Google Domains and Blogger Site

You may have noticed but this Don't Need Much Money website is built through Blogger. The reason I chose it is because I think it is the only free blogger website where you can use your own custom domain. Since Blogger is owned by Google, the best place to purchase your domain is from Google Domains. It is super easy and super affordable to built a website like this, but there are a few nuances to keep in mind.

Pointing your Blogger blog to your custom URL

The first issue I found is the sequence to follow to point your blog to our custom URL. Once you purchase your domain, you want to use Google Domains to point to Blogger. Don't use Blogger to point to Google Domains. To do that, follow these steps:

• Log into domains.google.com and click on the URL you want to use (assuming you've already purchased it).
• Click on the Website tab and click the Blog box.
• Click on the sign into Blogger button and log in. 
• You should then see a box with your blog name. Make sure the settings are the way you want them and click submit.
• Wait a few hours (even up to 48 hours) and your website should now publish on your custom URL.

If you accidentally used Blogger to point your domain, follow these steps to reset it:

• Log into Blogger and go to Settings
• Scroll down to the Publishing section and click on your custom domain.
• Click Delete to delete it from the Blog. Don't worry, you still own it.
• Go to domains.google.com and clock on your custom domain.
• Go to the DNS tab and go to the Blog hosting section. 
• Click Delete to remove the blog settings.
• Go to the Website tab and click on "add a forwarding address". Choose something generic like google.com.
• Open up a web browser and go to your custom domain. In 1-2 minutes, it should now auto-forward to the website you chose.
• Once it auto fowards, you can now go back to Google Domains and follow the right directions above.

Google Ads

The second funny issue is getting Google Ads to start working if you want to start to make advertising money from your blog. For this, you need to create a Google AdSense account. Once you've done that, follow these steps: https://support.google.com/blogger/answer/1269077?hl=en

• Log into Google AdSense.
• Click on the Sites tab and add your custom domain.
• Then click on "Request Review".
• Log into Blogger and click on the Earnings tab.
• It should now say that Google is getting your blog ready to show ads.
• Check back every day or so to see if Google has finished their review. If you get an error, research what is going on and try to fix it.
• Then once approved, click where and how you want the ads to show up on your website and Google should start to give you a share in the advertising money from your website.

Google Analytics and Google Search

The last funny thing with Blogger is getting better intel on your website traffic. Blogger comes with a simple traffic tracker in the Stats tab. But for more detail, you'll want to create a Google Analytics account and Google Search account. This is the easiest process. Just create an account in both and add your custom domain. In a few days, data should start to be populated in both places. Google Analytics will give you info on traffic to your site and Google Search will show you how people are finding you in Google Search.

Blogger is a pretty great platform considering it is free. But like all free things, you get what you pay for. Follow these steps to make Blogger an even better tool.