Exploring Subdomain vs Subdirectory vs CCTLDs: Choosing the Right Domain Structure for SEO Success

The decision of whether to choose subdomains vs subfolders, or CCTLDs is not just a technical one; it's a strategic choice that impacts a website's SEO, user experience, and organisational structure.

What is best for SEO and what makes these different from each other? This look at the subdomain vs. subdirectory vs. ccTLD debate will help you see what to expect from each choice.

In this article we're going to analyse all the pros and cons of using the different available domain structures for your website, online business or ecommerce store. This should then give you a better understanding of which domain structure to choose for your own website.

Introduction to Domain Structures

When it comes to a subdomain vs subdirectory for your website, understanding the nuances of each approach is essential to creating a domain structure that aligns with search engines, website visitors, and your website's brand. We'll also look out how country code domains (ccTLD) can affect rankings in the locals SERPs.

These are the domain structures we'll be exploring and comparing the 3 main structures available for the best SEO and branding purposes, these are:

• Subdomain
• Subdirectory (also known as subfolders)
• CCTLD (Country Code Top Level Domain)

What is a Subdomain?

Example: https://shop.selljam.com

A subdomain is like a separate section within your main domain. It is a domain that goes on top of another existing name. The subdomain has its own website that is closely linked to the main site in your root directory. It's often used to organise or categorise content, creating distinct sections while still being connected to the main website.

Think of a subdomain like an orphan, while a subfolder is like a child.

What is a Subdirectory / Subfolder?

Example: https://selljam.com/shop

A subdirectory is a folder within your main domain. The subdirectory appears after the root directory, so it is directly connected to it instead of being loosely linked, as in the case of a subdomain. It's a way to organise content into folders, maintaining a clear hierarchy and unity with the primary website.

What is a ccTLD (Country Code Top Level Domain)

Example: https://selljam.co.uk

ccTLDs (Country Code Top Level Domain) are domain extensions associated with specific countries or regions, like .uk for the United Kingdom. Using ccTLDs can help target a specific audience in a particular geographic location, enhancing local visibility and trust.

Key Factors to Consider

Factor to Consider	Subdirectory	Subdomain	CCTLD
Content Authority and SEO Benefits
Content Type and Organisation
Technical Complexity and Maintenance
Brand Perception, Trust and User Experience (UX)
Long-Term Growth and Flexibility
Traffic and Analytics Management
Search Engine Crawlability and Indexing
Future Integration and Cross-Domain Marketing
Link Equity and Authority
Localization and Targeting
Content Management and Scalability
Cost & Maintenance
Website Performance

These are some of the most important factors to consider for not only SEO reasons but also the user experience and overall brand consistency. Read on to discover the 13 key factors for domain structure that will help to ensure you meet the needs of your users while promoting SEO success.

Let's examine these 13 factors and see how each of the domain structures relates to them.

#1. Content Authority and SEO Benefits

Content authority is the perceived expertise and trustworthiness of a website. Subdirectories and CCTLDs can enhance content authority by leveraging the parent domain's SEO signals, while subdomains may require additional link-building efforts.

Subdirectories: are generally considered more SEO-friendly than subdomains as they share the authority and link equity of the main domain. This means that backlinks and keyword rankings earned for content in subdirectories can benefit the entire website.

For keyword targeting: subfolders are well-suited for content that is closely related to the main domain's overall theme. Especially when you're trying to build topical authority. This consistency in keyword usage helps to reinforce the website's relevance for specific search terms and increases the likelihood of ranking higher for those keywords

Subdomains: are often seen as separate entities from the main domain, potentially limiting their ability to inherit link equity and affect overall SEO performance. Although Google's algorithm is now more evolved and is able to better identify and attribute the authority of subdomains to their parent.

For keyword targeting: subdomains can be effective for distinct content sections with unique keyword sets. However, it's important ensure that subdomains are aligned with the overall brand identity and messaging of the main domain.

ccTLD: are treated more independently from the main domain compared to subdomains and subfolders. They typically have their own unique link equity and authority, which may not directly benefit the main domain's SEO performance. However, ccTLDs can be valuable for localised SEO efforts, targeting specific regions or countries with a custom website structure.

For keyword targeting: ccTLDs allow for specific keyword targeting for different regions or languages. This can be particularly effective for businesses with a global presence or that target specific audiences in different countries.

"Google web search is fine with using either subdomains or subdirectories"
- John Mueller, Google

#2. Content Type and Organisation

The type and organisation of content influence the choice of domain structure. Subdirectories are well-suited for organising large volumes of content, with many topics and keywords, while subdomains can be used for clearly separate entities, with targeted topics, like e-commerce shops or blogs connected to existing sites. CCTLDs are particularly useful for targeting specific countries or languages.

