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What is a Custom Domain? 10 Reasons Your Blogspot Blog Needs One ASAP

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After creating a free blog on Blogger, it is imperative that you take advantage of all the free resources available on the BlogSpot platform; Setting up a custom domain on your blogger blog is one of them.

I actually love the Blogger platform. It’s one of the easiest platforms to start a free blog. I too started my first blog on blogger. And one of the good things about the Blogspot platform is that it is owned by Google and permits easy monetization with AdSense.

If you are not too familiar with that term ‘Custom Domain’, questions on your mind now will most likely be: What is a custom domain? Why do I need one on my blog?

This guide will help you understand what a custom domain is and why you need to set up one on your Blogspot blog.

What is a custom domain?

A custom domain, also known as vanity URL, is your website’s name that appears in the search bars of web browsers. Instead of the free sub-domain name offered by free blogging platforms, a custom domain name, on the other hand, is purchased from a domain name provider.

If you created a blog on a free platform, you will have access to a free domain name like domainname.blogspot.com or domainname.wordpress.com.

A custom domain, on the other hand, will look like: domainname.com, domainname.orgdomainname.net, etc. You may have a look at the list of all the official generic top-level domain names on Wikipedia.

10 Reasons your Blogspot blog needs a custom domain

When you started reading this article, you must have noticed the point where I insisted you get a custom domain for your BlogSpot blog even if you already make money from it.

It wouldn’t make any sense, if after saying that, I don’t provide any good reasons.

So, here are my reasons:

#1. A domain name is cheap

Did you know that domain names generally cost around $10? Yeah… that’s right. You can buy a domain name that cheap on Namecheap (that’s a rhyme). Domain names cost from 0.1 to 12 Dollars. Depending on the one you want.

That’s the price list for domain names on Namecheap. Click here to visit Namecheap now. Make reservations for your domain name ASAP.

See how to choose the perfect top level domain name for your brand or your personal blog.

#2. You don’t pay to set up a custom domain name on blogger

Yeah… you read that correctly, ‘You don’t pay to set up a custom domain on blogger’. I gave a detailed explanation of this in my blogger review.

On other free blogging platforms like wordpress.com, if and when you decide to migrate your free domain to a custom domain, you will have to pay for hosting and other services you get.

Blogger blogs on the other hand, use custom domains for free. This is a huge resource you must take advantage of.

#3. Good for branding

I told you earlier that when you start a free blog on blogger or wordpress.com, you get a domain name attached to blogspot.com and wordpress.com.

FYI, the real domain names in both cases are blogspot.com and wordpress.com respectively. Your domain name is only an extension or a sub-domain of the real domain name.

So, in both cases, the actual brands are Blogspot and WordPress. Now, how do you own your own brand? It is by buying a domain name.

#4. A custom domain name increases your confidence

When I used a free domain name on blogger, this was one of the things that prompted me to go all out and get a domain name.

I didn’t feel too confident telling my friends I had a blogspot blog. This was, however, a problem unique to just me. But I believe a lot of people also face that same problem.

I think the reason for the low-self-confidence is basically due to the bad tag placed on most free blogger blogs. People tend to think you are not serious about blogging.

After I bought a real domain name, the confidence to share my blog name and posts with friends increased. I shared and still share my posts with friends verbally, on social media, etc.

If you currently do not have a problem sharing your free blog name with friends, I must say, that’s huge confidence you’ve got. Please, keep up that confidence.

#5.  Free support from blogger

The Blogger help forum is a place where all questions related to blogger are asked. And guess what, you will not be treated any different even after setting up a custom domain.

Every time I faced an issue with my custom domain while blogging there, I always complained to them, and they provided answers and support in the shortest possible time.

#6. Custom Emails for your blog

I believe you have seen websites that have a custom email. A custom email is always of the form: [email protected], [email protected]. This is only possible if you buy and set up a custom domain name on your blog.

You can use your custom domain name on Google app to get a domain based email address for your blog.

#7. Google Handles all redirection

Most times, people are scared of setting up a custom domain, maybe because they are afraid of suffering a dip in website’s traffic.

I want to make it clear that, your blog’s traffic will not be affected if you set up a custom domain. The redirection is completely automated. You don’t have to carry out any other settings apart from the processes involved in the custom domain setup.

#8. Free SSL Certificates for blogger blogs with custom domains

If you don’t know what an SSL certificate is, let me break it down. It is the green secure logo you see on search bars when you visit websites.

This sign is what informs your visitors that your website is safe to surf and the information shared on it is secure.

This was something that scared a lot of people initially whenever thoughts of setting up custom domain on their free blogs entered their minds.

Formerly, only free blogger blogs were able to use Let’s Encrypt Free SSL certificates on their blog.

I have good news for you! You can also add a free SSL certificate to your custom domain name. You don’t have to use any third party service anymore.

After setting up a custom domain, just click on Settings>>Basic. Click on HTTPS Availability, make sure it is set at Yes. Click on HTTPS Redirect, make sure it is also set at Yes.

#9. SEO advantages

From an SEO (Search engine optimization) perspective, building of backlinks is one of the important ranking factors.

If you are interested in building faster backlinks for your website, then you need to set up a custom domain on it. Reason is that, people don’t link to blogspot blog often. It’s like linking to blogspot.com.

Another SEO advantage you enjoy with a blogger blog setup with a custom domain is that, you get to rank higher on search engines.

Truth be told, domainname.blogspot.com doesn’t rank as high as domainname.com on Google. So, to get a boost on your blog rank, you need to setup a custom domain on it.

Also, in the future, you may be interested in moving your blogger blog to a better platform. like a self-hosted blog on WordPress.

A blog set up with a custom domain will be moved with ease, without experiencing any loss in traffic.

#10. Fast Google AdSense Approval

If you have not gotten approval for your AdSense application, maybe your application was rejected. I advise you set up a custom domain on your blog before applying to Google AdSense.

It is possible to get AdSense approval with a free blogger blog. However, it is a lot easier when you apply with a custom domain.

If you get AdSense approval before setting up a custom domain on your blog, you will need to submit another application and undergo another AdSense review.

I’m sure you don’t want to experience yet another AdSense review on your blog.

After learning all the importance of a custom domain, follow this link to learn how to setup a custom domain name on blogger.

If you have any questions or contributions in regards to this post, feel free to communicate them by commenting below.

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