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When you start a site for yourself, you cannot include everything you want on a single page. Sites with any topic and content need several separate pages for different content. However, the types of pages we create are not the same.
Every site has a home page identified by its main domain address. A subdomain and a subdirectory are two types of site structures, each with its functionality. A subdomain is created by adding a prefix, while a subdirectory is created by adding an extension to the primary address. If you want to know when to use subdomains and when to use subdirectories, continue reading this blog post on MonoVM.
What is a Subdirectory?
When creating a new page on a site, you can add an extension to the main domain. For example, if you browse the different pages of Amazon, you will notice that in each specific category, a new section is added to the domain. For instance, if you enter the electronics section, you will see something like this in the address bar: https://amazon.com/electronics.
These pages are not separate from the main domain. We can compare a subdirectory or subdirectory to the rooms of a house. Browsing between subdirectories on a site is like moving around in the rooms of a home without leaving it. Everything that happens in these rooms is generalized to the entire house.
Subdirectory and its uses
When Google and other search engines analyze a site in terms of SEO, they consider the content of subdirectories as part of the entire site. These types of pages cannot have separate activities. Additionally, all links used on these pages are considered internal.
However, it is worth noting that using subdirectories dramatically helps with the site's organization and credibility. If you want your site to grow quickly without introducing entirely different activities, it is better to use subdirectories. For example, subdirectories are recommended if a digital marketing site wants to create a blog for itself or offer educational content while maintaining a consistent identity.
What is a Subdomain?
A subdomain is a type of site structure dependent on the main site. To create subdomains, we need to add a prefix to the main domain of our site. For example, if your site address is shop.com, you can create a subdomain like blog.shop.com for your blog content. By creating a subdomain, you will have a completely separate section of your site. This section operates independently; however, it remains a subdomain of the main domain and is recognized under the primary brand.
You may want to know different types of domains.
Subdomains and their uses
If we revisit the building analogy, a subdomain is like the different houses in a town or complex. These houses are completely independent and not directly connected. However, they are all part of the same defined area. Similarly, a subdomain is related to the main domain but has its independent activity. All links used in subdomains are considered external links, which can significantly impact the growth of your site.
It is important to note that creating a subdomain is not recommended for every site. For instance, if your goal is only to sell products, no matter how diverse they are, you don’t need to create a subdomain—a subdirectory would be more suitable. A subdirectory ensures overall coherence and facilitates rapid growth of your site in a unified direction.
However, subdomains are more appropriate for sites with extensive and diverse activities. While subdomains may experience slower growth initially, they often have more stable and long-lasting effects on SEO.
If you’re going to buy a domain name, you should know the best domain registrars for 2025.
Difference Between Subdomain and Subdirectory
So far, we have understood what a subdomain and a subdirectory (or subfolder) are and their uses. Familiarity with these concepts also reveals their differences to some extent. However, to examine the differences between subdomains and subdirectories in detail, we can highlight the following points:
1. Difference in Structure
One of the most obvious distinctions between a subdomain and a subdirectory is their URL structure. Since a subdirectory is a part of the site, it is identified by extensions. For example, the contact section of a company on a site may look like this: www.example.com/contact-us. The main part of the domain is separated from the subdirectory by a forward slash ("/"). Additionally, in many browsers, the extension part appears slightly lighter than the main part of the domain.
Subdomains, on the other hand, are entirely different. They are created with a prefix. For example, if you want a store associated with your main site, example.com, you can use the address store.example.com. As seen in this case, the added section is entirely separate from the domain structure of a subdirectory. Instead, it functions as an independent entity while still being linked to the main domain.
2. Specific Uses
Another significant difference between subdomains and subdirectories is their specific use cases. While both involve creating a new page, the purpose of these pages varies depending on your site's goals.
For instance, imagine you have a clothing sales page on Instagram and want to establish a website for greater credibility. You will likely have various sections on this website, but if your activity is limited to selling clothes, you only need to use subdirectories.
Now, consider that your original site has grown significantly, and you will expand into selling bags and shoes. At first, you might think of purchasing a new domain, but doing so would require substantial effort to establish a new brand. Instead, you can connect a subdomain to your main site. This way, you gain a separate site with a domain linked to the original one, which can also rank independently on Google.
You may want to know how to buy a domain name for a website.
3. Subdomains vs. Subdirectories for SEO
One of the most important differences between a subdomain vs subdirectory is their impact on SEO. Some believe that creating a subdomain and optimizing its pages for SEO can improve the overall ranking of your main site in Google. However, this belief is incorrect. If your goal is to boost the overall ranking of your site, focusing on subdirectories is a better approach.
Search engines treat a subdomain as an entirely independent site in SEO evaluations. For this reason, your blog on a subdomain might rank well in Google, but this ranking will not positively affect the performance of your store section. Therefore, if you want to enhance your site's ranking for a cohesive and limited set of activities, it is recommended to rely on subdirectories. Subdirectories help improve the overall SEO of your site more quickly.
