Boost traffic with a folder redirection

The Difference Between Subfolders and Subdomains in SEO

When it comes to organizing website content, understanding the difference between subfolders and subdomains is crucial for optimizing your site's SEO performance. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages, but let's delve into the details to gain a better understanding.

Subfolders

A subfolder is an extension of the main domain, typically denoted by a path following the domain name, such as "example.com/subfolder." It allows you to organize and categorize your website's content within a hierarchical structure.

Subdomains

On the other hand, a subdomain is a prefix added to the main domain, creating a separate section that functions as an independent website. For example, "blog.example.com" is a subdomain where the term "blog" acts as the subdomain.

How Subfolders Can Improve SEO Rankings

1. Consolidated Authority

Using a subfolder structure ensures that all your content resides within the same domain. This consolidation allows the authority and relevance your main domain has built up to be shared with the subfolder's content. Consequently, search engines may perceive your subfolder as more authoritative and boost its rankings.

2. Link Equity

Link equity refers to the value passed from one page to another through hyperlinks. With a subfolder structure, any backlinks acquired by your main domain can directly benefit the subfolder's pages. The link equity flows seamlessly within the same domain, amplifying the subfolder's visibility and search engine rankings.

3. Keyword Relevance

Incorporating relevant keywords into your URLs is an essential SEO practice. Subfolders enable you to include keywords in the subfolder path, creating more descriptive and keyword-rich URLs for your content. This increased keyword relevance can positively impact search engine rankings, particularly for queries related to the subfolder's content.

4. User Experience

While user experience is not a direct ranking factor, it indirectly influences SEO. A subfolder structure provides a cohesive and intuitive website organization, making it easier for users to navigate and understand your content. Improved user experience translates to better engagement metrics, reduced bounce rates, and increased time spent on the site, all of which can positively affect SEO.

5. Maintenance and Marketing

Managing a single domain with a subfolder structure simplifies website maintenance, analytics tracking, marketing campaigns, and branding efforts. It allows you to centralize your SEO strategy and resources, streamlining the overall management process and enabling better optimization opportunities.

While subdomains may have specific use cases, in terms of SEO, utilizing a subfolder structure offers several advantages, including consolidated authority, enhanced link equity flow, improved keyword relevance, better user experience, and streamlined maintenance and marketing. By understanding these factors, you can make informed decisions to optimize your website's SEO performance.

Instructions to implement a subfolder strategy

Set up your subdomain first

In order to set up a subdomain pointing towards reboom content, follow those instructions:

Check out detailed instructions to set up a subfolder

This set up is for advances users but can provide dramatic improvement of SEO gains.

At reboom, we can suggest a few freelancers who can help you set this up.