There are few popular blogging platforms including Blogger, Typepad, and WordPress. So why should you use Google’s Blogger? Because it’s free and has a strong backend infrastructure support from Google. Although free hosting is a bad idea, Blogger doesn’t compromise on features, and it’s easy to get started.
Once you get a custom domain of your choice, you can start blogging with a small investment. This step-by-step tutorial will help you register a domain name and connect it with your blog. I assume that you already have a Blogspot blog.
What Is a Custom Domain?
You do not have to be a technically savvy person to set up a custom domain, but it may help to understand a few key blogging terms.
Domain name: They’re a vital part of internet infrastructure. Without them, you would need to remember the exact IP address for each web site you visit.
Domain extension: Also known as Top Level Domains or TLDs, it refers to the last section of your domain name. For example, “.com” is the commonly used domain suffix.
Domain registrar: These are companies like Namecheap, GoDaddy, Google Domain, and many others that host or manage domain names for an annual fee.
Many newbie bloggers who begin with a free blogging platform or hosting don’t invest in a custom domain. They keep on blogging for several years with the blogspot domain
Buying a Domain Name Is Cheap
Registering the domain typically costs between 10-$15 per year. Google doesn’t charge anything for hosting the content on Blogger. There are many domain registrars available, choose anyone and stick to it. Unlike WordPress.com, you don’t have to pay any money to set up a custom domain on Blogger.
Personal Branding
A custom domain helps you to establish your blog as a professional brand. They also look better in advertisements, business cards, and in other marketing material. It also removes the impression that you’re using a free blog for promoting spam.
Better Exposure in Search Engines
A blog with a custom domain generally gets higher search engine ranking than blogspot.com domain. You’ll also get new readers, search traffic, and social media credibility. Having a custom domain also ensures trust among other website owners and increases the chance of backlinks.
Portability
If you decide to get a full featured website in the future, it is possible to switch to a different host yet keep the same domain name and search engine rankings. But if you use a blogspot address and later on change to a custom domain, you lose all the domain authority, backlinks, traffic, and analytics you had built up.
