Time To Buy Your Own Domain Name
You blog in some free platforms for months now. Your readership grows everyday. You have become a star in your own circle. You know the ins and outs of blogging, and offers advices in some ways. But do you feel complete? Don’t you think it’s now time to move on and have your name etched in the worldwide web, among the dotcoms?
The time to buy your own domain name is now. These are some reasons why you should buy your own domain name.
1. Bragging rights
2. To Stand Out
3. To Protect your name
4. To Protect your brand
5. It’s cheap
6. To make more money online
Bragging rights
If blogging puts you a notch higher among your friendster/facebook friends, how much more if you have your own dotcom! YourName.com is more brag-worthy than YourName.blogfree.com. Don’t get me wrong here. I still keep my free-hosted blogs for sentimental reasons.
I recently brought 2 domains, one of which is my real first name. As of today, when I type my first name in the google search engine, the first site that shows up is my flickr account. Next is my i.ph, then my multiply, and followed by my blogspot. I certainly want to change that.
Stand Out
As I mentioned in my previous post, not all blogs are created equal in the eyes of the more serious bloggers. Preference, as I may call it. In order to stand out, you got to have that name and register a domain. If you intend to optimize on certain keywords of a niche you do business, then you better start with the domain name that will stand out.
You may also read the WSJ article “You’re a Nobody Unless Your Name Google’s Well”. Try doing some vanity searching. Google search your own name, your friends’ names, and even that of your enemies. Whose name stands out better in the search engines?
Protect Your Name
I read in a blog months ago that the author bought all the available domains bearing the family’s name. You know the .com, .net, .info, .org, .ph and .com.ph. His intention was to protect the family name which was controversial and in the news at that time. He feared that someone might misuse the name.
Do you want to see your name abused by others? Certainly not! If you are into a business in which your name is your brand, (e.g. Consultants) you should own the site that appears first on the search engine. It could also be possible that many other individuals have similar first and last name as yours, and the search engine result will lead to someone totally opposite of you. I hope it’s not a porn star or a wanted criminal.
Unfortunately, someone else owns the dotcom of bearing my family name. I looked at their website salivating, not because they own the name, but because of the yummy premium chocolates. Theirs is a legit chocolate company which is in existence since 1891. So, the family name is safe.
Protect Your Brand
How many times have we heard stories of large corporations going to court battle because someone else owns the domain names of their corporate names or brands? Some are really good at cybersquatting. They buy domains, and sell it to legitimate corporations at steep prices.
If I buy the .ph bearing my family name, and that legit corporation expands here in RP, are they going to buy my domain? Or will I be in their war path? That remains to be seen. I’ll worry about that later should I pursue this option.
It’s Cheap
Price ranges from $1.99 to $35 annual. I bought mine at $11.24, but webhosting is offered as low as $2 a year. Even if you are not using your domain name for now, you can always find a future use for it. Buy it now, or someone else will.
Make More Money Online
I got rejected in some paid reviews site because I blogged in a free site. Also, when there are writing opps available, preference is always given to those with their own domains. Although those incidents are behind me now, I felt there is more money-making opportunities if you blog on a paid domain and hosting.
It took me more than two years of blogging before actually buying my own domain. Perhaps, I missed plenty of opportunities. But I don’t want to wait any longer. I own three domain names right now. And this is just the beginning.
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Ceblogger is a CPA trapped in his cubicle while his mind wanders outside watching the world, and exploring possibilities his mind conceived.
June 17th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Sigh. You’re practically the nth person in my blogroll to write about buying one’s own domain name. Now, I’m seriously thinking about getting one soon. Convincing post. Nice one.
June 17th, 2008 at 10:43 am
lourie, in your money-making blogging adventure, this is a must. i guess your paypal has enough funds for the little investment. buy at least two. it doubles your earning potential.
June 17th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
It indeed felt good when I got my first own domain. So I strongly suggest to heed the Ceblogger’s advice. If you guys are interested (hehe, sorry for the plug), I’m giving away one year domain and hosting free (terms/conditions apply).
On another note, I got some idea on your family name. Hehe. I live near their factory.
June 17th, 2008 at 2:32 pm
bloggista, you have to send me a package of chocolates. haha.
lourie, head over to bloggista’s site coz he’s giving away a domain name and free hosting. Btw, bloggista, where is the link to that promo of yours?
June 17th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
You left out the most important reason of all — when you’re using a free host, THEY own your content, not YOU. If you do anything that even hints at a violation of their TOS, your whole blog is gone before your very eyes and Blogger is THE worst for doing that!
You have no recourse — they won’t even talk to you. Period.
Been there, done that and lost 2-1/2 years of posts. Now I have my own domain and paid hosting and make backups every week of my blogs just so as to never go through that again.
