After you’ve determined the niche domain name you plan to use for a profitable blog, the all important next step is to register it to a domain registration service.
GoDaddy is one of the easiest domain name registration services available on the net. Within minutes you’ll be able to register your domain and begin setting up your profitable blog.
In this post, I will show you how to easily register a domain name with GoDaddy, utilize coupon codes to save money and setup your account to keep track of your domains.
Why GoDaddy?
There are many domain registration services available on the net but from my experience, GoDaddy offers one of the easiest. Domain registration takes only minutes once you’ve determined your domain name; from there, it’s just a few clicks away to finish the process.
A few additional reason why I like GoDaddy are:
- Cheap domain pricing
- Email reminders for expiring domains
- Bulk registration on domain extensions
- Back ordering services
- Easy domain transfer
There are certainly other domain registration services which warrant your business but to keep the post going, I would go with GoDaddy.
Step-by-Step Guide To Registering Your Domain Name
The following is a quick guide to registering your domain name on GoDaddy. If you already know your niche domain name, this process should literally take only a few minutes.
1. Claim your domain name
Visit GoDaddy.com and type in the domain name you wish to claim within the ‘Start Your Domain Search…’, then click ‘Go!’.
If the domain name is available, you will be greeted with this screen:
If you are happy with the domain name, click the ‘Add’ button next to the accompanying text.
Insight: For the purpose of this example, I am buying the domain bestduilawyerinfo.com. If you remember from the previous post about choosing a profitable niche, DUI has a very high pay per click but it does have a very high competition. We’ll see how this goes in the future.
Before you click Add, make sure you:
- Check for misspellings
- Are happy with the domain name
- Is a profitable domain name
- Fits your niche for SEO or branding
You may also want to buy the .net and other domain extensions if you don’t want major competitors at a later point.
2. Log in or create an account
Now that you’ve started the process of buying a domain name, GoDaddy will require you to create an account – unless you already have one.
Account creation is quick and requires a few major fields to be completed:
- First and Last Name
- Address
- Phone
- Additional optional info
3. Choose your domain registration length and certification
For best practices, you should try to invest 2 years worth of registration.
It’s highly debated but many say that the longer you register your domain, the greater search engines love your site. This is due in part that many spammers will only buy a 1 year registration because the know the site won’t stay up long; search engines supposedly give a nod toward those that show they are investing in their website.
Insight: For the purpose of this example, I’m only going with a 1 year registration.
You may also want to certify your domain at this time. This simply verifies the domain is registered to you and gives you the ability to display a badge which says so.
Insight: From my experience, unless you are registering an eCommerce website or major business website, certification isn’t really necessary – save your $2.99.
4. Privacy & Domain Protection
GoDaddy allows you to purchase a few additional upsells which protect your privacy and registration through their service.
The standard protection will work on most websites but consider some of the additional benefits of upgrading these features:
- WHOIS registration
- Expiration protection – so you don’t get sniped by squatters
- Protection from malicious or accidental transfers
- Matching domain names – if you want all of your web property
Insight: Keep in mind that many of these upgrades can be purchased at a later time – if you feel the need to pick these up, you always have the possibility in the future.
We’re not going to buy any additional privacy and domain protection upsells and move onto finishing up registration.
5. Activate Your Domain
GoDaddy provides a wide range of additional items when you buy your domain name:
- Domain email – this would show up as yourname@yourdomain.com.
- Web Hosting – it’s alright but there are better hosting solutions out there
- Shopping cart, SEO, etc – these features aren’t really necessary as you can either learn these items or get them from dedicated 3rd parties
Go ahead and click ‘checkout’ to continue with you purchase.
Note: When you click ‘checkout’ you do not purchase the domain just yet so don’t worry about finalizing anything.
6. Apply coupon codes
Here’s a great point to save some more money while picking up your domain at GoDaddy.
One website which provides coupon codes is RetailMeNot.com. On RetailMeNot, simply type in GoDaddy to find coupons people are sharing which can reduce your order by a percentage or dollar amount.
Insight: At the time of this writing ‘cjc749fat‘ is a valid coupon code to bump your domain down to $7.67. I will try to keep this updated but if you ever need a current coupon code simply visit RetailMeNot.
7. Review your order, choose your payment type, agree to the terms and check out!
I personally am still a bit conservative with keeping my credit card information on various websites and use my PayPal to purchase any domain.
This also helps avoid any possible mix-up where you could possibly be re-billed automatically if you selected the option at any time.
