WWW vs. non-WWW: Which is Better for SEO?
- SEO |
Search Engine Journal asks does using www vs. no www have an impact on your website's SEO, and what do search engines prefer? Read on to find out.
The author says that while browsing the internet or optimizing websites, you may have come across sites that are not using "www" prefixes, instead opting for non-www. For example, URLs with www:
And you may also find some URLs without www:
So, does it matter if a site is using www or non-www URLs, and is there an SEO impact to using one versus the other? This article explores that. The terms "www" and non-www" are often used to simply describe whether a URL includes "www." The World Wide Web (WWW) describes the vast collection of textual documents and multimedia files that can be accessed using the internet.
The URL or web address is translated by the name server into an IP address, which your browser connects to in order to serve the webpage. When the internet began, all websites started their domains with www. But several years ago, more and more sites started to use non-www domains because user behavior has changed. A non-www domain is often referred to as a "naked" URL.
Is www or Non-www Better for SEO?
The author says it doesn't really matter which one you use from an SEO perspective, but there are a few pros and cons for each. If you have the non-www version as the preferred version of your site, you should not have the www domain indexed.
Which One Should I Use?
The author says that the answer is either one. It's possible eventually www domains will become obsolete as most people don't bother typing them in while searching for a website. These days, it is becoming more common not only on desktops but also in mobile browsers such as Google Chrome for "www" to be hidden by default, which leaves some wondering if it could be obsolete in the future. Once you decide which one to use, make sure all your sitemap URLs and internal links use your preferred version and, if you can control them, your backlinks should be consistent as well.
The author says that while browsing the internet or optimizing websites, you may have come across sites that are not using "www" prefixes, instead opting for non-www. For example, URLs with www:
And you may also find some URLs without www:
So, does it matter if a site is using www or non-www URLs, and is there an SEO impact to using one versus the other? This article explores that. The terms "www" and non-www" are often used to simply describe whether a URL includes "www." The World Wide Web (WWW) describes the vast collection of textual documents and multimedia files that can be accessed using the internet.
The URL or web address is translated by the name server into an IP address, which your browser connects to in order to serve the webpage. When the internet began, all websites started their domains with www. But several years ago, more and more sites started to use non-www domains because user behavior has changed. A non-www domain is often referred to as a "naked" URL.
Is www or Non-www Better for SEO?
The author says it doesn't really matter which one you use from an SEO perspective, but there are a few pros and cons for each. If you have the non-www version as the preferred version of your site, you should not have the www domain indexed.
Which One Should I Use?
The author says that the answer is either one. It's possible eventually www domains will become obsolete as most people don't bother typing them in while searching for a website. These days, it is becoming more common not only on desktops but also in mobile browsers such as Google Chrome for "www" to be hidden by default, which leaves some wondering if it could be obsolete in the future. Once you decide which one to use, make sure all your sitemap URLs and internal links use your preferred version and, if you can control them, your backlinks should be consistent as well.
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