Most newbies who start a blog prefer to use BlogSpot as their blogging platform. It makes sense. BlogSpot is free, and you need less technical skills to get started. The investment is zero, and the returns are high.
Also, you get unlimited bandwidth and unlimited storage in BlogSpot. (Though storage is not technically “unlimited”, we have plenty of options, like creating a different author profile and using it to store images and files.)
Read: How To Start A Free Blog On BlogSpot
One thing which you might not like with BlogSpot is the .blogspot domain name, which can easily be fixed by buying a custom domain name.
AÂ BlogSpot URL is something like:
- www.domain.blogspot.com
A custom domain name is:
- www.domain.com
A custom domain has many added advantages over a .blogspot domain name.
Why should you buy a custom domain for your BlogSpot blog?
1. Buying a domain name is cheap
Buying a domain name is pretty cheap. You can get a good domain name for $1-$13.
You can buy a cheap .com domain name from GoDaddy.
2. Social media credibility
BlogSpot, being a free platform, is often overrun by spammers.
This is one reason that these sites are less likely to be trusted by people on social media.
When you use a custom name for your BlogSpot blog, it removes the impression that you are using a free blog, and hence, are not a spammer.
3. Web promotion
Web promotion could mean a lot of things from social media to link building.
But when talking about credibility, most top websites don’t like giving a link back to a BlogSpot domain.
This makes promotion much more challenging.
4. Seriousness toward blogging
Even though you may be working a lot on your BlogSpot blog by creating great content, without a nice layout, a nice template, and a custom domain name, people will not feel that you are serious about blogging.
Basically, if you are not ready to spend a few dollars on the thing you love, no one will believe you are an authority on your topic.
5. Branding
The perception that you create in your readers’ minds is imperative for your blogging success.
Using a customized domain name helps you to establish your blog as a professional brand.
You can also use a nice logo, favicon, and a banner to further brand yourself.
6. Google Apps
With a custom domain comes the ability to use a custom domain-based email address.
You can have an email address with your domain name like:Â admin[at]shoutmeloud.com.
Check out this article to see how you can create a custom domain-based email with Google Apps.
7. The SEO advantage
If you plan to migrate your blog to WordPress, a custom domain name will ensure that you will not miss out on that precious link juice.
Your migration will also be more search engine friendly.
How to get a custom BlogSpot domain:
So if you are convinced that you should have a custom name for your BlogSpot blog, here is what you need to do:
1) Find a domain name. Find a perfect domain name for your blog. Don’t use your personal name, rather use something which is brandable and memorable.
Search for a domain name using any of these five domain name suggestion tools. You can refer to these guides:
2) Follow this detailed guide: Setting up a custom domain name on BlogSpot.
Note: WordPress is a much better blogging platform than BlogSpot. According to the January 2016 report, 25% of the websites in the world are powered by WordPress. You can read more here:
I would suggest you stick to BlogSpot for a couple of months and then move to a self-hosted WordPress blog.
So..
Go ahead and give yourself a cool, custom domain name for your BlogSpot blog. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me via the comments.
If you find this article useful, do share it with your friends!
hi Harsh,
am regular reader of this site coz am getting useful tips for my blogging.
actually i have 10 blogs on different topics and am blogging since 2010 and earning quite well with adsense. But nowdays unable to getting enough time to work on my blog as am professionally mechanical engineer and spending almost 12 hours in working.
am planning to link all my blogs in one custom domain to increase frequency of update as it is essential to increase my traffic.
so my question is that – is that possible to link all my 10 different blogs in one domain?
is it ok for adsense or SEO?
plz suggest me
It possible….but not with SEO
Using a domain park with all domain..:-D
Yah..
Park a domain
Then go to Domain DNS and make changes for other blog
again..
again..
&
again..
Now all you Blog will be for a BLOG
I had earlier a blogspot blog which was adsense approved. Now with same name i have got a .com and my blog is still at bloggerbut with my custom domain.
The problem is adsense is gone and they are not approving me for .com. i am still approved for ads for blogspot. I am using the same account and same email id for upgradation.
Is it possible. Plz help.
According to some, Adsense for Blogspot is “Hosted” thus can only be used with accounts that are partnered with Google such as YouTube and Blogspot. A non-hosted Adsense account is for those that have custom domains and own website. Some say to apply but, you can only have 1 Adsense account per name so, I don’t know how one can apply again. You can purchase a non-hosted Adsense account but, I’m not sure how that goes. Hope I helped.
what does it mean?
