What About Sub-Domains?
A couple of months ago, I was getting heavy into looking at sub-domains. My concerns, based on client need of course (if you read this, you know I don’t update it often enough to worry about sub-domains and other homes for content!), were around how the search engines treat them and whether or not it’s better to have the content of a sub-domain in a sub-folder of the TLD or in its own neck of the woods via a sub-domain. Wow, now there’s a sentence. Holy cow, is that ugly.
Back on subject. So, how do search engines treat sub-domains?
Well, when I was getting heavy into the question, we only really looked into Google since that’s where the client’s primary concern was. And at the time, say, late November-ish, Google was indexing and displaying results from sub-domains in their SERPs just fine. Furthermore, if they found relevant content on the primary domain, they would display that as well as anything relevant from the sub-domain. That meant, in theory, you could have had four listings above the fold in the Google SERPs if you were relevant to the query. Four!
As with anything, abuse and spam takes its toll, and from what I’m seeing now, it looks like there has been a decrease in the number of sub-domains appearing along with pages from the primary domain. However, that doesn’t mean relevant content from a sub-domain can’t rank. From what I’ve read, Google and the others are still treating sub-domains as separate entities from the primary domain. But sure as soon as I hit publish, someone will find an article that totally makes me look like an ass.
When is it a good idea to have a sub-domain?
If they haven’t been watching sub-domain usage closely, in time, they surely will. So if you plan on implementing a sub-domain, do so wisely. The thing is, while Google and the other search engines use algorithms and whatnot to filter a lot of spam, they still do manual reviews too. So, if some cat from Google is looking at your site and it looks like you were attempting to game them, they’re gonna’ smack your ass.
Therefore, if you’re going to use a sub-domain, ask yourself why it’s even necessary. Could this information have a page on the main site? Would setting up a sub-directory and having the pages stored under it make more sense than using a sub-domain? If the information is a bit different from what your goal with the site is, then yeah, go with a sub-domain. If you have a lot of information, then sure, go with the sub-domain. If it’s ten pages of stuff that fits in with the theme of the main site, put it in the main site.
The thing is, if you require a sub-domain, you better make sure you have plenty of stuff to put in it. And it better be a whole helluva’ lot different than what can be found under you main domain. If not, you’re probably going to be looking a little questionable and it may have a negative impact on your site’s overall performance in the SERPs. Remember, they’re going to be looking at intent. While they don’t get to know why you’re doing something (because, you know, they’re not psychics and mind-readers), your actions will give them enough rope to hang you with.
