Google Search Engine Localization and the .US ccTLD
I’m going to preface this post by stating I have more questions than answers regarding the topic so if you have answers by all means post a comment.
It is pretty well known that Google does give some preference to a ccTLD site when searching from Google in the same country. As an example, a local business in the UK will have a bit more preference in Google.co.uk SERPs with a site based on the .co.uk (or other UK ccTLD) extension. I think the concept very solid and really gives a better overall search experience.
Does the .US extension fall in Google’s search algo?
I ask because I don’t know and haven’t been able to find any information regarding the question. Google.us redirects to Google.com so by default US users get Google.com as their search engine. I have have no problem with this but from all the searches and comparisons I’ve made I don’t see any bump given at all to sites on the .US extension. This leaves me with a few questions.
Is .COM assumed to be the native extension of US users?
Is there any .US preference when searching from the US?
- If no, is this because the .US ccTLD hasn’t caught on as heavily as other ccTLDs?
-If no, will .US ever get Google search preferences from searching Google.com from inside the US?
As an internet marketer and “domain collector” this topic is fascinating to me. I’ve never been too public about it but I am a fan of the .US extension and think it will become a solid option for US citizens as an alternative to .COM over .NET and .ORG. The extension is already much more relevant from a business perspective and as all TLD registrations continue to rise it may be the only option.
My Opinion
I personally do not think that Google currently gives any preference in it’s algo to .US sites for US based searches. However, I think that as more and more US based businesses see the .US extension as the best alternative to .COM we will see a lot more small to medium sized businesses in the US running on the .US extension. Because of this, I feel Google will eventually make a tweak in the algo to provide a better search experience for US users by giving some preference to .US based sites.
Unless there is some info out there from Google that I have missed or unless Matt Cutts responds to me directly I’m not going to get a definative answer on this any time soon but I’d love to hear what experts in the SEO industry have to say about it. If you feel I’m way off by all means let me know.
One Response to “Google Search Engine Localization and the .US ccTLD”
By
Namehugger on Sep 7, 2008 | Reply
well, if you want to make sure - you can always geotarget your .com, .net, .org or .info to the US. Although i'm like you, i think these gTLD's are already considered targeted to the big US of A.
and - if this is the case - i'd rather keep my .com over a .US - with its existing US ranking and also solid results to my rest-of-world searches (Turkey, Indonesia, China, New Zealand etc). They never cease to surprise me.