Separating a subdomain from the main domain can positively affect SEO—particularly ineffective link-building strategies. Links from the main site to subdomains are recognized as backlinks. If executed thoughtfully and strategically, this link-building can gradually enhance your site's credibility with Google, improving your SEO ranking.
The Marketing Benefits of Subdomains
Now that you know the differences between subdomains and subdirectories, let’s explore their benefits. Here are the benefits of subdomains:
1. Independent Search Engine Rankings
Subdomains, distinct from the primary domain, enable an independent collection of keywords. Accounting.yourdomain.com, for instance, can target particular keywords without being impacted by yourdomain.com's SEO performance. In some situations, this division may be beneficial:
- A subdomain like spain.yourdomain.com allows you to target area-specific keywords and build authority in local search results if you operate in a different country or territory, such as Spain.
- Subdomains enable regional offices or particular branches to customize their content and SEO efforts to their local audience while preserving your worldwide brand under the principal domain.
2. Audience Segmentation
Subdomains are an effective way to divide and serve different audiences. For example, if your company sells t-shirts online and creates a podcast that teaches people how to launch their online t-shirt enterprises, the demands of these two audiences are distinct. By using podcast.yourdomain.com to host the podcast, you can concentrate on business-related keywords without getting in the way of your online store's SEO strategy, which can favor product-related terms like "Avengers t-shirts." While maintaining a streamlined user experience, this segmentation guarantees accurate targeting for every age group.
3. Enhanced Clarity and User Experience
Subdomains provide clarity by letting users know exactly what kind of content or service they can expect.
- Regional content: To emphasize material pertinent to particular regions, large companies frequently use subdomains like country.yourdomain.com. Users are reassured by this method that they are getting localized information.
- Franchise management: Subdomains are perfect for franchises with several locations. Every franchise can have its subdomains, such as city.yourdomain.com, which includes details like local locations, phone numbers, and products.
This structure increases user happiness and trust by enabling visitors to assess whether the material meets their needs rapidly.
The Marketing Benefits of Subdirectories
Now that you know the marketing benefits of subdomains, let’s take a look at the benefits of subdirectories:
1. Consolidated Keyword Density
One of the key benefits of subdirectories is that they pool all keywords under the main domain. In this case, any keyword from a subdirectory, such as yourdomain.com/blog, helps to improve the main domain's SEO performance. Don't forget that SEO tools, including SEMrush, count keyword rankings and traffic estimates based on the main domain, incorporating all subdirectory pages. As a result, your SEO efforts—like content optimization or link-building—enhance your primary site's overall visibility and authority.
2. Enhanced Thematic Relevance
Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is a notion that search engines use to identify a website's themes and related keywords. By keeping all information under one domain, subdirectories enhance this and help search engines in identifying:
- Your website's main emphasis.
- The keywords' applicability on every page.
That's why you can send clear signals to search engines using subdirectories. As a result, you'll get a better ranking.
3. Improved Traffic Reporting
When all a website's content is on a single domain, traffic analytics tools provide you with a much more precise performance of your site. Suppose you’re a marketer who wants to see the total number of visitors and ensure all your efforts improve search engine ranking without weakening the website’s strength. In that case, this benefit is very valuable for you.
When to Use Subdirectories
Use subdirectories when:
- Your primary goal is to stabilize your main site and achieve a strong overall ranking.
- All content and activities on your site are consolidated under a single domain.
- You want search engines like Google to treat your site as one cohesive entity.
- You want your SEO efforts, such as optimizing content or building backlinks (Off-page SEO), to directly improve your main domain's overall ranking and credibility.
- Your site is closely related to content and services.
- You want to create a clear and organized structure that enhances user experience.
- You want visitors to navigate between site sections without feeling like they’re leaving the main platform.
- You want trust and authority with users and search engines, driving better engagement and long-term growth.
When to Use Subdomains
Use subdomains when:
- Certain parts of your site involve entirely different activities, so opting for a subdomain is the better choice.
- Your site has sections like blogs, often with activities that differ from other parts of the site.
- You want to create engaging, user-friendly content on your blog, which helps you achieve good rankings faster.
- You want links within your subdomain to direct users to your main site.
- You want increased traffic from the subdomain to drive more sales and revenue.
If you’re looking for a reliable hosting solution for managing both subdomains and subdirectories, or you want to buy a domain name, MonoVM is here for you. You can organize your site’s structure and enhance SEO with features like performance, security, and flexibility. Visit MonoVM for more information.
Conclusion
Subdomain and subdirectory are URLs related to the site's main address. A subdirectory, obtained by adding an extension to the main address, is mainly used to create sections within the main site. These types of addresses can effectively improve the SEO of the entire site. A subdomain is created by adding a prefix to the main address, and search engines recognize it as a separate site. These addresses are used for link-building or distinctive activities under a brand name. We hope that this article from MonoVM will be a good guide for choosing one of these two types for your site.