In July’s SEO Office Hours podcast, Gary Illyes answered questions about ranking preferences Google gives to sites using country-level domain names.
Gary confirmed that ccTLDs rank better in search than non-country domains because Google promotes content to the local user.
Here’s the question:
- “When a Korean person searches Google in Korean, does a com.kr domain or a .com domain do better?”
Gary’s answer:
- “Good question. Generally speaking, the local domain names, in your case .kr, tend to do better because Google Search promotes content local to the user.”
Gary also said:
- “That’s not to say that a .com domain can’t do well; it can, but generally, .kr has a little more benefit, albeit not too much. “
Search Engine Journal writer Roger Montti covers Gary’s answers regarding ccTLDs ranking boost on July 19.
Country Code top-level domain SEO value is short-lived
Fast forward a week, and the ranking boost Illyes spoke about sounds a little volatile.
During a discussion on Google’s Search Off The Record podcast regarding internationalization and hreflang implementation, Gary revealed that ccTLDs could lose the rankings boost he previously mentioned, saying the SEO benefit will fade because of creative branding.
Here’s Illye’s revelation:
- “I think eventually, like in years’ time, that [ccTLD benefit] will also fade away.”
Gary further explains that ccTLDs can no longer reliably indicate a site’s geographic target audience.
- “Think about all the funny domain names you can buy nowadays, like the .ai. I think that’s Antigua or something… It doesn’t say anything anymore about the country… it doesn’t mean that the content is for the country.”
Gary explained why the ccTLD change is coming:
- “One of the main algorithms that does the whole localization thing… is called LDCP—language demotion country promotion.
So, basically, if you have a .de domain name, then users in Germany would get a slight boost with your .de domain name.
But nowadays, with .co or whatever .de, which doesn’t relate to Germany anymore, it doesn’t really make sense for us to automatically apply that little boost because it’s ambiguous what the target is.”
In his recent post, Matt G. Southern from Search Engine Journal reports Gary’s views on ccTLD losing their SEO value.
Why you should care
In fairness to Gary, he’s not saying do A one day and B the next. Still, the implications of using a ccTLD based on Google`s ranking preference could become problematic if and when Google decides to remove its SEO value.
ccTLD Vs.com
Soon-to-be new site owners might have a difficult choice based on Google’s mixed messages.
If you’re a small business operating locally, such as a flower shop in Dublin called Hot-House Flowers, then using the ccTLD (Hothouseflowers.ie) would suit your SEO needs.
However, there might be better options than a ccTLD if you sell products in several countries. Such as a .com domain using a local directory folder or a subdomain like hothouseflowers.com/de or de.hotflowers.com