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June 17th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
yeah, margaret, thanks for the input! though I never heard blogspot doing that, wordpress, they say, does that.
June 17th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
You have me sold on the idea! I am looking into it now. OMG. I just saw Margaret’;s comment. I never thought anything could happen like that. I should set up my own site now!
June 18th, 2008 at 7:21 am
Hi Ceb, they just need to contact me on my Contact Form to signify their intentions to get the free domain and hosting. THanks for the “plug”. Hehe. The choc package is on its way. Just the package. Hehe
I agree with Margaret, you can’t do much with a free blog site. I have a free blog site (in subdomain at bloggista.net) and yeah, its in the TOS that your blog can be deleted should it violated such. So better get your own domain and hosting. You would be surprised how easy it is to maintain it, incl. the money part.
June 18th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Hi,
I have been searching almost everywhere to find answer to my question. I hope you can give me at least a clue how to do it.
I am a blogspost user and I want to convert my blogs to dot com and retaining my URLs. This is because I want to save my posts and traffic. How can I inform blogger.com about it?
Thanks.
June 18th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
And here I though blogspot is already giving its bloggers too much freedom. Sigh.
@ceblogger…yep, looks like I’m going that way now. your post is the pebble that tipped the scales in favor of getting my own domain name…and margaret’s comment about blogger, too. hehehe!
@bloggista…sent you something on your contact form.
June 19th, 2008 at 2:11 am
keith, thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. Indeed, you should set up your own site now.
bloggista, thanks!
guardian angel, it’s not easy migrating from a free host to self-hosting. Take this post from a friend: http://thirdworldgeek.com/migration-from-beta-blogger-to-wordpress/. He previously used blogger.com. He lost his precious PR4, and some keywords that are on page 1 on search engines. But you can save your post. As to the traffic, it will take some time to regain it. google will have to reindex, and all your friends have to change their links to your site.
I took the easy route. I did not leave my blogspot blogs and continued posting in there. Yeah, for personal and sentimental reasons. I think that as long as I do not violate the TOS of blogger, they will not delete my posts. But I have a new blogging direction, hence, this dotcom and the new ones.
lourie, more blogging power to you!
June 19th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Guardian angel, you can transfer all your posts to a new site, however, you can’t keep the rankings (alexa, Google). You have to build it up again, however, its not too late, you better do it now.
Glad be of help should you need it.
June 19th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Ceblogger / Bloggista,
Do you mean I have to loose my URL an literally transfer all my posts here. Can you be king enough to send me some more details about it through Entrecard mail. I am really dying to have my own domain in the near future.
Thanks really, mga Kabayan!
June 19th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
I think bloggista is right, you will lose all rankings esp the goggle PR of your current blog. So better get it soon. Bloggista, I am interested will check your post. So what are the terms and conditions? LOL. Hope its not about controlling my site. hihi
June 20th, 2008 at 1:55 am
I am too worried about losing all links I have build up. Since there is no 301 redirection in blogger I’ll lose everything. Any solutions ?
June 20th, 2008 at 3:46 am
guardian angel and Chelsea FC-True Blue, the first step you have to do now is to buy your preferred domain names.
I’ve been searching around the internet for a step by step process in the migration. But since I currently bought a domain name and hosting, and then there’s an almost neglected blogspot blog of mine whose topics fits my purpose, I’ll use that for the experiment. I’ll make a post of the result before friday next week.
June 20th, 2008 at 7:21 am
You’re right. It took me a year of blogging before I decided to get my own domain name and wished I had done it sooner. In fact, my advice to those just starting with blogging, start with your own domain.
June 20th, 2008 at 10:37 pm
better blog first at free domains and evaluate after a year to check if you’re really that serious at blogging, otherwise, you’re just wasting that precious dollars, having your own domain and webhosting only to find out that it’s lying idle and/or poorly managed.
June 21st, 2008 at 3:14 pm
monaco, yeah, the first time i hopped into your blog you were still on blogspot.
b.rahi koh, a year is too long. those who got hooked, wished, but won’t dare start all over again. Guys like monaco took the risk and they’re reaping the results now. I started in blogspot and other free platforms. This new blog is just an addition of all those. i wished I’ve done this sometime late in 2006 or early 2007, the early days of ‘make money online’.
June 21st, 2008 at 3:24 pm
b.rahi koh, in addition, there are contests and promos floating around the internet world giving away free domain and hosting. from among the Philippine hosting companies, you may try Philhosting.net. They offer hosting a low as P7/month. parehas ra pamelete sa jeep.
June 21st, 2008 at 7:27 pm
hehe. and in return, expect a service that’s also worth 700cents.
anyways, man…your blog is worthy of my time. i’m following you.