Sub-domains or sub-directories for country-specific versions of the site?
-
What approach do you think would be better from an SEO perspective when creating country-targeted versions for an eCommerce site (all in the same language with slight regional changes) - sub-domains or sub-directories? Is any of the approaches more cost effective, web development-wise?
I know this topic's been under much debate and I would really like to hear your opinion.
Many thanks!
-
Thank you for your comment! Actually, the issue of duplicate content amongst the subirectories should be sorted out through implementing the rel="alternate" hreflang.
But of course, the more diverse content the better!
-
Thank you for your feedback everyone! ccTLDs aren't an option at the moment, hence why I'm considering either subdirectories or subdomains! It looks as though the geenral opinion is that subdomains are better, thank you very much!
-
Although any of the idea will work but I would highly suggest you to go with ccTLD as this will help you gain the trust of the local audience.
In case you have to choose sub domains and sub directories, in that case I would go with subdirectories but keep in mind that content for different countries should not be identical or else there will be an issue of duplicate content.
Hope this helps!
-
Not trying to throw a spanner in the works, but have you considered top level country specific domains ? .co.uk, .au, etc
In theory you can use subdirectories and assign geo targeting for that folder in Google Webmaster Tools. ( keep in mind this will only work for Google, you have to look at how the other search engines will handle this Bing, Yandex if you target Russia, Baidu for China, etc )
-
There may be slightly more reason to lean towards using subdirectories but each case is different. Have you looked these over yet:
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
-
Multilang site: Auto redirect 301 or 302?
We need to establish if 301 or 302 response code is to be used for our auto redirects based on Accept-Language header. https://domain.com
International SEO | | fJ66doneOIdDpj
30x > https://domain.com/en
30x > https://domain.com/ru
30x > https://domain.com/de The site architecture is set up with proper inline HREFLANG.
We have read different opinions about this, Ahrefs says 302 is the correct one:
https://ahrefs.com/blog/301-vs-302-redirects/
302 redirect:
"You want to redirect users to the right version of the site for them (based on location/language)." You could argue that the root redirect is never permanent as it varies based on user language settings (302)
On the other hand, the lang specific redirects are permanent per language: IF Accept-Language header = en
https://domain.com > 301 > https://domain.com/en
IF Accept-Language header = ru
https://domain.com > 301 > https://domain.com/ru So each of these is 'permanent'. So which is the correct?0 -
International SEO Sub folder Structure
Hi Could anyone offer some advice on the best way to structure sub folders on a website that we are launching worldwide. We are a UK based business and currently run a UK site on www.website.com and we are planning on launching into Europe using a sub folder structure. We will use /de, /fr, /es for the new countries that are coming on board but the question is should the UK site url be: www.website.com or www.website.com/uk As have an established web presence in the UK I'm thinking it should remain as www.wewbsite.com but are there any advantages / disadvantages to changing it to .com/uk Many Thanks
International SEO | | SmiffysUK0 -
Trying To Use Parent Company's Content In Another Country
Hi, I'm hoping someone can help me out here but this is what I am dealing with: Say John Smith Companies sells Widgets across the United States. They have also formed a company called "Widgets of Canada" in an effort to sell their Blue Widgets only in Canada and I am in responsible for their website. Recently, John Smith Companies completely redesigned their website and it now has a really slick look and is loaded with great widgets content. I would like to take their site and re-purpose it for use in Canada. However, I am concerned about duplicate content. I would be converting all the widget specifications from imperial to metric units, changing the title and description elements and also using a much different folders/ paths. Is this enough to avoid any issues with similar page content? Is there anything I can do with hreflang? Thanks
International SEO | | DohenyDrones0 -
Naming URL for Russian version of the site
Hi, Our site has two languages: English and Russian. My question is that should I use Cyrillic letters in the URL structure and file naming of the Russian version of the site, as Russian users are searching for information by using Russian words not English words? Thanks in advance, Sam
International SEO | | Awaraman0 -
My site is not showing on google.com ?
My website is not showing at all on google.com searches under search terms. It is showing if i search for my domain (xyz.com) but not by keywords. Searching by keywords and search terms shows my website on yahoo , bing and non US oogle as google.co.uk or google.com.pk on first page. Would appreciate any help in trying to understand why this is happening? The website is medicare.md. if you search for term "medicare doctors PG county maryland" it is #1 in bing and yahoo but not even showing on google.com first TEN pages, although not banned. Interestingly if you do that search on google.co.pk it is #4. Quite Puzzuling !! Would appreciate any help or advice . Sherif Hassan
International SEO | | sherohass0 -
How to replace my .co.uk site with my .com site in the US Google results
My customer and I are based in the UK. My customer's site, www.blindbolt.co.uk has been around for years. Last year we launched their American site, www.blindboltusa.com. Searching on google.com (tested both via proxy and using the gl=us querystring trick), a search for blind bolt on the US Google returns our www.blindbolt.co.uk site. We would like it to show our www.blindboltusa.com website in US searches. Webmaster tools has the Geographic Target set correctly for each site. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions please? Thanks.
International SEO | | OffSightIT0 -
Country specific domains pointing to a .com site
Hello, I am new to seo so please be easy if this happens to be a "silly" question. My company has a .com site. We are expanding into global markets, focusing on specific countries right now. General question: Would I be penalized for duplicate content if I purchased country-specific domains and pointed them to the .com site? Thanks, Jim
International SEO | | jimmer0 -
Geo Targeting for Similar Sites to Specific Countries in Google's Index
I was hoping Webmaster Tools geo targeting would prevent this - I'm seeing in select google searches several pages indexed from our Australian website. Both sites have unique TLDs: barraguard.com barraguard.com.au I've attached a screenshot as an example. The sites are both hosted here in the U.S. at our data center. Are there any other methods for preventing Google and other search engines from indexing the barraguard.com.au pages in searches that take place in the U.S.? dSzoh.jpg
International SEO | | longbeachjamie0