Which Is Better for SEO www or Non-www?
Does using www vs no www have an impact on your website’s SEO? What do search engines prefer? Read on to find out.
While browsing the internet or optimizing websites, you may have come across sites that aren’t using “ www” prefixes, rather choosing for non-www.
For example, URLs with www
.
https//www.example.com
http//www.example.com
And URLs without www
https//example.com
http//example.com
Does it count if a site is using www or non-www URLs, and is there an SEO impact to using one versus the other?
.
Let’s explore. Before we get into the details, let’s more define what www and non-www are.
What are www and Non-www?
The terms “ www” and non-www” are frequently used to simply describe whether a URL includes “ www.”
The World Wide Web (WWW) describes the vast collection of textual documents and multimedia files that can be accessed using the Internet.
The URL or web address is restated by the name server into an IP address, which your browser connects to in order to serve the webpage.
When the Internet began, all websites started their domains with www. But several years agone, more and more sites started to use non-www domains because user behavior has changed.
A non-www domain is frequently referred to as a “ naked” URL.
Is www orNon-www More for SEO?
It doesn’t really matter which one you use from an SEO perspective, but there are a many pros and cons for each.
Still, you shouldn’t have the www domain listed, If you have thenon-www interpretation as the preferred version of your point.
For example, let’s look at Frontier Communications. This domain is accessible at https//frontier.com, which is fine.
Once you type inwww.frontier.com it automatically 301 redirects to the preferred version, i.e., https//frontier.com.
Still, it would potentially beget a duplicate content issue and link equity could be spread across both performances, If Frontier had both versions listed.
That’s a big no-no, but luckily this isn’t the case.
You’ll notice the www interpretation has far fewer backlinks, pertaining domains, and organic traffic. That’s because it’s being redirected to the non-www domain.
Frontier stuck with one version, which is the correct thing to do.
Still, please in sure you set up 301 redirects to the preferred interpretation – and not 302 redirects, If you want to use both.
That’s because 302 redirects don’t transfer PageRank over to the diverted domain/ page as well as 301s.
The extreme sports pointextreme.com set up a 302 deflect to the www version from the non-www interpretation. As a result, they presumably lost some traffic and link authority.
Rather,extreme.com should have used 301 redirects.
When you set up redirects the experience is flawless for druggies. Anyhow of what they class to reach your point, Google and other search engines will fete the favored sphere and also spread the link authority consequently.
Which One Should I Use?
The answer is either one.
It’s possible ultimately www disciplines will come obsolete as utmost people don’t bother codifying them in while searching for a website.
These days, it’s getting more common not only on desktops but also in mobile browsers similar as Google Chrome for “ www” to be hidden by dereliction, which leaves some wondering if it could be obsolete in the future.
Once you decide which one to use, make sure all your sitemap URLs and internal links use your preferred interpretation and, if you can control them, your backlinks should be consistent as well.
Can I Use Both Non-www and www?
Technically, you can use both non-www and www in your domain, but it isn’t recommended.
In fact, Google will see this as two separate sites.
Still, you would have to set up and maintain both sites in Google Search Console, you’d face indistinguishable content issues, If you have both versions listed.
This can potentially harm your search engine rankings, so you need to choose one and stick with it.
My particular preference is to use www because the majority of sites use it and when sites are linking to you, they tend to link to the www version or just type in the domain name.
However, also you can use canonical markers, If you need to have both sites indexed for a technical reason like your CMS doesn’t have the ability to set up 301 redirects.
A canonical tag is an HTML label that helps websites help duplicate content by specifying the “ canonical” or “ preferred” version of a webpage or domain to Google.
This way you signal to Google, “ I know I have a duplicate version with the non-www site and so I have the canonical markers pointing to the www interpretation on the non-www point.”
It’s important to note Google treats canonicals as recommendations and not instructions. As a result, both website versions could still be indexed.
Pros & Cons of www and Non-www
While either non-www or www can be used, there are some pros and cons to using one over the other, which are outlined below.
This can help you decide which one to use
| Pros | Cons | |
| www | Used for years and considered a standard. | Takes longer to type, most people don’t say www when announcing it in broadcasts. Modern users might skip it. |
| www | Allows you to set cookies for your specific www subdomain.
It’s also easier to set up a CDN.
|
Takes up more space in the address bar. (And now Google hides it unless you click on the URL.) |
| non-www | It’s a short domain. | There’s no option to restrict cookies only to the root domain. |
| non-www | It’s easier to say and pronounce. | It will be harder to get a CDN to work, as you will not be able to set a CNAME record for your root/naked domain without messing up other things like FTP and Mail.
|
Wrapping Up
Use whatever version is right for your business, goals, and objectives. Keep in mind that the www version is more suited for specialized purposes as mentioned in the table over, and your needs may change in the future as the site and business grow.
Still, you have to stick with one or the other, If you’re starting a new site.
Still, stick with whatever you have and don’t change it, If you have a site that’s established.
Redirects should only be used if absolutely necessary. Once they’re used, it’ll take Google some time to bottleneck and indicator the changes and some visibility can be lost.
Still, make sure your 301 redirects to the preferred version that has the most traffic, links, If you have both versions indexed. Continue to optimize and build content to make your brand a success online.
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