Content/Age/Size/Subdomain

[mrshades]

I have a feeling im going to get flamed for this question, but o well.

I am currently competing for over 20 key terms where the number 1 guy gets ALL his links from his sub domain minus 50 ish.

His site is 2 years older then mine, mine has over 2k more external backlinks then he does but for some reason i cant shake him out of that number 1 stop.

My number 1 question is do backlinks from sub domains really count for that much or am i overlooking something?

Things he wins at

1. size
2. age
3. total links though there all from sub domain

Things i win at

1. quality of backlinks and total number of external backlinks
2. site setup
3. unique content, his sub domain is a auto blog

We both have decent structure though i think mines better, i honestly am at a lost of words on this one anyone got anything?

[aaronclancy]

A subdomain can be viewed as separate by Google and that is often why when for example a Wordpress blog may be added to a standard site you may look to put it as a subfolder.

I have seen some organisations rank when they have backlinks from what I would call average sources.

What you need to do is keep backlinking with the authority sites you are and you will nudge your competitor.