Subdomain vs subfolder
A subdomain and a subfolder are two ways to give part of a website its own address. A subdomain goes before the main name, like shop.example.com, and a subfolder goes after it, like example.com/shop. Google's crawling FAQ says to pick whichever is easier to organize and manage, and that Google has no preference for indexing or ranking.
Source: Google Search Central, FAQ: Crawling, indexing and ranking, checked October 29, 2026
What Subdomain vs subfolder means for your business
Google's ranking guide says the system that usually keeps one site to two listings in the top results generally counts a subdomain as part of the main domain, but sometimes treats it as a separate site. In Search Console, a subdomain like shop.example.com isn't in a property set up for example.com/ unless you verify the whole domain.
Since Google has no preference, we'd decide on what a section is for and how you'll run it. We'd keep a blog, an FAQ or a glossary that explains your services in a subfolder, next to them, where it's one site to manage and one set of reports. A separate app, a store on another platform or a staff login can sit on a subdomain without trouble.
We made that call for this glossary. It moved from a subdomain into a subfolder of our main site so the terms sit next to the services they explain. If you move a section either way, every old address needs a permanent redirect, which our 301 redirect entry covers.
If you're about to add a blog, a shop or a help center and aren't sure where it should live, working out the setup before anything gets built is something we help with.
Last reviewed October 29, 2026. All terms
How AI answers it today
On October 29, 2026, Google's AI Overview said subfolders inherit the main domain's authority, citing SEO tool and agency blogs, Stack Overflow and YouTube rather than Google's FAQ, which states no preference. ChatGPT also favored subfolders, said subdomains aren't bad, and cited nothing.
Our run through ChatGPT and Google's AI Overview, October 29, 2026. A sample, not what every buyer sees.
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