Subdirectory: Use subdirectories for different categories, topics, or languages within the main website, as they are integrated with the main domain and benefit from its authority.

Subdomain: Use subdomains for distinct content areas that are significantly different from the core website, as they help maintain a clean and organized structure.

CCTLD: Use CCTLDs to target specific countries or regions with tailored content and marketing, as they are ideal for local SEO.

#3. Technical Complexity and Maintenance

The technical complexity of your website (and business) is largely affected by the domain structure chosen. If you have the skills to maintain a website or web developers to assist, this won't pose an issue.

You also need to consider the impact of a domain structure on the following elements of your website:

Subdomain: Subdomains are the simplest and easiest to maintain domain structure. This is because they are treated as separate websites, which means that each subdomain can have its own SEO settings and configurations. This can be helpful if you have multiple websites with a different purpose, content or audiences. However, subdomains can also be more difficult to crawl and index by search engines, which can hurt your SEO.

Subdirectory: Subfolders are a relatively simple option when it comes to complexity and maintenance. Once the URL and naming structure in your CMS or e-commerce platform is set up and configured it will be able to dynamically handle all new categories, topics, and content with ease. They are simply directories that are added to the main domain's root directory. This makes them easy to create and manage, and they do not require any changes to the main domain's configuration and do not require separate SEO settings for each subfolder.

Most importantly this makes it easier for search engines to crawl new content and index those pages.

Another major benefit of subfolders on the parent domain, from a technical and maintenance perspect, is not needing multiple backends for your CMS or admin panels.

CCTLDs: CCTLDs can be a good choice if you need to localise your content and target a specific country or region. This is great for highly targeted keywords in a local area or region. However, they can also become more difficult to manage, as they require the most technical expertise to set up and maintain. They involve setting up domain name registration and DNS records for each country, as well as separate SEO settings and configurations for each CCTLD - and in some cases entirely separate servers. Each CCTLD needs to have its profile built up on Google to rank for the keywords you're targeting.

#4. Brand Perception, Trust and User Experience (UX)

Brand perception, trust, and user experience are key factors in SEO success. Subdirectories maintain brand consistency while subdomains can create a sense of separation, potentially affecting brand perception. CCTLDs can be beneficial for localised branding and targeting.

Subdirectory: are typically perceived as more trustworthy than subdomains, as they make it clear that the website is a single entity. This can be beneficial for eCommerce websites, as it can help to build trust with customers and encourage them to make purchases.

Subfolders provide a consistent and unified experience which is perfectly suited for when branding and UX are important aspects - which is especially true in the case of e-commerce stores.

Subdomain: can be perceived as less trustworthy than subdirectories, as they can make it appear that the website is not a single entity. This can be especially problematic for eCommerce websites, as it can make it difficult for customers to trust the website with their personal information and payment information. Additionally, subdomains can make it more difficult for users to find the information they are looking for, as they are not as easily discoverable as subdirectories.

CCTLDs: can be perceived as both more and less trustworthy than subdirectories. On the one hand, CCTLDs can indicate that the website is specifically tailored to a particular country or region, which can make it appear more trustworthy to users from that area. On the other hand, CCTLDs can make it appear that the website is not a global brand, which can make it less trustworthy to users from other countries. A workaround for this is having a geo-targeting feature on all domains to offer country selection and guide your users to their correct region.

#5. Long-Term Growth and Flexibility

Subdirectories offer flexibility for future content expansion and SEO strategies. Subdomains can require more careful planning and implementation to ensure long-term growth. CCTLDs may limit flexibility due to the separation of content and branding.

Subfolders: Imagine subfolders as expanding lanes on your main highway. Adding content in related niches becomes seamless, keeping users within your established brand identity and benefiting from your domain's SEO strength. This flexibility makes subfolders ideal for e-commerce shops with diverse product categories or websites aiming to become content hubs.

Subdomains: Think of subdomains as separate highways branching off your main road. They're useful for completely distinct website sections, like a user forum or a language-specific version. However, remember that subdomains require more effort to establish SEO authority and can dilute your brand image if not carefully managed. Each subdomain will need to have it's SEO profile built up independently.

CCTLDs: These are like entirely different highways in different countries. While CCTLDs offer strong local SEO presence, they essentially create separate websites, meaning you'll need to duplicate content and SEO efforts for each. This can be costly and complex, especially for small businesses. Same thing here as with subdomains, each CCTLD will need to have it's SEO profile built up independently, and some will grow faster than others.

#6. Traffic and Analytics Management

Traffic and analytics management will be essential for monitoring website performance and optimising your SEO efforts. Subdirectories allow for centralised traffic and analytics management, while subdomains and CCTLDs may require separate tracking and analysis.

