States Google, considering there are 18 sub folders already pointed at different regions?
-
No.
I mean... your root can be targeting your main geographic market (USA) and the subfolders your international markets.
if you have geotargeted the subfolders, if you have implemented the rel="alternate" hreflang="x-X" correctly, if you do a targeted, localized and valuable link building, then there no reasons to worry.
-
Thats good, just keep your targets in mind.
-
Thanks. The site is brand new.
I may look at creating a sub folder for the united states.
-
So, you have got the basics fine which is good. If you have good rankings for the root domain other than Google US and if those rankings are important to you )in terms of KPIs, business benefits) then I would refrain from doing the change.
First, try to get the rankings from the sub-folders for the countries that your root domain is ranking for and then make the change. It may not be necessary that you gain immediately with the change, but there are high chances you might loose a couple of rankings in other countries. Better Safe, then Sorry!
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
-
International URL paths
Wanted to ask everyone a questions: So our company is going to be doing a website that is going to be full of videos. The url path will be country.domain.com/language/slug/content-id. We redirect the user when they go to the different country. So if you're in spain on a train to france your URL will change from es.domain.com/es/slug/content-id to fr.domain.com/es/slug/content-id. Each country can listen to each video in all languages. My question is with hreflang tags and canonicals. Aside from targeting users in a certain country via Google Search Console, how do I eliminate duplication and tell Google which I'd like to show up via which country. In spain I would like es.domain.com/es/slug/content-id to show in Google and would have hreflang tags on each of the es.domain pages but what about fr.domain.com/es/slug/content-id since it would show the same content? I can't canonical to one of them since I need them to show in their respective country. How do I show the difference in language and country without showing duplication?
International SEO | | mattdinbrooklyn0 -
If I redirect based on IP will Google still crawl my international sites if I implement Hreflang
We are setting up several international sites. Ideally, we wouldn't set up any redirects, but if we have to (for merchandising reasons etc) I'd like to assess what the next best option would be. A secondary option could be that we implement the redirects based on IP. However, Google then wouldn't be able to access the content for all the international sites (we're setting up 6 in total) and would only index the .com site. I'm wondering whether the Hreflang annotations would still allow Google to find the International sites? If not, that's a lot of content we are not fully benefiting from. Another option could be that we treat the Googlebot user agent differently, but this would probably be considered as cloaking by the G-Man. If there are any other options, please let me know.
International SEO | | Ben.JD0 -
Google Analytics & Webmaster Tools Filtering
I've just set up a client who uses internationalization on Google Webmaster tools and Google Analytics. For easier management they opted to use subfolders rather than subdomains or cctlds. So I set up a Google Analytic Property, with one Unfiltered profile, and another 3 profiles filtered per language. With the main language English being exclude anything starting /fr/ /de/ as it resides on root. The filters seem to work fine; however after linking this to the Google Webmaster Account to be able to access Search Engine Optimization I do not seem to get any language filtered data. I was wondering if someone had any idea or possible solution to this problem. As I would expect to at least have the Landing Pages if not exactly the keywords filtered by the same criteria that the rest of the data is being filtered. I know there's also an option to create a separate webmaster tools account, however this way I still cannot filter just the English; and I cannot link it to all the separate profiles.
International SEO | | jonmifsud0 -
International SEO
Anyone have any good free resources for international SEO best practices? I've read through most of the common stuff and wondered if there's anything I'm missing. We are getting ready to launch a version of our website in the UK and I could use any hints or advice that could make my life easier. My biggest question is whether to keep the sites as 1 site (single domain with sub-folder for sharing incoming link profile) or to get a .UK domain and do everything from scratch. (it seems like a sub-domain is not the way to go?). I also wonder if any of you can share things to look out for, pitfalls, mistakes, etc...? TIA for any help/answers!
International SEO | | DownPour0 -
Getting A Sub Domain To Out-Rank The Main Domain
Hi, We have a prospective client who currently have a sub domain setup for each language, they all have the same content as the main domain. The problem is that the main domain is written in English (but not UK English), and they want the UK sub domain to outrank it (it's the other way round at the moment). Effectively, there are duplicate content issues here and as a result it looks like Google have chosen to keep the main domain (as it has more authority) and lower the UK sub results in its rankings. Is there a feature in webmaster tools where you can target subdomains to a location (I know you can do this with a main domain). Additionally, any other tips for the above would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance,
International SEO | | jasarrow0 -
Sub Domains in WM Tools
Hi Mozzers, Does anyone know if you can set a specified territory for a sub domain in WM Tools? I know you can do it at domain level but can you do it for a sub folder such as US.example.com or UK.example.com I can't see it anywhere in the interface? Thanks
International SEO | | Bush_JSM0 -
International Hub site: .uk vs domain vs subdomain
Financial company with 2 sites: 1- Mybrand.com for the US market.
International SEO | | FXDD
2- global.mybrand.com is the hub for international with selection for 10 languages: drop-down allows selecting between mybrand.jp, mybrand.fr, etc Now we have the opportunity to redesign the site from zero and I am exploring to get rid of the subdomain for the global site What would be your preference to use as the international hub? a) mybrand.co.uk: I have to use lawyers to get the URL from squatter b) mybrandGlobal.com : URL easy to get, and can be geo targeted using google webmaster tools. Cons: It might not rank as well as .co.uk in the UK, which is our biggest market c) global.mybrand.com-- pros: keep using it because it is aged and has some authority. Google might now see subdomains as part of TLD, thus making it a valid way to separate international from US .. Cons: SEO best practices advice to avoid subdomains because it might not pass full link value across domains. There is not really different content the subdomain, it is just the hub for international Thanks in advance for the help0 -
SEO Audit "Hybrid Site"
Hi everyone! I'm trying to analyze a website which is regional in scope. The way the site for every market has been build out is like this : http://subdomain.rootdomain.com/market | http://asiapacific.thisismybrandname.com/ph OR http://subdomain.rootdomain.com/language | http://asiapacific.thisismybrandname.com/en Since this is the first time I'm trying to work on these kinds of sites, I would want to ask for any guidance / tips on how to do about SEO site and technical audit. FYI, the owner of the sites is not giving me access / data to their webmaster account nor their analytics tracking tool. Thanks everyone! Steve
International SEO | | sjcbayona-412180