www or no www?

[sharkey]

I am aware that my site has the www version and the no www version

which to I promote for backlinking? which is the one that google ranks? does it matter? I'm assuming google sees them both as separate websites, but then why if they almost have the same number of backlinks does it only show one on the search page?

I discovered one has slightly more backlinks than the other, so.... what am I supposed to do with that?

I'm assuming I just have to pick one (presumably the one with more) but I was wondering if when google shows you page in the search , which does it pick and does that make a difference?

Anything else that I should understand about this?

[Andyhenry]

This has been asked and answered many times before.

It doesn't matter.

Just pick one and redirect the other one to it.

[uumair]

google takes a web with www or without www same. And redirects th traffic to without www if someone enters www.

[asdf88]

Yeah the important is to do just one.... I don't use www .... but my display URLs are www .... so it helps people connect that it is a website.... Same with capitalizing every word of a URL, but making sure that that url redirects to non capitalized.

[Michael55555]

No www looks better, IMHO.

[Internet Lawyer]

Agree with those above--no www is what has been preached as the ideal for a while now.

[tamalanwar]

No www is trendy and cool for techy people, but every day people would like to see a www with your domain, just like a .COM in the end. Type both versions and see if they get redirect. If not, then you have to add a redirect so google will not count both versions as 2 diff sites.

IMHO www is nice and makes a url complete.

[dadamson]

I always go with no www but it really is up to you, just use one.

You don't want to switch between link building on each different version of your website as this will segragate your links and dilute your SEO efforts.

HOWEVER, you should always create a 301 redirect from one version to the other.

Meaning you will essentially only have one version which both visitors and backlinks will bounce too.

So in this case you could always backlink to both versions and your links will appear more natural while still linking to the same page (backlinks are redirected by 301 redirects as well as humans).

Dave

[Don Luis]

It doesn't matter. Your site can either have www or no www. But once you choose which one, you should stick with it for the rest of the site's life.

[ronaldmd]

It doesn't matter. You don't need to redirect, you can set it in google webmasters tools, which one is your preference, the www or non www.

[sharkey]

Does anyone think that google will at some point consolidate both versions when counting backlinks?

Also, if it doesn't matter then how come it dilutes the SEO to link to both? Sorry if these are really basic questions I just want to make sure I understand this very basic concept

[ephame]

I don't believe it matters but as said above www versions look cleaner and more normal

[Marcus Demanse]

Doesn't really matter but most people are used to using and seeing the www before the domain name so it's really up to you which version you want to use.

[Alexa Smith]

Originally Posted by sharkey

if it doesn't matter then how come it dilutes the SEO to link to both?

Linking to both dilutes nothing (albeit that it's entirely unnecessary and silly).

It's linking to "either" that would dilute the benefit to the other. One is a subdirectory of the other (you could in fact have two different sites on them, if you wanted to).

It doesn't matter which one you use, as long as you build your backlinks consistently only to the one you're using.

The "www" part adds nothing and is completely unnecessary. On all my newer sites (since I realised this) I don't use it at all, and I just redirect the "www" one to the one without the "www". On my older sites, I have backlinks to the "www", so unfortunately it makes sense for me to continue using that one.

Originally Posted by sharkey

Sorry if these are really basic questions I just want to make sure I understand this very basic concept

They are, and you've done to well to ask. I wish I had done, when I started. I'd have learned at an earlier stage that the "www" version is entirely unnecessary.

[mysterrio]

I think the jury is still out here - I do both. Does it help? I'm not sure.

[Istvan Horvath]

Linking to both = you link to two [2] different websites!
At least, at this moment G considers the two versions as separate websites. Which means if you build backlinks to both... you are backlinking to two different sites (although with duplicate content!) So, instead of having 100 backlinks to your site - you have 50 to www and 50 to non-www. I guess, that's what is commonly referred as "diluting".

P.S. It's completely useless to ask people what they think G. will do in the future - the forum is already full of wild guesses, no need to encourage them

[Alexa Smith]

Originally Posted by camrymps

www would definitely be best for backlinking.

Where on Earth do people get this stuff from?!

This one isn't even a "known urban myth of internet marketing" or anything of the kind: it's just entirely confabulated nonsense.

[Heavenstorm]

with or without is the same.... redirect one to the other..
personally I like the one showing www.... somehow looks more professional but it seriously does not make any difference

[TheGP]

I think www its totally stupid. But u can use it in presentation and journals, because when site name - not link, it can help viewers to define that it is url and not just company name or something

[Jonathan 2.0]

Choose “WWW” because (generally) that’s how websites will link to you.

[pengpengy]

Originally Posted by ronaldmd

It doesn't matter. You don't need to redirect, you can set it in google webmasters tools, which one is your preference, the www or non www.

I agree with your point of view.

[Harry005]

WWW or without WWW both are same thing but we need to redirect our domain to WWW for google trust or user friendly,so that they can open anytime and anyways.