For streamlined traffic and analytics management, subdirectories emerge as the clear winner. Centralised tracking from a single Google Analytics 4 property and dashboard (or from your favourite tracking platform) simplify analysis, provide deeper insights, and ultimately support better SEO decision-making.

While subdomains and CCTLDs offer some flexibility, their drawbacks in this area can hinder your ability to track progress and optimise for success

Subdirectories:

• Centralised Tracking: Analytics tools like Google Analytics treat subdirectories as part of the main domain, allowing you to easily see traffic flow and user behavior across your entire site. This 360 degree view simplifies analysis and helps with targeted SEO strategies.
• Easy Attribution: Campaign tracking and user journey analysis become seamless, as subdirectories inherit the domain's authority and link equity. This ensures accurate attribution of traffic sources and identifies pages contributing most to your goals.

Subdomains and CCTLDs:

• Separate Tracking: These structures require separate analytics setups, potentially doubling your workload and making cross-site comparisons cumbersome. You might miss valuable insights into user behavior across different sections of your website.
• Attribution Challenges: Traffic originating from subdomains or CCTLDs might not fully benefit from the main domain's authority, making it harder to accurately attribute conversions and optimize campaigns.

#7. Search Engine Crawlability and Indexing

Subdirectories are generally well-crawled and indexed, while subdomains may require additional configuration and validation. CCTLDs may pose challenges due to different indexing rules and country-specific requirements.

Subdirectories:

• Crawlability: Search engines easily navigate subfolder structures, ensuring your content gets indexed efficiently.
• Indexing: Content in subdirectories benefits from the authority of your main domain, potentially boosting rankings.

Subdomains:

• Crawlability: More complex for search engines to crawl, requiring additional configuration (like robots.txt) and validation. Each subdomain might not have all it's pages crawled and indexed at the same rate as others, so you'll be left with sites that are indexed slower and require more work and resources to improve rankings.
• Indexing: Treated as separate entities, potentially diluting link equity and requiring separate SEO efforts for each subdomain. Each subdomain will need it's own property setup in Google Search Console.

CCTLDs:

• Crawlability: May present challenges due to different indexing rules and country-specific requirements, potentially impacting crawlability and discoverability.
• Indexing: Can be beneficial for targeting specific regions, but requires careful setup and adherence to local SEO best practices. Each domain will need it's own property setup in Google Search Console.

#8. Future Integration and Marketing

Future integration and cross-domain marketing opportunities are important for expanding reach and scalability of your website or e-commerce store. Subdirectories seamlessly integrate with cross-domain marketing campaigns while subdomains may require additional setup and management. CCTLDs may limit integration due to their separate branding and hosting.

Subdirectories:

• Seamless Integration: Adding new sections or brands within your website seamlessly integrates with existing marketing efforts under your main domain.
• Shared Brand Strength: Leverages the established authority and brand awareness of your main domain, potentially boosting the visibility of new sections.
• Scalability: Easily accommodates future expansion without complex technical setups or brand identity conflicts.

Subdomains:

• Independent Marketing: Allows for targeted marketing campaigns specific to each subdomain, potentially reaching new audiences effectively.
• Flexibility for Acquisitions: If you acquire another website, creating a subdomain can offer a smooth integration while maintaining separate branding.
• Potential SEO Challenges: Search engines might treat subdomains as separate entities, requiring separate SEO strategies and link building efforts.

CCTLDs:

• Targeted Geo-Marketing: Ideal for targeting specific regions or countries with localized branding and marketing strategies.
• Distinct Brand Identity: Establishes a strong, independent brand identity for each CCTLD, potentially appealing to specific regional audiences. Localisation becomes your strength here.
• Integration Complexity: Integrating marketing efforts across multiple CCTLDs can be complex due to separate domains, hosting, and potentially legal aspects.

#9. Link Equity and Authority

Link equity, which is the value passed from backlinks to a website, plays a significant role in SEO - both internal links and backlinks from external domains. Subdirectories and CCTLDs can inherit link equity from the parent domain, while subdomains may require more effort to establish independent link authority.

Subdirectories: Inherit link equity from main domain (this boosts overall authority), but deep structures can confuse search engines.

Subdomains: Separate entities, build authority independently (good for distinct sections), but fragment link power. This means that links from one subdomain to another on the same root domain can pass link equity. However, the link equity passed between them may not be as strong as links between pages on the same subdomain.

CCTLDs: Potential local ranking boost, but each domain acts independently, requiring separate SEO efforts. If a site has multiple CCTLDs targeting different countries or regions, link equity can pass between them, but it may not be as strong as links within the same CCTLD due to potential relevance issues

#10. Localization and Targeting

Localisation and targeting are key for reaching specific audiences. Subdirectories are well-suited for localised content and targeting. CCTLDs are ideal for targeting specific countries, regions and sets of localised keywords. Combine this with proper language translations, as well as localised content for your users, and it will boost engagement drastically.

