Then I'd begin to tweak about 10, 20 or 40 other factors.
Or, alternatively, you might simply employ a brute force button pushing link campaign.
Bottom line: Today's answer may stop working tomorrow, so vary your strategy so whatever your project is it isn't wiped out entirely in a single algo update.
Then I'd begin to tweak about 10, 20 or 40 other factors.
Or, alternatively, you might simply employ a brute force button pushing link campaign.
Bottom line: Today's answer may stop working tomorrow, so vary your strategy so whatever your project is it isn't wiped out entirely in a single algo update.[quote]
Thanks for the answer.
The site that I'm working on now will be the biggest project that I'll ever do. It's my personal site and it will cover a number of different topics. All are related to each other when you stop to think about it, but on the surface that might not be apparent to a search engine.
For example:
Topic A: Religion
Topic B: Politics
Topic C: Science
Basically, things that I'm interested in and things that make up who I am as a whole. As you can see, there is potential for these topics/sections to get rather large. I'm wondering if it'd be better to give each its own subdomain.
I do plan on diversifying my approach so that whatever I decide doesn't wipe me out overnight down the road. All things being equal, with a multi-prong approach... does it matter if I use subdomains or not?
I do plan on other smaller sites on other subjects in the future, but this will be my pride and joy, as it's about me. This will be the granddaddy of my collection of sites.
Thanks.
sub.example.com
The sub-directory is one level below the root domain...
example.com/sub/
Some of the pros and cons?
I've seen many people type the sub-domain in with a www which typically does not resolve. I've seen people link to sub-domains with a www which typically does not resolve. I think there are still many who don't understand the concept of a sub-domain so there is confusion out there.
One big advantage to using a sub-domain is that most search engines treat it as a separate site within your site. Sub-domains can outrank the root domain.
The only time I would use a sub-domain approach is if the site were very large and had very distinct topics that were not directly related to one another. A prime example would be the ODP or any other large directory taxonomy. When you are covering a broad range of topics, using a sub-domain structure is a long term strategy that does produce results if set up properly.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you can have totally different content at example.com than you would at www.example.com. You'll need to decide which method you want to use for your home page. Do you strip the www. and permanently redirect all requests to example.com? Or, do you use www. as the home page of the site even though it is a sub-domain of the root.
I've not used a sub-domain structure as of yet and it is due mostly to my development environment. I work with FrontPage and the FP Includes do not work across sub-domains which means I have to create copies in each sub-domain and it is a maintenance nightmare.
But, I've consulted with business owners who do have a sub-domain structure and I can say from experience that they are a very powerful part of structuring (architecturing) a large site with topics that are broad in nature (not related).
[edited by: pageoneresults at 4:51 pm (utc) on Jan. 1, 2006]
URL ~ new directory ~ no sandbox.
Your mileage may vary.
If what you are doing is simply for organization then either path can work, but which approach do you most often see at the very largest websites?
If what you are doing is for SEO reasons forget it. An approach such as this may work this month and may tank your site next month. The minute the all lemmings start running in one direction the game is over. (Stated differently: Ranking is a function of many more factors than whether you employ subdomains. IF subdomains were - by their presence alone - able to game the SEs then what do you think you would observe? Lots of subdomain sites. How long would that "effect" last? Subdomains did have their time.)
That said the best advice is always "test everything (for yourself) and diversify" (and never stop testing, so you may see what's coming next IF your game is SEO). Otherwise, just build a site around serving your visitor's interests in the best possible way.
[edited by: Webwork at 5:37 pm (utc) on Jan. 1, 2006]
If what you are doing is simply for organization then either path can work, but which approach do you most often see at the very largest websites?If what you are doing is for SEO reasons forget it. An approach such as this may work this month and may tank your site next month. The minute the all lemmings start running in one direction the game is over.
That said the best advice is always "test everything (for yourself) and diversify" (and never stop testing, so you may see what's coming next IF your game is SEO). Otherwise, just build a site around serving your visitor's interests in the best possible way.
I'm leaning towards more of the organization aspect. SEO is secondary to me right now, I'd rather focus on the visitor with this site. I'm more interested in giving visitors a reason to come back.
Perhaps someone could comment on whether there would be any downside to crosslinking the sub-domains, which naturally you'd want to do I think. If there is, go sub-directory route.
