Thread: Build a site for your area, then expand? Or start nationwide?

Hi,

Let's say you were from Berlin in Germany, and were looking to start a fitness related website. Do you call call yourself berlinfitness.com initially, and when you get bigger switch to germanfitness.com? Or do you start out as germanfitness.com even though you wont be covering the whole nation initially?

The pros and cons I see are (when starting as germanfitness.com):

Pros.

You'll never have to change your URL, potentially losing customers in the process.
You wont have to redesign logos etc.
You appear as a bigger company, and therefore more reliable.


Cons.

Site may seem empty and lacking in size initially.


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Is there anything else I'm missing here? Do you have any other advice for me at all please?

Thanks

Start out as German fitness, then you can list local cities on the homepage. If you have nothing to add for them yet you can put a tab there where people could suggest gyms etc for that city so it won't look as empty, or you could always just put under construction next to those that are empty for the time being.

Yeah, that's a good idea. It's got to start as nationwide. It might motivate you more to expand as well.

I am starting mine locally, using a nation wide website name...

If it works locally, I'll expand nationwide, keeping the same website url

Is there a reason in starting out locally other than looking empty?
If not then I don't see why you wouldn't want to go national.