Custom Domain Strategy¶

Decision notes on GitHub Pages domain for the book site.

Current Setup¶

GitHub Pages URL: https://saurav-yirifi.github.io/blueprint-ai-first-company/
Config: mkdocs.yml site_url field
Repo: saurav-yirifi/blueprint-ai-first-company

A custom domain wins for discovery, branding, and long-term SEO ownership.

Pros	Cons
GitHub's domain authority (~95/100) gives immediate ranking boost	You build SEO equity for `github.io`, not your brand
Zero setup, free HTTPS	URL looks like a side project, not a product
New pages can rank faster initially	If you move off GitHub Pages, you lose all ranking
	Google may treat it as developer docs, not an authoritative book site

Pros	Cons
You own the ranking equity forever -- it compounds	New domain starts with zero authority (3-6 months to build)
Branded URL is memorable and shareable	Costs ~$12/year for a standalone domain
Better CTR in search results -- people click branded domains more
Cross-links between blog, Yirifi, and book site reinforce each other's authority
Canonical authority is yours -- no risk of Google preferring github.io

Option	URL	Cost	Notes
Subdomain of yirifi.ai	`blueprint.yirifi.ai`	Free	Inherits yirifi.ai domain authority immediately. Ties book to company brand. Fastest path.
Standalone domain	`blueprintaifirst.com`	~$12/year	Independent brand, but starts from zero authority. Better if the book should stand alone from Yirifi.
Keep github.io	`saurav-yirifi.github.io/blueprint-ai-first-company/`	Free	No brand equity. Looks like a developer project.

Recommended: blueprint.yirifi.ai -- inherits existing domain authority, costs nothing extra, ties the book to the company brand.

DNS: Add a CNAME record pointing blueprint.yirifi.ai to saurav-yirifi.github.io
GitHub: In repo Settings > Pages, set custom domain to blueprint.yirifi.ai
HTTPS: GitHub auto-issues a Let's Encrypt certificate once DNS propagates
mkdocs.yml: Update site_url to https://blueprint.yirifi.ai/
CNAME file: GitHub creates this automatically, or add docs/CNAME with the domain
Google Search Console: Submit the new domain and sitemap (/sitemap.xml)
Canonical URLs: MkDocs handles this via site_url -- no extra config needed
Old URL: GitHub automatically redirects saurav-yirifi.github.io/blueprint-ai-first-company/ to the custom domain

Verify domain in Google Search Console
Submit sitemap.xml
Confirm HTTPS is enforced (GitHub Pages setting)
Update all external links (README, social profiles, blog) to use the custom domain
Add <meta> descriptions via MkDocs page metadata where relevant
Cross-link from blog.sauravbhatia.com and yirifi.ai to the book site