Blog On Subdomain - Do backlinks to the blog posts on Subdomain count as links for main site?

[ecerbone]

I want to put blog on my site.  The IT department is asking that I use a subdomain (myblog.mysite.com) instead of a subfolder (mysite.com/myblog).  I am worried b/c it was my understanding that any links I get to my blog posts (if on subdomain) will not count toward the main site (search engines would view almost as other website).   The main purpose of this blog is to attract backlinks.  That is why I prefer the subfolder location for the Blog.

Can anyone tell me if I am thinking about this right?

Another solution I am being offered is to use a reverse proxy.

Thoughts?

Thank you for your time.

[EricaMcGillivray]

Yes, search engines definitely know that subdomains are hooked to your domain, and there's evidence that search engines will count links toward a subdomain to your domain. However, there's speculation that those links are slightly discounted in the level of authority they pass -- they are a stronger signal to your subdomain -- and it's still best practice for your SEO to put your blog on a subfolder instead of a subdomain.

[ecerbone]

Does that mean that Moz believes backlinks to a subdomain are counted by search engines as backlinks to the main domain.

SOrry I keep asking but to get the blog in a subfolder will require a ton of work on IT's part so I am trying to see if the subdomain will work just as well.

[EricaMcGillivray]

Yes, we do. Unless you click the checkbox that says not to crawl subdomains.

[ecerbone]

I am hoping if we put out good content we will get many backlink from reputable sources so spammy links are not a concern.

Does SEOMoz count backlinks to subdomain as backlinks to main site in their reports?

thanks for your post.

[MonicaOConnor]

I actually prefer the blog be on a subdomain if there are going to be several back links on it. It is a way of protecting your root domain from a link that might have seemed good, but has a spammy link neighborhood or turns out to be negative. It is my personal preference. The downfall is that the traffic isn't going to your site, it is going to your subdomain which is why the best practice is to use /blog.

I would double check with your site developer/IT person to find out if it is really necessary to use the subdomain. Is this by change a WP plugin? It is my understanding that there are several eCommerce platforms with no integrated blog and the WP plugin is only compatible on a subdomain.

[Sheena_Schleicher]

Thanks for clarifying what you mean about 'the main purpose of the blog' - sounds like you get it.

Here's an article I could find on the update back in 2011: https://www.seroundtable.com/subdomains-google-webmaster-tools-13960.html

Reading through it again, the update was more about links from subdomains to main domains being considered internal links rather than external. It's easy to assume that if Google is seeing the subdomain as part of the main domain, then links to the subdomain will help the entire domain - but from my experience, subdomains never perform as well as a directory/folder structure (on their own or in helping the domain as a whole). I would try my best to avoid using a subdomain.

[ecerbone]

Thank you for the response.

• The main thing we will be using the blog for is creating compelling content that our target audience will find useful and then hopefully link to or share.  I don't want to put on the subdomain if these earned links are not going to benefit the whole site as it would if I had the blog in a subfolder

SO just to confirm you are saying in 2011 or so this stopped being an issue and now any link I get to pages in the subdomain will benefit the whole site as far as backlinks?

Thanks

[Sheena_Schleicher]

Hi there! So lots of thoughts came to mind as I read your question, so here it goes:

• Yes, links to subdomains are counted towards the entire domain - I believe it was 2010 or 2011 when Google announced this change, which was to prevent black hat SEOs from using their own subdomain as a link farm/wheel to the main domain- which leads me to my next thought...
• This statement raises an immediate red flag: "The main purpose of this blog is to attract backlinks."
• Generally, it's best to have your blog at domain.com/blog - of course there are sometimes technical limitations preventing this.

I hope this helps!