I do think that certain specialized online dating sites are important, let me explain.

When I first started online dating I wanted to keep myself open to meeting anyone in the world. I connected with people in the UK, Australia, the USA as well as Canada (I am in Canada). I did meet up with people from the USA and Canada. I did not want to limit my chances of meeting someone special.

After several of these meetings I did decide I wanted to meet someone closer to home. If you do, you will find many of the major online dating membership sites cater to more than one country so you can choose your preference. This would only limit you to meeting someone in that country.

The other specialty that I do see can be very important is religion. Many general online dating sites do deal with all types of religions, but if you want to find a specialized site that only has members of your religion you can. This limits to a degree but as I said, religion can be critical to meeting someone and forming a long term relationship.

Most major general online dating sites also have gay dating and lesbian connections available, but if you want specialized sites just for gay and lesbians you can find them. This kind of specialization is important as your orientation is at the core on finding and forming a long term relationship.

As a Baby Boomer I am seeing more online dating sites geared to 'seniors'. I still hate that term, but we know we are headed in that directions so we might as well accept it. Again, many major online dating sites cater to boomers, some specifically. You can also find specialized online dating sites for Baby Boomers. I personally did not use one because I didn't want to limit myself to an age range. You could find someone 10 or more years younger, or older, who is perfect for you.