Changing Blog Focus: Should I change the domain?

[mercuryrising]

I've had this blog here for about 6 months now, but I've lacked any real direction. I didn't define a particular niche and so the blog petered off into personal insights.

So I thought about moving my posts to a wordpress.com site and starting a new blog with more focused content. However, the subject I'd like to write about (Men's Interest) doesn't have anything to do with the domain.

I'm wondering how much it matters what the domain name is. I don't particularly want to mess with getting a new name if I don't have to... Any suggestions?

[SteveWeber]

Wow, that blog has a Google page rank of 4.

I would keep it and begin focusing the posts better.

With a new domain, you will be starting with no page rank and from rock bottom with respect to marketing.

The domain name only matters a very small amount compared to content of the site with respect to ranking well.

[mercuryrising]

Originally Posted by SteveWeber

Wow, that blog has a Google page rank of 4.

I would keep it and begin focusing the posts better.

With a new domain, you will be starting with no page rank and from rock bottom with respect to marketing.

The domain name only matters a very small amount compared to content of the site with respect to ranking well.

How did you find out the page rank?

[blackfm]

I say take a risk and change domains if it makes you feel better.
To succeed you must not be afraid of taking a risk and even failing.
successful guys fail and try again.

• You may keep the same domain, improve quality of content and win
• You may pick a catchy alternative domain and get there faster with mediocre content

Good luck with your decission, you are right either way.

[PhilK]

Hi mercuryrising,

I would suggest you stick to your current domain name and simply change the content of your blog (and perhaps the look if that is your plan). There might be topics where your domain name really wouldn'd fit. As long as that is not the case I would stick to it. You already got a page rank for your site that you can build on.

Off course, a well chosen domain name might help a little with SEO but in my oppinion it is not that big a deal. Take Steve as an example. When he started nobody knew who Steve Pavlina was and probably even less people assoziated his name with such a resource on personal developement articles. Still he made it and his very simple domain name did not do his project any harm.

Get the point? Make up your mind about it real quick, make a decision and start working on your new project. The work and effort you invest into it is where success comes from not a catchy domain name.

Hope this helps you to reach a decision.
Best wishes,
PhilK

[pianoperformer]

I think it depends if you have a lot of traffic or not. If you do, it probably isn't a good idea to suddenly change topics.

Why not continue this blog, and start another about your new topic?

[tedcharles]

Hi mercuryrising,

First things first, your site rocks. My advice is to keep your blog as it is. You've already done all the hard work, so why would you want to start all over again from ground zero?
I can imagine how much effort and time you must have put into maintaining this blog. All you need is to keep updating it with great content. Sometimes, it's ok to divert from your main blog topic. We all do it.

There are various ways to find the page rank:
1) Download and install the Google toolbar from Google Toolbar
2) Enter your url in the Golexa toolbar for a complete page and site anaylsis - GoLexa Search Tool....
3) If you are using the Firefox browser like me, there's an outstanding tool known as "SEO for Firefox".
There are dozens of other useful tools to use.

Hope this helps.

Best of luck.

Ted

[sidsavara]

I see Pagerank 4 too. I would say just start taking the blog in a different direction, make a post to that effect and go. I don't think the domain name is keyword rich, but it's brandable, and IMO that's better.

[blackfm]

As pianoperformer says, you may want open up a second blog front.
By the way great site!
If the new domain name is catchy, I would register it anyway and sit on it for a while.
Maybe blogs will be dead 5 years from now and a new thing will be in...
Maybe that catchy domain may be worth a fortune down the road...
I wish making decisions was easier.

[SteveWeber]

Simply install the Google tool bar and enable the PR feature and you can see the page rank. You really don't want to get rid of that domain. Go ahead and start another if you like but keep that one for sure; you will think of something to do with it at some point.

[mercuryrising]

Thanks for your compliments and advice, guys.

After some consideration, I think I can bring this blog to a different focus without it being too incongruent with the content I already have.

There is another domain I have in mind (which is actually available, surprise surprise). I'll probably buy that one and sit on it for a bit while I develop something new. Meanwhile, keeping up what I got going.

One thing no one told me when I bought a website is that you could have great content, SEO'd all to hell, but it won't get much attention because it is so new. Maybe if you got on something really hot in the moment, you can grab some real traffic. But I think pictures of cats with stupid sayings underneath them causes brain damage. It takes cultivation just like in the real world.

And thank you for letting me know how to look up page rank. I dislike extra toolbars, but I'll get the google one if it will help.

PS I'm adding all of you to the blog roll.