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Hi Ahmed,

I hope you'll update the thread when you hear from GoDaddy!

Andreas is right—the subdomain will be considered a new site by the search engines, so you won't get any SEO benefit from the existing domain. I'm not aware of any benefit you'd have a a totally new domain over a new subdomain, either, but Andreas may be able to give more information on that.

To be honest, it's a huge question that likely doesn't actually have a definitive answer. There could be something going on with each of those sites that's leading them to outrank you.

One thing that might give you some insight is the Keyword Difficulty, which is part of Moz Pro. It can run a Full SERP Report that'll give you an analysis of the signals that are _most likely _helping the sites on page rank. Cyrus Shepard make a pretty great video on it here.

If everything is redirecting properly, you shouldn't have an issue, and the subdomain still being present will actually be helpful to any folks with an outdated link or bookmark.

You may want to add noindex to the pages on those subdomains, or block them with robots.txt. Over time, that would get them out of the search results in favor of the new, up-to-date subfolders. Removing them, though, isn't necessary.

Curious, Kasper—is it only the mostly-blank profiles that come up as duplicate content? Or do filled out profiles get flagged, too?

It looks like there have been a lot of responses concerning the issue you're having. At this point, the work remaining is more than enough to justify hiring an outside consultant if you don't feel up to solving the issue yourself based on the information you have. The experts here volunteer their time, and so outlining every step you'll need to take is a bit beyond the scope of what they can be expected to provide.

I definitely understand how frustrating it can be, and how big of a task it seems. We have a list of recommended companies if you do decide to hire outside help.

Thank you so much for understanding. Good luck!

Oh yeah, definitely agree. But it's spammy because it's spammy, not because it isn't indexed.

Hi Cesar!

Some folks may disagree, but I'd say they're only spammy if they're spammy. Not being indexed doesn't necessarily mean they're spam.

I assume you mean they're not indexed in Google, correct? Not that they're not indexed in Open Site Explorer?

Hi Michael!

That is actually not correct. Moz Local and Moz Pro are completely separate products, and having access to one doesn't provide access to the other.

It's possible that you're think of the Check Listing tool, which is a part of Moz Local that can be used for free. It'll let you know the status of your listings, but it won't update them for you.

I'd recommend watching this video on how Moz Local works.

Does that clear things up?

I'd actually recommend checking out the Moz Keyword Difficulty Tool, and the Full SERP Analysis Report it can generate. That can give you a breakdown of the factors that are most likely helping the top 10 sites for a given keyword rank, which can in turn help you work out what you'll need to do.

Cyrus Shepard made a great video on it here.

Hi there!

It's very hard to say what could be preventing you from ranking, especially without more information, or the ability to look at the pages. That said, keep in mind that the on-page grader does not indicate your likelihood to rank. The grade is based entirely on how well the page adheres to commonly-understood on-page best practices for a given keyword. Since on-page optimization is only one factor, it's entirely possible to have an A-grade and still not rank.

One Moz tool you may want to check out is the Keyword Difficulty Tool, and specifically the Full SERP Analysis Report. It can let you know what factors could be helping the top 10 for a given keyword to rank, which can give you a sense of what you'll need to do. Check out Cyrus Shepard's Moz Academy video on the subject.

In today's Daily SEO Fix, Jacki walks through using Open Site Explorer's anchor text report to find keywords your competitors may be targeting, and how to use the Keyword Difficulty Tool to tease out what's helping them rank. Watch "Keyword Research with OSE and the Keyword Difficulty Tool" now!

The Daily SEO Fix is an ongoing series of Moz tool tips and tricks in under 2 minutes. To watch all of our videos so far, and to subscribe to future ones, make sure to visit the Daily SEO Fix channel on YouTube.

If you'd like a more in-depth guide to using the Keyword Difficulty Tool and its Full SERP Analysis Report for competitive insights, check out Cyrus Shepard's excellent Moz Academy video on the subject.

Hi there! While there's technically nothing wrong with redirection 404s to the home page, you might want to consider pointing them toward a 404 page, instead. Otherwise, visitors won't know why the link they clicked took them to the home page rather than to the page they expected, which isn't a great experience.

Just a thought, though.

Thanks Dan!

In today's Daily SEO Fix, Tori dives into using Open Site Explorer to find opportunities—particularly potential keyword ranking opportunities—in your links' anchor text. Watch "How to Use Open Site Explorer to Check Your Anchor Text" to get started!

The Daily SEO Fix is an ongoing series of Moz tool tips and tricks in under 2 minutes. To watch all of our videos so far, and to subscribe to future ones, make sure to check out the Daily SEO Fix channel on YouTube!

Hi there!

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "reference point." Does Google recognize it for what purpose?

Hi Christine!

Just clarifying for myself—when you say your page juice isn't going through, are you specifically referring to DA/PA? Or something else (SERP position, etc.)?

I love Pocket, but that's just for my own personal reading. It supports tagging and sharing, but I don't believe it offers folders.

That's a pretty big debate, actually. Google's Matt Cutts has said that they don't provide any SEO value, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they hurt you. In my opinion, they're still useful for their intended purpose—informing the press about newsworthy events.

By my understanding, best practices include 1) make sure the links in the press release are nofollowed, and 2) avoid posting the press release verbatim on your own site.

This actually came up in Q&A back in March. That thread might help clear things up for you. There are a few articles linked in the original post if you really want to get into things.

Sorry that's not a more definitive answer. As I said, it's definitely something that's debated.

Hi there!

I don't believe that would be considered reciprocal linking, so you should be safe.

Patrick's advice on handling press releases is solid. Just to clarify, though, did you submit a press release, or is this organic press coverage?