[J Bold]

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

Where on Earth do people get this stuff from?!

This one isn't even a "known urban myth of internet marketing" or anything of the kind: it's just entirely confabulated nonsense.

Is it, though?

I am not an SEO expert but I've heard some respectable SEO guys say that they would "slightly" prefer www over not for backlinking reasons.

All said it's not a big deal but I have seen them say it seems to be a bit better to use it. And it's not just people who don't know what they're talking about, these are guys who test and test and test and test with SEO.

Entirely confabulated nonsense? I don't think so, it has some basis. Just a basis you haven't heard of before, yourself.

[Andyhenry]

Originally Posted by redicelander

"I am not an SEO expert but I've heard some respectable SEO guys say"

.................. implementing translator............

..........
....

...
.
.

"I don't know what I'm talking about but I still want to argue with you."

There you go I fixed that for you.

[sanjon]

This question has been answered a million times.
It does not matter, Just do a permanent redirection on one of them. As a SEO and as per webmaster Guildelines, it is always suggested you go for a www version.
Just my 2 cents

[seoxcell]

This is an extremely important and yet simple to implement SEO tip about those “w’s” you often see in a web address. This will seem basic to many people, but it is shocking how often it is misunderstood, handled incorrectly, or overlooked. If you do not have this handled correctly this could make a huge improvement in your SEO efforts.

[Andyhenry]

Originally Posted by seoxcell

This is an extremely important and yet simple to implement SEO tip about those “w’s” you often see in a web address. This will seem basic to many people, but it is shocking how often it is misunderstood, handled incorrectly, or overlooked. If you do not have this handled correctly this could make a huge improvement in your SEO efforts.

That's not strictly true - it won't "improve" your seo efforts, it will just shut one option you had for doing ineffective seo.

Technically it makes no difference which you use.

The only reason it's even a consideration is because if you don't realise that www and non-www are technically different you could accidentally build links to both, hence diluting the value of those links.

Since Google and most other search engines understand that this is a common issue - they will often treat them as one, and even provide a way for you to tell them which one you want them to use.

Whether there are other considerations for which to use is a different matter and you'd need to do your own research to work out whether your target market tend to prefer www or non-www. Some people just type in the domain name without even putting the extenstion, some people put the address exactly as they see it in your advertising, so whether it matters or not often is more focused on how you're marketing your site and where your visitors come from.

If you put www. on all your marketing material then it would make sense to use it on your domain. If you don't then it may be that more people type it without it and so you'll be slightly better off leaving it off.

Andy

[J Bold]

Originally Posted by Andyhenry

There you go I fixed that for you.

Thanks for the laugh, but you are wrong. Think you just wanted to argue, yourself. I stand by what I said. I had merely seen an SEO guy I trust immensely at one time say he preferred "www" when we were talking about using "www" or not for SEO. He did say it didn't matter, just that he preferred it and we were talking about backlinking at the time, so it reminded me of what he said. It was probably just a preference such as when somebody likes either chocolate or vanilla or likes to either be condescending on a forum or polite.

I was just thinking perhaps that poster had run across a post like that before, as had I, and took it as gospel truth when it really doesn't matter. Think that's more clear now...

www or not doesn't matter!

Anyway, have a nice time trying to wind people up.

Lovely value you add with posts like that.

[whoismarktaylor]

wow, isn't their more important stuff to fry?

Instead of worrying about 'www or no www' just start publishing more quality stuff!

M

[J Bold]

Originally Posted by justinpaul

Picked any one a start seo but redirect 2nd other wise it will create problem later.

Yes pick one and stick with it, that's what really matters.

[J Bold]

Originally Posted by whoismarktaylor

wow, isn't their more important stuff to fry?

Instead of worrying about 'www or no www' just start publishing more quality stuff!

M

Yes, there is more important stuff to fry, and it's a minor issue.

However, it's a minor issue you should be aware of and address each time you start a website.

[Shilpa]

I prefer usage of www.for my SEO. It's a Common usage not to use the www.

[IamTJM]

Never made a difference to me although I usually just include the www

[samual james]

According to me you should go for www and redirect non www to www url.

[ebrg]

Originally Posted by Alexa Smith

It doesn't matter which one you use, as long as you build your backlinks consistently only to the one you're using.

Originally Posted by Istvan Horvath

Linking to both = you link to two [2] different websites!
At least, at this moment G considers the two versions as separate websites. Which means if you build backlinks to both... you are backlinking to two different sites (although with duplicate content!) So, instead of having 100 backlinks to your site - you have 50 to www and 50 to non-www. I guess, that's what is commonly referred as "diluting".

Are you assuming 301 redirect is not used?

If a 301 redirect is used, then it would not matter if the backlinks point to the www or non-www url, and there would be no or minimal dilution, as suggested by dadamson (#8).