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

Does the presence or absence of the www in a URL have an impact on organic search rankings?

Some SEO experts claim that www-enabled domains rank higher than non-www-enabled domains, and vice versa.

We’ll see if including or excluding www in your domain is a Google ranking factor in this chapter.

The Claim: In URLs, WWW/Non-WWWW Is A Ranking Factor

Would https://www.example.com (or vice versa) rank higher than https://example.com (or vice versa) solely on the basis of the www’s use (or lack thereof)?

To figure out what the www portion of a URL means, we must first define what it means.

Take a look at the URLs below:

An HTML page on the root domain can be found at https://example.com/page.html.
An HTML page in a subfolder/subdirectory can be found at https://example.com/folder/page.html.
www.example.com/page.html – An HTML page hosted on the www subdomain.
An HTML page under the store subdomain can be found at https://store.example.com/page.html.

Let’s see what Google has to say about subdomains and subdirectories now that we know www is viewed as a subdomain.

The Evidence Against Using The World Wide Web (WWWW) Or Not Using The World Wide Web (WWWW) As A Ranking Factor

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

The author doesn’t say whether Google prefers one over the other; all he says is that webmasters should choose one or the other.

Google has since confirmed that the www subdomain has no bearing on rankings.

In 2017, a Twitter user inquired whether Google favors www or non-www domains for SEO.

Google’s Search Advocate, John Mueller, confirmed that www is a brand preference with minor SEO implications.

Someone asked if there is a difference between subdomains and subdirectories for Google during a Google Webmaster Central Office Hours in 2018.

“In general, we see these the same,” Mueller says.

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

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

He goes on to explain how to use Google Search Console to figure out which URL Google is using.

If you prefer your website’s non-www version and Google has chosen a page from the www version, you can consolidate duplicate URLs using the instructions from 2021.

Mozilla updated a guide for webmasters in 2020 on whether to use the www or non-www version of their domain.

They also conclude that it makes no difference which version of your site you choose as long as the canonical URL stays the same.

They go on to describe how to create canonical URLs.

Our Opinion on the Use of WWW vs. Non-WWWW as a Ranking Factor

We must conclude that this is unlikely to be a ranking factor in the absence of word from Google or research proving that a domain with or without the www ranks better.

The key to success, whether with www or non-www, is to pick one and stick with it.