Bloggers sometimes wonder whether it really is worth it to have their own domain. The argument for not having your own domain makes perfect sense. Why pay for hosting and the domain itself when you can use free sites like Blogger, WordPress, or Tumblr to blog? Well the reasons to buy and own your own domain in the blogging world is quite comparable to owning your own house in the real world. It is always better to buy then rent.
Why you need your own domain
Ownership of content
One huge reason to buy your own domain is for ownership of the content. Even though on Blogspot blogs or free WordPress blogs you can write whatever you want you really don’t own the content. Blogger, WordPress, or Tumblr can pull your content or delete your blog whenever they want. You didn’t pay to use their services and anytime you have a Blogspot.com or WordPress.com blog they are in control of the future of your blog. Imagine having 500 posts written and one day finding out that WordPress or Blogspot or Tumblr decided to remove your whole blog for whatever reason. Legally it is in there right. If you own your own domain this issue will never happen to you. Even if you only write for fun you probably have become pretty attached to your blog, so buy the domain and the hosting.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Benefits
When you buy your own domain you usually are set up with the paid version of WordPress which allows you to add many custom plug ins. A lot of these plug ins are SEO related and will help Google and other search engines find your blog and deliver much more organic traffic. When you have your own domain you can do more on page SEO. On page SEO means titles, descriptions, and keywords that help the search engines find and rank your blog. With your own domain you have much more control over how your blog will rank in the search engines. Search engines much prefer a .com blog versus a .wordpress.com or .blogspot.com blog. If you have the same number of links with your own .com versus a .blogspot.com blog the search engine will give your .com blog a higher ranking just because you own your own domain. This is a big advantage.
Earning potential
If you ever are trying to make money off your blog you need to own your own domain. Advertisers are looking to advertise with bloggers that have their own domains, and would likely only ever pay for an ad on a free blogging site if the traffic was off the charts. When you own your own domain you can build those stats that advertisers want to see to a blog that you own. Every link that you build, every reader that subscribes, and every time your page rank goes up your blog looks that much more attractive to advertisers. Since you have put in all that effort and energy you control what the advertiser pays. If your blog becomes popular in a popular niche you will get a lot of offers. Having your own domain plus lots of traffic in a popular niche will eventually have you making money off your blog. The money that you pay to buy the domain and host the domain is nothing when compared to the potential ad revenue your blog can generate. You can even become an affiliate for big companies that you love if you have your own blog. In fact if you have lots of traffic companies will ask you to become an affiliate. Selling whatever you want and making big commissions can be a nice perk.
If you were ever on the fence about getting your own domain I hope this post has swayed you. The upside to having your own blog on your own domain is huge and the downside to not having your own domain is also huge. If you are serious about blogging you need to buy and not rent.
About the Author:
Timothy Fox is the CEO of Soge Shirts where you can find http://www.sogeshirts.com/ funny tshirts for men, women, and children. Follow him on pinterest at www.pinterest.com/sogeshirts.
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Twitter: AlisonSWLee
says:
Great post, Tim!!
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Thank you Alison I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Twitter: forloveorfunny
says:
I’m a writer, so it was very important for me to “own” my content. Buying my domain was very easy, and I like owning “real estate” on the internet!
Lynn from For Love or Funny recently posted..I can’t do this any more. Will you write for me?
Twitter: AshleyNAbele
says:
Lynn, your analogy is just right! It really is like owning real estate on the internet
I love owning my domain. It looks more professional to me.
JDaniel4′s Mom recently posted..Earth Day Activity- Backyard Nature Center Table
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
It definitely is more professional and companies always look those who are the most professional.
Twitter: thewahwife
says:
Owning your own domain also makes word-of-mouth advertising so much easier – something we don’t think about in the online world.
Angie recently posted..Women In Home-Based Business: Infographic
Twitter: AshleyNAbele
says:
Angie, you’re exactly right- so much easier to talk about a domain and have people remember it!
Twitter: vinobaby1
says:
Great points. I’m on blogger now, and I plan to switch over once my blog transitions to my “author blog.”
Do you have any recommendations as to the best places to get your own domain, who to go through?
Kerry Ann (Vinobaby) recently posted..When School Shootings Hit Too Close To Home
Twitter: KawarthaMums
says:
Which company did you decide to use?
Suzanne-KawarthaMums recently posted..Kawartha Lakes Mums Celebrates 1st World Epilepsy Day!!
Twitter: neveradulldate
says:
Great post! I absolutely agree that you should own your own domain. There are a number of companies that you purchase it through (I’ve purchased http://www.neveradulldate.com through Host Poppa). And they are quite inexpensive. I pay $30 a year for mine, but there are some places that offer them for $10-15 a year. Definitely worth it. It’s a small price to pay to own your own content
Ashley recently posted..A Meat Eating Adventure – Brazilian Steakhouse
Twitter: cyu888
says:
Great post and again, thanks for doing this series.
