Country Code Top-Level Domain is popularly known as CCTLD in its abbreviated form.
A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is a top-level domain on the Internet that is normally used or reserved for a nation, sovereign state, or dependent territory that can be identified by a country code.
Since all ASCII ccTLD IDs are two letters long, top-level domains that have two letters are also ccTLDs.
According to statista, Tokelau’s.tk was the most popular country code top-level domain (ccTLD) worldwide in January 2023, with around 27.15 million registrations.
The Implications of Using ccTLDs
There are various advantages to using a ccTLD versus a gTLD. The geotargeting benefit is perhaps the most crucial international SEO benefit of using a ccTLD for the website, since it sends a clear message to search engines that the site is tailored for a certain nation or area.
A ccTLD also presents difficulties when attempting to target different nations and regions.
For example, if the website uses the “.my” domain, which is a ccTLD for Malaysia, and then adds French or English material aimed at France or the United States, one will need to take further efforts to signal that those sites are intended for France or the United States.
The role of ccTLDs in Local & International SEO
Country code top-level domain names are the most effective technique for ranking a domain or a page in a certain country.
There are alternative methods. For example, one could potentially get a page on the website, example.com, to rank in Malaysia, but it would need a significant amount of global SEO effort.
Finally, the quickest and most powerful technique to rank a website in a certain nation is to obtain the country’s Country Code Top Level Domain and apply it.
For instance, if there are two identical sites, one on a “.com” domain and the other on a “.my,” the one on the “.my” domain is often more likely to rank higher in the Malaysian version of Google.
Google considers that all material on a Country Code Top-Level Domain is intended for that country, thus, the website will automatically rank in that country.
Documents with a “.my” domain, a “.sg” domain, or a “.com.uk” domain are intended for Malaysia, Singapore, and the United Kingdom, although they are not language-specific.
What Is the Difference Between ccTLDs and gTLDs?
The country code top-level domain, or ccTLD, is the top-level domain that is normally assigned to each nation or dependent territory.
The domain is made up of two letters that indicate the nation or region, for example, “.my” for Malaysia and “.sg” for Singapore.
A generic top-level domain, or gTLD, is a top-level domain that is not assigned to a specific nation and has no limitations. “.com” and “.net” are the most popular gTLDs.
Many gTLD domains, such as “.edu” and “.gov,” are known as sponsored top-level domains because they are assigned to specific agencies or organizations rather than to a specific territory or nation.
The most popular ccTLDs globally
A Country Code Top-level Domain (ccTLD) is a two-letter Internet domain name. It is used to serve the community inside a given country, territory, or geographical area.
It adheres to globally accepted country codes and can be used to identify a certain country or geographical area that a website serves.
1# .TK (Tokelau)
In 1997, TK was launched. Its free policy helped it gain popularity. However, it has a negative image as a result of numerous hackers and spammers exploiting the free policy. It presently ranks first in overall domain registrations with 27.14 million.
2# .CN (china)
CN was established in 1990. It was one of many ccTLDs granted to all existing nations in the 1990s. It presently ranks second in terms of overall domain registrations with 26.7 million.
3# .DE (Germany)
.DE is a ccTLDs domain which was established in 1986. It was one of the first ccTLDs to be assigned. It presently ranks third in terms of overall domain registrations, with 23.69 million.
4# .UK (United Kingdom)
.UK was first used in 1985. Postel outsourced it as one of the first few ccTLDs to foreign management. It presently ranks fourth in terms of overall domain registrations, with 20.67 million.
5# .RU (Russia)
.RU was established in 1994. It was one of many ccTLDs granted to all existing nations in the 1990s. It presently ranks fifth in terms of overall domain registrations, with 5.7 million.
6# .ga (Gabon)
Gabon’s country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is.ga. Dotga.png. introduced on December 12, 1994. It now ranks sixth in terms of total domain registrations, with 9.46 million.
7# .cf (Central African Republic)
The Central African Republic’s Internet country code top-level domain is .cf. The Central African Society of Telecommunications is in charge of it. It now ranks seventh in terms of total domain registrations, with 7.71 million.
8# .ml (Mali)
Mali’s Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is.ml. Including over 7.48 million.ml domains registered, it is one of the most popular ccTLDs.
9# .nl (Netherlands)
The Netherlands’ Internet country code top-level domain is.nl. It is one of the most popular ccTLDs, with over 6.91 million.nl domains registered.
10# .br
In 1989, .BR was launched. It was one of the first ccTLDs to be assigned. It presently ranks eighth in terms of overall domain registrations, with 6.16 million.
Conclusion
In general, only purchase multiple Country Code Top-Level Domains if the company has a large international SEO operation and is prepared to invest the time and money into creating and maintaining such an infrastructure.
If one does not want to expand the business into other nations, it is advisable to keep the country code Top-Level domain of the country in which the firm is located.
If you want to grow your business in Malaysia, you will need .my domains for Malaysia local businesses.
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