Subdomains for SEO

Search Engine Journal suggests the possibility of a subdomain to achieve higher search rankings stating that “[I}n some instances they carry on the weight, value and authority of their root domain – while enjoying its own self definition of a separate entity and site in its own right.”

Per a thread at Search Engine Watch Forums discussing the subject:

Subdomains work very well at the moment. No doubt about that. I can take a prominent, old, domain, set up a brand new subdomain, add one link from the original domains front page, throw up whatever content I want and within days have plenty of traffic. These days it seems that almost all linkpop value from the original domain is transfered – and I see this happening in both MSN and Google.

Although Search Engine Journal acknowledges search engines may wish to close the loophole, it suggests one technique which could be applied for long term search rankings is the use of subdomains to launch services and distinct parts of sites or networks which are relevant to the root site and its mission.

In the case of law firms or professional services firms, that would be a site running on a subdomain providing content relating to the firm’s business, as opposed to just launching a site for SEO purposes. From a practical standpoint, that should not be a problem.