Domain name or sub folder ?

[gtate]

Can anyone tell me which is best for Google ? I can see that sub folder makes more sense as the new pages will inherit PR from the existing site, + help to strengthen same, + won't be sandboxed, but wonder whether in the long term keyphrase is as strong in subfolder url as in domain url. I.e. I have the impression that widgets.com is doing better than domain.com/widgets.

I'm doing a town portal sites with about 30 categories (travel/property/what's on etc) and would appreciate any feedback.

[tedster]

It's always a judgement call, and depends on lots of variables - especially competitiveness of the search phrases, and the amount and freshness of the content that would make up a keyword domain, or sub folder.

I'd probably prefer developing one solid domain and using sub-folders. It's simpler on the admin side (always a plus), and builds the strongest web presence. The value of "keyword-in-domain" name seems to be a widely shifting bit of the total algo, and one big domain is likely to generate more stable rankings, IMO.