Custom Domain Names

Since I began blogging I have read several times about the importance of your own domain name. Having a web address that includes things like 'blogspot' etc in the url is apparently detrimental to your cause. That seems to be the advice from the experts, the bloggers who are making serious money from their blogs. But to a guy who had no internet experience before I began blogging, getting my own domain name seemed to be a confusing exercise, one I didn't understand, nor really see the need for. It wasn't until I stumbled upon how easy it was that I began to think about doing it.

As I said, for the most part, and up until now, I have ignored the advice from the blog experts about custom domain names, even though it came from some leaders in the make money blogging field. No matter what the experts said, I chose to remain with my original web address that included the name of my blog host. Until now...

I recently discoverd how easy, and how cheap it was to switch my address to a new domain name, in fact, it has to be one of the most painless experiences of my blogging career. It does cost something, $10, but that is for a year, and what the heck, I spend more than that on coffee and Red Bull to keep me awake so I can blog all night long...So, after reading about it, almost by accident, on the blogger site, I decided to give it a go.

Now instead of having a blog with blogspot in the url, I have my blog name followed by .com as easy as that. It even looks better at the top of the page. If you have a blogger blog, all you need to do is go to the settings tab for your blog, and choose the option for a 'custom' domain. Put in the name you want, and they'll tell you if it is available, and if not, what are some possible options. Nothing to it. From there it's a matter of filling in some information and paying for it.

You'll get an email in your inbox that tells you what to do next, which is really just confirm your email address and get a user name and password set up. It also tells you about the other options you now have, like email for example.

So, what does a custom domain do for me? Well, for one thing, it makes the title of my blog easier to remember, and for another, I think it may help with making my blogs look more professional, and I'm thinking maybe get more traffic. One of my blogs has earned more money today than ever before. That's not a lot of money mind you, but more than usual. I am wondering if it has anything to do with the new custom domain....I hope so....this could be good....

I suppose because blogging for me is largely a case of teaching myself, and learning as I go, it seems to be a slow process for earning money. But, I have to say, since I began, my earnings are up, my hits are up, and I have learned immeasurable 'stuff' about websites and blogging. I have also learned to type really...really...fast!!!