“68% publisher revenue share in”
Products are the different programs AdSense offers for you to monetize your content. Here we’ve listed the AdSense products you are eligible to use and, if available, the revenue share for the product.
Currently, I have a blogspot blog and I would like to have a custom domain. However, if I switch over to a .com will I loose my page rank and other stats or will they roll over? Thanks!
I like the point seriousness towards blogging. With cheap domain, no point not to buy one domain for blogging.
I want to know if there are any options to pay custom domain charges in INR on blogspot. Because it show charges $10, but it is not possible to pay in Dollars as credit card company restrict to purchase anything in Dollars or foreign currencies.
Great post Harsh, Can you please tell me that Custom domain name of blogspot blog easily move to wordpress.
Its easy
change Domain DNS for Worldpress
and
also move content with @Harsh post on this topic
Hello Mr.Harsh Agrawal,
As far as I am concerned, to be frank, it is not the question of money that is involved in hesitating to go for WordPress.
I am not a techie and I have some fears as to make a try with something which I do not know about.
However, whenever I see your blogs and other WordPress blogs, I really want to have one like this.
Hope I try before it is too late!
Thanks and regards……..
Hi harsh! What about ‘.in’ domains? while consider cost they are cheap, But will they rank well..?? waiting for ur reply thanks.
@Sentha
They are good when you are targeting only Indian traffic.
hey hi harsh
thanks for all ur article i just have some query in my mind abt blogspot
as i m newbie
i want to buy a domain name
i already have a site with http://www.ziddle.blogspot.com
now i want to make it
http://www.ziddle.com
as i m indian i even have credit card with me but can i buy directly from google for 10 dollar whether it is safe
and whether google checkout accept credit card from india since my money is in rupees and i have to pay in dollar so hw it is possible
plz help me waiting for ur reply thanks
Hey Arsh
Google is a reliable place to buy domain. And you will be charges In INR as money will be charged in $ but you will see it in the form of INR (Currency conversion).
Alternatively you can use my domain service http://www.shoutmydomain.com to buy .com domain.
Do let me know if you have any more questions.
I think you are absolutely correct. Anything you can do to make your website appear more professional is a really smart thing to do. A unique domain name will also give you site the potential of having a strong brand presence. Why not give it an original name?
Harsh, can you change your domain name after you get adsense?
not just the blogspot but even change the part before blogspot?
Thanks
You bring up some good points about blogger/blogspot blogs. First of all, there’s the issue of professionality.
Many people think blogger blogs look less professional because of the basic templates that have been around for years. This is changing a little bit since they just released a brand new blogger design system built right in. I’ve been testing it out and it’s been pretty fun to learn how to use.
I absolutely love writing and posting on blogger because it makes everything so simple. I’ve had a site there for years and I will probably keep it there as long as they let me.
I got a domain name (free) from http://www.co.cc but I dont know if this type domain can be used for adsense or not. Anybody have any suggestion?
My problem is that I have no credit card. When I tried to get a paid domain, they are asking for credit card. But as I started my blog in march, I want to move it to a self-host as soon as possible. Kindly answer some questions to help me:
1. I want a paid hosting and paid domain name that will accept direct deposit to their account, bank draft, cheque etc. Is there any in your knowledge?
2. I am Indian, which company will be suitable for me to purchase domain and hosting. Indian company, or other?
3. Can I pay any foreign company without credit card?
4. If I must need a credit card to get a paid domain and host, please suggest me from where to get it.
Great post
I have a question. I am recently using blogger. If I take a new domain, or transfer my blog to some other address (wordpress etc) , is it require to wait 6 months again for adsense? (I am from India).
Thanks.
Yes, you need to wait for 6 months after purchasing a new domain.
thanx a lot harsha . . .
iam having some 140 backlinks to my blog, if i switch to custum domain will i loose all backlinks?????
Engineer
You will not. All your link juice will be 301 redirected to new domain. 🙂
Great tips, i have recently switched to a custom domain from blogspot.
That’s good because when you will migrate to wordpress after some time, that will be an added advantage for you in terms of PR and link Juice.
Really nice post Harsh… Buying a domain name is not a big task but its very difficult to a chose a domain name.
You talk about ‘seriousness’. but to be honest, if you are serious about blogging, you should buy a domain, buy a hosting package and install wordpress 😉