What are the key benefits of upgrading from a free blogspot.com address to a custom domain name?

Upgrading from a free `blogspot.com` address to a custom domain (e.g., `yourblog.com`) offers several significant benefits: 1. **Professionalism & Branding:** A custom domain looks far more professional and established, enhancing your brand identity and credibility. 2. **Memorability:** Custom domains are typically shorter, easier to remember, and simpler for users to type, improving user experience and direct traffic. 3. **SEO & Authority:** While Blogger handles redirects well, a custom domain allows you to build stronger brand authority and long-term SEO equity. It gives the impression of a more serious, independent online presence. 4. **Ownership Perception:** It reinforces the idea that you own your content and platform, rather than being a subdomain of a larger service. 5. **Future Flexibility:** If you ever decide to migrate your blog away from Blogger to another platform (like WordPress), having a custom domain makes the transition much smoother, as you only need to update DNS records, not change your blog's core address.