Source: buzzle.com

What is a subdomain? Is it hard for a sub-domain to rank well? When should a use a subdomain? What are the SEO benefits? What are the alternatives to a subdomain? These are all very good questions. Lucky for you, all the answers are right here. So let’s get to it.
What is a subdomain?

A subdomain is just as it sounds, a sub or second-level of a domain. A standard domain looks as follows: www.mydomain.com. A sub domain would be http://prefix.mydomain.com. Subdomains do not take on the "WWW".
All subs start with "http://subdomain/maindomain.com.

That’s simple enough, I think. We have all seen a subdomain before. On to the next question.

Is it hard for a subdomain to rank well?
Subdomains rank just as well as regular domains. Having a subdomain doesn’t decrease your chances of ranking on search engines. You’ll just have to treat each subdomain as a new, individual site. This means work on building PR and links. As with any domain, you don’t get a free ride.

What are the benefits to using a subdomain?
Let’s say you had a site that had many categories in it. If you were to submit to directories you could submit each subdomain as it’s own individual category and not get penalized. The links from the subdomains to the main domain would be looked upon as one way links from another domain.

Read full article at buzzle.com

Spread the word: bookmark it/ readit