You may have started your website on Blogger or WordPress as a simple blog, but as your site has grown, it has become more of a website. More importantly, you’re starting to notice that the page views are increasing, but not as quickly as you would like.
One simple way you can change the numbers is to change your domain. Not only can a custom domain increase your page views, but it can be very beneficial for your website. Here are just five reasons you need to host your website on your own domain:
1 – Professionalism
A domain such as www.yoursite.com is much more professional than a domain through a blogging or website creation site. Best of all though, it only cost around $10 per year, plus a small monthly hosting fee to bring this professionalism to your website. You can search for your domain choice through companies like GoDaddy. Many of these sites will also offer suggestions for different domains, which can be helpful if your first choice is already taken.
2 – Brand Protection
Your brand is important. Imagine a company like Coca Cola not owning the domain www.cocacola.com. This would give anyone the chance to purchase the domain and ruin the company’s image. The owner may even try to charge the company an outrageous fee once they decided to purchase it. In fact, this is one way some people choose to make a living.
3 – Ownership
Even if your site is in the beginning stages, it pays to purchase a domain. This ensures that as your site grows, the name is yours. Nothing is worse than growing your company and finding out that the domain of your choice isn’t available.
4 – Affiliate Income
Affiliate links are a wonderful way to earn income on your website. However, companies are much more likely to work with websites that host their own domain. The small fee of having your own domain can lead to thousands of dollars per year, depending on how popular your website is and which affiliates you’re able to work with.
5 – Ability to Move
Last, but not least, having your own domain allows you to move your website. For example, if you get tired of using Blogger, you can move your domain to WordPress. This amount of freedom is wonderful for a growing website.
While you may be content using the domain provided by your blogging or website building company, a custom domain is essential for success.
About the Author: Nolan Celso loves to design web site templates, help set up hosting accounts, and build a functioning site for his friends, family members, and small business owners in his local area. Purchase your own domain and you’ll present the most professional face possible.
Credits: Image courtesy of Jay Lopez.