Compare the advantages and disadvantages of subdomains and subdirectories for your global SEO strategy.
Impact on International SEO
When expanding your website into new markets, choosing between subdomains and subdirectories directly influences how Google crawls, interprets, and ranks your content internationally.
Subdirectories (yourdomain.com/es/) consolidate all SEO authority under the main domain, helping new language versions rank faster. Subdomains (es.yourdomain.com), however, operate more like separate properties, requiring additional SEO effort to build authority from scratch.
Selecting the right structure is essential to accelerate global growth, improve indexing efficiency, and strengthen visibility in each target market.
Advantages of Subdomains
Subdomains can be the right option when each market requires a higher degree of independence.
Benefits:
- Clear separation by country or region
- Independent teams, CMS setups, or technical configurations
- Flexibility to develop market-specific features
- Suitable for large organizations with decentralized operations
Subdomains allow each market to function as an autonomous project, ideal when differences in content, branding, or website architecture are significant.
Advantages of Subdirectories
Subdirectories are typically the most efficient option when the main priority is maximizing SEO performance.
Key advantages:
- Full domain authority is shared
- Faster and more consistent indexing
- Lower technical complexity
- Centralized management under one CMS
- Ideal for scaling into multiple countries without duplicating resources
For most websites—especially eCommerce and growing brands—this structure accelerates international visibility with less effort.
What Does Google Recommend?
Google states that both structures can rank well if implemented properly, but it highlights important differences:
- Subdomains are crawled as separate entities
- Subdirectories inherit the main domain’s authority
- Subdirectories generally rank faster
- Subdomains require greater effort to build authority
In practice, when the goal is efficient, scalable international SEO, subdirectories usually offer a clear advantage.
Conclusion
Choosing between a subdomain or a subdirectory depends on your international strategy, technical resources, and the level of independence each market requires. If you prioritize efficiency and faster ranking, subdirectories are often the best choice. If you need fully separated structures, subdomains offer greater flexibility.
