Obsurfable
Pro

Connected subdomains

Connect a subdomain like blog.yoursite.com with CNAME DNS so Obsurfable can host your published blog posts.

Overview

Connected subdomains (/content/subdomains) lets you serve published Obsurfable posts on your own domain — typically blog.yoursite.com or resources.yoursite.com. You add a CNAME record at your DNS provider, connect the subdomain in Obsurfable, and click Verify so SSL and routing are configured on our host.

Once verified, published posts are live at https://<your-subdomain>/<post-slug> with sitemap, RSS, robots.txt, and more generated automatically.

Who it's for

  • Teams who want a lightweight hosted blog without maintaining a separate CMS
  • SEO practitioners publishing AEO content on a branded subdomain
  • Pro users connecting blog output to Index status and Search performance

Prerequisites

  1. Pro plan and Content access.
  2. Your company website URL saved in Setup — subdomains must be under that root domain (e.g. blog.example.com under example.com).
  3. Access to your DNS provider (Cloudflare, Route 53, registrar DNS, etc.).
  4. At least one published post (optional for setup, required to see live URLs).

Step-by-step

Open subdomain settings

  1. From /content, click Connected subdomains or go to /content/subdomains.
  2. Confirm your site domain is shown (derived from your company URL).

Add the CNAME record (DNS)

  1. Note the CNAME target displayed on the page (the hostname your subdomain must point to).
  2. At your DNS provider, create a CNAME record:
    • Name/host: your subdomain label (e.g. blog for blog.example.com)
    • Target/value: the CNAME target shown in Obsurfable
  3. Wait for DNS propagation (minutes to a few hours depending on TTL).

Connect the subdomain in Obsurfable

  1. Enter the subdomain in the connect field — e.g. blog or blog.example.com.
  2. Click Connect.
  3. The subdomain appears in your list with verification status.

Verify and enable hosting

  1. After the CNAME is live, click Verify on the subdomain row.
  2. Obsurfable checks the CNAME and registers the subdomain on our host for SSL and routing in one step.
  3. A green verified state means https://blog.yoursite.com is ready.
  4. Use Recheck anytime if DNS or host status changes.

Configure blog metadata (optional)

  1. Expand a connected subdomain to edit Title, Description, and Favicon URL.
  2. These appear on the blog index page and in metadata for crawlers and social previews.
  3. Save changes per subdomain.

Publish posts to the subdomain

  1. Create or edit a post at /content/[id].
  2. Set status to published and save.
  3. Visit https://<subdomain>/<slug> to confirm the live page.

Tips

  • Add the CNAME before Verify — verification checks DNS and configures hosting together.
  • One subdomain per connect entry — you can connect multiple subdomains (e.g. blog and docs) under the same root domain.
  • If verification fails, use Recheck to see separate CNAME and host-status messages.
  • Set your company URL in Company settings if the connect form is disabled — subdomains must match your registered domain.
  • After connecting, open Feeds & discovery for sitemap, RSS, and llms.txt URLs.
  • Add the Google service account email from Index status as a Search Console owner on the subdomain property.

FAQ

What subdomain should I use?

Common choices are blog, resources, or learn. Any subdomain under your company root domain works as long as DNS is configured correctly.

Why is the connect field disabled?

Your site URL must be set in Company settings so Obsurfable knows the root domain. Subdomains must be children of that domain (e.g. blog.example.com under example.com).

How long does DNS propagation take?

Often 5–30 minutes; some providers take up to 24–48 hours. Use Recheck after updating DNS.

Can I use an apex domain (example.com) instead of a subdomain?

Connected subdomains expect a subdomain CNAME (e.g. blog.example.com). Apex/root hosting is not supported through this flow.

What happens if I remove a subdomain?

Removing disconnects hosting for that domain. Published posts remain in Obsurfable but are no longer served at that URL.

Is SSL automatic?

Yes. After successful verification, HTTPS is provisioned on our host for your subdomain.

Related docs