Dear Diary,
Today we'll talk about choosing a domain name.
Professional bloggers and fun bloggers alike usually prefer having a specialized web address (Url) to having a subdomain name under the blogspot or wordpress domain because of its advantages.
ADVANTAGE OF HAVING A DOMAIN NAME
ad
The advantage of having a domain name as opposed to a subdomain name is the professional outlook attached to it.
Domain names tend to give your blog or website that professional flair and seriousness.
Domain names tend to give your blog or website that professional flair and seriousness.
Visitors and advertisers usually take blogs published under a specialized domain name seriously, more seriously than those publishing as a subdomain under a hosting site.
In fact, some ad serving companies, like bidvertisers and propeller ads, do not serve ads on blogs or websites publishing under a subdomain.
Psychologically, given that domain names have their cost implications, visitors and ad serving companies believe that anyone operating under a domain name is either adept to blogging or is taking it as a craft or both, and as such would strive for enhanced and quality content.
This belief may be unfounded, anyway; this assumption is not supported by empirical studies.
It is important to note that you do not need a domain name to own an Adsense account.
I will say, therefore, that domain name is nice to have but not a prerequisite for profitable blogging.
This belief may be unfounded, anyway; this assumption is not supported by empirical studies.
It is important to note that you do not need a domain name to own an Adsense account.
I will say, therefore, that domain name is nice to have but not a prerequisite for profitable blogging.
DISADVANTAGE OF HAVING A DOMAIN NAME
The only downsides of having a domain name is the cost implication. You will need to spend some dollars or your local currency for a domain. Also bear in mind that domain names are usually not bought outrightly; they are bought and period renewed periodically (usually annually).
Therefore, you will need to budget for it.
THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN CHOOSING A DOMAIN NAME
ad
It is important that you get it right at the first time; otherwise, changing your domain name subsequently will adversely affect your brand.
First, you tend to lose the search ranking your domain name (URL) may have accumulated over the period you operated under your old domain name.
Secondly, you'll definitely lose visitors and patrons who may not be aware that you have changed your domain name.
Therefore, so much craft and thoughts shoulf go into choosing a domain name.
In other to get it right at the first time, you will need to consider two important factors:
1. the subject matter of your blog:
Your domain name should readily tell your readers what your blog is all about. For instance, if you intend to focus on tech news, be sure to have a domain name that creates that impression in the mind of your visitor.
Domain names are like branding; they sell your product in your absence. Do not confuse your visitors.
However, do not be too specific while choosing a domain name. Give yourself some room to expand in the future if and when you intend to .
For instance, if you intend blogging about a special kind of dogs, do not choose a domain that specifically hints at that particular dog. Instead, choose a domain name that hints are dogs or canines; in case you later intend to blog about dogs generally in the future.
However, do not be too specific while choosing a domain name. Give yourself some room to expand in the future if and when you intend to .
For instance, if you intend blogging about a special kind of dogs, do not choose a domain that specifically hints at that particular dog. Instead, choose a domain name that hints are dogs or canines; in case you later intend to blog about dogs generally in the future.
2. consider popular keywords in the subject matter and incorporate them:
Having had a clear thought of the field or industry you intend to focus on, you should then consider the popular keywords in that field.
You should consider adding one or two of those popular and widely used words. This helps.
It tells a search engine what your blog is about and help rank your blog. This, in turn, generates organic traffic for your blog.
If users are accustomed to searching for those words, then your blog will continue to pop in the search engine given that search engines display results base on keywords. This will definitely translate into traffic if you have quality content.
If users are accustomed to searching for those words, then your blog will continue to pop in the search engine given that search engines display results base on keywords. This will definitely translate into traffic if you have quality content.
ad
OTHER THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHILE CHOOSING A DOMAIN NAME:
a. Keep it short: short domain names are easier to remember;
b. make it easy to spell and pronounce: this way, you do will not lose traffic because your visitors are misspelling your URL;
c. Avoid special characters like hyphen, underscore, commas and full stops: special characters are most times confusing to your visitors. As a result, they may forget them while attempting to visit your blog or website and end up in another blog or website;
d. Also avoid double letter or characters: they can confuse your visitors and funnel your traffic to another blog or website.
No comments:
Post a Comment