I had started my Blog two years ago without much info about Blogging.
Before Blogging, I had got many articles, stories, poems etc published in the leading magazines and newspapers.
I am aware of the kind of situation one has to go through to ensure that a written-work gets published!
But, in Blogging, one just has to express one's thoughts by typing them out & then hit Publish!
Hey Presto! We have published our posts in Cyberspace!
As I shared in the first sentence of this post, I had no clue about the finer-details about Blogging (even now I don't know much & am still learning, but at least I know a bit more than I knew 2 years ago!)!
I opened a Blog in Blogger that too because of my sister's insistence & persistence!
Having opened my Blog in Blogger, I got the .blogspot.in name in my Blog - www.anitaexplorer.blogspot.in
I was advised by many to go for my own Domain-name.
Alok Vats, SEO, Writer & Blogger- www.inewsindia.com and www.techacid.com, has written many posts about Blogging. Alok had a huge role in convincing me. To quote him:
"Honestly Anita, why I tell everyone to blog for their own domain name is
because people don’t actually remember the Blogspot or Wordpress.com
domain names, but when you have your own domain name, people will surely
remember it with your name. Thus, now you will blog and people will
remember your blog's name as well."
Own domain name is considered good and shows a serious Blogger.
It proves beneficial in the long run & posts rank higher in the search-results.
I applied for my own Domain Name based on Alok's guidance in his post - How To Move BlogSpot To your Own Domain Name.
Now I have www.anitaexplorer.com
It feels nice & important to have my own Domain Name.
The links of my posts, that I share, are now smaller as anitaexplorer.com in the link is smaller than anitaexplorer.blogspot.in :D
But, here are five points I wish to share-
1. My Blog's Followers & some other gadgets, were broken with the following Error Message-
"We're sorry...
This gadget is configured incorrectly. Webmaster hint: Please ensure that "Connect Settings - Home URL" matches the URL of this site."
I was concerned that perhaps I had lost my Followers! I contacted the Google Forum for support & got a prompt reply from Nitecruzr of The Real Blogger Status.
I can now relax & be patient for the new URL to take effect.
2. My Alexa & other Blogging ranks have sharply plummeted, dropping to the lowest in my Blogging-career, as my Blog now has a new DomainName or URL.
This can affect those who have applied to 'exclusive clubs' that are based on the ranks.
3. I had to request the Blogging Networks/Communities to update my Blog's new URL.
4. I have to start out with new 'links' viz. earlier I had '180' links for my blogspot.in URL. Now, the links & popularity for the new Domain Name - www.anitaexplorer.com has to be built... (I am told that the links will also be forwarded to the new Domain, but not to sure how that will be as now the Blog address is different and links need to be built.)
5. This is treated as a new Blog & Google has to do a lot of indexing and my blogspot.in as well as the new Domain name both are appearing in the search-results now!
These are some initial hiccups that should sort out after the 'Migration' or 'Transition' period.
Hope all is well soon!
Waiting & hoping for the best!
Do you have your own Domain Name or plan to apply for one? Do share your views...
Congrats on having your own domain name :) And thanks for sharing the other details:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Anu.
DeleteMy pleasure! Glad you liked this :)
Thank you so much Anita for saying so many good things about me :) As far as your point number 4 is concerned, don't worry about the number of links, though your blog is new, but all the previous blog's ranking and links are actually coming to your new blog only. It's a 301 redirect and Google does gives value to all the rankings and links of the site which is 301 redirecting to the new domain.
ReplyDeleteYou deserve it, Alok :)
DeleteGrateful for your help.
Lovely to learn about my concern #4 that the previous links will come my way too! I wasn't too sure. Need to wait till the end of the Transition period :) Thanks for the confirmation.
Keep up the good work!
Trust me its all worth it in the end :) Many wishes to more success to you :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Siddhartha!
DeleteYes, that's what all the experienced Bloggers say :)
Best wishes to you too!
Woohoo you have your own domain now!! Awesome, you deserve it! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, Soumya :)
DeleteCongratulations, Anita! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks a ton, Aayesha :)
DeleteCongrats Anita. Way to go!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Vishal :)
DeleteYay! See, how good it looks now with just .com up there. Congratulations Anita :) Best Wishes and many more success awaits :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Shanx :)
DeleteWow Anita congrats. I too am like you. I have no idea of blogging at all. my daughter told me to open on Blog spot and i did that's all and all i do is pen some lines and publish. yes I often read @Alok Vats's posts on technology and stuff but since i am a novice in this I keep ignoring his advice. thanks for sharing the details of moving off into your own domain. i am less then a year old in this so i am not yet ready to do so. but good luck and best wishes.
ReplyDeleteSo glad your daughter introduced you to the Blogosphere, Nima :)
DeleteYes, Alok Vats has been advising in his informative posts.
In case we plan to go for it, the sooner we have our own Domain name, the better.
Do wish I had the knowledge earlier.
Thanks for your wishes :)
Congratulations ..:)
ReplyDeleteAll Gadgets work fine with custom domain even..
May be some other error is there
Thanks Ankur :)
DeleteJust waiting for some more time for the Migration/Transition to entirely take effect. Will contact the Support team after that.
When it comes to gadgets it dont take so long .. as this is mere a dns redirection .. it has got nothing to do with gadets .. did you entered the dns setting manually or simply uploaded google dns into godaddy dns management ?
DeleteI need help with this then, Ankur.
DeleteI entered the DNS Settings manually in the required page.
Still waiting as the maximum time-period is 1 week for Transition. Hoping all redirection happens automatically :)
Congrats and celebrations
ReplyDeleteThanks Rahul :)
DeleteWow....congrats :) Things will fall into place soon. Even I wish to have my own domain name...thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Sushree :)
DeleteGo for it. Shubhaarambh :)
Best wishes to you too!
Congratulations, Anita for being the proud owner of a domain name:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Rahulji :)
DeleteCongrats Anita, I have been toying with this idea of having my own for a long long time now , and then i went into hibernation for 2 years .. But recently a couple of people I visit have done that and have sort of given the idea back to me .. I think I need to do that .. The only fact that makes me wait is first I am lazy :) and the other is I have no clue how to go about it .. I have asked many if they can send me a step by step .. but sadly still awaiting ..
ReplyDeleteI am sure everything will fall in place and the ranks and all , I am not sure why that should worry you, you have a lovely blog and people who visit will always come .. so dont worry about the ranks :)
Bikram's
Thanks Bikram for your lovely words of support.
DeleteYes, even I was delaying the process due to similar reasons- lack of time, knowledge & procrastination :)
Do check out the posts of Alok Vats - www.inewsindia.com
Pretty detailed & easy to follow.
Best wishes to you :)
Congrats on the domain name :) Well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Shailaja :)
DeleteCongrats dear :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Priya :)
DeleteCongratulations Anita....I have taken notes from Alok Vats's blog, now I know someone who have this practical experience in the recent days, I guess I will have to have a one-on-one with you :D
ReplyDeleteThanks Vidhya :)
DeleteSure. You are most welcome! My pleasure :)
Congrats on the new move, Anita...
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot, Vinitha :)
Delete