Subdomain vs. Subdirectory
SEO Impact Checker
Detect whether your blog architecture is diluting Google PageRank on a subdomain or consolidating link equity at domain.com/blog.
Is your blog leaking authority on a subdomain?
Google treats subdomains as separate sites. Test if your domain loses link equity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about subdomain authority and reverse proxy rewrites.
Why do subdomains hurt SEO compared to subdirectories?
Google treats subdomains (e.g. blog.domain.com) as distinct entities with separate backlink graphs. Backlinks acquired by your blog posts do not pass PageRank directly to your root landing and product pages. Conversely, a subdirectory (domain.com/blog) shares 100% of link equity, compounding your overall domain rating.
Can I keep my existing CMS (Ghost, WordPress, Webflow) and still use a subdirectory?
Yes! That is exactly what an edge reverse proxy solves. You can keep your Ghost, WordPress, or Webflow instance running on its own server or subdomain, and use a simple 3-line rewrite in Vercel or Cloudflare Worker to serve it under your root /blog path.
What is the difference between a 301 redirect and a reverse proxy rewrite?
A 301 redirect tells the browser and crawler to change the address bar and navigate to the subdomain URL, maintaining the split authority problem. A reverse proxy rewrite fetches the content from the upstream server behind the scenes while keeping the visitor and Google on example.com/blog.