Would appreciate if someone gave credible feedback/analysis. 1) sitename.com/redflowers 2) sitename.com/red_flowers 3) sitename.com/red-flowers 4) redflowers.sitename.com 5) red_flowers.sitename.com 6) red-flowers.sitename.com number 3 and 6 don't look as good and I'm thinking the underscores are now counting the same as hyphens. Mainly I'm wondering if 4 is more optimized than 1 because the keyword is early on in the url. Been noticing major websites using number 4 or 5. Thoughts?
Why do you say this, and why do you agree with it? If you had any type of backing I would really appreciate it. I noticed some big sites use it but also noticed other big sites not using it (kw then . then domain). Any reasons for these beliefs? thx
1 or 3 is the best. You should not use a sub domain unless you plan on having enough content to make up a whole new site.
The subdomains are not the most optimized urls. The best choice is #3. In both #1 and #2 the words "red flowers" will be counted as one word. For #4, #5 and #6 you have listed subdomains and subdomains are never better than opting for a top domain.
You are wrong about 2: underscore now is a word delimiter, so it is almost equal to hyphen now. Check out Underscores are now word separators, proclaims Google
Right Depends on your site. Subdomains work incredibly well on old, established and trusted sites. For a new domain/site it's easier to go with subdirectories, since you'll get indexed alot faster. Getting a relatively new domain with loads of subdomains indexed is a real pain...you'll probably just see the mainpage and a few subpages on the subdomains indexed for a long time. With directories, you can pump tens of thousands of pages into the index within relatively short time.
I noticed google uses the approach of keyword.google.com ....mine as well follow them. Hate to answer my own questions but if Google is doing it and some other giant sites it might be the best way. I was under the impression that redflowers.sitename.com and sitename.com/redflowers were both subdomains? Am I missing something? I thought this was just a matter of syntax. Please help explain.
Thanks for posting that link, thats good news for all those sites that are using underscores. So it appears that either 2 or 3 would be the best. I personally would go with 3 because I think it looks better.