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.com or .com.au? How country-specific domain names affect SEO and Google AdWords performance

August 20, 2009 on 5:46 pm | In Google Adwords, SEO | 26 Comments

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Many people ask me what implications “domain name class” have on SEO and Pay Per Click (e.g. Google AdWords) rankings and results.

“Domain name class” is another word for “Top Level Domain”, or the extension on the end of your domain name (e.g. .com, .net, .com.au). In particular, you should know the implications that country code top level domains (or ccTLD for short) can have on your search engine marketing efforts.

ccTLDs and Organic Search Engine Optimisation

Should your “main” website URL be a .com.au if you’re primarily targeting Australia?

Yes.

A site with a country-specific top level domain will rank better in that country than elsewhere, although you do see other websites with other countries’ ccTLDs ranking in google.co.uk, google.co.nz and so on.

If you’re primarily interested in targeting Australia, you should definitely go with a .com.au domain.

If you’re interested in targeting multiple places, the tactics get a little more involved, but for one nation, this is fine.

Another option is to go with a .com (or .net, .org, etc) but geo-target the domain to the correct country within the domain’s Google Webmaster Tools account.

This presumably works just as well, but a .com.au is really a sure thing in terms of telling Google where your intended audience is.

ccTLDs and Pay Per Click (e.g. Google AdWords) Performance

How about ccTLDs and Google AdWords performance?

The domain name you display in your ads or “Display URL” can certainly influence the click through rates and performance of your ads, and a country-specific domain name (YourSite.com.au) will nearly always perform better than the .com (YourSite.com) for users in the target country.

In some cases, the effect can be large (50% or more), which helps to increase your click through rates and decrease your average cost per click.

If you operate in multiple markets, then ideally you should test multiple ccTLDs in each market — and as a general rule you should avoid serving ads with the “wrong” ccTLD in foreign markets.

If you’re targeting multiple countries and you can’t get hold of a ccTLD for certain countries for whatever reason, then a trusty old .com works best. Bear in mind that in our tests, .com domains normally perform better than .net, .biz or other extensions — but your mileage may vary.

You have to test.

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26 Comments »

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à very interesting article , i already knew that the domain names had effects on ranking , but i never thought it could also have influence on addwords …

but as your said a good old .com still is the best if you don’t want to worry too much ,and if you’re not targeted one specific country

Comment by téléassistance à domicile — August 20, 2009 #
You know, I’ve never had to deal with a problem like this before. Generally my clients are based in the US and I always direct them to “.com” if at all possible. I’ve found the “.us” to not work as well, but I haven’t really seen it hurt anyone either. I kinda wish I had a few clients outside the US now, just to try out this theory.

Comment by Minneapolis SEO — August 21, 2009 #
This was a very good read, Im in Canada and I have not had much success with targeting local traffic, and I just realized it was because I am using .com and not .ca domains

Comment by Safe and Secure Online — August 21, 2009 #
This is very helpful information. Most of what we do is US based up to this point.

We’re considering developing sites to sell in Australia and the UK in the future.

This is the first time I’ve had to consider Domain Name Class or Top Level Domain.

Thank you.

Comment by Childrens Beds — August 21, 2009 #
This is the first time I’ve read about this. I keep learning new things everyday!

Comment by Roger — August 22, 2009 #
Usually even though I do not specifically have the intention to geo-target, generally I feel that a .com works best overall. This is taken into consideration that maybe later part the domain will have a resale value as .com will be more widely accepted. Even then, if you are really an seo geek, you will find that there is also an option to geo-target which is available in google webmasters tools.

Comment by sockyee — August 23, 2009 #
Aha, this would explain a few things with my account. Thanks for the post!

Comment by gurgle — August 24, 2009 #
I have a sister-in-law from Germany asked me how we can combine efforts in marketing similar products in her country. After reading this, I feel comfortable that we can accomplish that without competing with each other. Thanks for the tips.

Comment by Pen Whitening — August 26, 2009 #
Does domain names really influence google adwords? I dont know abt it.. thanks for sharing

Comment by samta — August 27, 2009 #
Very interesting article i never thought that has an effect on google adword since domain extensions has absolutely no effect on SEO . They are simply categories of Internet domain names. Thanks for sharing this it’s give me more ideas…

Comment by gilbert — August 28, 2009 #
I have been using other CCTlds to target other countrys, but I never thought to apply that to pay per click. Thats a great idea!

Comment by Zartwork of Long Island — August 29, 2009 #
Google did however just release a press release stating that they are now putting less relevance towards the domain ending. I.e .com will rank better for UK markets if google feels the information is relevant.

Comment by Leicester SEO — August 29, 2009 #
Yes.

Comment by Will — August 30, 2009 #
Country specific Domain names rank higher when a query is really related to the location. The .COMs work well in nearly all cases, they always get the remembering advantage.

But, as far as I know, the domain which is more SE optimized gets better results that the one which is not irrespective of the ccTLDs.

Comment by Tech-Freak Stuff — September 1, 2009 #
if you are really an seo geek, you will find that there is also an option to geo-target which is available in google webmasters tools.

Comment by Telehandler — September 1, 2009 #
It makes sense that search engines would give a higher priority to a country specific domain. Thanks for the info!

Comment by Local marketing — September 2, 2009 #
Great Post…..A very interesting article , i already know that the domain names will effect on ranking , but itill now i dont know that it could also have influence on addwords…..

Comment by Auctions — September 3, 2009 #
With regional domains gaining higher rankings its interesting to see that .com domains are still worth a premium. I believe that most domainers consider the .com as a primary branding domain with regional domains as secondary.

Comment by Martin Sanders — September 4, 2009 #
Beg to Differ.

I play in some very competitive health niches in OZ and com.au prefix means jack, as far as Organics are concerned. May have at some point however, however not today.

At this point in time the variable with the most weight in as far domains are concerned seems to be Exact Match Domains. Who knows with the Caffeine update this may change too..

Comment by Don — September 8, 2009 #
Hi Don — what do you mean by exact match domains — where the domain name is www. YourKeyword .com(?).

Comment by Will — September 8, 2009 #
I believe that most domainers consider the .com as a primary branding domain with regional domains as secondary.

Comment by zenostore — September 29, 2009 #
@zenostore ……except if the regional domain represents your main target market.

Comment by Will Swayne — September 30, 2009 #
Honestly, I only stick with .com domains. The .com is universal and just makes your site look a lot better

Comment by godaddy coupons — October 4, 2009 #
I have competitors who are ranking high with .com on Australian searches. Similar backlink profiles to myself, but what I notice is that they also have .com.au redirects to their .com page. Perhaps that helps as well to have both domains?

Comment by Custom T-shirts — October 22, 2009 #
[...] of countries who wish to use languages based on scripts other than Latin. This is significant as it’s generally agreed that having a local ccTLD will have a positive impact in search engine rankings in [...]

Pingback by IDNs and the Potential Impact on Search | Outrider Search Blog — November 10, 2009 #
The general rule is that you can’t go wrong with a .COM domain, but apparently, if you geo-target, there are other options… Anyway, it’s nice to see someone researching the subject.

Comment by new deals — November 20, 2009 #