Subdomain vs Country Domain

[kushmoney]

I am sure someone asked this before but I can't seem to find it. I'm sure all affiliates come across this in their mind when thinking about entering a new market. Which would be best from a branding point of view as well as a SEO point of view?

For example, main url is pokerdomain.com and entering the Russian market which should it be;

Option A: ru.pokerdomain.com

Option B: pokerdomain.ru

Option C: pokerdomain.ru 301 redirect to ru.pokerdomain.com

Option D: pokerdomain.com/ru


Personally I think option c because it gives you the SEO leverage you want from a large website as well as having a short domain you can promote in videos and on banners focus on a given language. However, I never added another language to one of websites nor created a website in another language for that matter.

So advice from the affiliates who have done this would be really appreciated.

[Prenut]

D is what I personally prefer. Which would be pokerdomain.com/ru

B works well too, but better suited to larger operations like Listings, etc.

[pokeraussie]

IMO Option B is best if you are serious about entering a new market.

[kushmoney]

D is what I personally prefer. Which would be pokerdomain.com/ru

B works well too, but better suited to larger operations like Listings, etc.

Ok, why do you prefer D?

As for B being suited for larger operations. That is my goal down the line.

IMO Option B is best if you are serious about entering a new market.

Why do you think B is best?

[pokeraussie]

Why do you think B is best?

credibility/branding/seo (without having to get local hosting) which is a pretty big issue for Aussies, since local hosting is so bloody expensive.

but above all, the local domain extension is the .com for that country. if you want to be taken seriously in that market, its necessary to have the ccTLD.

[kushmoney]

credibility/branding/seo (without having to get local hosting) which is a pretty big issue for Aussies, since local hosting is so bloody expensive.

but above all, the local domain extension is the .com for that country. if you want to be taken seriously in that market, its necessary to have the ccTLD.

Nicely put but what would be the benefits of B over C? Because I am just not seeing it.

[PokerCollege]

If your focussing on a country, your website will have a slight advantage with .ro than .com (and use Russian based hosting!).

However, if pokerdomain.com has a lot of authority, it will pass some on to ru.pokerdomain.com since it's a subdomain. In that case you should go for ru.pokerdomain.com -> C

If pokerdomain.com doesn't have a lot of authority use B

[rakebackengine]

I always recommend pokerdomain.ru to our clients, especially for the Russian market

[pokeraussie]

However, if pokerdomain.com has a lot of authority, it will pass some on to ru.pokerdomain.com since it's a subdomain.

No it doesn't. You are basically starting from scratch with a subdomain. If what you suggest is true, that would be like saying setting up a blog on the wordpress.com is better because you get the authority from the main domain, which simply isn't true.

[Prenut]

No it doesn't. You are basically starting from scratch with a subdomain. If what you suggest is true, that would be like saying setting up a blog on the wordpress.com is better because you get the authority from the main domain, which simply isn't true.

I don't have a ton of experience with subdomains, so I'm not sure exactly how much, if any, link weight they pass. With that being said, that's why I suggested a folder rather than a subdomain, because you will certainly gain value for your additional folders.