We all take the first step in initiating some work or business but as we move on we often make many mistakes unwillingly. Most bloggers start their blogging careers by signing up for a free blog hosting Content management system like Blogger.com but most of them don't realize the disadvantages of using a subdomain. When you start blogging with free sub domains. All people that know you get familiar with your blog through that subdomain. As time goes on your rankings increase and you attract a handsome traffic then you realize that you are not receiving sponsorship and neither are you earning. But when you finally decide to purchase a custom domain you get confused with several questions in mind. You start thinking whether or not you will loose your rankings, PageRank , Alexa etc. So to answer all these questions carefully read the following reasons that tell you why should you buy a custom domain as soon as possible.
1. Reputation in Blogosphere
Blogs with .com domain are naturally respected more than blogs with sub domains such as .Blogspot.com. Link exchange with niche blogs or expanding your blogging circle is only possible when you join the .com club
Its feels really great when you share your Blog URL with your friends and family as opposed to the embarrassing lengthy BlogSpot domain :p
2. Most Advertising services do not accept subdomains
Services like buysellads do not accept subdomains which means that you are loosing 50% of revenue potential.
3. Fans & Subscribers Increase with Custom domains
People will follow you only when they know you offer something they don't have. But when they realize that you using a .blogspot.com domain, they will take a not-so-good impression of your content and would not bother following someone who is himself a free Resource user. Most people take .com or .org domains as commercial websites ran by teams or group of people and often subscribe them and follow them via Twitter, Facebook or Google friend connect. The reason is simple your domain is enough evidence that you are taking your work serious by spending some money on the service that you use and you are not just another free monger.
4. People Will Share and Bookmark Your blog posts
After giving a first good impression, people then happily share your post with friends and family. They will confidently bookmark it and visit it often to gain more knowledge because they know the work comes from an authority. This is one reason why subdomains do not play well on social networks whilst blogs with custom domains get fair amount of traffic from networks such as Stumbleupon, Digg, Facebook and Twitter.
5. PageRank increase slowly With Subdomains
Using a blogspot domain means that the chances of getting more backlinks is minimum for you. I personally don't link subdomains because often these blogs are created on temporary basis and once they are deleted the link on our blog becomes a dead/broken link which can effect our blog ranking. Therefore web owners prefer not to link them and even if they link such blogs, you will always find a nofollow tag attached to it.
6. You just need to buy a domain and not the Hosting
When you purchase a domain for your blogger blog, you then don't need to do anything else. Just sit back and relax. Fortunately Blogger hosts all your blog posts for free at its server contrary to what Wordpress does. That's one of the biggest reasons why people like me prefer blogger over Wordpress.
7. Rankings will Speedup
As more and more people notice your blog and bookmark and share it, your ranking on SERPs which is search engine results page will increase. the more Diggs, Stumbles and Likes you receive the better you go higher but all these social favour is possible only when you own your branded domain and not a free one which discourages readership and content sharing.
8. PageRank will stabilize On next PR update
Most people having PageRank greater than 2 often don't go for domain change because they fear that they will loose their PageRank. No doubt its true but you loose it only at temporary basis. Once Google robots locate all your redirected links, your rankings will be granted back to you on next PageRank update. My PR dropped to zero from 2 when I changed my domain but just after three months on next PR update cycle I got back the rank I owned.
9. You can Grow your business
Once your blog attracts traffic and readership, you can then offer guest posting, product reviews, sale banners, and earn day and night. Sponsors will advertise at platforms where they find quality traffic. Subdomain holders are always underestimated even if they have a plausible traffic strength.
10. It Costs Less Than $10 To Buy a domain!
UPDATE: Now you can buy a domain as low as $7.5 from Godaddy! Read this post -> Blogger Domain Settings Simplified.
We spend so much on our stomach buy fast food stuff, spending around $50-$100 weekly. Can't we spare just $7-8 per year for an online business? I would not exaggerate this point any further.
What are you thinking now?
I have explained as much as I could with my limited scope of knowledge trying to prove the advantages of buying a custom domain as soon as possible. I wish that you may start a happy business online and may become a valuable input to the online media. You just need some hard work at initial stage and then work online will be no less than a fun. Happy blogging buddies. :))
You must be thinking how to buy a domain? This question will be answered on my next post. Kindly stay tuned.
