Every one knows you “have to have a blog to get ahead in real estate marketing.” At least, that is what many of the gurus tell you. And it’s true – sometimes.

So, let us assume you have decided you need a blog, and have also decided that you wish to host it yourself on your own domain name. This actually makes the most sense. It is a little more work than one of the free options I wrote about last time:

You need a blog to get ahead in real estate marketing

So why would you choose to host your own blog rather than use a free one and what is the best way to go about doing so?

It offers almost total control and much more importantly – allows you to carefully select some of the keywords you will want to target. This site for instance-

Luxury Property .com

Any guesses as to some of the keywords we wish to attract? Silly question but when considering a domain name for your blog, vital. So, let’s say you are a luxury property agent in Little Rock, Arkansas.

A quick search at who.is.com tells me that the domain name luxurypropertyarkansas.com is available. You can take it from me that if you are wanting to target the keyphrase “Luxury Property in Arkansas,” this is a good starting point, and if I was a luxury real estate agent in Arkansas, I would be snapping up this domain at the bargain price of $5.99

Luxuryrealestatearkansas is taken by the way. But it is a dead site and I suspect for sale if anyone is interested.

Do not be persuaded to buy any of the other domains such as .biz, .net, .org, .anythingbutcom. They are available for a reason. Only buy them to prevent others from doing so or to redirect to your main .com domain.

So, let us now assume you have decided on a domain name and it is available. The next step is to buy the domain. Nothing could be easier. I usually use godaddy and it is a matter of a few mouse clicks and giving them your details and credit card.

Now you have your domain and the next step is to buy some hosting. I use bluehost.com for my own domains, but there are no shortage of hosting companies.

The other thing I recommend is to buy the domain from one supplier, but host it at a different company. That is why I buy them from godaddy but host them at bluehost. Just in case.

Next step is to transfer the domain to your hosting company. This varies from company to company, but is, once again a matter of a few mouse clicks. Instructions will be found on whichever hosting company you have chosen’s FAQ page.

Now the fun starts……… to be continued. And if anyone wants to buy luxurypropertyarkansas, I will happily talk you through the process. Leave me a comment.