I'd like to see more evidence. From the linked article, John Mueller, from Google, says they treat them the same, although he acknowledges it's a heated debate

I'd like to see more evidence. From the linked article, John Mueller, from Google, says they treat them the same, although he acknowledges it's a heated debate externally. Timestamp: https://www.youtube.com/live/kQIyk-2-wRg?feature=shared&t=679 https://www.youtube.com/live/kQIyk-2-wRg?feature=shared&t=67... Here's him again, though in 2017, being more explicit about blogs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJGDyAN9g-g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJGDyAN9g-g Here's additional documentation about why site diversity rules collapse subdomains into the root: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ranking-systems-guide#site-diversity-system https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ranking... For a third party's take, here's semrush in Nov 2023: https://www.semrush.com/blog/subdomain-vs-subdirectory/ https://www.semrush.com/blog/subdomain-vs-subdirectory/ "The choice between subdomains and subdirectories largely depends on reasons outside of SEO. Both can be SEO-friendly."