John Mueller Discusses New Top Level Domains

Google’s John Mueller discussed the New top-level Domains (nTLDs). There are many types of domains that SEO marketing agencies and webmasters can use for their website, and one could customise their site address to match their products and services. nTLDs are a new type of domain that can provide SEO agencies and website owners with new benefits.

First, there are generic top-level domains found on most common websites, such as .org, .net, and .com. Secondly, there are Country Code top-level Domains (ccTLDs), which are websites associated with other countries, like .ru and .uk. Lastly, there are sponsored top-level domains, like .mil and .edu.

A person asked John Mueller about nTLDs and some of its examples. According to Mueller, this new type of domain is basically a generic top-level domain that consists of a keyword. For example, .tool, .shopping, .dentist, .marketing, and .job.

Next, Mueller explains the benefits of using nTLD keyword domains, as well as the way the search engine giant indexes such websites. According to him, they treat all nTLDs just how they do with other generic top-level domains. This means that there are no additional benefits in using nTLDs or other value in using country or city names in the top-level domain.

However, if a business website finds a domain name that matches their products and services or the theme of their content, then they can opt for a New top-level Domain and maintain the website in the long run.

He also said that businesses and webmasters do not get any SEO advantages if they use a well-matching nTLD. This is because, from an SEO point of view, Google does not treat such domains better than other generic top-level domains.

In the past, Google had a different way of treating generic top-level domains and ccTLDs. Google relies on such domains to determine the signal of which country the website is from. By doing so, the search engine can display the website in the local search result that uses a country code domain.

For this reason, SEO agencies in the USA might not see websites ending with a .uk on the search engine results pages, and why Ireland Google search users may find .ie domains.

Google stated in their support page about internationalisation that if a website has a Country-Code top-level Domain, like .fr or .ie, then the site is already related to a geographic region – in this case, the country France or Ireland.

And because the search engine treated ccTLDs as a ranking signal for geographic localisation, many businesses and webmasters wondered if Google preferred other kinds of domains over top-level generic ones.

For instance, this has led the SEO community to believe that .edu domains rank higher on the search engine results page than other generic top-level domains like .com. However, Google insists that they do not treat .edu websites differently.

Businesses and website owners need to know the aspects that may not give advantages for SEO, and using nTLDs is one of them. There are many other factors that one should consider before assuming that it is indeed a useful and efficient SEO tactic.

Moreover, Google’s system algorithms keep on updating several times a year, and it is safe to say that many more changes are coming to the SEO industry. Website owners should always be on the lookout for more updates as using outdated techniques may either harm their SEO efforts or prove ineffective after the algorithm changes.

Therefore, it is highly recommended to work with expert SEO marketing agencies who can provide you with the right information and services when it comes to boosting your website rankings. Here at Position1SEO, we have a team of experts who will make sure that your website’s SEO is in good hands. That way, you can focus entirely on your business work while you leave all of the intricacies of the SEO process to the professionals.

Dial 0141 846 0114 or email us at office@position1seo.co.uk if you’re interested in our free SEO audit and affordable packages!