Subdomain links vs root domain links? Are the less valuable?
-
I am determining the value of links we get.
Is a link on a subdomain less valuable vs one on the root domain? How less valuable would you consider a subdomain link?
For example blog.site.com vs site.com/blog
What other metrics would you take into consideration for the value of a subdomain link?
-
Hello calf,
It's a bit of a trick question since there is no right or wrong answer - it depends whether you take a short or long-term perspective. That said, most people say Subfolder is best and this is what various Tweets and Facebook comments on a recent question on subfolder or subdomain in the Smart Insights Linked In Best Practices group showed.
But you can argue each case, particularly if you look beyond SEO at branding benefits you may get from a separate domain. Here are the pros and cons as I see them. What do you think?
SUBFOLDER
-
- Google will crawl new blog posts typically within days of launch
-
- Blog inherits the authority of parent site so can rank immediately for terms within posts
-
- Backlinks and social mentions generated by the content on the blog can help other contain on the domain i.e. product pages rank more highly
-
- Integrates better with main site for better user experience (although often will have a different design)
-
- Easier to track with Google Analytics - a minor point - see end of post
-
- Doesn't help generate external backlinks for which you control the anchor text, e.g. editorial links within blog copy
SUBDOMAIN
-
- Maybe technically easier for some setups
-
- Has some of the benefits of subfolder in inheriting parent domain authority and separate domain in providing backlinks to main site, but...
-
- Needs to establish its own reputation through backlinks from other sites so...
-
- Will not rank as highly or as quickly as a subfolder
+Info: http://www.searchenginejournal.com/subdomains-or-subfolders-which-are-better-for-seo/6849/
-
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
-
Internal Links - How to Increase them, Categories not being considered as Internal Links
Hi All: As per my understanding, Internal Equity Passing Links is a metric defining PA. Now my website has around 65 internal links while few of my competitors have more than 180 links. I am unable to understand how to increase the internal links passing equity on my website, because I can see, more number of links on my website than my competitors but opensiteexplorer does not show that. I am really confused. Please help out if anyone knows something about this issue. Thanks in advance.
Link Building | | sidjain4you0 -
Does the number of people who click on a link to your site from another domain influence your domain authority?
Say you have a link to your site on the BBC, is it the fact that you're being linked to from a domain of very high authority that boost your own domain authority or is it dependent on how many people actually click on your link from that site? Any insights much appreciated!
Link Building | | loco20 -
Is it a reciprocal Link ?
Hi, I found a great website and tought its content would be extremely interesting for our clients. I wrote about it on my blog (which has an URL with our website URL in it) , Facebook Page and even in Twitter. Meanwhile, I contacted them and offered to write an article about an interesting subject for them. They accepted and liked it so much that they decided to put 2 links for us on two of their pages. My questions are : Will this be a reciprocal link for Google? Did I make a mistake talking about them on my blog ? Did I «devaluate» the links they gave us?
Link Building | | Caru0 -
Subdomain vs. Subfolder
I would like to know, if anyone has a guess how much link juice I lose, if I use a subdomain instead of subfolder e.g. for a blog? If the blog of my main website is running on a subdomain e.g. blog.mainwebsite.com , my main domain would not benefit from the backlinks in the same way as with www.mainwebsite.com/blog . But has anyone a guess how much link juice I lose (maybe a guess in percent)? Many thanks in advance. Nadine
Link Building | | jameda0 -
More "new" root domains or more pages on older domains?
I have been slowly building links via personal/professional networking, press from art shows, blogging, and such. I work with several non related domains & local blogs & press outlets, it is pretty easy for me to add a few new pages of content along with text links. Or should I just concentrate on getting links from totally "new" domains that have never linked to me before?
Link Building | | Mcarle0 -
What are the new ways of Link Building which will get quality links?
Hi We are doing following kinds of Link Building: 1. Article marketing 2. Directory Submission 3. Guest Blogging 4. Press Release submission 5. Infographics (Viral Marketing) I know blog commenting and links from discussion forums are considered as greyhat / blackhat by google. So I want suggestions on some other ethical(Whitehat SEO) ways of Link Building to get quality Links. Also suggest me some Free article submission sites which give " dofollow-links" Thank You
Link Building | | Virrtuo0 -
What are the most valuable links a new website can get?
When you are starting an SEO project for a new website (or an old one with few or worthless links) where to you start? What are your basic "get the link building started" link sources?
Link Building | | DGSEO0 -
Impact of Internal VS Inbound Links
Internal linking channels juice being accumulated through inbound links and the two work as a team. I am interested to hear from those who have either tested or have a fairly good gut feeling about the impact of internal links on rankings (as an additional signal). Also in your opinion how does internal linking compare to external links pointing to the same page (e.g. impact of benefit/ranking gained through internal linking + inbound links as opposed to scenario where there is no relevant internal links at all). Conditions: Relevant anchor text used (or close contextual variation) Measuring impact on a single phrase (or relevant phrase variation) Internal links can be from unlimited pages on the same site (even site-wide) External inbound links can be only to the target page (disregarding inbound links to other pages). Disregarding layout based navigation as internal links and focusing on content based links only (contextual, editorial links). For example: Internal link ranking impact: 10% External link ranking impact: 90% Since this is a simplified model feel free to provide necessary clarifications below your estimate. Looking forward to your answers!
Link Building | | Dan-Petrovic1