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Blogger Magic - The Two Queens

If you enjoy single deck card games, such as the magic trick of Three Card Monte, you probably depend upon an unbroken rule.
All cards, in a deck, are unique. There can be only one Queen Of Spades.

Some blog owners don't accept this rule, when setting up their custom domains.
How do I use two domains, with one blog?
This question is vaguely similar to swapping domains between one blog - and there is where some confusion starts.
I bought a second domain for the blog - and the first domain stopped working!

The rule here is quite simple - you can only publish a blog to one domain.

A non published URL, pointing to the blog, will be another URL.

If you want two domains pointing to the same blog, the second domain will simply be another URL - just as the Queen Of Clubs is simply another card in the deck.

  1. Publish the blog to the primary domain.
  2. Forward the secondary domain to the primary domain.
  3. Repeat Step 2, for each additional secondary domain desired.

When you change domains, always re publish, properly.

Step #1 is another trick. If the blog is published to a custom domain, always republish the blog, properly.

  • Publish the blog back to BlogSpot.
  • Purchase and setup the new domain, as necessary - then publish to the new domain.

Always publish back to BlogSpot before re publishing to a new domain.

If you already own the new domain, you may be tempted to set up the DNS addresses, and simply republish the blog from the first domain to the second. Please, don't do this - unless you like seeing
Another blog is already hosted at this address.
This is not the place for useless shortcuts, that simply cause risk and provide little reward.

Take the time, and plan a domain change.

And learn how to forward your domain - this varies, by registrar.

Step #2 sometimes involves two separate tasks. You may need to demand detailed instructions, from the registrar. This makes a dual / multi domain setup not a task for the inexperienced.

Since a custom domain change is guaranteed to affect page rank / reputation / visibility, you'll do well to research and plan this process, before starting.

Especially when planning a custom domain renaming, one should carefully research domain redirection options, as provided by the registrar.

Comments

PE Solutions said…
Excellent, thank you this was very helpful.
Anonymous said…
Hello,
I have learned a lot from your blog- many thanks!

I have a question regarding this issue:
I have 2 domains with 1 blog. The blog is published with the primary domain (with GoDaddy). The secondary domain is with Network Solution and I would like to direct it to the same blog. My questions is:

- How do I setup the Cname? Alias = www; other host = myprimarydomain.com. Am I right?
- Do I need to set up the A record to google's 4 IP addresses?

Thanks!
Nitecruzr said…
Yz,

The procedure for setting up the secondary domain will vary by registrar. I'm not familiar with the Network Solutions CPanel, so I'm not sure what to tell you, sorry.

You simply setup a "301 Moved Permanently" for the secondary domain, pointed towards the primary domain. How the "301 Moved Permanently" is setup depends upon how the NS DNS servers are setup.

You pay NS for DNS hosting, right? If so, now is a good time for you to exercise the rights that you are entitled to, as a paying customer. Ask a NS CSR for advice.
Anonymous said…
Just called NS- I have to pay an extra for it. :(
Maybe I can go around it and hope GoDaddy won't charge me for it...

Thanks again.
Suara Akarumbi said…
Thank God i found this page.I will repair my Blog loss templates tomorrow.
Unknown said…
Thanks so much for your help. I had a feeling that adding a second domain name would delete my first one. Your info is helpful, but a little complicated. I think I'm getting it. I've bookmarked your links and plan on giving it a try soon. Thanks again for your response.
Hi Chuck, THANK YOU for this entry, but since I'm really not into all this hosting business and I exactly want to do what you describe above, can you please explain this:

2. You setup a DNS address for the secondary domain URL, and target the redirection server - as provided by the domain registrar.

My old (now secondary domain) is hosten on GoDaddy.com, the new one on Enom. Both were purchased via Google.

I've logged into GoDaddy and targeted the new redirect as you described in step 2.1.

Now what else is there to do so that my readers won't find a "page not found" when they type in the old URL that has been used for the last 3 years? (The GoDaddy one)

I really need some help on this, I have no idea what a CNAME or a DNS is and I've never logged into the server hosts control centers before. It's all Chinese to me and I fear that I'll lose a lot of readers.

My initial URL was www.wiehundundkatze.blogpost.de
My first custom URL was www.wie-hund-und-katze.com (now I want this to be the secondary URL)
and my new URL is www.catsanddogsblog.com, but it's not really set up yet, I've bought it yesterday (201.13).

Can you help me? Please? :)

Ricky
Nitecruzr said…
Ricky,

I'd like to work on this with you - but using Blogger Help Forums is a much better idea, then using Blogger comments, on this blog.
Sara said…
OK...I commented on another post the other day to ask for help. I think this is the answer I am looking for to point a second domain (multiple domains) to a a Blogger (blogspot) blog Chuck! I HOPE! I HOPE! I will comment here if so to help others. I hope these keywords help other find this article.
Sara said…
Of course a simple forward was all I needed to a point second domain to the same place! Thank you so much Chuck!

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