Welcome to Part 1 of the Blogging on a Budget Series. I hope to break down each level of blogging and providing tips along the way when money is tight.

Domain names are the first thing a visitor recognizes. It makes a statement. You could be the poorest person on the block but you got a sweet domain name. That domain name can do nothing for you or it can dramatically help.

Fortunately, domain names are cheap now-a-days. But, how cheap? How cheap do you want to be?

To some people, $10 is not cheap. That is what the average domain name costs on a typical domain name registrar. But, have no fear my budget-centric bloggers! I will attempt to lay out how, who and where I recommend to look for domain names.

Things to Consider in a Domain Name
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Decide on a .COM, .NET, or .ORG (or other)

Almost always you should try for a .COM if possible. But, depending on your website and aim – this can depend. The .COM domain name is the most recognizable on the internet and Google seems to play nice as far as ranking you in search engines the highest with this ending. It gives you the most “brand credibility”.

Private Registration

Do you want private registration? Private registration allows you to replace your information with a private one so nobody can tell you own the domain.

Private domain registration will typically cost you a little extra (~$7-$10/year)

How Long To Register Domain

Decide on how long you want to register the domain for. Obviously, the longer you register it for – typically the cheaper the price. But, the standard is 1 year. Then, you just renew it at the end of the year.

Finding the Best Domain Deals

Domain deals come on almost daily. At any one time you can find a multitude of deals for various domains.

Most times you can find a deal for $0.50 for a .COM domain name by simply searching Google for “cheap domain names” and then looking on the top and side of the google search results for the latest domain deals.

I regularly see deals from the Big Domain Registrars like 1&1 Internet, GoDaddy.com, Namecheap.com, and Register.com to name a few.

Recommended Domain Registrars for On The Cheap Bloggers

1. NameCheap: I personally used NameCheap and was able to get a domain deal at the time for 99 cents plus FREE Private Registration. They are a trusted domain name provider and you can get a domain name at anytime for ~$8-$9 PLUS Free Privacy Registration. Plus, each month they have various discount codes to give you a discount on a domain or hosting.
2. Register.Com: Famous for the 50 cents domain registration deals if you search through google for “Cheap Domain Deals”. You do not get free privacy registration but if that is no concern to you then many times you can get a domain name for less than
3. GoDaddy: If you don’t mind weeding through a few advertisements during checkout then you can get a domain name for less than $1 a lot of times with them. Again, doing this by searching “cheap domain names” on Google.
4. Network Solutions: Another cheap domain registration service if you search Google for cheap domain names. They advertise regularly on there for 50 cent domains.

Coupon Resources for Domain Names

1. RetailMeNot.com – A great source for checking for the latest coupons for domain deals.
2. FatWallet.com – Another site similar to RetailMeNot with a bunch of coupons for domains.
3. Google – Just Google for the Registrar’s name plus ‘coupons’ and if there are any available than they should come up.

Amazing Free Chrome and Firefox Extension for Coupons

I learned about this neat Chrome & Firefox extension that you can install in your browser called Honey. It will automatically search for the latest coupons around the web at Checkout to see if it finds a coupon. Then, it automatically tries to insert it into the “Promo Code” section.

Great extension to at least try if Honey supports the site you are at. I have probably saved hundreds of dollars since using it for over 6 months. It is easy and convenient!

It works for thousands of sites on the net – not just domain deals. I love it. And, its FREE!

To learn more about it go to JoinHoney.com

Blogging on a Budget : Domain Names Summary

You can get an extremely cheap domain name and find some great deals if you spend a little time. $8-$10 is not much money for a full year domain – but why stop at that when you can possibly get one for even cheaper and save a few dollars.

Here are my steps when looking to find domains for a cheap price:

1. Google “cheap domain names” and look at the latest advertisements at the top and right hand side of the page.
2. I check RetailMeNot.com & FatWallet.com for domain deals.
3. All else fails – I go with NameCheap because I like how clean, simple, and professional there site and checkout process is.

As simple as obtaining a domain is – if you take the time to decide on a great name for your site and then do a little research you can save a few dollars and possibly pay under $1 for a domain!

These are my tips and how I go about finding a domain deal – if you are looking for more information on choosing a domain than A Sweet Pea Chef did a great article on How To Pick a Domain.

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