Multiple sites or one?

can't decide how to structure my services

[limitup]

I've spent the past few hours searching and reading tons of messages, but still can't figure out the best way to layout my new site/sites. I am going to have 5-10 different but related content/services and I'm trying to figure out if I should create a separate site for each, or use one main domain with a directory for each. It sure would be easier to maintain and work on one site that's for sure. By using a separate site for each, I would obviously be able to use the main keyword in the domain name for each. Is this big enough of a reason to create a separate site for each? Or is it "good enough" to have maindomain.com/keyword1/, maindomain.com/keyword2/, etc.? I guess what I'm asking is, relatively speaking and irregardless of how much it may or may not help rankings, is there a difference between using the main keyword in the domain vs after the domain in the url?

[layer8]

Hi welcome to the forums.

IMHO - Search engines look for content that is 'tightly themed' So the more specific it is the better, however using various pages can work as well.

User your homepage as a main lead generator on a main keywordphrase. - The answer to your question depends on the level of competition, how competitive is the markets you are trying to reach? If its very competitive then its best to split them up.

Also if they are completely different subjects then it would be advised to have on seperate sites. You can look at creating directories on your main server for each subject- this works for me at present and I can go to my root folder and access any site I want. They all have different domains, links and page ranking.