Subdomain vs folder vs TLD
-
We are launching in a number of international markets and I am trying to figure out if I should be launching them as folders, e.g.: /es (spanish), /br (brazil), /in (india) or whether they should be subdomains, e.g. es.mysite.com, br.mysite.com, etc.
In brazil we managed to secure the tld (.com.br) but not in other regions.
Whats the best strategy for us? I was thinking of doing folders as I understand that this strengthens the main domain, while subdomains are considered as separate sites.
For Brazil, should we also use a folder, or launch on the .com.br? I assume that using the .com.br means we will have to build up authority from scratch, and in addition, the authority we build up on the .com.br will not help to grow the .com
In addition, is there value in interlinking between verions (the versions will have the same content but in different languages)?
Thanks!
-
I am actually stil waiting for the final lists to ensure a comparable search result "study".
Regarding subdomains & worst approach:
thats whats confusing me (maybe due to my newbie status with seomoz): The domain authority for the TLD is lower than the ones for the subdomains. I actually figured this to be a hint, that subdomains do inherit this from the root domain.
But I hope to be able to tell you more in 2-3 weeks, when I have those lists ready and can compare the search workds/phrases over all countries.
-
Yes, we already seen this giving an additional boost. Your physical server location will definitely help you getting local search rankings for that country. Our numbers will hopefully give an insight into how significant that boost is.
-
Shoggoth,
So how is the TTLD site working for you in the search results compared to the subdomain pages?
To my knowledge sub domains are the worst approach as you have to build up dedicated domain authority for the subdomains (as for TTLDs) without the benefit of improved local search results based on the local TTLD.
/Thomas
-
Actually I have a very similar issue, but already some data, that unfortunatly does not help me (as I just started with seomoz).
My issue is sub-domain, TLD or folder - and yes, brazil is one of my targets as well.
For European countries I had already set up subs and 1 tld where a sub redirects to...I know that i still got some work to do, so don't hit me for that - thats what I am here for
SeoMoz tells me this in the report:
Domain / Page Authority / Page MozRank / Page MozTrust / Domain Authority / Domain Moz Rank / Domain MozTrustRoot (.com) / 46 / 5.45 / 5.37 / 36 / 5.45 / 5.37
sub / 16 / 4.67 (all subs have this) / 5.09 (all) / 36 / 4.67 / 5.09
Genuine TLD (sub 301ed) / 31 (!) / 4.67 / 5.09 / 26 (!) / 4.67 / 5.09
This genuine TLD has about 8 times as much links pointing to it (its older and was "alive") as the subs have (so far), but it actually lacks domain authority while it outperforms the subs in page authority.
I'd be really one happy guy, if someone could explain to me the real pros and cons for the useage of subs, folders and genuine tlds per country for SEO.
-
Very interesting! Would love to hear your results. You are testing to see if the IP of the server is more important than marking the location in webmaster tools?
-
Hey medico,
I am in the same boat as you and I am actually running an empirical experiment right now where I am testing how a switch from directory to ccTLD will affect search traffic. I should be able to post something on my blog soon and will let you know.
The feedback I got from experts was the same as presented here with the difference that in my experience server location does have a significant impact on your local search rankings. I am including this aspect actually in my experiment.
What I am doing is this
1. month: run uk country specific site under .com/uk/... on a dutch server
2. month: run uk country specific site under .co.uk... on a dutch server
3. month: run uk country specific site under .co.uk... on a uk server
Good luck with your campaign. /Thomas
-
Thanks for the replies. Some clarification: we do own the .com domain. I was only able to get the ccTLD for brazil, not for any of the other markets we are targeting. For the other markets I have to use a subdomain or folder. I am still debating whether to set up the brazilian site on the ccTLD or to set it up on the .com (w/ subdomain or folder) and just redirect the .com.br to the .com.
-
This is how I would go about this project. Try and purchase the .com domain and then setup the sub domains for each country based close to the specific countries domain shortening code. So for brazil .br . I would also install separate content management systems on each subdomain to enable different users to control the sites. I presume different people will be making changes on the sites.
-
a .com domain does make the most sense I feel good point.
-
Hi,
The thing about country level TLD's is they will rank well in that country, If you use a .com.br domain it may not rank well in Australian results or USA results only for the brand term, even if you geo target sub folders on the domain.
Can you acquire the .com domain? From my experience .com works the best on a global level.
My advice is to use the domains you have for specific markets on the CC TLD's yet for other areas which you are not able to acquire the domain use SUB FOLDERS on the .com domain and then GEO target these sub folders in Google webmaster tools.
Finally do not use sub domains it is not a wise strategy, you will have no internal linking value.
