Is it a good idea to use sub-domains?

[igor.pinchevskiy]

Hello everyone!

I have a question about whether we should be using sub-domains. We are currently in the process of redesigning our site so this would be the time to do it. We are a reseller of brand name IT equipment (servers, storage, etc...) should we create a sub-domain for each brand for example:

hp.domain.com

dell.domain.com

or should we just use folders instead like:

domain.com/hp

domain.com/dell

does one have any more SEO value than the other?

Thank you!

[HandsomeWeb]

I like subdomains for usability, but maintain 301 redirects to folders.  Humans may prefer the subdomain, so they are useful.

hp.domain.com has a 301 redirect to www.domain.com/hp

Search engines will consider hp.domain.com a different domain than www.domain.com.

I do this most commonly for mobile.

m.domain.com has a 301 redirect to www.domain.com/m

[igor.pinchevskiy]

Hello Christopher,

Thanks for a quick reply! I'm a newbie to SEO so if you don't mind I'd like to pick your brain about 301 redirects ( I will have to research this subject in more detail). However from what I understand:

Create a subdomain hp.domain.com and do a 301 redirect to www.domain.com/hp

Now my question is this, so my content for hp.domain.com technically resides on www.domain.com/hp   correct? or it resides on hp.domain.com ?

Question #2, why would I want or why is it recommended to do a 301 redirect on a subdomain to a folder on a main/root domain?

Thanks!

[HandsomeWeb]

301 redirect is a permanent redirection.  If you set up a 301 redirect and a search engine requests the page, the search engine is sent a reply that says the page has permanently moved to a different location.  So Google will consider the new page as the one to be indexed.  Google will also transfer the value of any links to hp.domain.com to www.domain.com/hp.

In most situations, I believe it is best to optimize one domain than several.  Search engines will consider a subdomain as a complete separate domain.  And yes www.domain.com are considered two different domain names (although I suspect Google tries to sort that one out). Using the 301 redirects to the folder transfers the value of the links of the sub domain to the file in the folder, which is also a link in to a place on the domain www.domain.com.

Search how to do redirects, there are many tutorials for different platforms.  It is not difficult.  However if you are using one of those free hosting sites, you are not going to have any luck.

[ProjectLabs]

In terms of SEO, subfolders are almost always the better option. If your brand pages are in a subfolder, they will receive more of a boost in rankings because they are considered part of the main site by search engines. More of the link authority and trust will be passed to pages in a subfolder. Subdomains are considered as a separate site by search engines - for example the blogs like sitename.blogspot.com or sitename.wordpress.com and receive little trust and authority from the rest of the site.