A domain strategy determines the address at which the language and country versions of a website will run. There are three options, and each carries a different cost and different consequences. A national domain for each market gives the strongest signal of belonging to that country and works best with local customers, but it means managing several separate websites and building authority for each one from scratch. A subdirectory on a single domain is the simplest to manage, and new markets benefit from the strength of the whole website, which is generally the best choice for smaller companies. A subdomain is a compromise that in practice carries the disadvantages of both. Make the decision with a view to years ahead, because a later move is a migration with all its risks. Whatever the choice, add labelling of the language versions so they do not compete with one another.
See also: Hreflang, Website migration without losing rankings, Localisation vs translation.
