Subdomains: Strategies for Medium and Large Publishers in the New SEO (2024)

Leverage the new perspective on subdomains to optimize your SEO strategies, increase traffic, and convert leads effectively and sustainably.

In the dynamic world of SEO, the quest to decode Google’s algorithm is constant. With the recent leak of internal Google documents, new pieces of this puzzle are falling into place, revealing a crucial element: subdomain adjustments. This article explores how this new perspective impacts SEO strategies and how you can leverage this information to attract more traffic and convert more leads.

Index

  • 1 Understanding Subdomain Strategy in the New SEO
  • 2 What Are Subdomains?
  • 3 Creating and Deleting Subdomains
    • 3.1 How to Create Subdomains
    • 3.2 How to Delete Subdomains
    • 3.3 Examples of Subdomain Usage
  • 4 Importance of Subdomains for SEO
    • 4.1 Benefits
    • 4.2 Challenges
  • 5 Impact of Subdomains on SEO
    • 5.1 Strong Subdomains Benefit the Main Domain
    • 5.2 Weak Subdomains Can Harm the Main Domain
    • 5.3 Strategy is Fundamental
  • 6 Optimizing Subdomains for Success
  • 7 Navigating the Era of Transparency: Opportunities and Challenges
  • 8 Adapting and Thriving: The Future of SEO with Subdomains
  • 9 Count on Grumft: Your Specialist in Website and App Monetization

Understanding Subdomain Strategy in the New SEO

The leaked documents confirmed what many already suspected: Google considers subdomains as independent entities for SEO purposes. This means that the subdomain strategy can significantly impact your site’s performance in search results.

What Are Subdomains?

Subdomains are extensions of a site’s main domain, used to organize content into distinct sections. For example, “blog.yourdomain.com” is a subdomain of the main domain “yourdomain.com”. They are often used to separate different types of content, such as blogs, e-commerce stores, or forums.

Creating and Deleting Subdomains

How to Create Subdomains

  1. Access Your Domain Control Panel: Log into the control panel of your hosting provider.
  2. Locate the Domains Section: Look for the domain or subdomain management option.
  3. Create a New Subdomain: Enter the desired name for the subdomain and associate it with the main domain.
  4. Subdomain Configuration: Set up the directory where the subdomain’s files will be stored.

How to Delete Subdomains

  1. Access Your Domain Control Panel: Log into the control panel of your hosting provider.
  2. Locate the Domains Section: Look for the domain or subdomain management option.
  3. Delete the Subdomain: Select the subdomain you want to delete and follow the instructions to remove it.

Examples of Subdomain Usage

  • blog.yourdomain.com: For blog content.
  • store.yourdomain.com: For e-commerce.
  • forum.yourdomain.com: For community and discussions.

Importance of Subdomains for SEO

Well-managed subdomains can strengthen a site’s online presence. Let’s explore the benefits and challenges:

Benefits

  1. Content Independence: Each subdomain can be optimized individually, allowing for a more focused strategy.
  2. Organization: Facilitates the organization of large volumes of content.
  3. Segmentation: Allows targeting different audiences.

Challenges

  1. Resources Required: Requires more resources for management and optimization.
  2. Quality Consistency: Maintaining a high-quality standard across all subdomains is crucial.

Impact of Subdomains on SEO

Strong Subdomains Benefit the Main Domain

High-quality backlinks to a subdomain can benefit the main domain as a whole.

Weak Subdomains Can Harm the Main Domain

Subdomains with low-quality content or technical issues can negatively affect the main domain’s ranking.

Strategy is Fundamental

The intelligent use of subdomains can be a powerful tool for SEO, but it requires careful planning and execution.

Optimizing Subdomains for Success

With the new relevance of subdomains, optimizing them becomes crucial for SEO success. Follow these tips to ensure your subdomains are working in your favor:

  1. Define a Clear Objective for Each Subdomain: Determine the type of content to be published on each subdomain and the target audience you want to reach. A clear objective helps direct content creation and SEO strategy more effectively.
  2. Create High-Quality and Relevant Content: Publish informative, engaging, and SEO-optimized content on each subdomain. The content should be valuable to users and answer their questions completely and satisfactorily.
  3. Build High-Quality Backlinks: Obtain backlinks from relevant and trustworthy sites for each subdomain. Quality links are fundamental to improving the authority of the subdomain and, consequently, the main domain.
  4. Technically Optimize the Subdomains: Ensure each subdomain performs well technically, with fast loading speed and a search engine-friendly structure. This includes optimizing URLs, titles, meta descriptions, and proper use of header tags.
  5. Monitor Subdomain Performance: Use analytics tools to track the performance of each subdomain and identify optimization opportunities. Monitoring metrics such as traffic, bounce rate, and dwell time can provide valuable insights for adjusting your strategies.

Navigating the Era of Transparency: Opportunities and Challenges

The leak of Google’s Search API has opened new dialogues about SEO practices, corporate transparency, and digital ethics. The digital marketing community must reflect on how these practices influence online visibility and adjust their strategies to ensure they remain effective and ethical.

Adapting and Thriving: The Future of SEO with Subdomains

The challenge now is for Google to respond and for SEO professionals to adapt to a more complex and nuanced search ecosystem than ever before. SEO professionals have the opportunity to adjust their practices based on more accurate insights into how Google actually works. By focusing on high-quality content, relevant backlinks, and technical optimization, it is possible to use subdomains strategically to push your site to the top of search results.

