: Subdirectories for countries, but no content in the root level - a problem? We are in New Zealand and operate in NZ and Australia. We have a .com domain with /nz and /au subdirectories. All

@Angela700

Here's what I recommend in your case.

Put Australian content in the /au folder and New Zealand content in /nz folder including the default index pages.

Then in your document root, make a script to detect the country the client is from using an accept-language HTTP header then based on the returned language code, redirect the user to the correct page.

Here's a PHP sample I quickly created to get you started. You'll have to adjust some text, particularly the text after "Location" to match to your country specific URLs.

<?php
$language=strtolower($_SERVER['HTTP_ACCEPT_LANGUAGE']);
if (strpos($language,"nz") > -1){
// found nz for New Zealand
header("HTTP/1.1 301 Redirect",true);
header("Location: example.com/path/to/nz ,true);
exit();
}
if (strpos($language,"au") > -1){
// found au for Australia
header("HTTP/1.1 301 Redirect",true);
header("Location: example.com/path/to/au ,true);
exit();
}
header("HTTP/1.1 301 Redirect",true);
header("Location: example.com/path/to/other-countries ,true);
exit();
?>

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@Alves908

It sounds like may websites where the content is in different languages- no different really in your case. You should have a bit of a home page and some common content so that your home page ranks on it's own. The reason for this is simple. People will check out your home page even when they get to your site and found what they needed. It should cover who you are and what you do. I can be brief. Just make sure that it is substantial enough to meet expectations. And that is the point. It is not only important to follow some tradition, but to meet the expectations of your users. That is number one in my book!

Your one expert is not such an expert I suspect. At one point, Google and other search engines considered levels in a directory hierarchy as an indicator of importance just as the number of clicks it takes getting from the home page to any other page. Conceptually, this still exists and one reason why I recommend making a relatively flat hierarchy structure. However, you have to create for your site makes sense. Make it for people. For this reason, if it makes sense to have /nz and /au as a major factor in your structure, then do it. But do not duplicate content without using a canonical tag from one to another. Just know that structure depth, while important, is not as critical as it appears your expert made it. Just do not get carried away. It is all about common sense.

But do make sure you have a home page. Please. Do not leave a blank directory or a relatively blank page. It does not have to say much, but make it say something. You will find that your home page is the most visited page for a reason. People are curious. As well, search engines expect it so don't disappoint them either.

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