WWW.Domain.com VS Domain.com

[sward]

Okay here we go with another thought provoking post. The argument about WWW .Domain.com VS. Domain.com

It has been pointed out to me that I should be concerned that all my sites can be reached with either of these addresses typed into the search.

I was told that a 301 redirect would be the way to change this however I am on a Windows 2000 server and that can not be done. When I called my Host, Readyhosting , a national server, they advised me that it would not be a good idea to erase the domain.com site and that it would not make a difference as they both point to the same site, and by erasing it if a client was to type in domain.com without the WWW's it would come up as not found.

I have had these sites for over 5 years and have never had a problem and have always ranked well in the SERPS. So I have to assume that this is a common method for servers and really don't see a problem here. I mean if there was wouldn't it have presented itself by now? I only use the www site for linking although I do have a few link partners that dropped the www's on their own which I intend to contact.

Tech help at Readyhosting said that it is not a problem and does not effect my stats either as the total is tallied from both since essentially they are the same location however in my stats I do see

Top 10 most active referring domains during period:
greatcarolinaproperty.com with 2774 referrals made (68.66% of all referrals)

So all you techies please fill us little folks in on the REAL DEAL
Sward

[ResaleBroker]

Here's an example to consider:

http://www.google.com/search?q=desk0...n&lr=&filter=0

[justicewhite]

As long as your backlinks are all pointing to the same place (prefereably with the www) you should be fine.

[ResaleBroker]

If one version is not redirected to the other then two (2) unique URLs can be found. This is not a problem until a link is pointed to both URLs [By design or accident].

IMO, the pros of running two (2) unique URLs to the same site does not outweigh the cons.

As always, play at your own risk.

[sarahk]

As long as your backlinks are all pointing to the same place (prefereably with the www) you should be fine.

People tend to be more confident with the www, looks normal, familiar etc and will probably link to you "naturally" with that url. If links are important then go with what "Joe Average" likes.

Sarah