Google & Subdomains
Google updated how they deal with subdomains. From the Matt Cutts blog:
For several years Google has used something called "host crowding", which means that Google will show up to two results from each hostname/subdomain of a domain name. That approach works very well to show 1-2 results from a subdomain, but we did hear complaints that for some types of searches (e.g. esoteric or long-tail searches), Google could return a search page with lots of results all from one domain. In the last few weeks we changed our algorithms to make that less likely to happen.
This changes subdomain strategy a bit…
- doing an eBay styled subdomain strategy where you have dozens or hundreds of near identical subdomains on an authoritative domain is no longer an effective strategy
- using subdomains to highlight featured content still helps make that content more remarkable, but subdomains are best if they are created to highlight legitimately useful content (unlike what eBay was doing)
- Google still shows many subdomain listings from a site for brand specific queries, so it may make sense to put your charity work, corporate focused site, or other content worth emphasizing as being related to your brand on a subdomain.
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