google.com domain name structure

ever wonder why google sets up its sub-sections the way it does

[top5jamaica]

ever wonder why google would do "adwords.google.com" for adwords, but go "www.google.com/adsense" for adsense? hmmm? well i just did ... can't be levels of importance. maybe just convenience?

[ThatAdamGuy]

I asked this same thing a while back. For all the brilliance at Google, I do think they're a bit inconsistent with their domain stuff.

For instance, why not careers.google.com or jobs.google.com? One would think that oft-visited or particularly important sections should each get their own subdomain IF the company is using subdomains.

Stranger yet is the fact that Google doesn't use wildcarding in their subdomain usage. For instance, if you mistype a URL like this: adwrds.google.com, you'll get a nasty error page, whereas it'd be an incredibly simple matter for Google to either:
- register common typos and have them redirected to the right place
- have any non-existent subdomains go to google.com/notfound.htm with a pretty error page showing a list of currently-used subdomains or main Google sections
- or, ideally, both of the above!

I wonder if there are certain technical / bandwidth / other reasons why Google WOULDN'T do this that I'm overlooking. Hmm.

[Chndru]

>For all the brilliance at Google, I do think they're a bit inconsistent with their domain stuff.

Yup. But, there maybe reasons beyond the 'first cut'

[finer9]

Could it be reflective of Google's corporate structure?

Aka Adwords being a business unit of its own, but AdSense being a sub-unit of Google.Com itself?

I guess what is the difference really..maybe for legal reasons I suppose.