theCoderSchool Arrives in Austin to teach coding and change the world

In the last decade or so, coding is fast becoming a necessary skill for the kids of today to make their way and mark within the world.

Although known as the “Mecca of Music” throughout the world, Austin has stealthily become a hot-bed for all things tech — with companies like WeWork, Indeed, Google, Facebook, TechRanch, CapitalFactory, and more calling Austin home each day.

Mix music and tech with one of the largest universities in the world where what starts here changes the world — The University of Texas at Austin, it was not surprising when I stumbled upon a poster promoting the grand opening of theCoderSchool while in search of Rudy’s breakfast tacos.

If you’re not familiar with theCoderSchool, it is a San Francisco-based startup founded in 2014 where kids learn to code all year with hands-on teaching instruction from a Code Coach and individualized immersion journey.

And today from 1pm to 3pm, theCoderSchool is offering a free trial and up to 20% off Grand Opening signup (must be present and in person to receive discount) of its “Learn to Code. Change The World” courses.

Nevertheless, the one thing that caught my attention about the poster was it’s domain: Austin.theCoderSchool.com. I’m always intrigued by brands that use subdomains to promote their agenda.

While many choose to use subdomains, in this case a geo subdomain, I prefer for companies to use subdirectories (i.e., TheCoderSchool.com) or geo domains (i.e., TheCoderSchoolATX.com, TheCoderSchoolAustin.com, or AustinTheCoderSchool.com).

Speaking of geo domains, I was surprised to discover the available registration of AustinTheCoderSchool.com (at time of publication).

Although most tech professionals would likely not forget to type the dot between the words “austin” and “the”, it’s always best to protect one’s brand from the average person mistakenly forgetting to type the dot when using subdomains.

This is yet another reason I don’t care for using subdomains: most people surfing the next are more acquainted with subdirectories than subdomains.

However, there is an inherent value — subdomains are their own respective domain as it relates to search marketing — of using a subdomain when franchising a business such as theCoderSchool does throughout the United States.

So, should the franchised business using a subdomain participate in dubious or deceitful actions such as blackhat search marketing, then the primary domain — in this case, theCoderSchool.com — is not gravely impacted.

Unfortunately, it is the exact opposite case for subdirectories, meaning that the primary domain and ALL subdirectories could be damaged and penalized by search engines.

In closing, I still choose to use subdirectories over subdomains for their ease of memorability and use. But more safely, I choose to use domain variations over subdirectories to limit exposure to such grave search marketing consequences.

Thanks and that’s all for now!

Alvin Brown

Alvin is a serial entrepreneur and digital strategist with an avid love for domain name consulting. As the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of DNAdverts.com, his assignment is to ensure business and personal brands don't suffer the consequences of common domain name pitfalls.

As a domain investor and business consultant, Alvin actively participates in daily domain auctions. Outside of auctions, he passionately shares his views, opinions, and vision for how businesses should and should not use domain names to generate greater customer growth and revenue.