One of the most overlooked, yet effective, search engine marketing strategies is the intelligent use of subdomains. After all, Google uses them! So do a bunch of Fortune 500 companies. That alone tells you the strategy itself is here for the long haul.

Of course, the question probably on your mind is...

Do subdomains actually help boost rankings?

The simple answer is: Yes, they can—at least at the moment. For the complete answer you'll want to drill down into this article but before we get started, suffice it to say the subdomain strategy is something that will never hurt your rankings (unless you abuse it), can lend itself to more click-throughs by customers, aid in getting your best keyword into the anchor text of links pointing at your site, and even help protect your company's good name—all of which are search engine marketing (SEM) benefits that help increase your company's bottom line.

Exactly what are subdomains?

Technically, subdomains are simply an alternative way to organize your site. In theory, a subdomain is really no different than a subdirectory. Both function the same but they look different to search engines and to site visitors as such...

And, while it's a bit easier to create a subdirectory for your site, to create a subdomain you'll generally need to contact your web host who must map the subdomain to a specific subdirectory of your account.

For example, if your site is about shoes, you might typically have a section devoted to women's shoes in a subdirectory:

But...