Domain name is ugly

I have this new blog running for a few months now. It is not well-updated because of my busy schedule and it doesn't have much traffic either. After completing my exam, I get back to this blog to post something and I did some keyword research. Accidentally, there are searches appeared and it is related to my domain name.

It is not really a bad thing but my domain name gives a different impression to other people and now I hate the name. I've searched for new domain name and I found a few new choices. Now, my questions are:

1. Is changing domain name is a bad idea?

2. I already have quality backlinks from my current domain name and I will loose traffic if I change my domain name. Considering that traffic is not that good, does it still mean that I have to start from zero again?

You can redirect your old domain to your new one which will keep some of the link juice as well as send traffic to the new site.

However, only you and the progress you made can be the judge of this one.

If you are really stuck on the edge, something to help you make a decision should be whether the brand name (old and new) is available on all of the social media platforms as well as youtube.

SeanAustin said:

You can redirect your old domain to your new one which will keep some of the link juice as well as send traffic to the new site.

However, only you and the progress you made can be the judge of this one.

If you are really stuck on the edge, something to help you make a decision should be whether the brand name (old and new) is available on all of the social media platforms as well as youtube.

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This is also giving me headaches..gosh. I've been thinking to start fresh

I was in the same position as you about 3 weeks ago. Decided to start fresh but my cercumstances are most likely much different than yours.

Consider:

Length of domain
Brandability of domain
Availability of domain on other platforms (facebook, twitter, youtube etc.)
Existing link profile
How attached your audience is to your existing brand

Good luck but don't sweat it to hard.

It is a hard decision when you've spent time building an audience. Whether to start from scratch really depends on how much you have invested in the current domain. A redirect is an option, but you most-likely are doing much to build your brand, which would be counter-productive. Starting fresh has it's advantages, if you feel like your time and money are well-spent to get back on the right foot. You may get new momentum you can build more organically. No real yes or no answer here.

Based on what you said (your current site has low traffic and little content), it's a good time to get a new domain. 301 redirect the old one to keep the link juice and funnel any old visitors through. This time, choose a nice name (brandable if possible) and maybe get a new look (logo etc) too. For a couple of $'s you could gain a lot and not lose any of your old visitors or backlinks. It's definitely worth doing.

Boostsoftware said:

It is a hard decision when you've spent time building an audience. Whether to start from scratch really depends on how much you have invested in the current domain. A redirect is an option, but you most-likely are doing much to build your brand, which would be counter-productive. Starting fresh has it's advantages, if you feel like your time and money are well-spent to get back on the right foot. You may get new momentum you can build more organically. No real yes or no answer here.

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Yeah, I get what you meant there. There is no real answers. That's why I'm asking everyone's opinion for consideration. I didn't spend much on this website because I want to keep it for long-term investment and I'm not rushing to make it profitable. This is a new niche that I am interested in.

If you only need organic traffic then the nature of the domain name does not matter. Or If you are looking for branding and type in traffic then changing the domain seems like a good idea.

seocrab said:

Based on what you said (your current site has low traffic and little content), it's a good time to get a new domain. 301 redirect the old one to keep the link juice and funnel any old visitors through. This time, choose a nice name (brandable if possible) and maybe get a new look (logo etc) too. For a couple of $'s you could gain a lot and not lose any of your old visitors or backlinks. It's definitely worth doing.

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Yup, low traffic but not so low content. I don't have time to promote this blog. I just created it in a hurry. At first I thought that it will not go live but when I searched for my website, it is live (WTF!) so I post some article. I will consider your option, thanks..

BuildMoreLinks said:

If you only need organic traffic then the nature of the domain name does not matter. Or If you are looking for branding and type in traffic then changing the domain seems like a good idea.

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I need both traffic. The website is promoting Amazon product (physical product) and I have an Amazon store in there. The blog part is for organic.