Do subdomains get penalised for not having their own domain? Does anyone have a really successful site on a subdomain? I have recently set up a site as a subdomain and don't know whether to buy a unique domain name for it or not.
No as far as i know u dont get penalised for that, it would be better to have your keyword in your subdomain though
Subdomains are treated as their own website... which may or may not place it in the Google sandbox but other than that it is completely legitimate to run a subdomain. If you want proof look no further than the search engines themselves who use subdomains to spin off their businesses under their brand ie. toolbar.google.com, mail.yahoo.com, search.msn.com etc.
Yes the above is true. They are treated like completely different sites. I had once two subdomains and one of them was indexed in Google the second one never made it...
blogspot is an example of a site offering a subdomain. so yourname.blogspot.com is a subdomain right? but is is being indexed by google so fast.
If you have a site that gets 25 or more hits each 90 days you can get a free .tk domain. The domain will forward to your subdomain, inside page, where ever. There are a few rules and the best names you pay for, but it looks like a plan. The Pacific Island nation of Tokelau (really) has the .tk domain: www.dot.tk
I have tried those .tks and I had more than enough hits, but they stopped it anyway, I think its a ruse to get people to buy a domain from them.