Is adding SUB-DOMAINS good/bad for S.E.O?

[Freebetsuk7]

I have just recently added 6 sub-domains to my free bets website >>Free bets uk,but they are all way down the search rankings and i am now wondering if it was a wise move?

Are sub-domains treated as if they are a NEW DOMAIN?.....and thus placed in Google`s "Sandbox"?

[bonusbetting]

Google's sandbox is a myth.

Each sub domain is treated separately by Google, so you are splitting your link authority between them.

[Freebetsuk7]

Having been stuck in Google`s "Sandbox" for 8 months i can assure you it DOES EXIST!!!!

I had good seo for 8 months but i could not budge from position 28 for the search term "Free bets uk" FOR 8 MONTHS FROM LAUNCH......and then OVERNIGHT i jumped up to position 8 for the search term "Free bets uk" after been stuck in pos 28 for 8 MONTHS!!!

I suggest you read up on the "Google Sandbox"......it is to prevent spam sites from gaining high rankings in the search engines......I have even heard Matt Cutts talking about it so i am afraid you are mis-guided about the "Sandbox"

But thanks for your views on sub-domains!

[bonusbetting]

Having been stuck in Google`s "Sandbox" for 8 months i can assure you it DOES EXIST!!!!

I had good seo for 8 months but i could not budge from position 28 for the search term "Free bets uk" FOR 8 MONTHS FROM LAUNCH......and then OVERNIGHT i jumped up to position 8 for the search term "Free bets uk" after been stuck in pos 28 for 8 MONTHS!!!

I suggest you read up on the "Google Sandbox"......it is to prevent spam sites from gaining high rankings in the search engines......I have even heard Matt Cutts talking about it so i am afraid you are mis-guided about the "Sandbox"

But thanks for your views on sub-domains!

With respect, you are completely wrong. The 'sandbox' is a myth. I know this from personal experience of over 50 of my own and my clients' sites, as well as the combined wisdom of several people who do very well in SEO.

As I've told you before, 'free bets' is the most competitive keyword in a very competitive niche. Expecting great rankings quickly is naieve at best.

There is a LOT of bad/outdated information out there on SEO, and a lot of people who claim to be experts who want to take your money. The best advice is to concentrate on making your site the best it can be, not blaming Google.

If you want free advice, it's not wise to criticize it when you get it. Calling me misguided is a bit insulting to be honest. In the 8 months you have been in the 'sandbox' I have built many #1 positions, trebled my affiliate revenue and taken on several major clients. I'm now doing outsourced work on SEO campaigns for major brands for two of the biggest SEO agencies in this industry. I built my first high traffic site before anyone had even heard of Google (sadly not in igaming, or I would have retired by now).

As for the subdomains, it isn't just my view, it's established, accepted fact.

[Freebetsuk7]

Well you are entitled to your opinion!!!!

I do not pretend to be an expert in the SEO department but from my own experiences of owning a website and gaining information from several SEO forums i am firmly with the SEO consultants who are adamant there is a Google "Sandbox".

From what i have learnt on the SEO forums the "Sandbox" affects any websites that have anything do with money and websites who have different subjects than money do not spend long in the "Sandbox".

That is where we may have a difference of opinion as you say you do not have gaming sites whereas i do!

I have also heard Matt Cutts talking about it......and without wanting to sound insulting to you i think i respect his words more than yours for obvious reasons!!!

So if you was me would you create another "Page" rather than another "Subdomain"........ I did have a page called.... Free-bets-uk.org/poker....and i have made it into a subdomain called......... Free-poker-bets.free-bets-uk.org my thinking behind it is that the search term "Free poker bets" will rank highly in the search engines this way rather than the other way????....Like i say i am not an SEO expert so i respect other peoples opinions on SEO and then draw my own conclusions!!!!!

[bonusbetting]

No, I didn't say I don't own gaming sites. Why do you think I'm here? If you have a look at my sig you'll see bonusbetting.co.uk - That site is less than a year old and gained its first page 1 rankings inside of 3 weeks and they have steadily increased from there. It was never in any 'sandbox'. I am not going to boast about stats or income, but let me assure you that site is already very successful.

