Subdomain
Subdomains (e.g. en.example.com) are a common i18n approach, but they may behave more like separate sites than subdirectories.
Definition
A subdomain is a domain under a root domain (e.g. `en.example.com`). For international SEO, subdomains can separate languages or products, but they may require more independent authority building and stricter hreflang/canonical consistency.
Why it matters
- Clean separation and technical flexibility
- May split authority and require more independent growth
- Requires strong hreflang and canonical consistency
How to implement
- If you want to share authority, prefer subdirectories (/en)
- Use hreflang reciprocity across language versions
- Maintain sitemap and internal linking quality per subdomain
Related
Tutorials
FAQ
Common questions about this term.