Subdirectories:

• Localisation: Excellent for offering different language versions of your main site. Users can easily switch between languages within a familiar structure (e.g., mybrand.com/fr, mybrand.com/es).
• SEO: Search engines see them as part of the main domain, benefiting from its SEO strength. Use hreflang tags to signal language versions.
• UX: Intuitive and familiar to users, promoting seamless navigation between languages.

Subdomains:

• Localisation: Ideally suited for independent, culturally distinct websites within your brand. Think separate sites for your EU and US stores (e.g., eu.mybrand.com, us.mybrand.com).
• SEO: Treated as separate websites by search engines, requiring independent SEO efforts. Link juice and brand authority won't directly transfer.
• UX: This can create confusion if users don't understand the subdomain structure. So redirects may be needed if the go to the parent domain.

CCTLDs:

• Localisation: Strongest signal to search engines and users that you target a specific country (e.g., mybrand.de for Germany, mybrand.jp for Japan).
• SEO: Can boost search ranking within the targeted country, but requires separate SEO strategies for each TLD.
• UX: Clearly communicates your geographic focus, but requires managing multiple domains and potential language barriers.

#11. Content Management and Scalability

Content management and scalability are important for managing large volumes of content. Subdirectories offer centralised content management and scalability, while subdomains and CCTLDs may require separate management systems and may limit scalability.

Subdirectories:

• Management: Easier content management as everything resides on a single platform, simplifying content creation and updates for different languages or regional variations.
• Scalability: Highly scalable as adding new language or regional folders requires minimal technical adjustments within the existing system.

Subdomains:

• Management: Requires separate content management systems and workflows for each subdomain, increasing complexity and workload.
• Scalability: Limited scalability due to separate content management needs. Adding new regional versions becomes resource-intensive.

CCTLDs:

• Management: Requires separate content management systems and potentially different languages or localized content for each CCTLD, significantly increasing complexity.
• Scalability: Limited scalability due to the need for separate platforms and content strategies for each CCTLD.

#12. Cost & Maintenance

Cost and maintenance considerations are important for resource allocation and budget planning. Subdirectories are generally the most cost-effective and manageable option. Subdomains may incur additional costs for hosting and maintenance, while CCTLDs may involve domain registration fees and potential technical complexities.

Subdirectories:

• Cost: Most cost-effective option as you leverage your existing domain and resources.
• Maintenance: Lower ongoing cost as everything is managed within a single platform.

Subdomains:

• Cost: Relatively low initial cost as you only need the main domain.
• Maintenance: Higher ongoing cost due to potentially needing separate hosting and content management systems for each subdomain.

CCTLDs:

• Cost: Higher initial cost due to purchasing and managing separate domains for each targeted country.
• Maintenance: Significantly higher ongoing cost due to potentially needing separate hosting, content management systems, and localized content for each CCTLD.

#13. Website Performance

While domain structure doesn't directly impact core website performance factors like code optimisation or server speed, it can indirectly influence user experience and search engine crawling efficiency:

Subdomains & Subfolders:

• Performance: Generally little to no impact. Website performance primarily depends on server infrastructure and technical optimisation. Subdomains have the benefit of being able to use the server resources of the main domain or can be separated, and placed on its own server.

CCTLDs:

• Potential benefit: Hosting on servers physically located in the targeted country can improve website loading times for users in that region - even more so than purely using a CDN. This can be especially beneficial for regions geographically distant from your main server location. This will mean that page loading times for your users will be improved, which has a knock-on effect on Search Engine ranking and is a positive signal for key crawler metrics such as Core Web Vitals.
• Potential benefit for EU or US search engines: Google crawlers in the US or European Union may prioritise websites hosted on EU/US servers for crawling and indexing, potentially leading to faster initial visibility in respective EU or US search results.

Examples of Subfolders in the Wild

• https://www.uber.com/be/fr/deliver/
• https://www.nike.com/pt/ 
• https://www.underarmour.eu/en-pt/ 
• https://www.zara.com/pt/en/
• https://www.nextdirect.com/pt/en/men
• https://www.apple.com/pt/ipad-10.9/
• https://www.acer.com/ac/pt/PT/
• https://shop.tesla.com/pt_pt

A Final Word – What Should You Use?

After exploring all the pros and cons of the subdirectory and subdomain advantages and disadvantages outlined in this article, you should be able to find a choice that works for you.

Subdirectories are often the goto choice, and will work for the majority of content and ecommerce based websites.

When in doubt, or a rush, go with a subdirectory as it will cover the majority of use cases and needs for your website or business.

Subdomains can work if you plan on supporting multiple languages or want to establish different websites for various brands, departments or intended purposes.

CCTLDs are best suited for growth, expansion and localisation into new markets and regions.