One of the first decisions you’ll need to make when ou decide to havea blog is whether to self host or have it hosted by the blog platform. It is highly recommended that you self-host. Here’s why:
1. Full control – As a business owner (or even a personal site owner), it’s critical that you have complete control over your blog. Your blog is part of your business and it makes sense to want to be able to design it, modify it and access it when and where you want to. Hosting it yourself ensures you have this level of control.
This also means you can create a website or blog that is 100% unique. You can focus on highlighting your brand personality and creating a strong image in your industry.
2. Domain name. Having your own domain name is very important. You need to be able to do some keyword research and have a keyword-rich domain name. When you’re hosting your website on a blogging platform, for example http://yourblogname.wordpress.com, your domain name has two unique challenges.
(1) Your hosted blog on a blogging platform could be shut down at any time for various reasons.
(2) Your blog address is much harder to remember.
Self-Hosting your blog yourself means your audience won’t have to remember a long web address and you can choose any URL you want which is better for search engine rankings.
3. Promotion. Platforms restrict what you can do on your blog. Many don’t allow affiliate promotions and they don’t allow you to sell ad space or participate in PPC to make money. Host it yourself and you can sell or promote whatever you want on your blog.
4. Security. Blogs are frequently hacked if hosted in securely. And while security generally isn’t an issue, if your blog is attacked, you need to be able to get onto the blog and clean things up. If your blog is hosted by someone else, you can lose information or be locked out of your account and that is perhaps the worst thing that can happen to a blog owner – again, it all boils down to having 100% control over your business.
5. SEO. Do you want to drive traffic to your blog or to the platform? If you want linking to boost your SEO then you absolutely must self-host your blog. Otherwise you’re just improving the popularity of the blogging platform.
6. Image – Your professional image is affected if you don’t own your blog. You’ll have long email extensions that include the domain of your host. Self-hosting your blog/website just looks more professional.
For more information on hosting, choosing the right domain name and how to find a profitable blogging niche, contact Premium Web Design and Hosting today.
Would you like a Free Guide on Guest Blogging? Guest Blogging is a great way to increase traffic to your website even if you don’t have a blog of your own.
Complete the form below:
To your success!
Glennette Goodbread, Owner
Premium Web Design and Hosting
This post is part of the 30 Day Blogger Challenge and the Ultimate Blog Challenge.
