Blog on Subdomain vs. Subdirectory - Best Practices
-
Hi,
I have recently been told that it no longer impacts authority or rankings if a blog is set up on a subdomain (blog.domain.com) rather than a subdirectory (/blog). However, I am reluctant to do so because I remember learning how blog subdomains did not adhere to SEO best practices.
Would anyone be able to shed some light on the latest SEO best practices regarding this topic?
Many thanks,
Erin
-
Can Moz weigh in on this please? There is a lot of really good discussion on this particular topic across multiple threads but no clear direction. What does Moz recommend and why? The why is important and here's why.
If I have a client with an established blog that uses the blog.domain versus domain/blog structure, should I be recommending they migrate to a different structure?
-
Thanks Greg,
Super helpful video.
I have a Blogger blog and it is much harder to host it on a subdirectory and extremely easy to host it on a Subdomain. That video was extremely helpful in making a decision as to which one to use. It just saved me lots of hours of toil and pulling my hair out getting a subdirectory set up and configured, when from the horses mouth, it looks like a subdomain is just fine.
-
An interesting discussing. This is something I have been looking into recently for a blog of mine.
Thanks
-
Interesting point. Thanks for sharing this video!
-
Does the advice still hold true given this video?
-
Thanks everyone for your responses!
-
Hi Erin,
Sub directories are the preferred method. This has been asked many times on SEOmoz so I'll post a few links so you can have a look at some of the responses and exactly why they are preferred:
http://www.seomoz.org/q/blog-vs-blog
http://www.seomoz.org/q/best-place-for-a-blog-blog-mydomain-com-or-mydomain-com-blog
http://www.seomoz.org/q/subdomains-vs-subfolders
Hope that helps!
Brad
-
Well there is a very old debate and many SEO will recommend you using sub directory instead of sub domain.
Reasons why you should use Sub directory instead of sub-domain:
- Search engine still counts sub domain as another website so if the blog is in sub directory it will be considered as the part of the website
- Your over all SEO efforts will impact on sub directory which is not the case in terms of sub domain.
- Its way easier to rank for long tail keywords with sub directory instead of sub domain.
If SEO is not a problem for you are you are more interested in branding then i think subdomain goes well as its easier to remember and write directly in the URL bar.
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
-
With generic product like screws, for example what is best practice when writing descriptions? It's tough writing unique content for something when the only difference is lengths
With generic product like screws, for example what is best practice when writing descriptions? It's tough writing unique content for something when the only difference is lengths
On-Page Optimization | | Jacksons_Fencing1 -
Meta tags not being displayed for Mobile version of a blog even after the blog is indexed
I have updated the meta title and meta description for my blog. After updating the meta tags, blog URL was submitted in the webmasters and it has been crawled and indexed by Google but only for the desktop version and not for mobile version. Currently, meta tags are not being displayed for mobile version in Google. I have also checked with robots.txt file, there is no problem with this file. PFA screenshots for reference. Kindly help me out with this issue. eWu1k8N PdimKGq
On-Page Optimization | | priyankadesai1230 -
Unique Pages with Thin Content vs. One Page with Lots of Content
Is there anyone who can give me a definitive answer on which of the following situations is preferable from an SEO standpoint for the services section of a website? 1. Many unique and targeted service pages with the primary keyword in the URL, Title tag and H1 - but with the tradeoff of having thin content on the page (i.e. 100 words of content or less). 2. One large service page listing all services in the content. Primary keyword for URL, title tag and H1 would be something like "(company name) services" and each service would be in the H2 title. In this case, there is lots of content on the page. Yes, the ideal situation would be to beef up content for each unique pages, but we have found that this isn't always an option based on the amount of time a client has dedicated to a project.
On-Page Optimization | | RCDesign741 -
Best On page SEO guides needed.
I know my question looks so basic but let me explain what I want. I want advanced on-page SEO guides, should include something new exce[t the below listed things: title, description keyword in article content length video images with alt tag headings external authority links internal links please share something new....
On-Page Optimization | | hammadrafique0 -
Integrate a blog within an existing site
Hello everyone! I work on a website of a very small company and so far no one has ever implemented (not even thought about) a proper content strategy. The only content on the site are products description. Through Analytics I discovered lots of opportunities and topics to be covered which would massively increase the traffic, increase the engagement and (hopefully) sales. Problem is that I don't really know how to integrate a blog into the existing site; my first thought was wordpress What is the best way to do it?
On-Page Optimization | | PremioOscar0 -
ECommerce Site Breadcrumbs Best Practice
I'm working on an Ecom website and I was wondering - For breadcrumbs - is there an SEO and/or UEx preference when it comes to taking them back to the homepage? I have the option of going CATEGORY > SUB CATEGORY > SUB CATEGORY or HOME > CATEGORY > SUBCATEGORY > SUBCATEGORY Each example is hyperlinked except for the lowest level. Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | Blenny0 -
What should I do with my blog...V2
Hello again! The other day I was asking about my blog which is on http://cheshireweddingphotographyblog.co.uk/ Based on the answer, I decided I wanted to move it within my website. So I emailed Photobiz saying I wanted it to become: http://www.celynnenphotography.co.uk/blog They want me to make it: blog.celynnenphotography.co.uk They say the benefits (re: SEO) would be the same but that there would be more downtime if I wanted it done my way. Are they right in saying the benefits would be the same for blog.celynnenphotography.co.uk as it would for http://www.celynnenphotography.co.uk/blog ? Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | IoanSaid0 -
Microsites vs landing pages
Hi all! I'm trying to decide the best way forward with regards to a large site I'm currently in the process of redesigning/rebuilding. Basically, the site already has a lot of well ranking seo landing pages targetted to different niches. With this in mind which is the best way forward in your experience? 1. Expand upon the existing niche landing pages adding more content etc and more niches? or 2. Keep the landing pages but set up microsites for each of the niches. (On different domain names or sub domains?) I do not want to polute the existing site as it performs very well and ranks very well for the keywords we target. Are there any benifits to micro sites seo wise? Personally I think it best to expand on the landing pages and keep everything onsite but any adivce you can give me would be greatfully received! Thanks in advance!
On-Page Optimization | | EclipseLegal0