Which domain/subdomain strategy would be better?

[Maayboli]

I have multiple subdomain based news website. Each subdomain is in the format languge1.newsdomain.com, language2.newsdomain.com etc. These are not mere translation of one site into another but giving content tailored for the language and culture of the audience it serves. In essence they are related but different.

When it comes to "english" I have two options.

Option1. Create english.newsdomain.com using the same format and use the main www.newsdomain.com as a launching pad (navigation site) which allows the user to choose language and goto appropriate site. This gives the advantage of creating a common brand of newsdomain.com for all languages. There won't be any other content on this www.newsdomain.com

Option2. Use www.newsdomain.com for english content and only allow the list of other sites as footer or part of menu. This gives the advantage of having main domain with content (and links and other benefits) but makes it a bit difficult for users who do not speak english, to find their destination.

Any thoughts which is better or worse?

[WilliamKammer]

I think both options are viable, and it comes down to your demographic split in analytics.

If the majority of your audience in English-speaking, then the best option would be option #2. This eliminated an extra step and gives the majority of your users what they want, faster.

If there's a more even split in the traffic for languages you write for, a landing page to decide on a language may be more useful.

It's also possible to auto-detect the language and automatically direct users to the appropriate page, so you might want to consider that as an option as well.

[Maayboli]

Good answer.

I am leaning towards english as subdomain. Currently the majority is English speaking but the demography shift is occurring with more non english speaking audience getting online and expected to surpass english speaking.

But would like to explore a little more. In this scenario, are there any SEO wise pro/cons for choosing english as main root domain vs as a subdomain if other things are equal?

[WilliamKammer]

Theoretically it might be better from an SEO to have English on the root. If there's already something established on the root, it could be the right choice. Google sees subdomains as brand new domains, so you're starting from scratch.

If you have a lot of other languages that already visit the site, though, you msystem turn off more people than you attract.