sub domains vs folders

[marigot]

I've got a really good one word domain that I am developping. I am trying to decide whether I should set up sub domains for each niche or just use folders after the domain.

The other thing I am trying to determine is whether it is a good idea to have an index at the beginning of the website listing all the niches or if it is better to keep everything separate and link to the niches from relevant sites.

The information I have found so far is about 50-50. I have not been able to find a definite answer yet on the effects of using sub domains vs folders.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

[rota919]

I would think it would be easier to maintain everything if you simply use folders for each niche.
In the end it is just a difference in word order isn't it?
i.e. niche1/domain.com vs domain.com/nich1

I would also go for an index listing everything and there is no reason why you can't link from relevant sites as well. So you would get the best from both sides.

[christy]

I am not an expert here but some of the "gurus" on other forums say now that it is better to use folders if you worry about page rank.

They used to say sub domains were given more weight in search engines but that is not true if a website is properly optimized and promoted.

But they say for the PR, if you use folders, the PR from the domain itself is passed to the folder but with sub-domains, they are treated like new domains.

Myself, I think it is easier and neater to use folders.

[blackhat master]

use whatever you feel is easier for you, make sites for visitors not for search engines , its just that u need to keep basic onpage optimization in mind..
n then rest is all dependent up on links & other stuff... one more thing, search engines do not want to return most optimized pages, they want to return most relavent page, so make sure have quality content(no duplicates at all ) . and yes one more thing, try to avoid putting more than 100 links on your index page, if you have 200 links than make 2 indexes with 100 links each...

Best of luck
Blackhat Master