Buy Domain Names...
If you want to start a real online business, you have to buy domain names. Sure, you can use the free services like WordPress, Squidoo or Hubpages, but those aren’t the best and they certainly don’t project a very professional image.

A domain name will usually cost around $10 a year and a hosting account will cost around $6 a month. That isn’t a huge expense (though I know that to some people that may still be more than they can afford, and if that’s the case, get started using the free methods and upgrade as soon as you can).

But if you can afford it buy domain names for your business. Don’t cheap out. This is your own little “piece” of the internet and it can help you establish yourself as the real deal and not just some fly by nighter.

Another benefit of having your own domain name is that you actually own it. You can do anything you want with it. If you rely on the free sites you don’t own a thing and you have precious little control. If the site thinks you are doing something you aren’t supposed to be doing, they will shut you down.

They have that right and they don’t have to tell you about it in advance and they don’t have to (and won’t) listen to your explanations, they will just shut you down. That is not the optimum way to run a business, you need more control than that.

Another advantage of having your own domain name is that if you pick out the right name, the name itself can help drive traffic. For example, if you have a site about dog training and you’ve found that the keyword “Simple Dog Training Tips” gets a ton of monthly searches, than you can use that keyword for your domain name: “SimpleDogTrainingTips.com”.

Since your domain name is also a keyword that gets a lot of searches, your site will show up high in the search results and you can get a lot of extra, free, traffic that way.

I hope you see the importance of having your own domain name. And don’t think it’s complicated either, it’s easy to buy domain names. Just because it doesn’t cost very much and it’s easy to do, don’t underestimate how important it is to the success of your business.