What is a microsite?

A microsite is a small, standalone website focused on a single campaign, product, or initiative. It lives on its own domain or subdomain, separate from your main corporate site.

Use microsites for: product launches (dedicated landing experience), campaigns (time-limited marketing pushes), events (conference or webinar sites), talent acquisition (career-branded experience), and testing (market validation before full investment).

Don't use microsites for: content that should live on your main site (dilutes SEO authority), permanent product pages (fragments your brand), or replacing proper sections of your main site (creates maintenance burden).

The SEO tradeoff is critical. A microsite on a new domain starts with zero domain authority. Content on your main domain benefits from your existing authority. The only SEO-valid reason for a separate domain is when the content is genuinely for a different brand or audience.

Better alternatives: use a subfolder (/campaign/product-launch) on your main site for SEO benefit. Use a subdomain (launch.yourdomain.com) only when technical isolation is needed. Reserve microsites for truly standalone initiatives with independent branding.

Cost: $3,000-$10,000 for a typical campaign microsite. Timeline: 1-3 weeks.