Will blog on subdomain help e-commerce main domain?

[lvalesko]

Knowing that Google like sites with 'fresh' content we added a blog to our ecommerce site which we update almost daily.

We put the blog on a subdomain, (blog.example.com)

My question is this: will the new content we add to the blog, (blog.example.com), be viewed by Google as 'fresh' content on the main domain, (www.example.com)?

Thanks :-)
Lori

[edited by: tedster at 1:12 am (utc) on Feb. 2, 2008]
[edit reason] use example.com - it can never be owned [/edit]

[tedster]

Saying "google likes sites with fresh content" may be too broad a generalization. Google also likes very stable sites sometimes -- especially when fresh backlinks continue to show up. Google also realizes that not all types of sites will change or add content at the same pace.

So I don't think it's a true model to think of some kind of "fresh content tag" that somehow gets applied at the domain level.

However, if your blog refers and links to your core domain in new content, I'd say that should be a help.

[lvalesko]

so... does the 'new' content we post to the blog in the subdomain, (blog.example.com), appear to the search engines a 'new' content on the main domain, (www.example.com)?

[lvalesko]

I just need to know if writing a post on the blog at the subdomain appears to the the search engines as new content on the main domain...

i.e. is writing an article and putting it on the blog, (blog.example.com), going to be viewed, indexed, etc, by the search engines the same way as writing an article and posting it on the main domain, (www.example.com/articles)?

Thanks :-)
Lori

[ecmedia]

Lori, the answer is yes but if you are looking to get extra traffic because of using a subdomain rather than subdirectory then I am not sure. In any case, having a blog generally helps a website.

[MadeWillis]

lvalesko,

This post may better help you understand how subdomains are treated by Google.

[webmasterworld.com...]

[lvalesko]

Yes, I read that post along with Matt Cutts blog and I understand that they will be treated the same as far as searches.

Here's why I'm asking:

I currently have a site, (www.example.com).It has a blog in a subdirectory, (www.example.com/blog). When I do a site search, (site:www.example.com), the main site as well as the blog pages show up in Googles results.

I also have another site, (www.example2.com). It has a blog in a subdomain, (blog.example2.com). But when I do a site search of the site, (site:www.example2.com), the blog pages are NOT showing up but they do when I site search the subdomain, (site:blog.example2.com).

The blog in the subdomain of the second site, (blog.example2.com), is brand new and I'm wondering if the pages in this blog will eventually show up when I do a site search of the main domain?

Thanks :-)
Lori

[tedster]

Not if you search for site:www.example.com - because blog.example.com is on its own subdomain. However, it will show up if you search site:example.com,without the "www".

[lvalesko]

We have a htaccess file pointing example.com to www.example.com so that site search you mentioned doesn't work. It's complicated but we have to have this...

Guess there's no definitive answer to this question. I'll just have to see if the blog pages start showing up in the site search for the main site at www.example.com

I really only want to have to write articles for the blog and not both... UHHGG!

Thanks,
Lori

[johnsonsmith1]

it will do nothing since the blog has no authority

[lvalesko]

Not sure what you mean here in reference to my question, (of course I know a new site has no authority but that's not the issue).

Don't know why this is such a difficult question... All I'm looking for is a simple yes or no answer :-(

If I write an article and put it on www.example.com/article.html then the site www.example.com now has a new page and new content added to it.

If I write an article and put it on blog.example.com do the search engines see that as a new page and new content for www.example.com?

By the responses that have been posted, I'm getting the feeling that nobody here really knows for sure.

Thanks!
Lori

[MrBlack]

will the new content we add to the blog, (blog.example.com), be viewed by Google as 'fresh' content on the main domain, (www.example.com)?

No

[lvalesko]

Thank you MrBlack :-)

Do you have any references you can site?

[MrBlack]

I have no references, only experience. And in my experience subdomains are treated by Google as a seperate entity. With the exception that they have something in their algorithm to prevent you grabbing the top 2 serps with results from a domain and one of its sudomains.

[tedster]

Maybe the reason you are frustrated is that you are making some assumptions about "www" that are not true.

The domain itself is ""example.com" without any www or subdomain. There is no requirement to host the same content at "www.example.com". Although many many websites do follow that convention, it is not technically required. And even though we casually and commonly speak about "a website", there is no technical definition of that term as there is for "domain name" or "url".

Lack of technical precision in this area has created troubles for many. For a detailed discussion of what Google calls the "canoncial issue", see Why Does Google Treat "www" & "no-www" As Different [webmasterworld.com]

You may also find some key insights from this thread: Treatment of a Subdomain Compared to a Domain [webmasterworld.com]

[balam]

> All I'm looking for is a simple yes or no answer :-(

If I write an article and put it on www.example.com/article.html then the site www.example.com now has a new page and new content added to it.

Correct.

If I write an article and put it on blog.example.com do the search engines see that as a new page and new content for www.example.com?

No, they do not.

Why? Because, simply, they are two different websites. Yes, example.com may belong to you, as do www.example.com & blog.example.com, but in the "eyes" of the search engines, these are three distinctly separate websites. (Because of this "view" by search engines, that's why dealing with the "www vs. no-www." canonical issue is so important to avoid duplicate content issues. It sounds like you are aware of that.)

Consider this thought experiment: If I make a post at myblog.blogging-site.com, would you expect that to count as fresh content at yourblog.blogging-site.com?

As for...

> Will blog on subdomain help e-commerce main domain?

I'd say that it won't hurt the main site to a large degree, but I'm not so quick to say it will help. It's a real ROI issue as I see it. Is the return - an expectation of increased traffic (and not necessarily sales) to the ecom site - worth the investment of time & money (actual time & employees' salaries) in a blog (with it's associated expenses of development, installation time, maintenance, updating, patching, monitoring...)?

[lvalesko]

Consider this thought experiment: If I make a post at myblog.blogging-site.com, would you expect that to count as fresh content at yourblog.blogging-site.com?

No, I wouldn't expect a post at myblog.blogging-site.com to add fresh content to yourblog.blogging-site.com, BUT wouldn't it add fresh content to blogging-site.com?

[MadeWillis]

Does yourblog.blogging-site.com have links pointing to blogging-site.com? I would treat them as two different websites. The ultimate choice in whether or not to create the blog as a subdomain or in a subdirectory (or as a completely different domain) would depend on your business strategy and what you want to get out of the blog.

[edited by: MadeWillis at 8:13 pm (utc) on Feb. 13, 2008]