SEO Digital Marketing – Sub-Directories v Domains

The question of which is the ‘better’ option, folder structure - sub-directories or international domains, continues to rage among digital marketing professionals: You too may be pondering the question. Over the years domain options have expanded beyond the realms .com, org and net: And some have proven to better than others. So, is there a conclusion?

A Rough Guide

Digital marketing strategies are rarely conclusive and this dilemma is not excluded. Even so, as ever, there are certain guidelines which can help to keep you on track (roughly) with regards to this digital marketing quandary.

Country Code Top Level Domains

These domains are reserved for a specific country: As in .es (Spain) and .co.uk (United Kingdom). Online consumers tend to trust more localised websites; which also puts country code top level domains (ccTLD) in a positive light for marketers. With regards to organic SEO, the engines do tend to prioritise localised websites in the results: Which again is regarded as a positive aspect with digital marketing professionals.

The downside of a ccTLD? These domains are thin on the ground. Chances are some bright spark has already grabbed your brands ccTLD. In addition, some country code domains cannot be attained by anyone outside that country. These domains can work out a tad expensive: Particularly if you intend to target several countries and also need to employ an ‘insider’ to manage that domain. Indeed, each site has to be managed as a separate business – more or less – which can start piling up your IT and digital marketing costs.

Subdomains

Like ccTLD’s, Subdomains have their pros and cons: Assigning a unique name to accommodate a specific country is commonplace among international organisations: For example, es.mydomainname.com. If the brand is well known this can be the most sensible option. However, if it is not consumer trust can be substantially negated. Another problem is language – What will that domain say to them? You need to be careful....

The big plus side of Subdomains is flexibility – It is possible to create any name any time within your .com domain for free: An economical option. With regards to SEO digital marketing, Subdomains can become a nightmare if they start throwing up duplicate ranks.

Subdirectories

Creating a folder off the root domain is easy: For example, mydomainname.com/es. How many you create is unlimited – Making subdirectories the easiest and cheapest option. Unlike ccTLD’s country/language specific subdirectory sites do not promote trust. This may not be an issue if the brand is well-known, or never-been-seen-before. Gaining ranks in localised searches will also be a huge digital marketing challenge. On the other hand, subdirectories can be very useful for PPC Campaigns. In addition, if the brand is well known a language alternative subdirectory will suffice.

International Domain Names and Regional TLDs

Internationalized Domain Names (IDN) and Regional TLDs are regional: For example .eu – The general consensus is reserve now debate later: And indeed, these domains are still very much under debate – People have been slow on the uptake although in the long run things should work out. Right now, IDN’s and TLD’s are on a par with subdirectories.

The Conclusion?

Targeting countries and not language tends to avoid more problems: Such as significance, spelling and duplicate ranks. ccTLDs tend to be more productive with results but are the most expensive option: Subdomains are good for those with a tighter budget. Subdirectories are fine for landing pages targeted by a PPC digital marketing campaign.

Qudos Digital is a leading Digital Marketing Agency and can be contacted on 020 8891 2077 or info@qudosdigital.co.uk

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