Christine @ Love, Life, Surf recently posted..Memories Captured: Bag of Tricks
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Thank you Christine.
Any other ideas for good places to buy a domain?
Twitter: jenheadjen
says:
I had the same question. I hope someone has some good ideas on this one! The only one I’ve been recommended is godaddy.com.
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Also http://www.namecheap.com has cheap domains as well.
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
I’ve used godaddy in the past but I wouldn’t really recommend them. As Ashley wrote above http://neveradulldate.com might be worth checking out.
Good info in this post. I actually own my domain, and after purchasing it and seeing others who hadn’t, although it’s pretty reasonable in price, there are alot of others who still use the free services and their blogs are much better than mine!
MangoChutney recently posted..Hubies and Cat-Dogs
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Content is still very important but a good domain sure helps.
Wow! Thank you for posting this! I am sold. As soon as I get home, I am doing this. Great article!
Kerri recently posted..Ah, That North Carolina Breeze
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Thank you Kerri. Glad you enjoyed it.
Twitter: princesspruning
says:
On the to-do list. But still feel overwhelmed. How do you decide who to purchase your domain from?
Laura recently posted..Chores my kids do and age-appropriate chore lists
Twitter: abmckenzieg
says:
I want to know the answer to this as well!
McKenzie Guymon recently posted..No sleep til SNAP!
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Some sites to purchase domains and register them are http://neveradulldate.com and http://www.namecheap.com Godaddy.com is also popular but they do a lot of upsells.
Twitter: momsvictories
says:
I just bought my domain name in the last couple weeks and am still trying to get everything moved from my old Blogger blog to my new wordpress blog. It is a lot of work to move it and i am still working out the kinks but so far so good. I do think it looks more professional. I got mine through godaddy.com and it was pretty reasonable.
Tanya recently posted..Just Write: Grateful Ramblings of a Working Mom
Twitter: QueeninHeels
says:
I try to explain this to people who approach me for blogging advice. I am not a fan of blogspot or tumblr for those who are seriously looking into blogging as a “business”. I made sure from the beginning to buy my domain and pay for hosting. I wanted to make sure that I had complete control and ownership
Sharon recently posted..High Heel Low Heel: Cork Edition
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Good call Sharon. For business blogging it is definitely a must.
Hi may I please ask where is the best online source to obtain the ability to blog have my own a website and have it hosted, thank you very much and have a nice day Mia
Twitter: disneykatrina
says:
Yes! You must have your own domain. I feel like I can take over the world by owning my dot com
And it’s so much easier to direct people to my blog with it. Though I just can’t get on the wordpress bandwagon. I find is so frustrating – and it just doesn’t work for a techno-dummy. Blogger I find very intuitive and user friendly – so I am sticking with it. For now anyway!
Kat recently posted..Main Street Bakery
Twitter: KawarthaMums
says:
Who did you purchase your dot com through?
Suzanne-KawarthaMums recently posted..Welcome World Wednesday – BlogLovin? Follow Us!
I found your blog really interesting, I have been considering purchasing my own domain for a while and I think your points are very good. I might take the plunge!
Nikki Wright recently posted..Table Style: Elegant Ideas for Decorating a Table
Twitter: themhalf
says:
Excellent points. Except for that analogy about it being better to own a home than rent. Since the housing market crash, that’s a tougher sell (ha!) than it used to be.
The M Half recently posted..P is for Patriotism
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Haha good point. In this economy you are right.
Absolutely! And even if you’re just starting out and not quite ready to buy your own hosting… buy your domain and point it to your free site. Then, when you’re ready to make the jump, you won’t have to notify everyone, because you’ll still have the domain name. it’s cheap and very important.
Christine recently posted..What a Gift!
Hi I am looking to start a website with a blog and other special features if available. I would like to know all the must have’s I have a few questions if you could please answer:
How much cost to have a website and I pick the domain name and the would the website include a blog? Total Cost for hosting and who would do the hosting?Also can I allow ads from other companies should I get that sucessful?
If I left any out any major questions or cost please include that for me as well, thank you very much and have a nice day
Twitter: Hugskissessnot
says:
Thanks for this info. I’m with wordpress.com but have upgraded to pay for my domain name which is registered through wordpress.com. I wonder if this is sufficient or do I need to take it a step further?
Stephanie @ Hugs, Kisses and Snot recently posted..Strawberry Skillet Cornbread
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
As long as you own your own domain name you should be fine. WordPress is just the blogging platform you are using. With your own domain you own the content.
