User Comments

1. 

   2/29/08

   whojaybe

   Yes, you should switch to your own domain name and you can always redirect people to that new address. Honestly, you should have did this when you first started the site because with the new domain name, it will affect your ratings like Alexa, Compete, etc.
   
   I actually wrote about WHY you should have bought your domain name when you first started at www.datmoney.com/2007/11/buy-your-own-domain-name-before-you.html
   
   But no, you will not lose your posts.

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2. 

   2/29/08

   latinocool79

   what about traffic? Will I lose some traffic?

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3. 

   2/29/08

   lupideloop

   Not really an expert on this, but I suppose you could always post an announcement on the blog explaining the change and providing the new url so that your readers may update their links!

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4. 

   2/29/08

   latinocool79

   true but my question is not about the people who already know my site but those who find my through google. Will that change? I am afriad that the search results will not include my new domain.

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5. 

   2/29/08

   TonyB

   At 20,000 visits a month you are playing a risky game if you get your own domain name. There are ways to pass all that google juice to your new domain however there will be a delay and it isn't guaranteed that what you do (whether a redirect or passing juice via a link) will work.
   
   What I would do is create a new blog with your own .com domain. Pass as much google juice from your current blog to the new one. You are obviously good at what you do, so at some point in the future the new blog will do just as well if not better then your current one. At that time you can decide whether it's worth the risk of closing your current site and passing all your pr to the new one.

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   1. 

      2/29/08

      bloggernoob

      great advice siteproplus. too risky for that much traffic. keep the blogspot blog and just create a new blog. just try to do what you did with your blogger blog on your own domain.
   2. 

      2/29/08

      latinocool79

      Well, it is a good advice. However, my succesful blog is about learning esl english for free and I am afriad in duplicating content. If I do duplicate is this allowed? I mean, I would just plagarize my own work but will or could google see this as a trick and put my page in a sandbox?
   3. 

      2/29/08

      TonyB

      Yes definitely DO NOT duplicate the blog or posts from it.
      
      I was suggesting create a new blog on a different though perhaps related topic. Then use the search engine strength of your current blog to drive traffic to the new one.
      
      It's a way to reduce your risk associated with not owning your domain and start to move some of the equity in your current success into a blog that you control the domain name.
      
      In a year or so, your second blog will be strong enough so that you can then start migrating everything from your first blog including the search engine juice.
6. 

   2/29/08

   latinocool79

   I will be poundering on this for a while. What scared me is that google at any moment can delete my blog if they want to. So much work for nothing.

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   1. 

      2/29/08

      Aprilfreelance

      Back up your blog posts currently running, even if you have to copy and paste each one. That way, if Google does blindside you, you won't really have lost them.
      
      I have to agree with what SiteProPlus said. You can keep the same topic and just post different material on each. Or, take some of your old posts from the current blog, rewrite and update them, and put them on the new one. Having your own domain is well worth the time and effort.
   2. 

      2/29/08

      latinocool79

      thanx April, I will take that in consideration when I make up my mind. I just do not know if this blog will continue growing. I actually am starting to get calls and have met a student that contacted me here in Peru and gave him classes at my house.
7. 

   2/29/08

   happyfoodgirl

   I just did, because search engines have an easier time indexing your site, and you tend to get linked to by the bigger blogs.

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8. 

   2/29/08

   Sylvia

   Just something else to consider, your blog is doing well with blogger...don't mess with a good thing.
   
   I would leave it as is and as Sitepro suggested start a new blog.

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9. 

   2/29/08

   latinocool79

   Good point. And you know, just when we are debating this, blogger (blogspot.com) is down hehe. YIKES

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10. 

    3/02/08

    LeisaWatkins

    You can do a permanent redirect from your old posts to your new posts. It would take a while to get each page redirected, but if you did it right it shouldn't really affect your google rank that much. There are some wordpress plug-ins that make it easy.

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    1. 

       3/02/08

       MadameX

       Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that blogger allows for that option.
11. 

    3/02/08

    mikeny07

    I kinda like blogger. I don't think I will ever get a .com
    
    If you get a .com people also think you are a company and that will put a different feel for the site.

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12. 

    3/02/08

    walletss

    What about If you go from a blogger account to dot com site hosted free by Google?
    They will let you register your blogger account as a dot com for ten dollars.
    I have a question about that.
    If you later want to move that dot com away from the free google hosting to another we host, do you still own that dot com?

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13. 

    3/02/08

    dzrbenson

    Create a redirect page on blogger and redirect all visitors to the new domain.
    
    Or create the new .com and create a 301 redirect until the new url is high in rankings then turn it off, and you should be fine

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