Exact match subdomains...

[Ash]

...on an unrelated but short .com.au - are they worth it in your opinion?

For example, if you can't get your hands on deals.com.au is it worth developing a subdomain such as deals.defg.com.au? I know resale is out of the question but could it still work as a developed site - i.e. can it rank and be monetised?

Thanks.

 

[Jonathan]

It's possible, but much harder. Not really worth it unless the root domain is spectacular imo.

 

[James]

It will rank but it is no where near as effective from an SEO aspect as other methods.

Why because a sub domain lets Google believe that each specific sub domain is a separate domain/website, hence you are left with sub domains which are not as strong as other URL structures which you can use.

A more effective URL strategy to use is:

www.deals.com.au/sydney
www.deals.com.au/melbourne
www.deals.com.au/perth

If you use

perth.deals.com.au
sydney.deals.com.au

Google will see it as separate domains so you will not have the flow of link juice.

I have seen the sub domain strategy used by SEO companies who have no idea what they are doing they try to be fancy they move a working URL structure to a sub domain structure and it causes big problems.

 

[Ash]

Thanks Jonathan.

James, I think you have misunderstood... I'm asking if you have an unrelated domain like defg.com.au can you add a subdomain such as deals.defg.com and get it to rank? FWIW, I do agree with the strategy you outlined and I wish I did have the problem of figuring out whether to use subdomains/subdirectories on deals.com.au (would be a nice problem to have!)

 

[Lorenzo]

You can rank it, but an Exact match with the same links and other elements will always outrank you.

 

[Ash]

I might give it a go and see what happens