18 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
18 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Build links to site.com or site.com/ - Is there a difference?

by Alex Barboza
14 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Hi SEO experts. I have a queston that I seem not to find an answer by Googling it. Is there a difference between mysite.com and mysite.com/?

Will it affect my linkbuilding efforts if I link to one version or the other? I have the SEO Ultimate plugin set to auto link to some of my urls and it always adds the / symbol at the end.

Thanks for your help
#build #difference #links #sitecom #sitecom or
  • Profile picture of the author Ezra Anderson
    I would recommend that you stick with building links to mysite.com/

    In reality though, it doesn't matter all that much, as long as you are consistent with whichever URL you choose to link to.
    Signature
    The harder I work, the luckier I get.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5023646].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Alex Barboza
      Originally Posted by ezzypro View Post

      In reality though, it doesn't matter all that much, as long as you are consistent with whichever URL you choose to link to.
      So this means that there's a difference between the two?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5023703].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author JSProjects
        Originally Posted by Alex Barboza View Post

        So this means that there's a difference between the two?
        I know you want to remain consistent. Ex, there's a difference between www and non-www. Though I have never PERSONALLY tested this. I've always just stuck with one link and used it throughout my entire backlinking campaign for that link.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5023852].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author kashem
    Every character matters in url . It is safe to be consistent with one version when you build links.
    Signature
    Niche Masterly - Get Revenue Generating Keywords For Your Niche Site.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5023943].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author RyanJohnson
      Actually, if you think about this LOGICALLY, it is opposite of what many people here say...

      Personally, this isn't an "issue" that I would worry about too much but since it has been asked...

      INCONSISTENCY in how links are built will look more natural to the search engines.

      Think about it... do you really think that EVERY other site that would naturally link to your site would all structure their links the same way? No.

      Some webmasters will make it h ttp://mysite.com some will make it h ttp://mysite.com/ some will make it h ttp://www.mysite.com some will make it h ttp://www.mysite.com/

      So the point is, if you build all of your links EXACTLY the same, do you think that will look natural to search engines?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5024083].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Alex Barboza
        Originally Posted by RyanJohnson View Post

        So the point is, if you build all of your links EXACTLY the same, do you think that will look natural to search engines?

        Thanks. This makes sense.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5027595].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Ezra Anderson
    As far as link building goes, mysite.com and mysite.com/ are COMPLETELY separate.

    If you built 200 links to mysite.com, and 100 other backlinks to mysite.com/, then you would NOT have 300 total links to your homepage. Each url has a completely different backlinks count, as far as Google is concerned. And since mysite.com has more backlinks, that is the url Google would most likely include in their search results.

    However, that being said, other than backlink count, mysite.com and mysite.com/ have no other SEO benefits or disadvantages. So as long as you stick with linking to one of them, you will be just fine.
    Signature
    The harder I work, the luckier I get.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5024102].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author trustumar
    As far as i know at root domain level it does not matter. This post may answer your question, Official Google Webmaster Central Blog: To slash or not to slash
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5027692].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author webdevpro
    Using trailing slash at the end is generally favorable as it denotes as a directory rather than a file. For the root domain using or not using '/' will create no problem but better to be consistent and stuck by the default value which is '/' at the end.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5027838].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author LinkingService
    Check the below video. Might be helpful in getting answer to your question. youtube.com/watch?v=CTrdP7lJ2HU
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5028048].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author wahidswebgarage
    Use mysite.com/, slash / represents that its a directory.Use slashes on categories as well.If you are using wordpress use yoast plugin this will handle almost everything
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5028075].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Alex Barboza
    Great answers guys. So I shouldn't be very concerned about this. Thanks a lot!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[5028209].message }}

Trending Topics