I have tried to help you, but I've learned my lesson there. This isn't the first time you've asked about this, several people have told you the same as I have. What is the point in asking if you've already decided you know better than people who are actually successful in the sector you're trying to break into?

Perhaps you should stick to your SEO forums if you trust their advice. Good luck.

[Freebetsuk7]

Well on the SEO forums there are SEO consultants who have been running SEO companies for years and they have told me to not believe any SEO people who say they can achieve page 1 rankings for competitive search terms within 6 months of launching a gaming site!!!!!

And with my site been 8 months old and having an Alexa traffic rank of 325,000 and your OLDER site having an Alexa traffic rank of 520,000 i think i have been listening to the right SEO information!!!!!

But you sound as if you are filthy rich doing things your way so i will leave it at that!!!!!.....unless you want to kiss and make up and exchange links?......They say the "making up" is the best bit of falling out!!!!......lol

[bonusbetting]

I would agree with those SEO consultants who tell you not to trust SEO consultants. There are a lot of charlatans out there, it isn't an exact science (unless you're a Google engineer) and it changes all the time.

As for achieving page 1 rankings within 6 months - I've just shown you a site that hit #1, page 1 for several highly competitive terms within 6 months.
I don't know what else I can say.

I'd suggest trusting people who have a proven track record of success. Trust EVIDENCE, not opinion.

[bonusbetting]

Responding to your edit:

Alexa rankings mean diddly squat, they are less accurate than my blind grandma's fast balls and completely open to manipulation - just having a site in your sig here has a huge effect on them.

I shouldn't have got into this in the first place and I'm sorry for being negative - I don't have much patience today and your attitude is frustrating.

[Freebetsuk7]

Your just expressing your views!!!!!....no worries!!!!

I am quite proud of my Alexa rank to be honest with you!!!!.....i am a welder of 30 years standing and just run the website as a hobby!!!!.....i did not have a clue about anything to do with I.T 12 months ago,but i managed to design and build my own website!!!!....and i am keen to learn how to get further up the search engines!!!!!...

[bonusbetting]

Fair enough mate - if you knew nothing about IT 12 months ago you've done really well and I'm sure you'll keep improving.
Good luck with it.

[Freebetsuk7]

Thanks mate!

Well they do say welders are I.T experts but have the brain taken away!!!!!....lol

[Derickhelpful]

I have got some information on the Subdomain issue and SEO:

• Google is no longer treating subdomains (blog.widgets.com versus widgets.com) independently, instead attaching some association between them. The ranking algorithms have been tweaked so that pages from multiple subdomains have a much higher relevance bar to clear in order to be shown.

• Subdomains Lose Their Magic? Have subdomains lost their ability to help sites increase their representation in a set of search results? That remains to be seen. Subdomains are tricky for search engines because in some cases (for instance, video.webpronews.com and blog.webpronews.com), subdomains are used as important subsections of a main domain (webpronews.com) that’s owned by the same company. In other cases, (for instance, lsjumb.blogspot.com and postsecret.blogspot.com), subdomains are websites controlled by completely separate webmasters. They may share the same root domain (blogspot.com), but the content of the blogs themselves is unrelated to each other.

Source:
http://searchengineland.com/how-chan...pact-seo-12899

[Derickhelpful]

Another resource that may help Freebetsuk7 is:

Subdomains or Subfolders - Which Are Better For SEO?

[Freebetsuk7]

Thanks for the info on Subdomains!

I did create 6 subdomains to see if that would help me rank higher in the search engines!.....but 6 weeks later i can say it has been a disaster!!!....they are nowhere to be seen in the search engines,or if they are they are way down the rankings and so i have changed them back into normal pages again!

I was going to change some other pages into subdomains 6 weeks ago but deceided to make them normal pages and see if they performed better than the subdomains i created,and they are rocketing up the search results!!!!!......so it is normal pages for me rather than subdomains!!!!!