Do Domain Extensions Have Any Impact on SEO Performance?
Posted June 22, 2016
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What is a Domain Extension?
A domain extension is the ending of a web address that describes the internet category or country code. There are two levels of domains:
- Top Level Domain (TLD): this is what is typically considered a domain extension. There are over 500 TLD’s but few of these rank well internationally. The most common are .com, .org, and .net.
- Second Level Domain (SLD): this is what is typically considered your domain name. This domain is what you purchase through a site like GoDaddy.
What Are the Most Common Domain Extensions?
By far, the most common domain extension is .com. Approximately 75% of all websites have a .com extension, but with online real estate becoming scarce, new domains are coming on the market.
Here are some common domain extensions:
.com = commercial
.org = organization (usually people think of a non-profit)
.gov = government
.mil = military
.edu = educational institution
.net = network (sometimes thought of as a “backup” to .com)
Until 2013 these were pretty much the choices, but now, new domains are coming on the scene that can end with things like .pizza, .game or .mom. How these affect your search rankings determines to be seen. Some of these domains have a much higher price tag, which hopefully will reduce the number of spam sites on these domains, but price can factor in when a person is shopping for a domain name.
What About Country Extensions?
If someone is primarily planning on doing business in one country, a country domain can help with the SEO strategy. For instance, if the business was targeting users in Germany they could specify a .de extension, which would rank better on Google.de. However, if the business is planning on reaching people worldwide, it would be better not to have a country extension, as the site would most likely only rank well on that country’s web search. So, for instance, someone in America is searching for a product that the company in Germany makes, it wouldn’t rank as high on Google.com as it would on Google.de. This is an important point to keep in mind when deciding upon a country extension.
Which Domain Extension is Best?
There is a lot of debate about the new extensions and how they will affect your search rankings. In the past, the domain name mattered a lot, as sites with specific names were seen as more reliable and turned up better in searches. However, Google has changed their algorithm so that site quality matters much more than domain name. SEO really depends more on quality content, keyword selection, and SEO strategies that are used much more than just the domain name and extension.
However, one way that your domain extension can help in SEO is with converting. People will view a website differently based on its domain extension. Some are seen as spammy and others immediately give a sense of trust (like .edu or .gov – people trust those to be reliable sources of information). Also, some are simply easier to remember. Since the most common is .com it makes sense that most people will remember it easiest. With the new extensions, however, that could be changing. Some experts believe the new extensions will take off and that .com and .net will soon look outdated. However, for now they are the most common and the most often remembered.
Domain names and extensions also have an influence on user perception. They may not factor in very much when it comes to rankings on search engines, but studies have shown that keywords placed before or after the dot can influence the likelihood that a user will click on a site in a search result. The domain can give information, is more likely to be picked if it is relevant, and gives a sense of trust if the site is seen as professional (.com instead of .blogspot.com, for example).
So, How Do You Choose?
When choosing a domain extension, choose one that is compatible with your business, one that is seen as trustworthy, and one that is well-known. Experts have long thought that .com, .edu, and .org rank the best on search engines and that the new domains may hurt your search engine rankings, but there is little evidence of this and not much research has been done. The new extensions are not supposed to have any advantage over .com when it comes to rankings, but they do seem to be the way of the future with good .com extensions becoming harder and harder to find. One problem at the moment is public awareness of the new extensions. Most average consumers are not aware that new domains are hitting the market and may view them as spammy at first. However, since more and more companies and celebrities are jumping on the new TLD bandwagon, this could quickly change.
There is also the concern that Google will change its algorithm to favor shorter and more relevant domains, so the extension itself may not matter much in the future. For now, it seems that the domain extension doesn’t play that much of a role in search rankings, but it definitely does with converting and perceptions of a website.
