- "Should I buy my own domain?"
- "What will be my return on investment (ROI)?"
- "What if my domain doesn't rank in search engines? If not, then why I should spend money on it?"
I was confused. It is not that I couldn't spend money to buy my own domain. But I was unsure about what effect it would bring instead free domain and hosting from services like Blogger, WordPress.
It took me 3 years to convince myself that owning domain is better than free domain. I bought my domain name just a month before from this writing.
I give you 10 reasons why you should also consider buying yourself own domain:
1. Easy to remember
If you own your domain name you will be unique with that name on the internet. It will be easier to remember than free domain names.
2. Reliability and effectiveness
If you will have your own domain name, you send the message to the visitors that you have responsibilities to this domain. With this trust they will spend time in your blog/site more than any free site.
3. Do whatever you like
If you have a free domain, your blog/site can be closed without any further notice. But if you have your own domain name, you choose where you like to host your content. If you do not like any hosting service, you can move out and opt in for another without losing search engine ranking.
4. Ability to retain ranking and traffic
When you have your own domain, you can move out to better web hosting (web host is where you keep your site or blog content to show on internet) without worrying about ranking and traffic to your site. On the contrary, with free domain name, if you move from one to another, you lose visitors to your new site.
5. Owning your own content which you have worked hard to create
With your own domain name, together with your own web hosting, you will be the BOSS of your blog or site, and ultimately have full control to your content.
6. Website improvement and how you will be found by search engines
Without a doubt, your own domain name acts as an authority for your blog or site towards search engines. Search engines credit to the principle domain name. For example, if you have a free domain hosted on Blogger, search engine will rank Blogger instead of your blog.
With your proprietary domain, you permit search engines to index your site with more authority and credibility.
7. Your own domain is an effective tool to brand yourself
In the event that you need to show your own work on internet, owning your domain name is the most sensible way. For instance, in the event that you are an artist, designer (fashion, architecture), writer, photographer or any individual who needs to show potential employers your awesome work, your own domain name will act like a business card to them. With it, you give them the idea of professionalism and credibility.
8. You can monetize your blog or site with your domain name if you wish
The best part is (only if you want to), if you want to make money online, with your own domain name, you can show advertisement or become an affiliate to earn cash.
However, this will not happen overnight and needs some serious work at your side before you see real cash flow. But you don't know what is in the future.
With your own domain name your credibility increases to the visitors as well as someone who seeks professional service. They may find your blog useful to hire you.
9. Purchase before somebody else buys the domain name
It will be very much regretting that at some point you decide to buy your favourite domain name and find out that it is already taken.
What's more, once anybody purchases your favourable domain name, it will be no more available to you to purchase as new domain (unless the domain is for sale). The worse part, he/she makes the domain name either well-known or potentially more regrettable. But, you cannot do anything.
Therefore, act before someone else has the domain name and use it for his/her advantage.
10. A domain name is super cheap
For well-known top-level domains, for example, com, you spend maximum ksh,890 per year for registering your domain with a good domain registrar. That is cheaper than a cup of coffee in most hotels.
CONCLUSION
With ease to set up and cheap to buy, I definitely recommend you to register and own your own domain name. With ksh890 per year, it is one of the best investments you would do, certainly for long run.
If you make the decision to own your domain name, congratulations!