I suggest you read over the terms of service by GoDaddy to make sure you agree with their policy – at least the first time you pick up a domain.
Afterward, continue with your checkout.
Note: Depending on how you decide to pay, you will either be taken to a form to fill in your billing info, jump to paypal or the appropriate form for your payment method. For security, I’m not going to show this screen because, well, you know..
8. Confirm your order
If you’ve made it this far, congratulations on taking this HUGE step to setting up your profitable niche blog.
The first time you register a domain, it’s a bit scary but once you get the hang of it – you’re a pro!
Check your email for receipts of your transactions. Save these emails or print them out just in case you need them at a later point.
You’re Done!
As you can see, registering a domain on GoDaddy really isn’t all that hard and is fairly cheap when you apply a coupon code.
Now that you have your domain registered, you’re one step closer to creating a profitable niche blog. If you’ve applied what you’ve learned previously about choosing a great domain name, you’ll feel you’ve made the right decision with your purchase.
Here’s to your success, cheers!
Great guide man. very helpful for beginners
.
Thanks for sharing this great Post.
~Dev
.-= Dev | Technshare´s last blog ..How to Build a Great Brand for Your Blog =-.
Hi Murray,
You could have knocked over with a feather when I opened this post this morning. Talk about great minds thinking alike.
Cheers to your success!
Tammi
.-= Tammi Kibler´s last blog ..Editing My Writing: Knowing When to Say When =-.
Hey Murlu, I like the way you presented a good detail about registering a domain name in Godaddy.com
One more article done in How to start a profitable blog series ….I can’t wait for you to finish all the posts in the series.
Keep it up brother….
@Adam
Thanks a ton man, the series is coming along – I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I believe the later sections are going to be very interesting for everyone so be sure to stay tuned
I also plan to show the registration with 1&1 for those that want different options. This should give people a wider choice on different registrars
I would also add that GoDaddy has one of the cheapest SSL deals around. This is great for me, as I have a newsletter where members sign in but not everyone can read the content. It’s also key for e-commerce where people have to register and pay on your website.
.-= Jennifer Barry´s last blog ..Tigers, Tea, and Technology, Part 3 =-.
@Jennifer
Great expansion on the info Jennifer, security does play a huuuge role especially when running eCommerce or doing any selling online. It’s better to take that small fee compared to getting in big trouble if you get hacked or leak important customer data.
Hey Murray,
Nice to meet you Murray. I just finished replying to your comment you left on my blog. Thanks for that. That’s the beauty of blogging. I more than likely wouldn’t have landed on your blog if you hadn’t left a comment. I always try to return the favor when someone visits my blog so here I am.
Nice step-by-step instructions on registering a domain. I’ve been doing this for a long time and it’s just second nature for me but I wish I had something like this to follow the first time I had to do it. It would have saved me tons of grief.
Later,
Jeff Sargent
.-= Jeff Sargent´s last blog ..Five Steps to Building Your List With Giveaways =-.
@Jeff
Thanks for the kind words Jeff – I agree, the first time I set up a domain I was really nervous, I was afraid I’d accidentally end up buying multiple things I didn’t really need. I tried to make the guide as straight forward without the extra fluff and upsells.
@ Murlu: For $30 a year it’s totally worth it. SSL makes you look professional and like you know what you’re doing. Many customers won’t buy from you if you don’t have it.
.-= Jennifer Barry´s last blog ..Cool People Wanted =-.
Hi Murray,
Great step-by-step tutorial! Where were you when I needed you? But in all seriousness, that would be really helpful for someone just starting out.
Great job!
Ilka Flood
The EnlightenedNetworker
.-= Ilka Flood´s last blog ..Not Ready to Step Out of Your Comfort Zone? =-.
I just moved all of my domains and purchased several more over to GoDaddy. It was easy but it was kinda annoying that they checked off additional features that coast extra to my cart and I had to spend a few minutes trying to figure what they added and remove it before I purchased.
The support staff is also very helpful and they helped me during the transfer process when the loosing register kept saying the issues where not their problem but mine or GoDaddy’s. It turned out to be loosing register’s issue and the ammo GoDaddy gave me help me get things sort out quickly and easily.
.-= element321´s last blog ..14 Useful Articles for Bloggers, WordPress Users, and Social Media Users =-.
@Element321
Thanks for the comment James – sounds like a pretty good experience overall, a few hiccups along the way but as long as it works out in the end it’s all good