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You need to build out a new arm of your website. Do you use a subdomain or a subdirectory?
It’s an often painful decision that can impact your SEO performance and how people interact with your brand.
Despite many SEOs showing bias toward one approach or the other, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer.

But I’m about to help you make the best decision for your specific situation.

In this guide, you’ll get:

• A simple decision-making LLM prompt to get a recommendation tailored to your business
• An overview of how subdomains and subdirectories work (and why it matters) with real-world examples
• Advice from SEO experts to help you make the smartest call for your site

What Is a Subdomain?

A subdomain is an extension of your main domain.
Added as a prefix to your website URL, a subdomain becomes a separate property within your domain.
So, if your main domain is example.com, a subdomain for your blog would be blog.example.com.

For example, Velasca, an apparel brand, uses subdomains for different markets:

• eu.velasca.com for Europe
• row.velasca.com for the rest of the world
• uk.velasca.com for the United Kingdom

Pros and Cons of Subdomains

• Provides clearer separation for content types and use cases
• Can improve server performance by distributing content across different servers | - Takes longer to gain SEO authority (treated like separate sites)
• Requires additional SSL certificates and DNS management
• More complex to implement and maintain than subdirectories |

What Is a Subdirectory?

A subdirectory is a subfolder within your main website that categorizes different pages on your site into folders within the main domain.
A subdirectory for your blog would be example.com/blog.
For example, Backlinko uses subdirectories to organize different resources on its website:

• backlinko.com/tools/keyword to organize all tools
• backlinko.com/templates/marketing to consolidate marketing templates
• backlinko.com/hub/seo to create topic-based resource hubs

Pros and Cons of Subdirectories

• Faster SEO results due to inherited domain authority
• Clearer performance tracking under one property | - Can create overly complex URL structures when deeply nested
• Limited flexibility for different design/branding needs across sections |

How Subdirectories and Subdomains Affect SEO

Subdomains and subdirectories can lead to major differences in how your site performs in search.

Link Equity and Website Authority

When a page earns a backlink, the link equity flows directly into your main domain.
In short: All the pages share the same website authority, building a stronger foundation for your website.

Subdomains work differently.
They don’t automatically pass ranking power to each other.
Why? Because each subdomain is treated as a separate entity.
This means you have to build link equity for each subdomain individually.

Ranking Potential

Subdirectories have the advantage when it comes to search visibility.
But subdomains can still succeed with the right investment.
Subdirectories tend to rank faster because they inherit domain authority more directly.

Search Performance Analytics

Using subdomains means you have to set up separate properties in Google Search Console.
This makes sense if you want to collect separate insights for each subdomain.
With subfolders, all your data lives in one property.
So, you have a 360-degree view of your website and can generate consolidated reports.

International SEO Considerations

For international SEO, the choice between subdomains and subdirectories carries more weight.
With proper hreflang implementation, subdirectories can provide strong geotargeting signals.
Subdomains are better for brands that need separate sites for different languages or markets.

Subdomains vs. Subdirectories: 5 Critical Factors to Consider

1. Business Objectives

Your URL structure should align with your business setup and long-term growth plans.
When creating or updating your website, ask yourself:

• Is this your core offering or a separate initiative?
• Do you want this product/service to have its own identity in the future?
• How closely should this offering or service be aligned with your main brand?

2. Technical Setup

Your technical resources also play into this decision.
The ideal structure should support your long-term scalability needs.

• Subdirectories work well when your CMS can efficiently handle multiple subfolders and pages within the primary domain
• Subdomains are a good choice when you want technical flexibility for different sections of your business.

3. Analytics and Tracking

Assess which URL structure best serves your data and reporting needs.
Subdirectories work best when you need unified data and simpler tracking.

4. Team Structure

The team responsible for building and maintaining your URL structure has a big role to play.
Have a single team managing all the content? Subdirectories give you a better setup to centralize content management.

5. Scalability

Your URL structure should accommodate future growth plans.

Common Reasons to Use Subdomains

International Websites

Global brands need localized content customized to different languages, cultures, and more.

Branded Properties

Many brands offer a suite of products, services, content, and more.
Separate subdomains make it easy to manage without diluting brand authority.

Varied Technical Setups

Do different parts of your website run on different technology stacks?
Subdomains offer a clean separation to differentiate and organize your business product.

Common Reasons to Use Subdirectories

Simple Website Structure

Most website owners create subfolders to organize different types of content under a root domain.
This clear structure improves navigation and delivers a flawless user experience.

Theme-Based Content Hubs

Use subdirectories to group thematically related content and put them in one place, simplifying internal linking.

Ecommerce Product Categories

Subdirectories create a logical structure for organizing product categories and subcategories on an ecommerce site.

Subdirectory vs. Subdomain: What’s the Best Fit for Your Needs?

Subdirectories work best for most businesses. They offer consolidated authority, easier content management, and simplified analytics.
On the flip side, subdomains make sense if you’re building international sites or want to differentiate branded assets.

Backlinko is owned by Semrush. We’re still obsessed with bringing you world-class SEO insights, backed by hands-on experience. Unless otherwise noted, this content was written by either an employee or paid contractor of Semrush Inc.