Buy your domain name sooner than later!

[#1]

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.

[Former_Member]

I bought my domain name and directed it to etsy for ages, I now have my own site which I made using wix its this super easy way to do it, now I am having my site rebuilt by a pro in html using the site I designed on wix as a template, so its gone a full circle of baby steps to having my own online shop, etsy started it all off!
I also have a page on my site redirecting to etsy as I think anyone familiar with etsy would see it as a credible market and be able to see my sales records feedback and have confidence buying from me.

[VintageCarolina]

I def need to look into this, I've procrastinated.

[ForgedMettleJewelry]

I've had my domain for about 3 years now, even before I had my etsy shop...

[GrammaticalArt]

To those people who are asking what redirect means and how you can do it:

You can buy your .com and when someone types in your .com, it actually sends them to your .etsy.com shop. It's different with each company you buy from. With namecheap, I bought it and when I was setting up my .com, it gave me the choice to pick the url to redirect it to.

The reason that I have it redirecting right now is that I don't have a stand alone e-commerce site right now. So while I putz around doing that, I can still have it work for me by directing people to my Etsy site. I think it's good because some consumers leave out the .etsy(.com) when they're trying to go directly to our sites.

It sounds more complicated than it is. I recommend Googling "URL redirect" and the company that you're buying your domain through to find out how to do so for your particular doman.

Good luck! I promise that it's way easier than I am making it sound. I need to go to sleep! Haha.

[Former_Member]

Great advice! Just got my domain name from GoDaddy. Ended up talking with customer service and they were very nice and helpful and even set up my redirect to my Etsy shop. I have my own .com - I feel very professional.

Plus, if you use the coupon code that SylvanSeas posted above, LKS295V, and you only do one year, it is less than $4. Not a bad way to get started.

[SecretBeast]

I wanted to add something important.

Don't wait to get the domain, especially if it's a good name, easy to remember, short, etc. and hasn't been taken. When I say don't wait, I mean anticipate purchasing right when you search.

Companies do something called domain front-running which basically means they keep track of searched URLs and buy up the good ones, and sell it for an inflated price. I know because it happened to me.

Good Luck!

[MagnoliaManorDecor]

I think I'm going to redirect my domain to my Etsy shop. I have an ecommerce store and I'm losing money on it at $25 per month. Good to hear you get that much traffic from your site. Helped me buckle down on my decision!

[Former_Member]

I really had no idea that having your own domain was so inexpensive! You all have talked me into at least researching it a bit!

I also like the idea of your domain redirecting to your Etsy shop, too. I'm not that web savvy so it might take me a while to get things going on my own site!

Thanks for the info everyone and happy selling!

[Former_Member]

I had been thinking about it but resisted since I haven't had a lot of sales. Thank you for the post it has changed my mind.

[Former_Member]

Thank you! Done!

[GrammaticalArt]

Thanks to everyone else who has added advice and tidbits! So helpful. Yes, getting your domain is MUCH easier than I ever expected. I'm glad I was able to snatch mine!

[AnitaSperoDesign]

I have Go Daddy. Customer service is great!
They made several changes a few months ago and it's even easier.
I am revamping mine...So easy. If you are sick of your site...just hit "start over"...it's great

[Untwistedsister]

I have mine with godaddy. Their customer service is second to none and they will help you by phone. Don't pay anyone to do it for you either - there are horror stories where people ended up with a domain they now didnt actually own!

[SweetNSnappyDesigns]

This is really good to know! I will definitely do this.

As a side note, Nataiie...I took your advice from the other day (maybe last week?) in regards to adding backlinks and I've already seen an increase in my views! Thanks for that too!

[GrammaticalArt]

You are very welcome! It makes a huge difference in views. My highest traffic source this week is my backlinks!

[Former_Member]

My Q about GoDaddy is it states a cost and says 1 year. So after I get my name and use it for one year, how much is it going to cost me to keep it?

[MythOfTheWild]

Is this only doable with godaddy, or can 123-red work with it too?

[MythOfTheWild]

Tina, it renews every year. You'll be charged the same for the second year as you were for the first, and if there are any price changes, they'll let you know. I've used godaddy as my blog domain and I've had no problems.

[CuteActually]

Thank you for your great advice, Natalie!

I finally got my domain name and redirect to my etsy shop last week.
It's much easier to telling friends and customers to visit my shop!

[Former_Member]

great idea..

[TandRHandweaving]

Natalie, thank you for the good information. I am not computer literate and was scared of the .com thing. Your discussion convinced me I needed to get my domain name. Just finished talking with a great customer rep at Go Daddy and in less than an hour I will have my own domain name that redirects people to my etsy shop. A million thanks for helping this computer challenged lady do the next thing!