WWW Vs. Non-WWW: Is It A Google Ranking Factor?

Does including or excluding www in the URL affect organic search rankings?

Some SEO professionals have claimed that domains using www rank higher than domains without www, or vice versa.

In this chapter, we will determine whether using or excluding www in your domain is a ranking factor in Google.

Claim: WWW / Non-WWW in the URL is a ranking factor

Will https://www.example.com rank higher than https://example.com (or vice versa) based solely on using (or not using) www?

To determine this, we must first define what the www part of the URL represents.

Let’s look at the following URLs:

• https://example.com/page.html – HTML page on the root domain.
• https://example.com/folder/page.html – HTML page in subfolder/subdirectory.
• https://www.example.com/page.html – An HTML page under the www subdomain.
• https://store.example.com/page.html – The HTML page under the store subdomain.

Now that we know www is seen as a subdomain, let’s see what Google says about using subdomains and subdirectories.

Evidence against WWW or non-WWW as a rating factor

in 2005Google published an article on the Google Search Central Blog about www vs. non-www for developers.

The author does not indicate whether or not Google has a preference. Webmasters only have to choose one or the other.

Since then, Google has confirmed that the www subdomain does not affect rankings.

in 2017a Twitter user asked whether or not Google prefers www for SEO.

John Mueller, a Google search attorney, asserted that www is a preferred trademark with minimal SEO implications.

in 2018during Google webmaster central office hours, someone asked if there was a difference between subdomains and subdirectories of Google.

According to Mueller, “In general, we see these same things.”

in 2019Mueller explained the canonical URLs on the Google Search Central Blog:

Sometimes a web page can be accessed using more than one URL. In such cases, Google tries to determine the best URL to show in search and use it in other ways. We call this the “canonical URL.” There are ways site owners can help us. in better identifying canonical URLs for their content”.

It goes on to explain how you can use Google Search Console to locate the URL chosen by Google.

If you prefer the no-www version of your website, and Google opts for a page on the www version, you can follow the instructions for merging duplicate URLs, updated at 2021.

in 2020Mozilla has updated a guide for webmasters on choosing a www or no www version of their domain.

They also concluded that it doesn’t matter which version of your site you choose, as long as you stick to that version as the canonical URL.

They go on to explain how you can set your canonical URLs.

Using WWW versus non-WWW as a rating factor: our judgment

Without a word from Google or research proving that a domain with or without www ranks better, we have to conclude that this is unlikely to be a ranking factor.

The key to success with www or non-www is to pick one and keep consistency.

Featured image: Robin Biong / Search Engine Journal