subdomains vs. subdirectories for SEO

nome33 · Apr 3, 2012

I have done a lot of research on subdomains vs. subdirectories.
About half the articles say subdomains are better for SEO the other half say subdirectories. With all the Google changes recently which way is best? Will the link juice be pass to a subdomain from the domain?
There are quite a few very good SEO people on BHW and I think I might be able to get a definitive answer here.

nome33 · Apr 4, 2012

This must be a tricky question. Seems no one really knows.

nYXem · Apr 4, 2012

For SEO purposes, subdirectories are best. Link juice doesn't pass into subdomains from the main domain. I'm like 99% sure about this.

crzyyoungn · Apr 5, 2012

I'm not sure what you mean by "better for seo"?

I find that you get a lot more authority passing from the root domain down to a sub directory vs a subdomain. On the other hand if you penalize a subdomain a lot of times that penalty won't affect the root domain as much as a subdirectory.

Midas Touch · Jun 13, 2012

nYXem said:
For SEO purposes, subdirectories are best. Link juice doesn't pass into subdomains from the main domain. I'm like 99% sure about this.

crzyyoungn said:
I'm not sure what you mean by "better for seo"?

I find that you get a lot more authority passing from the root domain down to a sub directory vs a subdomain. On the other hand if you penalize a subdomain a lot of times that penalty won't affect the root domain as much as a subdirectory.

Both of the above statements are true.

You may want to read this article to help you decide though:

Do a Google search for Subdomain or Subfolder in a Post-Panda Web

Then go to the White Fire result.

MrBlue · Jun 13, 2012

Google considers subdomains as completely different sites, even if they share the same root domain.

jrimshot · Jun 13, 2012

MrBlue said:
Google considers subdomains as completely different sites, even if they share the same root domain.

That's right. A subdomain is a separate domain. Just like tumblr sites. They are all subdomains of tumblr.com

subdomains vs. subdirectories for SEO

nome33

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nome33

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nYXem

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crzyyoungn

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Midas Touch

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MrBlue

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