Monk Finds the First Clue to Subdomains
My wife’s a fan of Monk, the TV show. And sometimes I can’t resist watching Tony Shalhoub nervously, yet elegantly fumble his way through a mystery.
But it was something other than Monk’s eccentricities that caught my eye recently.
During one of USA’s frequent commercial breaks, a promo played touting the webisodes, blogs, trivia games, etc. found on the Monk interactive website. But I wasn’t enticed until I noticed the web address:
I pointed at the screen, “Hey, look at that! A subdomain, on national television!” In a strange, monkish way I was pleasantly surprised.
Now, don’t get me wrong. Subdomains have been used for many years. But over time, I’ve noticed an extremely slow adoption rate of subdomain usage. And I have never been able to figure out why.
One primary benefit of a subdomain is the ability to create a unique online identity for products/services/detectives that stand-alone, as Monk certainly does, but fall under the jurisdiction of a parent site’s overall offerings.
Two, if site linking is used correctly, search engines are able to recognize that the subdomain exists as a unique section of the parent domain, and also recognize its unique linking hierarchy. Therefore, a search engine can apply greater link popularity to the subdomain’s homepage, than what may be applied to a subdirectory. In this case, monk.usanetwork.com vs. www.usanetwork.com/monk/.
Not to mention it’s easier to remember. The keyword that’s in people’s minds (Monk, again) comes first. Add your domain name and you’re on your way. Much easier to remember than some long, drawn-out URL. “www what? Was it slash monk or slash monk dash tv? Oh, forget it.” These are the wrong roads that your online clientele can easily get lost down.
So if you’re thinking of expanding your website, and have content that seems to stand alone or has its own unique identity (graphics, product offerings, etc.) check into using a subdomain. It’s easier than you think.
Now if only Monk’s subdomain didn’t redirect to another URL. But let’s focus on one clue at a time.
