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Ranking subdomains question

by jgant
10 replies
  • SEO
    • |
Do subdomains rank as readily as main domains all else being equal?

I ask because I'm about to launch a campaign for a client who offers diverse services and would like to make service-specific websites on sub domains and use the main domain as the main company site.
#domains #question #ranking #subdomains
  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    In my experience, subdomains rank just like a separate stand alone site. Could work well for service specific sites.
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    • Profile picture of the author Samuel Adams
      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      In my experience, subdomains rank just like a separate stand alone site. Could work well for service specific sites.
      At one time, one of my subdomains was ranking higher than the top level domain but maybe that was due to the amount of new daily content which was being added. And, as you said, these subdomains are treated as new entities.
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      • Profile picture of the author paulgl
        abc, espn, are part of disney's go.com network, all using subdomains, and many
        other sites like about.com use them ad nauseum. Disney's go.com network was
        a webportal, in what seems ages ago. They wanted everything to be under that
        banner that they owned. Even they have no need for subdomains now. You type
        espn.com and you get to espn.go.com. Kinda crazy after they dumped the whole
        network portal thing.

        Just because they are the "same" as a regular domain, there really is no
        need to use them as a normal, everyday webmaster.

        Does the WF use subdomains for the dozens of different parts of this forum?
        No. Again, there's no reason. They just use subpages.

        The biggest, baddest IM forum, digitalpoint, uses a subdomain for that forum
        because it is a separate entity than digitalpoint.com. That's the key. Are
        those pages for a separate and distinct website? Or are they just subpages
        or categories?

        Just make the easier to promote and develop subpages, not subdomains.

        To be honest, in all my years, I have yet to come up with a good reason why
        about.com uses them like water. I can't comprehend why a site like that needs
        subdomains. If anyone has a new idea on that thought, let me know! I'm thinking they
        were going for pseudo-EMD thing. But in 2014 I can't fathom why they still take
        subdomains to the max...like to infinity and beyond.

        Paul
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  • Profile picture of the author arpitagarwal82
    Google treats subdomains in the same way as it would tread different domains (mostly).

    Using sub directories for each service will be better idea as it will help the company website to appear as content rich authority.
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    • Profile picture of the author jgant
      Originally Posted by arpitagarwal82 View Post

      Google treats subdomains in the same way as it would tread different domains (mostly).

      Using sub directories for each service will be better idea as it will help the company website to appear as content rich authority.
      Thanks for the suggestion about sub directories. I'm considering this too but my main aim is that each service appear to be a stand-alone site so visitors looking for the specific service believe the company specializes in the service rather than be a jack-of-all-trades company in the industry.

      I'm considering setting up service-specific social media campaigns as well... Another reason for stand alone websites. People looking for service A have no interest in service B.
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      • Profile picture of the author CyberAlien
        Originally Posted by jgant View Post

        Thanks for the suggestion about sub directories. I'm considering this too but my main aim is that each service appear to be a stand-alone site so visitors looking for the specific service believe the company specializes in the service rather than be a jack-of-all-trades company in the industry.
        Are you counting on the fact that a majority of people wouldn't notice they were on a subdomain and go directly to the main domain?

        It makes sense to not have different services listed on the same website if they aren't interested in them, but you could also lose out on potential sales since you really don't know for sure if they would be interested in knowing about your other services.
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        • Profile picture of the author jgant
          Originally Posted by Escalate Internet View Post

          Are you counting on the fact that a majority of people wouldn't notice they were on a subdomain and go directly to the main domain?

          It makes sense to not have different services listed on the same website if they aren't interested in them, but you could also lose out on potential sales since you really don't know for sure if they would be interested in knowing about your other services.
          Originally Posted by arpitagarwal82 View Post

          Are you targeting a niche which attract internet/tech savy crowd? Because other then that, most of the internet users hardly notice if its subdomainS, sub directory or whatever.

          if the services are very diverse in nature, standalone websites will be a better idea.
          It's non-tech.It's a local service-based biz so most people would not notice a sub domain.. The chances of someone needing more than one service is very slim.

          Thanks a ton for your feedback. I'll have to plan out the funnels and traffic sources to determine what makes the most sense. I focus on paid traffic but it's also very much worth implementing solid SEO practices if possible for the long run.
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      • Profile picture of the author arpitagarwal82
        Originally Posted by jgant View Post

        Thanks for the suggestion about sub directories. I'm considering this too but my main aim is that each service appear to be a stand-alone site so visitors looking for the specific service believe the company specializes in the service rather than be a jack-of-all-trades company in the industry.

        I'm considering setting up service-specific social media campaigns as well... Another reason for stand alone websites. People looking for service A have no interest in service B.
        Are you targeting a niche which attract internet/tech savy crowd? Because other then that, most of the internet users hardly notice if its subdomain, sub directory or whatever.

        if the services are very diverse in nature, standalone websites will be a better idea.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ryan Rush
    I've seen situations where subdomains rank faster and easier than a regular domain. Even though google does treat them sorta like an independent regular domain, they also obtain some of the authority from the main domain.
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    Wikipedia is mostly sub-domains, no problems ranking.
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