SEO Benefits of a Subdomain vs a Subdirectory for my Knowledge Base
Domain options for integration of Answerbase.
Subdirectory through a reverse proxy.
From an SEO standpoint, the ideal integration is using a subdirectory so you would have something like:
Yourdomain.com/answers
That can be managed on Answerbase through use of a Reverse Proxy, see how Moz addresses the comparison between a subdomain approach and a subdirectory approach in their article What is a Reverse Proxy and How Can it Help My SEO? They also give some direction on how a reverse proxy works in the background and is setup which is helpful if you'd like to implement it.
That ensures that search engines definitely see the content that you grow as part of your root domain and attributes all the SEO juice back to that root domain, so to make it 100% dummy proof that its within your domain the subdirectory is the way to go.
Subdomain through DNS setting
The easiest way to get your knowledge base on a custom domain, if you don’t have the skillsets necessary to manage the subdirectory, is through a subdomain. This would typically be something like answers.yourdomain.com and your content would live on that domain. From the standpoint of Google Analytics, they do actually recognize subdomains as being part of the root domain/metrics…..and you will still be able to grow substantial traffic to those subdomains. We’ve seen year over year organic traffic growth to Q&A content on subdomains that just continues, as long as you’re posting great content.
To manage this is easy, which is why many Answerbase customer go that route vs the subdirectory. Here are the steps:
Once you’ve completed those steps, most times your subdomain should now reflect the knowledge base immediately but it does sometimes take up to 48 hours to propagate through the internet so everybody knows where the home of that subdomain is actually in the background.
We do have some customers that leave their Q&A knowledge base on an Answerbase subdomain (yourbusiness.answerbase.com) for years....and that does also drive traffic as that content continues to be built out. Whatever option you choose, Answerbase will automatically 301 redirect your traffic if you choose another option down the road...so you don't lose any of that incoming traffic or activity when you make the move.
Subdirectory through a reverse proxy.
From an SEO standpoint, the ideal integration is using a subdirectory so you would have something like:
Yourdomain.com/answers
That can be managed on Answerbase through use of a Reverse Proxy, see how Moz addresses the comparison between a subdomain approach and a subdirectory approach in their article What is a Reverse Proxy and How Can it Help My SEO? They also give some direction on how a reverse proxy works in the background and is setup which is helpful if you'd like to implement it.
That ensures that search engines definitely see the content that you grow as part of your root domain and attributes all the SEO juice back to that root domain, so to make it 100% dummy proof that its within your domain the subdirectory is the way to go.
Subdomain through DNS setting
The easiest way to get your knowledge base on a custom domain, if you don’t have the skillsets necessary to manage the subdirectory, is through a subdomain. This would typically be something like answers.yourdomain.com and your content would live on that domain. From the standpoint of Google Analytics, they do actually recognize subdomains as being part of the root domain/metrics…..and you will still be able to grow substantial traffic to those subdomains. We’ve seen year over year organic traffic growth to Q&A content on subdomains that just continues, as long as you’re posting great content.
To manage this is easy, which is why many Answerbase customer go that route vs the subdirectory. Here are the steps:
- Go to the service where you manage your domains, and create a subdomain through there like answers.yourdomain.com
- In the DNS settings, point the record to our cname which is cname.answerbase.com
- Go into your answerbase administration site, and manage your settings….letting us know what your subdomain is and save that.
Once you’ve completed those steps, most times your subdomain should now reflect the knowledge base immediately but it does sometimes take up to 48 hours to propagate through the internet so everybody knows where the home of that subdomain is actually in the background.
We do have some customers that leave their Q&A knowledge base on an Answerbase subdomain (yourbusiness.answerbase.com) for years....and that does also drive traffic as that content continues to be built out. Whatever option you choose, Answerbase will automatically 301 redirect your traffic if you choose another option down the road...so you don't lose any of that incoming traffic or activity when you make the move.
