Subdomain Ranking Question

[AinsleyAgency]

Hi All -

Quick question that I think I know the answer to, but I feel like I've been going around in circles a bit. My client is launching a new product and wants us to build a microsite for it (product.clientname.com). My client really dislikes their brand website, and wants to use paid media to push their audience to this new microsite. However, they also said want it to rank well organically. I feel uneasy about this, because of the subdomain vs. subfolder argument. I believe that the product will also be listed/featured on their main brand website.

What is the best way forward?

Thanks!

[EGOL]

My client really dislikes their brand website,

Make a new brand site that the client will love.  Right now an ugly brand site is making the client run to a subdomain, which we know is not the best move.

[AinsleyAgency]

Ha, that would be ideal. Unfortunately, their brand site is new (within the year) and is a result of their in-house team. We've discussed that, but probably out of the question.

[EGOL]

Sounds like the designers run the company.

[Linda-Vassily]

Where does your client fall in the chain of command of the company? If s/he is at the very top, sunk costs should not dictate keeping a bad website, and if something different is better for this one product then it is better for all of the products.

But assuming they can't have a total site redo, why not use a subfolder? Although Google's John Muller said subdomain or subfolder does not make a difference, there is enough evidence to the contrary that I'd go with a subfolder if at all possible.

Perhaps the subdomain is because the person wants to distance this part from the rest of the site.

But as we know, a big part of SEO is the way things are linked (including internally) and one robust, well-linked site is stronger than a string of independent microsites, which is partly why microsites are not popular anymore. And existing links to the overall domain will help boost this new section if it is correctly integrated. (Unless the rest of the site is really terrible, in which case this one section probably won't make much difference either way.)

I don't think subdomain/subfolder is the main issue here though. It seems that your client want this product separated--does that make the most sense for the overall business goals of the company (as opposed to the success of this one project)? That's the question that needs answering.

[EGOL]

Where does your client fall in the chain of command of the company? If s/he is at the very top, sunk costs should not dictate keeping a bad website, and if something different is better for this one product then it is better for all of the products.

Linda makes a really good point here.   The website is not liked, then it should be fixed.  This is an opportunity for the staff to learn what the "company"   "thinks" the site should be or for the boss to admit that lax management allowed the project to jump the tracks.  Learn, improve, move upwards.

We have redone lots of work here.  Sometimes because it was my fault.  Sometimes because we learned something.  When those jobs were redone it was a really good day.  

[AinsleyAgency]

Thanks for your input, Linda. I couldn't agree more with your first point. It really comes down to a matter of budget and timing. Since their website is "new", getting the sign off from the execs would be near impossible.

You're right in that our client wants to distance this from the rest of the site. We're going to put a significant amount of paid media toward driving traffic here, and the client does not want to send anyone to their current site. Hence, why we're developing this new site.

As far as the subfolder, there are a few reasons. The CMS used on the main site is proprietary and managed by my client's parent company. We've worked with those folks in the past on other PPC landing pages and the results have been pretty bad. I think a subfolder for the most part is out of the question, unless our devs package it up in HTML and send it over.

[Linda-Vassily]

I understand the frustration of working with a big company where "because it is new" is a reason not to change the site. That is not a good way to run a business but inertia and people trying to protect their own positions often result in this type of situation. And there generally isn't much you can do to change this, sadly.

How terrible is the new site?

Does your client just not like it? Or did rankings/search volume/leads/sales plummet when it was introduced?

If it is the former, your client should just suck it up and stick with the current site design. It is the customers' preferences that matter and if the site is doing well, that is what counts.

If the latter then your client is right to want something different but I wouldn't count much on organic search traffic in that scenario. And I don't know that one working piece will drive company success, though perhaps your client hopes to use that smaller success to drive change for the rest of the site. Good luck with that.

Either way it solves your subdomain dilemma--in the first case you won't need one and in the second case it probably won't make a difference.