BENEFITS OF OWNING A CUSTOM DOMAIN NAME
Having your own custom domain name is the smartest move needed for your brand to attain recognition and credibility online. No two blog/website can use the same domain, it serves as a brand identity and helps you get found online more easily.
Including a personal email address that matches your domain (example: support@hakbuzz.com) can help your business to appear more professional to your customers and partners in your online communications.
In this short article, I will explain why you need a custom domain, how to get a free professional email address and where to get the cheapest domain with ease.
WHAT IS DOMAIN NAME?
Domain name is a unique online address that direct people to visit your website when they type the address in the browser URL bar.
A registered domain name is a personal web address that is assigned to one website and can’t be used by anyone else. For example, hakbuzz.com.
REASONS WHY YOU NEED A CUSTOM DOMAIN?
Using a custom domain comes with several benefits, but in this post, I will focus on five benefits of using a custom domain and these benefits include brand appearance, customer trust, domain cost, simplicity and Google search rankings.
1. Custom Domain makes your Brand appear more “Professional”
No one will really take you seriously if you don’t have your own domain whether you’re blogging full time or as a side business. Though, if your blog has superb contents, few people will value you but generally, using a free domain to blog “professionally” keeps you off the vibes except your niche is related to free methods of getting things done. However, getting a custom domain will convince more people and promote your brand. It's very important to invest a token for domain name in order to appear more professional in the sight of your audience. If you are not willing to invest in your blog, how do you expect other brands/businesses to invest in you and your content?
Having your own custom domain shows your commitment to blogging, it helps you build and grow your brand and get paid opportunities as well.
2. Custom Domain Create Customers Trust
Assuming you're into affiliate marketing, using a custom domain that is clearly connected to your business can encourage customers to trust in your brand and make them click the links for your promotions. Scammers are everywhere on the web nowadays, it’s not surprising that people don't click on a URL they do not recognize. A custom domain means that your users can easily recognize and get to your blog without stress. They can also remember your blog link and share it amongst their friends.
3. Cost of a Custom Domain
While generic domains (like: hakbuzz.blogspot.com) provided by platforms are typically free, there is an additional cost associated with using your own custom domain. On the average, the cost ranges from $5 to $15 a year. The price also varies depending on what you’re looking to purchase.
4. Simplicity
Setting up a generic domain is often easier. You won’t need to go through the additional setup to point your custom domain to a specific server or take the time to find the perfect custom domain. A generic domain allows you to get your content on the web within seconds. However, a custom domain name will require you to purchase a domain and a few steps to link the domain.
You can click the below and follow the few steps on how to link your custom domain to your blog. The guide is from Namecheap and it's very easy to execute.
If you need further assistance, send your request through support@hakbuzz.com.
5. It increases your Google Search Rankings
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Switching to a custom domain name is a great move that’s worth putting some time and energy into. It will cost you some token of money, but the investment is worth more than your expectations. It's important to know that search engines prefer to link to root domains rather than sub-domains, using a custom domain improves your search engine optimization (SEO). Having a custom domain is not really a criteria for sites showing up in search results but it’s one of the major factors because search engines look at the root domain on sites as said earlier. A custom domain also reflects that your brand is typically more relevant to what a user is searching for than a generic domain.
WHERE TO GET YOUR CHEAPEST CUSTOMIZED DOMAIN NAME
If you’re convinced about getting a custom domain for your brand, the next step is to decide on your domain name and where to buy one.
Few things you need to know when choosing a domain name:
- Choose a domain name that is easy to type.
- Keep it short: Short and simple is the best way to go. If your domain name is long and complex, you risk customers misspelling or mistyping it.
- Avoid numbers and hyphens: I don't have much to say here but if you're looking forward to domain flipping, this is bad for business. Using this GoDaddy link to check the worth of my two domains (hakbuzz.com and h-webtools.com) to understand the difference (both domains were less than $12 when I bought them).
- Be memorable: Choose something that can be remembered easily like hakbuzz. Hak stands for Hakeem ("my name" & "hak can also be interpreted as hack) and Buzz stands for Business.
- Choose a domain name extension that fits: Extensions such as .com or .net, at the end of web addresses. Make sure to choose the extension that works for your business. ".com" domain extension is the most popular and can be tough to get a short and memorable .com domain name. It will be nice if you can get the one that fits your business.
- Act fast: Domain names sell quickly and they are also inexpensive, so register your favorite domain names as soon as possible.
Cheap Domain Prices
The figures here are based on the current price of the domain as at the time of writing this article.
Note: Some fee might be added during purchasing but the fee details will be shown to you before proceeding your purchase. Fees range from $0.1 to $1.
NameCheap.Com
.Net Cost $7.98/yr and $12.98/yr to renew
.Org Cost $8.98/yr and $12.98/yr to renew
.Club Cost $3.98/yr and $12.98/yr to renew
GoDaddy.Com
Domain.Com
BlueHost.Com
Zoho.Com
HOW TO GET FREE PROFESSIONAL EMAIL ADDRESS
Before you can access a free professional email address, you need to have a custom domain name.
There are several platforms that offer professional email for free as long as you have a domain name but I will focus on one which is Zoho.Com.
According to Wikipedia: Zoho Corporation is an Indian multinational technology company that makes web-based business tools. It is best known for the online office suite offering Zoho Office Suite.
- Open your browser and go to zoho.com/mail.
- Select Business Email and click sign up for free. Their plan will be displayed.
- Screw down, you will see "Forever Free Plan" and click sign up
- You can login with your Gmail account or fill the form to create an account.
- After
login, you will ask to add an existing domain or buy a new domain.
Select the existing domain and fill the form. You will be ask to input
your domain (example: hakbuzz.com), organization name (example:
HakBuzz)and organization type (example: education) and click add
- Click proceed to verify the domain. You will be asked to login to your domain provider to automatically authenticate the set-up or set-up the authentication manually. Choose your opinion. For manual methods, you will be provided with a verification code to add as a text record in your domain provider.
- Go to your domain provider and set-up the DNS record. Click manage, click advance DNS, click add new record, select text record, type "@" sign in host column, copy and paste the code from zoho in value column and click save changes. Good job, your domain is verified by zoho.
- Go back to zoho and set your free professional email. Example support@hakbuzz.com or yourname@domain.com
- Click proceed to setup group then process to DNS map. Follow the same steps you used in domain verification to map your domain.
Click this zoho link to get the full step by step setup or contact me at support@hakbuzz.com, I will be available to assist you with the setup.
SUMMARY
Considering and choosing a custom domain name has its own impact on the online visibility of your business. It's far lucrative and more professional than a generic domain. There are a lot of things that you need to keep in mind when considering to adopt a custom domain name. These includes;
- Your brand appearance
- Customers trust
- Domain cost
- Simplicity
- And Google search rankings.
Knowing the right place to get a secured and good offer domain in one click will lift off the burden of using a whole day searching for the best domain provider. Having your own custom domain helps you to create confidence for your audience and it clearly tells people who you are and what you offer.
Hope these were helpful?
If you need any assistance, comment below or contact us at support@hakbuzz.com.
May your content provide the best solution to your readers.
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