I thought I just start this little thread as I don't see much conversation this issue and I think it is something that needs to be addressed. The old question of sub-domains vs. folders, but with a new twist. For all of you who still has any doubt or read and trust what Google has to say on the subject, how about this simple example: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=4+bedroom+for+rent+in+ga&btnG=Search I stumbled upon this search while looking for a place to live, and you know what - I love this approach... make classifieds site, set it up so each listing is a new sub-domain WITH ONLY ONE PAGE and have a blast making cash from your traffic. I honestly hope people will do this more often, so Google gets thinking about this for a second. This sub-domain treatment has got to stop, as if the listings were subfolders the site in question would not be allowed more than 2 listings.
Thatz a shitload of spam and duplicate urls: http://www.tenant.com/115166 and: http://115166.Tenant.com bad1
The example is not a nice one. I am sure you can detect lots of these types of istrange results on google if you check for such non-competitive keywords. Google is automated and that means they can only optimize the general searches. So searching "4 bedroom for rent in ga" does not prove anything. It just shows that those guys somehow think that using subdomains is a good idea for their aim. Who cares their PR0 pages? And who cares "4 bedroom for rent in ga" keyword?
Yea that's crappy - I'm not worried. Those with strong business ethics in the end will always prevail They can have it.