Twitter: CynthiaMeents
says:
I own my own domain name, but I use blogspot. Where does that fit into all of this? Do they still own my content? What about SEO and advertising?
Cynthia M recently posted..Camera Crazy Cynthia
Twitter: jenheadjen
says:
I’ve got the same question. Hope someone knows the answer!
Jen recently posted..Texas Roadhouse Birthdays
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Cynthia and Jen you should be fine since you purchased the domain name. Even though you are using the blogger platform since you purchased the domain you own the content and are just using the blogger functions to write posts.
Twitter: CynthiaMeents
says:
Great! That’s a comfort. Thanks.
Cynthia M recently posted..Camera Crazy Cynthia
This is great!!!!! I have owned my own domain name from the first day, but only because my blogger friends told me to. They couldn’t really explain to me WHY as well as you have
Thanks!!!! Now, to go out and get more traffic! LOL….
Karina Tobin recently posted..Photographer Interview – Sarah Costa Photography
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Thanks Karina!
Twitter: BoonieSooze
says:
You sold me.
Great article.
I’d fix this in the second paragraph: “Legally it is in there right.”
THEIR right.
Or: “Legally, they have that right.”
Susan in the Boonies recently posted..Mango and Blue Cheese Salad and the Art of Balancing Flavors
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Good catch Susan I’ll fix it. Grammar is definitely a weakness of mine. Glad I sold you.
Twitter: SoniaBarton
says:
I finally made the switch this Jan. I really need to learn more about SEO – that little section didn’t sound like english to me. One of the big reasons I plan to attend BBC in Vegas.
Sonia Barton recently posted..Handmade Cabinets
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Hi Sonia. I have actually written a bunch of posts on SEO. I don’t want to clutter this post with them but if you contact me on twitter I’d be happy to direct you to more of my guest posts.
Twitter: JoynessSparkles
says:
Good to know. I have not yet decided on the future of my blog…and don’t know if I have enough of an audience that really wants to read what I write yet, but this is great information for future planning.
Joyness Sparkles recently posted..My Life In France, By Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme
Great article. It was very helpful for my moving forward in the future.
Leigh Powell Hines (@Hinessightblog) recently posted..Wednesday’s Wish We Were Here: Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Thanks Leigh!
this is such an eye opener
mangiabella recently posted..Those Were The Days…& an Ode To Felix
I agree. I use godaddy for my domain name and use wordpress.com to host. I moved to wordpress from blogger last year and have been very happy. Great post. Thanks.
Alie recently posted..Bibliophiles, Enter Here.
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Godaddy and wordpress gets the job done for sure. Thanks Alie!
Twitter: AnikaCain
says:
Hey
I just bought my own domain and I def prefer it over the free one. But since I just started my blog I am still trying to establish my viewers.
My blog is about Make up and Fashion http://www.makeupmeetsfashion.com
Twitter: AnikaCain
says:
I just bought my own domain and think its more professional but since my blog is still very new I am still trying to establish blog viewers
My blog is about Make up and Fashion http://www.makeupmeetsfashion.com
Anika recently posted..First step- Finding the right Foundation
Twitter: kimulmanis
says:
Maybe I’m weird but I honestly began to feel dirty and almost invisible when still using a .blogspot.com address. I wanted to be taken seriously…no two ways about it. I’m still building up my name and site but I’m happy to know my content is my own and my domain name belongs to me.
On a side note, I’d strongly disagree that owning a home is always better than renting one. I’m an apartment renter and with home values what they are today it makes almost no logical sense to own. Just my two cents. =)
Kim @ Coffee Pot Chronicles recently posted..How To Be A Great Housewife…
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Kim you are right maybe my analogy was poor in these times. I actually rent an apartment too
Owning a home right now is a bit too scary.
Twitter: thedosetweets
says:
Fantastic post! Thank you so much for this helpful information!
thedoseofreality recently posted..You Want a Real Mommy War?
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
Thanks Ashley glad you liked it.
Twitter: queenofchaosmom
says:
I have wanted to do this for awhile and am finally going to take the step. The only thing holding me up is whether I should keep my name or shorten it. It’s making me anxious because I want to own my content and be taken seriously as a writer and I agree that this is the way to do that. Thanks for the great info!
AnnMarie recently posted..I Need Your Input
Twitter: sogeshirts
says:
You are quite welcome Ann Marie. Shorter names might be easier to remember but as long as your content is interesting it won’t matter too much. Go with what your gut is.
Twitter: iamnotthemaid
says:
I just bought my domain through blogger this past weekend. I don’t know why I waited so long, it was so easy to do. I was worried about whether or not I own my content since I’m technically still on blogger. I’m just not ready to switch to WordPress yet. Thanks so much for all the great information!
