Two of the services recommended in our web application directory offer some valuable insights on how using your own domain name, instead of a sub-domain, can boost your website traffic and / or increase sales. But this is not the only advantage. With a custom domain you also have ownership and control over your online identity so that if necessary you could move from one service to another, whilst retaining your branding. On top of that, you can even change your domain name provider and take your web address with you similar to switching your number between mobile phone companies.
Here is what hosted e-commerce solution Shopify and social network hosting service grou.ps are saying about using custom domains:
"Choose a good domain name for your store. Having your own domain rather than using the subdomain supplied with your store adds credibility and professionalism. Choosing a good name can also increase visitors to your store. When I registered DrChristophersHerbs.com I saw an increase in sales due to the keyword density of the name itself. In fact, 66.74% of my traffic comes from search engines, most of them searching for "dr christophers herbs" which corresponds with my domain name. - Addison Kirk of DrChristophersHerbs.com" - via the Shopify blog
"Fact: our custom domain users generate 4x more traffic than our users who are use the grou.ps domain name." - via @grou_ps Twitter
So if you are serious about your online presence, it clearly makes sense to invest in your own web address.
