: In general, does the TLD matter for SEO? I have to choose between my keyword + an uncommon TLD and my keyword with a prefix/suffix + .com. In general, is there a difference for SEO? I think

@Barnes591

Officially Google treats all TLDs similar. But that also means that the uncommon TLD is not worse than .com. A URL has little value for SEO, but there are some other important points which can signify that you will rank higher. If you can get keyword.uncommonTLD instead of a second rate .com (e.g. GetKeyword.com or MyKeyword.com):

Click through rate: If you can manage to get to page 1 in Google an uncommon TLD will make you stand out in the SERPs, where the other nine results are .com. Your keyword in the domain will be in bold, which will also add to the chances of a higher CTR.

Anchor text: When you're linked to it's normal to either use the brand name or domain name as the anchor text. In the case of coffee.club, they managed to rank high for "coffee club" because of the anchor text.

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@Eichhorn148

I wouldn't be surprised if there are more .com sites with strong rankings than there are .co sites. But you should remember that:


there are far more .com sites out there
.com has been on general availability for much longer, so we would expect some very strong websites to have emerged over time


So although you may see fewer .co sites with strong rankings, that isn't evidence that the TLD itself is to blame. It's just a correlation, and we have no reason to believe that Google treats .co sites as less trustworthy or important than .com sites.

As Richard B has pointed out, ccTLDs send a signal about country-level targeting. If this isn't a priority for you, I would encourage you to buy the better brand name with the uncommon TLD. You are more likely to create a memorable name this way. Sticking with your example, I'd be far more likely to remember example.co than the-example.com. The first name is clear; the second clumsy and forgettable.

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@Angie530

Google's page on this is here.

In short, they claim that all a TLD is used for is to help with the geo-targeting. Geo-targeting does have SEO benefit if you are based in a specific country, as results are localised.

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