Delilah recently posted..Confessions of the Socially Awkward
Twitter: jiminycricketoo
says:
Thank you for convincing me. Very good article.
Pbenjaytoo recently posted..ENOUGH SAID!!!!!
Twitter: D__Magazine
says:
Thank you for this post. I wish I had known that it was better to get a .com than getting a .me !! I’m still trying to navigate this thing. I’m hoping I’ll figure out how to become more search engine friendly soon! Argh!
~~written from my own island out here in the Blogesphere
Dawne with D Magazine recently posted..A TALE OF TWO WHEELCHAIRS
Twitter: SarahBucu
says:
Thanks for a wonderful post. I am a new blogger and have lots of questions including buying my own domain. I do not have a credit card and have not earned yet thru blogging . I am from the Philippines and our currency unit is the peso. So how do I buy a domain online when they cost in dollars ?
Twitter: doc_megz_to_be
says:
That first reason freaks me out the most – I do not like the idea of owning my content. Or losing it, for that matter.
BarefootMedStudent recently posted..Flashback to the Dance
Twitter: doc_megz_to_be
says:
Meep. I meant I don’t like the idea of NOT owning my content…
BarefootMedStudent recently posted..Flashback to the Dance
Twitter: #!/Reviewer11
says:
You just answered my question I have been searching for for a long time now. Thanks so much!
Where do you suggest we buy a domain name and hosting?
Hilda recently posted..Back from Spring break
Hi I am looking to start a website with a blog and other special features if available. I would like to know all the must have’s I have a few questions if you could please answer:
How much cost to have a website and I pick the domain name and the would the website include a blog? Total Cost for hosting and who would do the hosting?Also can I allow ads from other companies should I get that sucessful?
If I left any out any major questions or cost please include that for me as well, thank you very much and have a nice day
I posted this comment a few minutes ago to try to get some advice and suggestions does anyone have the best advice for all this I am looking to start a website with a blog and other special features if available. I would like to know all the must have’s I have a few questions if you could please answer:
How much cost to have a website and I pick the domain name and the would the website include a blog? Total Cost for hosting and who would do the hosting?Also can I allow ads from other companies should I get that sucessful?
Please if I left any out any major questions or cost please include that for me as well, thank you very much and have a nice day
Twitter: #!/Reviewer11
says:
Mia, Maybe try sending her a Twitter message. I did that and am waiting for her reply.
Food for thought! Thanks.
Emily recently posted..Water is wet
Twitter: dinheiroseu
says:
Very good explanation. I recently bought a domain for my blog and I can already see the differences in the positions of google searches. Thank you.
Marcos Freire recently posted..Ganhe dinheiro compartilhando nas redes sociais!
Twitter: Senora_Muertos
says:
Thanks again for the wonderful info! As soon as I can I will be switching my blog.
Alecia H. recently posted..Devil Christmas Ornament – Diablo Loteria Rearview Mirror Decor by SenoraMuertos
hey… i buy domain at google apps too..
Twitter: svtarchive
says:
nice article. Content ownership and from advertisements point of view it ll definitly matters but it doesnt sounds search engine prefers .com sites
Hammad recently posted..iSpy 4.4.0.0 free download
Hello, thanks very much for this interesting post.
I am thinking about buying my own domain through blogger. I currently have a free blogger website and I was just wondering… if buy my own custom domain, will blogger still be able to delete my site and/or posts… since I would still be using their service own my own domain.
The reason I ask is because my previous blog unfortunately got shut down without reason by blogger, and it was extremely frustrating. I honestly have no idea why they deleted it, because as far as I’m aware I don’t have any illegal content on it.
I would like to continue using bloggers easy-to-use service, but at the same time, not have to worry about my blog ever being deleted again.
So basically, what I am asking is… If I buy a domain, does blogger still have the power to delete my site and/or the things on it?
Thanks for your time.
Twitter: KawarthaMums
says:
If blogger shuts down your blog,you can appeal,and ask advice in the blogger help forum. Did you get a notification,or did your blog disappear?
When blogger shuts down a blog you get a notification,with a reason in it.
If your blog disappeared, this page may help: http://support.google.com/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=87065
Suzanne-KawarthaMums recently posted..Kawartha Lakes Blogger Blu-Ray Giveaway: The Greatest Story Ever Told
Thank you for such a nice information i just bought a new domain from there http://angryimage.com/. you can download free desktop and mobile wallpapers, images and backgrounds
Thanks , I’ve recently been looking for information approximately this subject for ages and yours is the greatest I have came upon till now. But, what about the conclusion? Are you certain about the source?
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