SEO: is it better to have a subdomain /directory, or new domain for a community?

Marketing
1

Hi,

I have a website in which I will be adding on a small community forum, but wondered the best URL to use.

I am considering either a new domain, e.g. towncommunity.com, a subdomain, e.g. community.mytown.com or place it in a directory such as Sitepoint, like mytown.com/community.

I’m guessing /community would be easier to remember?

Any ideas what is best for both SEO and users?

2

I would think so. It would also make clear to existing users of your site that the community forum is related, which might make them more inclined to use it. It might also work well the other way, too: new users arriving at the forum might be more inclined to explore an associated website, rather than one at a different domain.

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3

Hi,

Great, thanks, that makes sense :slight_smile:

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4

Though it’s worth pointing out that nothing stops you from redirecting one to the other. (hint: what happens if you go to http://community.sitepoint.com ?)

image

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Screenshot%20from%202019-08-11%2012-50-02
Screenshot%20from%202019-08-11%2012-50-021085×690 47.5 KB

shifty_suspect

The forums used to be located at community.sitepoint.com, but the decision was made several years ago to move to sitepoint.com/community “for SEO reasons, and also to keep our site structure consistent”. Make of that what you will. smile

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6

Interesting. Chrome bounces me straight to sitepoint.com/community without blinking…

7

For a community related websites it is better to go with new domain. Also, do check your competitors or niche websites and have a proper plan before implementing it.

8

Why do you say that, @iconquerors123? I’m not saying you’re wrong, but it seems counter-intuitive, and I’d like to know your reasoning.

9

hey…thanks for your query TechnoBear, can you please share your website link. So that I can have an idea to give you a suggestion for you to go with new or not…Please.

Thanks

10

You haven’t explained WHY you think that’s a good idea, @iconquerors123

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My website is irrelevant, and I have no interest in adding a community forum to it.

I was asking you to explain why you advised, in general, that a new domain is better. That seems to me to be the least good choice, and I would like to know why you recommended it. I gave the reasoning behind my own view in post number 2 above, and I would like to know your reasoning.

A bald statement like “it is better to go with new domain”, with no further explanation, is not very helpful to anyone.

12

There are two reasons to be considered

  1. Search engines treats subdomain as different websites.
  2. If your main website has accumulated 1K quality backlinks & the same thing has to be done for sub-domain and it is a huge work load.
13

Hey gandalf458…please check my answer

Thanks.

14

That sounds like a good argument NOT to have it as a subdomain, or am I missing something?

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15

Definitely mytown.com/community would be a better choice for users and also it is SEO friendly URL.

16

Why??? Don’t just post an answer without explaining why! It helps no one.

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17

To all posters

Don’t just make a suggestion without explaining your reasons. Any future posts not explaining why will simply be deleted.

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