Getting international SEO right is very important for global brands. And one of the most fundamental optimizations is the domain and URL structure you choose to use.
While Google offers guidelines for using locale-specific URLsSEO information on the topic is limited and sometimes confusing.
Lots of SEO tend to advise the use of ccTLDs in each market Yes you have the resources. Others advocate subdirectories with a gTLD. Heaven help whoever says it subdomains are equally viable. Spoiler alert: Our data suggests they may be.
Therefore, we recently published our study domain structures for international SEO to add some data to this conversation.
At the very least, we wanted to understand how popular different domain structures were. We also hoped that our analysis would reveal some secrets about how Google’s algorithm responds to different domain structures internationally. Below are our key findings.
1. 56% of the first three positions are occupied by ccTLDs
Our data reveals that ccTLDs are the most common website structure in the top three ranking positions globally. This suggests that those who favor ccTLDs are right to do so.
However, ccTLDs can be expensive and inefficient to manage, so keep that in mind and only choose them if you’re sure they’re the right solution for you.
gTLDs without subdomains or market subdirectories are inversely correlated with ccTLDs as you move from position 1 to 100.
Perhaps this is just a coincidence, but it indicates that Google does not favor websites without discernible geographic targeting for this market.
3. Subdirectories are the second most common website structure in the top three positions
Subdirectories appear in more than 20% of Google’s top positions and account for about 20% of all SERP positions, reflecting that they are a popular choice.
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4. Subdomains account for only 3% of domain structures in SERPs, but only dominate top positions in multilingual markets
Switzerland represented the only multilingual market in our study and is the only country where subdomains dominate the top three positions.
For French keywords in Swiss SERPs, subdomains outperformed subdirectories. For Italian keywords, the opposite was true.
5. Portugal is the only market where subdirectories are more common in the first three positions than ccTLDs
Portugal bucked the global trend and was the only market where subdirectories ranked more frequently in the top three positions than ccTLDs.
Filipa Silvaa Portuguese SEO specialist, said:
“This data reflects the fact that there are not many very large Portuguese brands that can compete with multinational brands that use sub-directory structures. For example, brands like Pull and Bear, Zara and Calzedonia perform amazingly when it comes to fashion keywords with subdirectory structures.”
6. Czech Republic has the highest ccTLD rate in Google SERPs
Of all the countries analyzed, ccTLD websites dominate Czech SERPs. Almost 90% of the first three positions were occupied by .cz ccTLDs. Even the combination of .us and .com in the US results in fewer ccTLDs (83%) than in the Czech Republic (84%).
Iryna Melnyka Czech SEO specialist, said:
“Many big brands often choose not to translate their content into the Czech language or use poor translation services, which we can see directly. And that’s a shame, as it suggests there’s a huge opportunity for multinational brands to better translate their content into a format optimized for the Czech market.”
7. In Austria, .AT ccTLDs are inversely correlated with German ccTLDs
German ccTLDs (.de) account for almost 20% of all top positions in Austria. By contrast, Austrian ccTLDs account for less than 1% of all domain structures in Germany. We found only three Austrian ccTLDs in the first three positions of the German SERPs.
Tatiana Batyaeva German SEO specialist, said:
“Given the size of the populations and their economies, this data is not a surprise in general. Many German brands sell directly to Austria via .DE domains, but there are nuances in the language and we always recommend localizing content in an Austrian dialect as a recommended practice”.
Learn more: International SEO: How to avoid common translation and localization pitfalls
The overwhelming popularity of the .com domain in the US market makes it very rare to see the official .us ccTLD in use.
Melina Lyrakia US SEO specialist said:
“.com domains are ubiquitous in the US market, and many people assume that .com is the US ccTLD. Given how popular it is, it’s probably the only market where we’d recommend using a gTLD (.com) ahead of the country’s ccTLD when advising brands that only target the US market.”
What does this data mean for your international SEO strategy?
This data supports those who think ccTLDs are best for international SEO. If you choose this route, just remember that they require more resources to build, maintain, and optimize than other options.
Evidence from the Swiss market suggests that subdomains can be as effective as any other domain structure. Perhaps we shouldn’t be so quick to discount the subdomain for long.
That said, it’s clear that subdirectory structures are more commonly used and found in top organic positions than subdomains. Whatever strategy you choose, remember that this is only your starting point for success.
Study methodology
GA Agency worked with our SE Ranking partners to analyze 20,000 keywords in 15 different markets, counting how often each website structure appears in each Google position from 1 to 100. In total, they analyzed more of 1.7 million SERP positions. We analyzed ccTLDs, gTLDs with subdomains, gTLDs with subdirectories, and gTLDs without market-specific subdomains or subdirectories. We did not include website structures with URL parameters in this study, as they are not recommended. We analyzed ~1,400 keywords in each market. We used transactional or intent-to-purchase e-commerce keywords in all languages (defined as such by analyzing sites that rank in the top 10 positions). Analyzed markets: Austria, Switzerland (German, French and Italian speaking regions), Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, France, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.
The views expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily Search Engine Land. Staff authors are listed here.
