Domain.com and www.domain.com

The Problem

Every site is potentially a pair of sites to the average search engine; either http://domain.com/ or http://www.domain.com/. Both are possible, and if there are links to both, then Google, a bird of little brain, thinks there are two sites, each suffering with Sick Site Syndrome.

They might have the same content; identical, in fact; but once links exist to alternative URLs, then both 'exist' as separate sites. And in most cases, it's the webmaster who starts the problem by using both versions, either internally, or in submissions to directories or other sites.

Once the problem exists, then Google will select one or other form - and not necessarily the one you'd choose - and dismiss the other as a duplicate. And Google does not like duplication, so that can lead to weird result listings, and poor ranking for your sick site.

This is because any page rank, indeed any link benefit, is divided between two sites. The hated little green bar (Google Toolbar Page Rank) can be useful here - for some sites, one URL form shows higher than the other. This confirms that there are 'two sites' in Google's dreams, and that your links are divided.

In an ideal world, one form would have a page rank of zero, the other would be consistent. And hopefully substantial! But in the real world, you have a severe case of Sick Site Syndrome.

Which Should I use?

The choice is yours; convention says that a full domain will use the www: http://www.domain.com rather than http://domain.com

For a subdomain, the subdomain name replaces the www http://xyz.abc.com, rather than http://www.xyz.abc.com

But there's plenty of sites out there that defy convention, choosing one and sticking with it is far more important than the choice you make.

How Do I Fix It?

Very straightforward; use a 301 permanent redirect from http://domain.com to http://www.domain.com (or vice versa).

If you know what that is, you'll know if you can do it or not!

If it's too technical for you (it is for me!), then check your web host's information files, or contact support.

Site Therapy

Merging the two URLs brings all your incoming links to ONE site. This is achieved with a permanent redirect; you need to choose one (usually but not always the WWW version), and 301 permanently redirect the other URL to the one you choose. So visitors are instantly and seamlessly (and painlessly and permanently) taken to one consistent URL.

Convention says use the WWW, while subdomains do without the www. It's up to you, but I'd argue that 'consumer sites' should go with the flow, or risk confused visitors (others may disagree!).

Once done, it really does not matter much how others link to you. Except that consistency almost certainly means better link benefit from the search engines. But all links will come to the same place, and searches will eventually feature just the one URL, and logical, predictable listings format.

All about 301 redirects

The key to success is not only to set up the redirect correctly - but to check it, by manually typing in a 'deep page' URL in the wrong form - and see what happens.

January 2007

SEO Tip #6

Think carefully before submitting articles to article farms.

Most article farms give you few or no referrals, and a link from deep on the farm is nothing compared to the gift you have given to them. Worst case scenario - no referrals, no link value. And that is not at all unusual.

Even that Very Rare Thing, a Quality Article Farm, will give you only a few referrals, and a minor link. That's the very best case scenario.

But rich, unique content on YOUR site is much more likely to attract visitors via search engines to exactly where you want them to be ... on YOUR site.

Think about it; who gets the most benefit from farming, the turkey or the farmer?

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