Glossary · Content architecture and SEO
apex domain
The bare domain without a subdomain: example.com rather than www.example.com. Which of the two serves the site is a choice; both serving it is a duplicate.
What apex domain means
The bare domain without a subdomain: example.com rather than www.example.com. Which of the two serves the site is a choice; both serving it is a duplicate. The apex has one technical limit, that a DNS CNAME cannot be placed on it, which is why many hosts prefer www as the canonical host.
What apex domain can and cannot support
| It can support | It cannot support |
|---|---|
| Which of the two serves the site is a choice; both serving it is a duplicate. | The bare domain without a subdomain: example.com rather than www.example.com. The apex has one technical limit, that a DNS CNAME cannot be placed on it, which is why many hosts prefer www as the canonical host. |
How CrawlCheck measures apex domain
One finding code in the scanner read this. The share of all scans carrying each is computed from the live corpus when this page is served, not typed into it.
| Finding code | Share of scans | Guide |
|---|---|---|
HOST_DUPLICATE_200 | 3.3% | Canonical URL audit: one page, one address, and the three ways a site publishes it twice |
Every code, its rule and its current rate: the dataset page. Scan a site to see which apply to it.
Terms this definition uses
Related terms in Content architecture and SEO
How pages, links and intent are organised so an entity is findable, and what a link or a structure can and cannot transfer.
Search intent · Query class · Navigational query · Informational query · Transactional query · Commercial investigation · Entity-first content · Information architecture · Taxonomy · Ontology · Topic cluster · Pillar page · Content hub · Semantic HTML · Heading hierarchy · Internal link · Anchor text · Link context · Deep link · Broken link · Redirected internal link · Link equity · PageRank · Dofollow · Nofollow · Sponsored link · User-generated link · External link · Inbound link · Referring domain · Link neighborhood · Orphaned entity · Content decay · Content refresh · Historical optimization · answer block · alias domain · parked domain · local pack · Google Business Profile · data aggregator · Data Axle
Questions about apex domain
What is apex domain?
The bare domain without a subdomain: example.com rather than www.example.com. Which of the two serves the site is a choice; both serving it is a duplicate.
What does apex domain not show or guarantee?
The bare domain without a subdomain: example.com rather than www.example.com. The apex has one technical limit, that a DNS CNAME cannot be placed on it, which is why many hosts prefer www as the canonical host.
How does CrawlCheck measure apex domain?
Through the finding code HOST_DUPLICATE_200, each with a stated rule, evidence bytes and a live share of scans on the dataset page.
Which area of the glossary does apex domain belong to?
Content architecture and SEO: How pages, links and intent are organised so an entity is findable, and what a link or a structure can and cannot transfer.
← answer block · alias domain →
See it in the full glossary · 668 terms across 19 areas.