ASP.NET MVC Localization with SEO in mind

Question

I have found several options how to properly localize my asp.net mvc project, but still have some doubts selecting the right one.

Want to mention that I need to localize site the way i would be still able to make SEO optimizations for each language separately

Here are the options i found:

1. First : create a subdomain for different culture:

   mysite.com - for default language and

   it.mysite.com - for italian language

2. Second : Create new route with subfolder querystring, like

   mysite.com/default - for default language and

   mysite.com/it/default - for italian language

There are no problems on implementing first option.

And if the second option is more preferable... could anyone describe how it should be implemented?

Answer 1

Depends what SEO effect you wanna achieve. But generally if all pages are on the same domain, it's better for SEO => mysite.com/it/default is better

Except if you have a real local business, then you could even go with different top level domains. Eg mysite.de and mysite.it

In therms of MVC:

routes.MapRoute(
    name: "Default",
    url: "{languageCode}/{controller}/{action}/{id}",
    defaults: new { controller = "Home", action = "Index", id = UrlParameter.Optional },
    constraints: new { languageCode = @"de|fr|en|it" },
    namespaces: new[] { "SupertextMvc.Controllers" } // only map routes to controllers in the specified namespace
    );

This is our routing configuration