Count on Grumft: Your Specialist in Website and App Monetization

Grumft offers customized solutions for publishers looking to monetize their sites and apps with ad tags that do not harm site optimization for the new SEO and boost their results. With years of experience and market expertise, we help you implement effective monetization strategies.

For additional resources and official information on the topic, consult:

Contact us to explore how we can help transform your monetization strategy and ensure your user experience and site optimization are not compromised. Our ad tags are designed not to interfere with user experience or harm your site’s optimization. Let’s navigate this new era of transparency and adaptation in SEO together.

Autor(a): Online since 1997, I am a marketing and content professional with a solid background in marketing. Specialized in simplifying complex topics through my writings, I facilitate the connection between publishers and experts, promoting clear and accessible understanding.

backlinksdigital marketingdigital transparencygoogleGoogle APIGrumfthigh-quality contentLeadssearch enginesSEOSEO ethicsSEO strategiesSite Monetizationsite performancesubdomainsweb optimizationweb traffic

Subdomains: Strategies for Medium and Large Publishers in the New SEO (2024)

FAQs

Do subdomains help with SEO? ›

In this case, a subdomain could work well. Keeping the new topic separate from the main site could help you build an SEO strategy specific to that niche, including its relevant keywords. Meanwhile, positioning it as a subdomain instead of an all-new domain allows you to maintain your brand equity.

How does Google treat subdomains? ›

Google Considers Subdomains as Separate Standalone Sites

“You'll need to verify subdomains separately in Search Console, make any changes to settings and track overall performance per subdomain. We do have to learn how to crawl them separately but for the most part that's just a formality for the first few days.”

What are the disadvantages of subdomains? ›

Some of the disadvantages include: - It can confuse website visitors about where they should go to find your main content. - It can be more challenging to track visitor traffic and engagement with different types of content. A subdomain isn't as valuable as a “real” domain.

Are subdomains a good idea? ›

A subdomain can be great for SEO, but it will require a dedicated person or team that can manage it. Unlike subdirectories, a subdomain's domain authority won't automatically trickle down from the primary domain name.

What is the best practice for a subdomain? ›

Here are some key best practices for using email subdomains:
  • Plan subdomain naming conventions. Establish a clear naming convention for your subdomains. ...
  • Separate subdomains by email type. ...
  • Consistent authentication setup. ...
  • Monitor and analyze performance. ...
  • Gradual IP warm-up.
Jun 25, 2024

Do subdomains get indexed by Google? ›

The short answer is yes, Google can and will index and rank subdomains unless you explicitly take steps to ensure they're excluded from its index. Google's entire business model is based on discovering content. The same goes for all search engines.

Does subdomain affect Google ranking? ›

In general, subdomains can rank well on Google if they have high-quality content that is relevant to the user's search query. However, subdomains may have less authority than the main domain, which can make it harder for them to rank for competitive keywords.

How many subdomains is too many? ›

A domain can have up to 500 subdomains. You can create multiple levels of subdomains such as store.product.yoursite.com, test.forum.yoursite.com, etc. Each subdomain can be up to 255 characters long, but for multi level subdomains, each level can only be 63 characters long.

Do subdomains affect domain reputation? ›

Your subdomain reputation(s) can impact base domain reputation, but the impact between subdomains will be small. Subdomains are not a way to avoid a bad domain reputation. Instead, they will help differentiate your traffic while maintaining a clear relationship with your main domain.

Why don't people use subdomains? ›

You may end up with duplicate content (content that's identical to content found elsewhere) and/or improper interlinking (links to other pages on the same website) between the main domain and its subdomains. These errors can hurt your website rankings and the user experience.

Do subdomains need a sitemap? ›

A sitemap is a file of your site's pages, links and other information that helps Google read and index your site. Each subdomain has its own dedicated sitemap that needs to be submitted to Google individually.

What is the proper use of subdomain? ›

When to use a subdomain
  1. To launch a separate website for your main site, such as a promotional campaign, an online store, or even a section that is for members only.
  2. To create a blog for your website or the existing business or brand it represents.

Are subcategories good for SEO? ›

So, using sub-categories will help your visitors/users to navigate easily through your products, improve your site architecture, target specific keywords, and improve your page speeds by showing filtered products only.

Is having multiple domains good for SEO? ›

Multiple domains for SEO is the best long-term strategy when you want to dominate the SERPs for a specific keyword. If a large corporation hasn't already dominated the SERPs, you still have a chance. However, you probably won't dominate for the top competitive keywords like 'cars' or 'real estate' or 'weight loss.

Are subdomains searchable? ›

Google bots can find and index pages on a subdomain in the same way they do on a subdirectory. Subdomains also have several advantages in terms of what Google looks for in an authoritative website.

What is the benefit of creating a subdomain? ›

Subdomains are used to:
  • Streamline site hierarchy.
  • Improve user navigation.
  • Create a prototype or test version of a website.
  • To use two different themes with different functions for one domain (e.g., a blog, forum, e-commerce store, etc….)
  • Create location- or language-specific sites.
  • To create a mobile-specific site.
May 30, 2024

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