Making your own website is pretty easy these days, and anyone can grab a domain for a few dollars. But there's more than just the domain to think about when making a website. Subdomains are important, especially if you're trying to get more people to visit your website. All parts of the website 'address' help users locate your site and digest what your site is about. Search engines break your site's information down in the Domain Name System (DNS). Although it may sound complicated, the DNS of your site and utilization of subdomains are vital to increasing SEO presence and organization.
DNS Explained
The Domain Name System is simply how the internet, search engines, and users identify your website's URL. An example of a URL utilizing all aspects of the DNS would be blog.businessname.com. The DNS reads from right to left in terms of what's at the top of the URL hierarchy. .com, .edu, .gov, etc., tells users and search engines what kind of website they see (every day, education, official, etc.). The actual domain follows it and is usually the business' name. Shop, Blog, Store, etc., are subdomains.
Subdomains Explained
Subdomains are websites you host that are connected to the main domain while acting as completely separate entities. They are their own website, with their own pages, content, and SEO marketing, all of which increase your domain's overall reach. By being connected to the main domain, subdomains can capitalize on brand recognition. With proper use, subdomains allow for organization, flexibility, and overall improved SEO potential.
Subdomain Uses
Why would you want to use and pay for a subdomain when you can just create a page on your main domain? Why have shop.name.com instead of name.com/shop? For one thing, using a subdomain allows the shop part of your website to be more extensive. Instead of being confined to one page, you can create a whole website devoted just to the store, allowing more freedom and creativity.
Subdomains are also helpful for capitalizing on the different types of web hosting sites and builders. If you like the powerful blogging capabilities of WordPress but want the ease and flexibility of Shopify, you can use a subdomain to have a website on both, each linked to the same domain.
Not only does this keep all your content under the same brand, but it also helps with marketing possibilities. Because each subdomain is recognized as its own website, they each contribute to your domain's overall SEO presence. You can link from one subdomain to the other and have it count towards your primary domain. You can run different types of advertisements on different websites and get the benefits of both.
Overall, subdomains are a useful organization and marketing tool. With proper subdomain usage, you can build and host different websites through multiple companies, getting the best content from each one. A subdomain is a supportive component of the Domain Name System that helps keep your domain flexible and visible. If you want to improve your domain's presence, invest in setting up a subdomain.
