directory index page vs root index page

How much does it hurt

[annej]

I have a site something.com/historyofwidgets and another historyofwidgets.com and even though the site in the subdirectory has much more informational content historyofwidgets.com beats it on most search phrases.

Does Google give a lot of weight to the root index page?

Anne

[jamesyap]

Yes, if they have the same inbound links.
No, if they have different inbound links.

[annej]

Thanks James. That fits what I've observed. I have a few more backlinks on the subdirectory page but it still comes out below the domain homepage.

Anne