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I Seriously Need Advice From Experienced Warriors Regarding "WWW" or "No WWW"

by allanlim
9 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Should I Build Links With "www" or without "www"?

I hope I explained my situation clearly. Hope this is not too confusing
for anyone reading this.

Anyway, here is my situation:

I have a domain and previously, I used it mainly for direct linking to a
merchant's website.

Let's call this domain "howtocookcurry dot com" (just an example, not my
domain)

Since I was direct linking, I wasn't really concerned about using it with
or without "www"

Anyway, when I was direct linking, I always used it with "www".

In other words, I was using "http: // www dot howtocookcurry dot com" for direct
linking.

Recently, I decided to rank for "how to cook curry" in the search engine.

So obviously, I thought since my domain is a direct match, why not use
this domain to build a real site instead of just using it for direct
linking.

So I decided to build a real site with this domain "howtocookcurry dot com".

My real site was build without the "www".

So, its real url should be "http: // howtocookcurry dot com".

However, I realized that Google acutally indexed my site with "www" in it.

When I type in "info:howtocookcurry dot com", here is what google shows me:
"www dot howtocookcurry dot com/"

So, why is it that I set up my site without "www", but Google choose to
indexed my site with "www".

I guess the reason is because I used to use "www" when I was using the
domain for directing linking.

Since Google already indexed the "www" version, it is not going to indexed
the "non-www" version of it.

BUT THE OTHER PAGES OF MY SITE ARE NOT INDEXED WITH "WWW"

For example, "http : // howtocookcurry dot com/1stpage" is indexed by Google as
the "non-www" version.

So, I find it very strange.

Why is it that Google is indexed my index page with "www" in it but Google
in indexing my other pages without "www" in it.

SO HERE ARE MY MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS:

WHEN I BUILD LINK TO MY SITE, SHOULD I BUILD LINK TO THE "WWW" VERSION OR

"NON-WWW" VERSION?

Even though I setup my site as the "non-www" version, I think I should
build link to the "WWW" version since this is how Google chose to index my
site.

Am I right or wrong?

Or should I do a "301" redirect?
#advice #experienced #no www #warriors #www
  • Profile picture of the author scott g
    Originally Posted by allanlim View Post

    Let's call this domain "howtocookcurry dot com" (just an example, not my

    domain)

    Since I was direct linking, I wasn't really concerned about using it with

    or without "www"

    Google would read the anchor of your direct link example like this: howtocookcurry com

    Wait... That's not what we're talking about!

    There is no upside or downside to leaving the "www" on or off. Make the judgement call... What's easier to type? What looks better?

    CHEERS!
    Signature
    scott g
    "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve."
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    • Profile picture of the author allanlim
      Thanks for the reply but you are not answering my question.

      I am not talking about a brand new site.
      Please read my whole question before answering it.

      My situation is,

      I used to use this domain for direct linking only and I
      used the "www" version for direct linking.

      But i have just built a real site using the "non www" version.

      But when I check my site in Google,
      it is indexed as the "www" version.

      So my question is, should I build link with or without "www"

      How exactly does Google see my site now?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2986960].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author scott g
        Originally Posted by allanlim View Post

        Thanks for the reply but you are not answering my question.

        I am not talking about a brand new site.
        Please read my whole question before answering it.

        My situation is,

        I used to use this domain for direct linking only and I
        used the "www" version for direct linking.

        But i have just built a real site using the "non www" version.

        But when I check my site in Google,
        it is indexed as the "www" version.

        So my question is, should I build link with or without "www"

        How exactly does Google see my site now?
        You're right! I didn't read through the whole thread.

        Here's your solution:

        If you use the non-www version use this code
        HTML Code:
        RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^seo-consultant-services.co.uk$
RewriteRule (.*) http://seo-consultant-services.co.uk/$1 [R=301,L]

        The code above will 301 redirect the www version to the non-www version. Obviously replace seo-consultant-services and co.uk with your domain name/tld.
        Download the 301 redirect code in a pre-made .htaccess file and edit to your needs.

        From 301 Redirects and www/non-www Canonical Problems


        CHEERS!
        Signature
        scott g
        "Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve."
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        • Profile picture of the author Vlad Shelest
          Not sure if this is really want to know, but as I see it the main point here is not so much how Google "sees" it, you know, whether it's indexed with www or without.

          The main issue would be your backlinking. You want all of your backlinks to go to either http://www.yoursite.com or http://yoursite.com otherwise you are diluting the power of those backlinks. Make a choice and stick with it.

          The other thing is that you build links to individual pages, not to a site and as such you can control how your backlinks are pointing at the individual pages.

          Vlad
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  • Profile picture of the author 24kWing
    I don't think it really matters which way you do it. For me, I always do the FULL URL (ex. http: // www) That way I know I have everything covered.

    Good Luck!
    24kWing
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  • Profile picture of the author gtk29
    In any case you can use htaccess to redirect non-www to www urls
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  • Profile picture of the author coolgirl
    Redirect all your pages without ww to having ww. It is only considered as a valid backlink.

    For Eg : If you are promoting this website without ww, You may see that you will get more backlinks onliy for without ww rather than ww. so it is required that you need to redirect all your non ww to ww.

    Hope it helps.
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