Domain Name Game

I was reading Jimmy’s post on having your own domain. I agree that having your own domain is a sign that you take your blog seriously or at least value your blog enough to spend a little money on it so you won’t have a .blogspot or .wordpress domain.

In the post Jimmy said that choosing your own blog domain could be a tool for SEO because you can opt to have your primary keywords in your domain name. Aside from the keyword factor though having your own domain also has other long term benefits including:

  • reputation – While having your own domain will not automatically translate to a reputation boost having a domain with a .blogspot or.wordpress ending can negativelt affect other blogger’s perception of your blog. True it is the content that counts but there is no denying that there is a bias that exists. Blogs that have their own domain names are perceived to be more professional and credible by many.
  • mobility – What? Mobility in terms of hosting preferences. If you do not have your own domain name you are stuck with the web address assigned to you by WordPress or Blogger. While they both have good hosting services now you really never know what will happen in the future. Their hosting can eventually turn sour or simply pale by comparison to a really good competitor. The point is that when the time comes when you want to move your blog to another host you can not do this without losing your web address UNLESS you own your domain name.

Originally posted on March 28, 2008 @ 7:07 am