When to Lay Loose With Your Website Domain Name & Not Spend Too Much Time On It

The Exception to the Rule

You normally want to take your time with your website domain name. However there are a few instances where a website domain name isn’t as important as it usually is.

Some examples are as follows:

• Creating a classroom website

• Creating a small business website (one that serves a small Geographical area)

• Creating a website for leisure or a hobby (non-monetary purpose)

• Creating a website for a one time event (i.e. Weddings, Birthdays)
   

The above are just a few examples of when your website domain name isn’t as important as it normally would be if your website purpose was longer term and/or for a profit motive where you cater outside of a small geographical area. There are other scenarios as well. But the main thing to keep in mind is the main purpose of your website.

Once you have clearly defined your website purpose, you will have no difficulty determining how much time you should be spending on your perfect domain name. If you are just creating a website for leisure or for a specific one time event, you may not be so concerned about attracting the masses online. Or let’s say that you want a website for your local small business dry cleaners in your city; then getting an online visitor from another city or state isn’t going to benefit you.

This is because dry cleaning is a local business and it is very rare for a customer to travel miles and miles just to save a few cents on getting his pants cleaned. The same applies for a classroom website. As a professor, your audience is limited to only your students. As a student, your audience is limited to only your fellow students and professors.

In any of the above cases, it may make more sense to register your event, your class website or your local company name and create brand awareness locally instead of spending time on Search Engine Optimization (“SEO”) & Search Engine Marketing ("SEM").

For example, let's say that you are coordinating an upcoming local blood drive in Los Angeles, CA (pretend this is your town) and you want people to become aware of the event and sign up. Since your event is local, it does not matter whether you get all the traffic search engines refer to you. All you’re really concerned with are local residents that will be able to participate in your blood drive.

In such instances, you need not spend the time on your domain name that you would have if you had a business that is ongoing in nature with a much broader constituency base. Don’t get me wrong, your website domain name is still important and very much relevant, just don’t sweat it as much if your website purpose fits any of the categories discussed above.

But also remember that in the end no matter what your website purpose is your domain name has to fit your website’s concept and be search engine friendly to some extent. In other words, you can’t have a domain name like "www.the-galaxy-stars.com" if your website is about Horses. So make your website domain name relevant but don’t be compelled to spend a lot of time of it. It’s a personal decision in the end that will depend on how much time you want to put in.

The choice is yours. But rest assured, you will be fine either way you go on this one :)