The SEO Impact of Moving Your Blog to a Subdirectory
Shifting a blog from subdomain to subdirectory changes how Google allocates authority. Here’s what to expect, what to measure, and how to de-risk the move.
Table of Contents
- Why subdirectories usually win
- Short-term vs long-term effects
- Core Web Vitals and crawl behavior
- How to reduce migration risk
- KPIs to monitor
- Playbook for post-launch
- Internal linking boost
- Case-study style checklist
- Advanced FAQ
- Why choose BlogPath.io
- Related posts
Why subdirectories usually win
Link equity stays on one host, improving overall domain strength. Internal links become more meaningful, and sitelinks appear more often when the blog lives at /blog.
Short-term vs long-term effects
- Short term: rankings can wobble for 1–2 weeks as Google recrawls and reassigns signals.
- Long term: stable or higher positions for non-brand keywords, better CTR from richer snippets.
Core Web Vitals and crawl behavior
- Moving to
/blogwith a reverse proxy can lower TTFB via edge caching, improving LCP. - Consolidated host often gets more frequent crawls and faster reindexing for fresh posts.
How to reduce migration risk
- Keep URL paths identical; avoid slug changes.
- Maintain 301s from old host; avoid redirect chains.
- Set canonicals to
/blog; update sitemaps and RSS feeds. - Exclude admin paths from caching; test comments, forms, and search.
KPIs to monitor
- Organic sessions (brand/non-brand), average position, CTR.
- Core Web Vitals (TTFB, LCP, INP), especially on mobile.
- 404 volume and soft 404s; fix within 24 hours.
- Conversions influenced by blog traffic.
Playbook for post-launch
- Fetch/render representative URLs in Search Console.
- Add 4–8 internal links from existing posts to the new
/blogversions. - Ship 2–3 fresh posts in the first month to signal ongoing activity.
- Re-measure after 30 and 90 days; refresh content if growth stalls.
Internal linking boost
- Create a pillar page for “Blog SEO” and cluster this post, the migration how-tos, and the caching/security guides beneath it.
- From this post, link to product, pricing, and case studies using partial-match anchors (“reverse proxy uptime”, “blog caching”).
- From older evergreen posts, add 2–3 links pointing here within 24 hours of publication.
- Include a related posts block on-page with at least three links (
blog-subdirectory-roi.md,blog-edge-caching-multi-region.md,subdirectory-blog-security.md).
Case-study style checklist
- Baseline metrics: sessions, CTR, average position, conversions, Core Web Vitals by geo.
- Migration: one-hop 301s, canonical updates, sitemap submission, feed parity.
- Post-launch: monitor 404s, redirect loops, cache hit ratio, and TTFB deltas.
- Uplift targets: 8–25% organic lift within 60–120 days is common when hygiene is solid.
- Validate with before/after screenshots from Search Console and analytics annotations.
Advanced FAQ
Will Google treat the subdirectory as new?
No. Signals consolidate to the root domain, and recrawl often accelerates. Expect brief volatility, then stabilization or lift.
How long should I wait to judge success?
Watch 30/60/90-day intervals. Early bumps in week 1–2 are normal; look for trends after 30+ days.
What if Core Web Vitals worsen?
Tune caching (short TTL for HTML, long for static), compress images, and audit heavy JS. A reverse proxy like BlogPath.io can handle much of this without template changes.
Should I change internal links to /blog?
Yes. Update nav/footer and contextual links to point to /blog URLs; remove links to the legacy subdomain to avoid mixed signals.
Why choose BlogPath.io
- Global CDN caching, origin shielding, and WAF without running infra.
- No-code DNS cutover keeps CMS intact; reversible in minutes with low TTL.
- Observability: cache hit ratios, error logs, and Core Web Vitals visibility.
- Reliability and uptime SLAs tuned for blog delivery.