Once you have determined the name for your blog, buy a domain! You can purchase a domain through many places: godaddy.com, fatcow.com, bluehost.com are just a few popular sites. They really are inexpensive and godaddy often has coupon codes.
I would also encourage purchasing the .com, .net, and whatever other dots you think are applicable. Do a search and see if any come up. Search in google – never search on one of the domain sites because chances are if you do that domain will be GONE soon after! I think they have robots buying up searched domains or something (not sure if that’s true but did you notice I’m not a .com? :)
Also, purchase any other name spelling variations. A blogger I know has an “S” on the end of her domain. Another person purchased the domain without the “S.” Whatever reason this happened is irrelevant. The other person surely received hits from people inadvertenly leaving off the “S” in direct traffic or google searches for that domain name.
When you buy the domain, it’s easy to get it set up with transferring to your blogging platform. Your domain service will be able to walk you through the steps.
| Action Plan: To echo yesterday’s tip on naming your blog, now you just need to buy the domain for your blog name. Buy any variations that are relevant too. Think in the future and buy up other sites that could be spin-off sites for your blog. |
The series will resume on Monday with discussion of platforms, SEO and more!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks! I need to do this next!
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Good advise. I purchased the domain with the name that people were calling me and still do. Actually they say, Wow, your like the Bionic Woman….well, not quite yet. I did think it was a good idea to check into though.
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what exactly is a coupon code
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mommysnacks Reply:
June 27th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Grace, you know the little field on your order screens online that says “enter code here?” That’s a coupon code. You can find those for godaddy on retailmenot.com. Hope that helps!!
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I am illiterate when it comes to this subject, computer language is a foreign language to me. Seems like Google makes it easy and affordable though I am unfamiliar with what to look for….how do you feel about Google??
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@Grace @mommysnacks,
Just as @mommysnackes stated, “the little field on your order screens online that says “enter code here?” That’s a coupon code.” I found a couple great Godaddy.com promotional codes that work 100% of the time. They should be used where Godaddy.com says “enter code her” at THE END OF YOUR TRANSACTION!
The codes are as follows:
OK1 10% off entire purchase
(the purchase has to be over $10 for OK1 to work)
OK30 30% off .com or domain renewal
*Please note that only ONE code can be used during a transaction*
@Retro mama
Google’s platform for blogging is blogger. I would recommend using Wordpress instead. You can use one of their standard themes or purchase one and import it. All in all, they are cleaner and mor eorganized looking compared to Blogspot.com blogs.
I hope this helps both of you!
~Sara
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mommysnacks Reply:
July 1st, 2009 at 10:14 am
Sara, thanks for answering the questions!!!
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Thank you so much for all the tips! Do you have to pay monthly hosting or just buy the domain? Also, is it true Wordpress only allows ads for VIP blogs?
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mommysnacks Reply:
August 1st, 2009 at 10:02 am
Christine, you typically pay a monthly hosting fee. Sometimes you can get a cheaper rate if you pay annually. Also, you would buy the domain, set up wordpress, then get the hosting company and set your domain up from there (instead of mommysnacks.wordpress.com).
You would use wordpress.org to create a blog that allows Ads (wordpress.com does not allow it). I did a post on the difference of the two platforms here.
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