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is there really even a difference?
i have been reasearching this a little and i just wanted to recieve some clarification on its helpfullness.
[edited by: pageoneresults at 2:04 pm (utc) on Mar. 11, 2005]
[edit reason] Examplified URI References (website) [/edit]
By the way, does the forum section (as a whole) have some form of search tool? i know the website itself does, but i fail to see one yet.
As far as rank placement in search engines is concerned, would it be more benificial to create subdomains for my site in the form of
(subdomain.example.com)
or to just do it the usual way as (www.example.com/subdomain.htm)
is there really even a difference?
I wouldn't look at it from a "rank placement" perspective. If your site is large enough to utilize a sub-domain structure name.example.com, then by all means do so.
If your site is not large enough for a sub-domain structure, then sub-directories should be fine.
Keep in mind that name.example.com is one level above the root and example.com/name/ is one level below the root. You'll find many sites where their sub-domains may rank higher than their root domains.
By the way, does the forum section (as a whole) have some form of search tool?
Yes, there is a "site search" link located above to the right of the WebmasterWorld logo. You'll find using your favorite SE may be a little more rewarding in the results returned. ;)
site:www.webmasterworld.com "search term"
Back to topic though, i have noticed that only the "bigger" type sites utilize subdomains, but what size of site would it take to actually justify using them? correct me if i am wrong, but dont they cost more anyway? What would stop someone from making thier entire site out of subdomains? If they are picked up by S.Engines more, why not?
From here each main catagory is built like a pyramid, trickling down into other catagories that pertain to each main one.
For Example:
From "Niche Reviews"/
to "Niche Brands"/
to "Niche Brand Model"/
to "Specific Niche Brand Models"
would it benefit me to do
"specific_niche_brand_model.example.com"
or
would it be best to do
"niche_reviews.example.com"
and from there have:
"niche_reviews.example.com/niche_brands/niche
brand model/specific_niche_model.htm"
lol i hope this made sense
From a personal viewpoint, I wouldn't attempt to load keywords in a sub-domain like your above examples. I'd be a little more subtle and look for single word names.
autos.example.com
mp3s.example.com
software.example.com
software.example.com
and make all things that i want to belong in that catagory:
software.example.com/software_companies.htm
software.example.com/software_companies/specific_software.htm
ect?
in that type of structre?
software.example.com/companies/name/software.htm
A more refined example...
software.example.com/microsoft/frontpage/
software.example.com/microsoft/internet-explorer/
Just keep in mind that you want to keep the URIs short and easy to remember. Make sure they are named following the logical structure of the site. Think of it like an outline...
software.example.com/h1/h2/h3/h4/h5/h6/
h1 being the top level category and h2-h6 being sub levels of the top level.
Minimize the use of hyphens and I don't suggest the use underscores. Keep the URI names focused. Planning is the key. You don't want to have to go back and undo everything you did. ;)
Don't worry about the depth of the URI path although shallow is better from a user perspective. Your navigation structure will dictate how the spider reacts to crawling deep within the site.
P.S. I should reiterate that if your site is not large enough to incorporate a sub-domain structure, I might not recommend it. From a user standpoint, software.example.com may not be as easy to remember as www.example.com/software/. Most people are used to typing in that www.
thank you
Thank you
If I were to guess at how big before I looked at a sub-domain structure, I'd say 100,000 pages plus. But, that is a generalization and that number could be less or more depending on your long term goals.
Another thing to consider is the breadth of the site. How focused are your categories? Are they all related? Are they completely different? The less related they are, the more I would lean towards a sub-domain structure.
i could somehow see this being useful (despite the number of visitors) if all blog entries were blog.widget.com/example.html. Please correct me if i am wrong
