Sun Dec 23 07:03:14 PST 2018

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If you use automated software to copy your text into a different language, it is likely
to read clumsily and turn people off. You are better off not having the text on the
web if you do not have a person fluent in the language proof the final page copy.
If you have significant content and target audiences in different languages, then
usually you will want to have a different subdomain or site for each language or
major market. This will make it easier to get links from the different geographic or
ethnic communities you are interested in without the losing focus of your site. It
also makes it easy for engines to understand the clear divisions in your site.
Subdomains & Local Markets
Subdomains are best to use if you have a small amount of content about each
market. If you have significant content for each market, it may make more sense
to create a site for each market.
If your site is in an exceptionally competitive category and you have many links that
would be hard to replicate, then you might want to use folders (or possibly
subdomains
on your main site for each language instead of trying to build up the
link popularity of many different sites.
U.K. English is much different than English in the United States. Even within the
same language you may need multiple versions to cater to different dialects,
customs, and tastes.
Subdomains in General
If your main site is a thin e-commerce site, or if it lacks authority, it might make
sense to keep most of your authoritative content together with the low authority
content. But if your site has great authority, then using a subdomain for some of
your content should allow you to get more listings in the search results.
An advantage of placing some of your content on a subdomain is that if you have a
strong brand and the subdomain is also authoritative, then when people search for
your brand some search engines will feature both your domain and the subdomain
at the top of the search results, and searchers will have to scroll a long way down to
find competing sites or sites that are critical of your brand.
Branding Your Domain Name
Any more than about two or three words in a domain name and it becomes less
memorable. Some of the most memorable websites do a great job of branding by
creating their own word: eBay, Skype, PayPal, Yahoo!, Expedia, Slashdot, Fark,
Travelocity, Google?
However, most successful businesses are soft innovations; they may not be able to
afford the time, money, and effort required to create, brand, and add a new word
to our language. You can create a name that is well-related to something people
already know. It is easier to market corn sugar than it is to market fructose.