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How to distinguish if www. should be used in preferred domain in WMT's?

by DAC1
4 replies
Hi Everyone,

This is a question about selecting the correct 'Preferred Domain' in webmaster tools.

I understand there is plenty of info on this forum about preferred domains, but how to you know what to select based on how your website is currently configured? (Especially when it works either way in the address bar).

My website is 5 yrs old and i'm trying to determine where to look to conclusively determine what selection to make in webmaster tools ... www. or non-www.

How do I know what selection to make based on how my existing site is already set up? Thanks.
#distinguish #domain #preferred #wmt #www
  • Profile picture of the author TheContentAuthority
    DAC1,

    It doesn’t matter how your site is set up. If people can visit from either www or non-www, then just pick the one you want Google to index.

    Best,

    Shawn
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  • Profile picture of the author DAC1
    Thanks for your reply Shawn... much appreciated.

    Are there any 'tweaks' that can be configured in WMT that can enhance the probabilities of ranking higher?
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  • Profile picture of the author John Romaine
    There are a few things to be mindful of when setting the preferred domain. Firstly, your link profile. For a 5 year old site, there may be numerous links pointing to both www and non-www versions of your site. You will want to ensure that whatever domain you choose (whichever it may be) that you also set a 301 redirect to point to the same domain, within your htaccess file.

    This will ensure correct indexing and also pass over link juice to the same destination.
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  • Profile picture of the author webapex
    If people have to type in your address from a business card, having no www. makes it a bit simpler, otherwise you can do fine with either format. The big issue is consistently use your preferred format, otherwise search ranking can be diluted. There are host control panel settings or .htaccess scripts that automatically switch the address shown to a visitor to the preferred form, so if that visitor bookmarks or backlinks it they use your preferred form.
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