Buy your domain name sooner than later!

[GrammaticalArt]

I was putting off buying my domain name until I had time to build my stand alone commerce site. Why spend the money when you don't need to, right? Then I started to think about it and you can buy your domain and redirect it to your Etsy shop! You can buy it GoDaddy or some other domain registry site and set it to automatically forward to your shop.

I highly recommend doing it. Mine has only been live for about 6 days and my Google Analytics show it as a source of 10% of my traffic! You don't want to lose your domain name to someone else and I think some customers mistakenly type your shop name then .com as opposed to your shop name .etsy.com, you know? Plus now I can add the .com to my business card before I get my stand-alone up!

I just wanted to share that with you. It's a minimal cost to do and you can have it working for you before you actually have time to do anything with it haha.

[BlacknickSculpture]

That is good advice Natalie! I bought my domain name through GoDaddy a few weeks ago.

[Former_Member]

Good idea, Natalie! Even if you don't open a website, owning the domain name is probably a smart thing to do from the get go. Then, when/if you are ready to launch a site, you don't have to worry about someone else having your domain name that you want!

[Former_Member]

I made sure to purchase a domain name as soon as I opened up & had decided on the name of my business...much easier for people to remember a .com than .etsy.com and it just looks smarter on business cards.

[GrammaticalArt]

You were smart, Dan! I wish I had done it sooner! It's so easy.

[sunshineandvodka]

agreed! I did mine a year ago and certainly don't regret it for the money it costs!

[BlueDogWorkshop]

I also purchased mine right when I set up shop and use it for my email. I currently redirect it to my blog but I wonder if it would be more effective if it pointed directly to my etsy shop? Especially since I am not that good at keeping my blog up to date. Something to thing about...

[Former_Member]

Natalie, I do the same thing. my name.com is directed right to my etsy shop, and I get quite a bit of traffic from it. I also think it's good to own it, just so if someone comes up with the same name there isn't any confusion.

[Former_Member]

Thank you for posting this thread.

Use this coupon code for 73% off registration at godaddy: LKS295V expires end of this month.

I was also putting off buying the domain name just because....I have no real reason. Just bought mine, but already made my business cards. Now I'm hoping my cards do not look too amateurish...

~ Sarah

[Former_Member]

wow so glad that I saw this. have been putting off buying my domain name for that very reason. didn't see the point until I got my other website off to a good jumpstart.

Can you please explain how you set it to direct traffic to your etsy shop?

[GrammaticalArt]

It depends on which company you buy it from. When I bought mine from namecheap.com (there was a nice coupon), it allowed me to set up redirect right when I bought the domain. I would Google redirect and whichever company you buy it from to see how to do it. It's pretty simple and may take a day it two to actually go live, but worth it!

I had business cards made with just my etsy.com site and I don't think they look amateur! I am waiting to run out of them so I can order the ones with my .com, but I'm not in a rush :)

[Former_Member]

Thanks I need to look into it

[Former_Member]

thank you so much for explaining that natalie:)

[RadicalWorks]

I've been contemplating getting a domain name for my shop, but I feel I don't have a strong enough customer base in order to do so.

But as I tell people, "Fake it 'till you make it", so I have to pretend I'm a big business site in order to get attention like one!

[Lilpumpkinboutique]

I think as cheap as domains are it's best to buy one as soon as you settle on the name of your shop. You never know what's going to happen in the future!

[MelsCreativeWishes]

Good idea, will have to look into it

[JensVintageStyle]

marking!

[Former_Member]

i say make sure your domain is free before naming your business and buy it before anything else. my domain redirects here, but i used to have my own site. but as etsy has added more features and improved i have decided to just have my stuff here and just back it up.

plus its a built in plan b, all my cards direct people to my dot com not het, though it redirects to etsy, it means i can change providers if need be or do other stuff and not have to print new cards.

[ThePartyDeeva]

I purchased mine as well a few months ago.

[Former_Member]

Just bought mine, now I don't have a clue what to do next! ...lol

It's mountfablejewels.com ... all mine!

[drudruchu]

Great idea, and good point that if you ever decide to leave etsy for whatever reason, people can still find you on the same url.

[ElsieStyle]

I don't get what redirect refers to. How can .com take you to your website AND Etsy shop?

[DingandKennie]

Same here. Mine is thorugh name cheap and it's directed right to my shop.

[krochetlady]

I purchased mine sometime ago, but I don't know how to redirect it to my shop. Can someone tell me how?

[Former_Member]

I have a domain name for my vintage shop, but not for this one -- this thread is making me realize that my other shop might be bringing customers in from Google searches (per Analytics & Etsy Stats) because of this reason.

Thanks for the tip!