When it comes to a domain name, we’re constantly perplexed as to why food bloggers in particular insist on using free blogging platforms which leave their food blog as “myfoodsite.blogspot.com”, “myblog.wordpress.com” or “cookingwithme.typepad.com”. There is no doubt that the all of these blogging platforms are commonly used, but there are many important reasons why you should dump your subdomain and get your own domain name.

Your food blog is your brand
Food blogs should be treated like a brand, and a domain name is essential to building your food blog brand. By establishing your food blog with a domain name like “www.foodblogname.com” you’re supporting your brand. You’re making it easier for people to find and share. Like with all brands, the intellectual property becomes an asset of your brand, while using the subdomains add no real value.

Be taken seriously
All serious bloggers want to be taken seriously, and running your site on a free blogging platform doesn’t provide any real credibility to advertisers or advertising agencies. It sends a signal that you’re not in it for the long haul because you’ve never taken the steps to formalizing your blog with a domain name. We want to ensure your hard work pays off, and will no longer accept food blogs without an original domain name.

Audience numbers
Around the globe, audience measurement tools used by media buyers analyze the audience numbers on a domain-by-domain basis. As a result, when you use a subdomains, your audience is bundled into that website’s top level domain name. For example: “foodblog.blogspot.com” will only aggregate the audience of “.blogspot.com” instead of individually counting your site. So, from an audience measuring perspective, your site will lose its ranking without a dedicated domain name.

Cost of a domain name
An average “.com” domain name should cost around $10 for a two year registration (your domain registration should be renewed annually to keep it current). If you require it, web hosting averages $100 per year. Domain and hositing site www.godaddy.com provides domain registrations, as well as a wide range of blog hosting platforms.

SEO advantages
By having your own domain, there are tremendous advantages from an SEO perspective. You’ll reap the long term rewards when people link to you, but when someone links to a sub domain, the top level domain reaps the benefits.