-
Sorry this comment field doesn't like my iPad and removes all paragraph spacing. .......... Generally speaking separate ccTLD are better but more time and resource intensive since you'll be maintaining multiple sites. With country specific TLD you will find it easier to entice local linking from within the country. Overall you will have a better time convincing the search engines that you are running a targeted, local customer centric web experience. .......... But you don't have the country domains, right? Personally I like the idea of subdomains purely for the separate site treatment. Often the architects make the appended folders and that is probably what you'll end up doing. That method confuses people the least. .......... Regardless of what you pick, keep an eye on duplicate content. Also recognize that the appended folders will not add much at all to your main .com if the traffic is truly arriving from diverse countries. Beyond that work on your community building, quality link building, content, blah, blah, blah (add your favorite SEO buzzwords here). I don't think hosting server location matters too much, either as long as all the signals indicate that it is a country specific site.
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
-
CcTLD vs subfolder for international SEO
In what situations is subfolder better than ccTLD, and vice versa.
International SEO | | MedicalSEOMarketing1 -
International TLD Differentiation Concerns
Currently working on a project where the TLD of the parent company site is a .COM and the U.S. subsidiary is a .US. This is a first for me. What I do know. Both sites must be live Parent (.COM) targets essentially the entire international market US Subsidiary (.US) targets United States only Concerns are even with non-duplicate content will there be confusion there with the closely related domain, just a TLD change? Any suggestions are greatly, greatly appreciated!
International SEO | | dodgejd0 -
Are Subdomains better or SubDirectories better for an international website ?
Can anyone explain why the structure of your website: yourbrand.com/es/category is better than es.yourbrand.com for multi language and multi country website.
International SEO | | Tushar_P0 -
.edu or country TLD, which one would be better?
Hi,we are working right know with an Education Instutition located Outside the U.S. I think they would be in a possition where they could get de .edu TLD. Right know they have good rankings in its own country cause they are working with their country specific TLD, and they rank well there. But, of course, a considerable percentage of their students are foreigners, so they are very interested in improving their interantional rankings (note that U.S is not a target market). I was wondering if it would be ok to recommend them to change to the .edu TLD, because all their competitors have that tld too. Whould that TLD increase their domain authority inmediatly? I know that .edu is well consider by google when it sends you a link, so it would be reasonable to think that having a .edu domain would be great, but as this domain is very related with the US and all their markets are outside the U.S, I am not sure about what recommend them. What do you think?? Thank you!!!
International SEO | | teconsite0 -
Is it possible to geotag language folders on a .co.uk domain
Hi all, I'm going around in circles a little on this one, so I thought that I'd as as I haven't found anyone asking quite the same thing (sorry if someone has). I have a .co.uk site and would like to set up some different language variations. I've been looking at the subfolder route for now (budget is limited). Can I set a geotag in webmaster tools on a .co.uk site or does it need to be a domain that Google considers country neutral? Many thanks for any suggestions!
International SEO | | ceecee0 -
Anyone have experience using .asia TLD?
We are the top US supplier of a very high end French made product. The largest market for their products is Japan. We would like to target Japanese buyers that travel (for business or pleasure) to the West Coast (we're in SF) for personalized US delivery. I have been reading all related SEOmoz posts for International SEO. But looking to the future there could be other Asian opportunities, so a .asia domain has appeal (as does the $6 per year cost vs. $99 for a .jp). Is this TLD credible (both to potential customers and Yahoo Japan)? THX
International SEO | | Chasmo1 -
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 -
Multi-lingual SEO: Country-specific TLD's, or migration to a huge .com site?
Dear SEOmoz team, I’m an in-house SEO looking after a number of sites in a competitive vertical. Right now we have our core example.com site translated into over thirty different languages, with each one sitting on its own country-specific TLD (so example.de, example.jp, example.es, example.co.kr etc…). Though we’re using a template system so that changes to the .com domain propagate across all languages, over the years things have become more complex in quite a few areas. For example, the level of analytics script hacks and filters we have created in order to channel users through to each language profile is now bordering on the epic. For a number of reasons we’ve recently been discussing the cost/benefit of migrating all of these languages into the single example.com domain. On first look this would appear to simplify things greatly; however I’m nervous about what effect this would have on our organic SE traffic. All these separate sites have cumulatively received years of on/off-site work, and even if we went through the process of setting up page-for-page redirects to their new home on example.com, I would hate to lose all this hard-work (and business) if we saw our rankings tank as a result of the move. So I guess the question is, for an international business such as ours, which is the optimal site structure in the eyes of the search engines; Local sites on local TLD’s, or one mammoth site with language identifiers in the URL path (or subdomains)? Is Google still so reliant on TLD for geo targeting search results, or is it less of a factor in today’s search engine environment? Cheers!
International SEO | | linklater0