John Mueller: You cannot Geotarget with Country Code Domain

Google’s John Mueller on 5th January clarified that you cannot Geotarget other countries if you are using a country code top-level domain (ccTLD).

Geotargeting with country code domain names

While speaking on Google Search Central lightning episode, Google’s John Mueller noted that you cannot specify other countries for Geotargeting if you are using a country code top-level domain (ccTLD).

Here is a transcription quote of what he said”

“While a country-code domain name helps our systems to Geotarget for that country, it still allows for global visibility. The only limitation is that you can’t specify other countries for Geotargeting. For example, if you have a .fr website for France, you could use that globally.  But you wouldn’t be able to explicitly Geotarget”

What does this mean for bloggers?

If you are wondering whether your country code top-level domain blog can rank globally, then the answer is yes it can rank. However, it is likely to rank higher in that country than globally.  But, you should not waste your time geotargeting a country code top-level domain as that may not work.

Geotargeting should only be used for Generic top-level domains (gTLDs). That is domains that are not associated with a specific county or location.

You can learn more about different types of domain levels and  Geortageting.

Source: John Mueller on geotargeting