Subdomains are an excellent way to enhance your website’s analytics. Because of this, they can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses to help you make data-driven decisions.
What is a subdomain, though?
Keep reading to learn what these types of domains are, when you would use them, and their benefits. You’ll then learn how to create one.
What Is a Subdomain?
Subdomains serve as an extension of your website’s domain name. They divide your websites into different sections that act as different web addresses. If your website has a store, you would want a subdomain like “store.example.com.”
Having a separate domain for the sales section of your website would make it easier to handle transactions.
Why Use a Subdomain?
Creating sub-sections of your website has various use cases. If you have a mobile version of your website, you’ll want a subdomain like “m.example.com.” This can help redirect users to mobile-optimized web pages.
Most developers will use subdomains to create a staging website. In these types of sites, they will test new plugins and scripts before launching them.
Benefits of Subdomains
Other than making search engines see your subdomains as separate websites, you’ll find various advantages to using these.
It may be indexed quicker if your website already has a good standing. Plus, your subdomain will benefit, which will help it skip the theorized Google Sandbox phase.
They will help you target market segments, which help you focus on a specific country or reading group.
They also help clarify intent. Using a keyword as your subdomain can describe its purpose. Here’s a subdomain example, “forums.blog.com.” This example will tell visitors and search engines that the page domain is a forum.
There’s one disadvantage to using subdomains.
Once you establish one, you’ll need to acquire backlinks that don’t direct to your main site. This means you will need to create a separate SEO strategy.
How to Create a Subdomain
Every web hosting platform will have different ways to create a subdomain. For example, when registering a subdomain with GoDaddy, follow these steps:
- Think of your subdomain name: you’ll want to create an SEO URL that reflects what your site is about
- Access cPanel: log into your account and scroll to the Web Hosting section
- Navigate to Subdomains: click “Add Subdomains” and enter the name you’ve chosen
- Add a new domain name system (DNS) record: make your way to your DNS settings, select “Add” and choose where you want your subdomain to connect to
Once you click Create, you’ll need to wait for the subdomain to resolve. This can take between 30 minutes and 24 hours. If it takes longer, contact your hosting provider’s customer service.
Get a Subdomain Today
Now that you can answer the question of “what is a subdomain,” you can move forward with improving your website’s structure and search engine optimization.
Hosting providers have made adding subdomains to your website simple. You only need to navigate through a few pages, type your subdomain, click create, and wait.
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