should your blog be part of a subdomain or it's own domain?

digital321 · #1 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 12:24 AM

i'm working on an informational site that will target individuals looking for schools. i want to attach a blog to the school site. when i add the blog, i'm thinking of putting it on as a link (obviously) in the school site. but should i link the blog to a subdomain of the school site... or should it be to another domain? the thing is, the blog won't just be about school, it's going to be a general blog. i think it would just be easier to remember if the blog was on it's own domain.

second question, if the blog is on a seperate domain, does that require another subscription to a web host or is there any way to link it to the school site subscription, or does it depend on the host? (this is probably a stupid question, but bear with me)

lisa · #2 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 01:07 AM

Hi digital,

If you are going to link the blog to your informational sites about schools, I would keep the content related to schools and host the blog on your school domain.

I'm not sure I like the idea of adding non-school related topics to your blog. What about the students who subscribe to your blog and want info about the school. If you start blogging about non-related subjects they may unsubscribe and become uninterested.

Why not create a totally separate site for your blog on additional topics and keep your school blog related to school topics and host it on your school domain.

And yes, if the blog resides on another domain then you will need another hosting account for self-hosted blogs. Now, if you host your blog on a free blogger service like blogger or WordPress' domain then you don't need a host. You can just buy a domain and setup a redirect. But after all I've been through I think it's best to just host your blog on your own domain and use something like WordPress.

foong · #3 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 01:15 AM

Just to add a little to the hosting part, most hosting account offer these days allow setting up multiple domain in one single hosting account, and website visitors will not notice that the domains are actually hosting in one hosting account.

digital321 · #4 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 01:59 PM

good point lisa. so how would they know you are hosting more than one domain on a single host account?

lisa · #5 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by digital321

good point lisa. so how would they know you are hosting more than one domain on a single host account?

How would your audience know? The wouldn't know unless you tell them.

So let's say hostgator is your host. You could host your school domain and blog with one account. And then on another domain host your "anything goes" blog.

Rob · #6 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 04:24 PM

I think you should host the blog officially on your school domain, though im not to sure about calling the subdirectory "blog" perhaps "news" or information a little better as lots of teens and younger people are creating web 2.0 sites and it may look slight unprofessional.

But i think lisa idea of having another blog where anything goes is a great idea for a friendly and talkative community and would certainly build your integrity.

Shaun Connell · #7 (**permalink**) 12-29-2007, 06:10 PM

If you decide to have it on your own domain, think about whether you want to make it a subdomain or just another section of the website. Examples:

www.blog.example.com OR www.example.com/blog

Google treats the first blog like a completely independent site, whereas the second gets some integrity points for being a part of "example.com". This can be important for SEO reasons.

digital321 · #8 (**permalink**) 12-30-2007, 12:44 AM

hey Shaun...
ok, so the second type of blog is better? how does it affect SEO? thanks to all of you for all of the awesome advice by the way!

Shaun Connell · #9 (**permalink**) 12-30-2007, 12:47 AM

Well, it depends on the topic of the blog. If the blog is about the topic of the main site, then for SEO reasons it would certainly be superior.

That's what I'm doing.

digital321 · #10 (**permalink**) 12-30-2007, 12:52 AM

oh ok... so it's helping you out in regards to SEO and hits? how are those coming along?

foong · #11 (**permalink**) 12-30-2007, 01:57 AM

Similar or related content make up a 'theme' for the site, search engines uses it to figure out to categorize and rank the site in the index.

For example, you are building a automobile website, naturally there should be sub sections like cars, bikes etc. in it. that is somewhat related to the main topic of the site, having a section like web hosting in the automobile site may sound a little weird.

The stronger the site theming, the more love you will be getting from search engines.

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