I manage the online presence of a group of companies, including the website abc.com. Now, one of the companies within the group wants to move to a separate domain, b.de, for various reasons. However, they are concerned about losing the trustworthiness and other metrics from the main site with good indicators.

It has been suggested that creating a subdomain, like b.abc.com, could transfer the trustworthiness of the main site to the subdomain. But this approach is not suitable due to domain name constraints.

The alternative is to register a separate website, b.de, but this poses the risk of it being perceived as a young domain.

In light of this, the question arises: What should be done? One idea that has emerged is to create a subdomain b.abc.com and indicate that it is a mirror of the site b.de. This way, the trust transferred from b.abc.com to which will come with abc.com would be retained for b.de as well.

Will this scheme be effective, or should we consider other options? Your insights and suggestions on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

The decision to move a company within the group to a separate domain, b.de, presents several challenges, particularly in terms of retaining the trust and authority that the main site, abc.com, has accumulated.
Creating a subdomain, such as b.abc.com, to transfer the trustworthiness of the main site to the subdomain is a common practice, but it's clear that domain name constraints make this approach unfeasible in this case. Registering a separate website, b.de, carries the risk of it being perceived as a young domain, potentially impacting its credibility.

The proposed idea of creating a subdomain b.abc.com and indicating that it is a mirror of the site b.de could be effective in retaining the trust transferred from b.abc.com to b.de. However, it's crucial to consider the potential impact on SEO and user experience. Search engines may view mirrored content as duplicate, and users may question the coherence of the branding and message across the two domains.

Another option to consider is implementing strong cross-domain canonicalization and utilizing proper hreflang tags to signal the relationship between the two domains while clearly defining their separate identities. This could help maintain the authority of abc.com while establishing the new domain, b.de, as a distinct entity.

Furthermore, investing in robust content marketing and backlink strategies for the new domain can help build its reputation and mitigate the perception of being a young domain. Leveraging social proof, such as client testimonials and case studies, can also bolster the credibility of the new domain.
While the proposed scheme of creating a subdomain as a mirror of the new site has its merits, it's essential to consider a holistic approach that encompasses technical SEO, user experience, and brand identity. Effective canonicalization, strategic content marketing, and leveraging social proof can all contribute to preserving trustworthiness and other metrics during the transition to the new domain.

When you create a subdomain, it's like having a "young domain", but it has three levels. It seems that all the companies are on one website, so there's no other option but to paste the page(s) of this company and 301 redirect them. However, the trust and the metrics of the main site will not be transferred.

It's often debated whether a new subdomain is essentially a new domain or not. Some argue that if the main domain has high authority, it can expedite the process of building authority for the subdomain.

However, regardless of the main domain's authority, the subdomain still requires deliberate efforts to enhance its own authority. It won't gain authority automatically and necessitates the establishment of a robust backlink profile.