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Vanity Keyword TLD Domain Names Do Not Get Ranking Boost

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keyword tld domain namesAt Big Digital Adelaide, I asked Gary Illyes about whether people should switch to the so-called vanity TLDs such as .attorney help with rankings due to the presence of keywords in those TLDs for a supposed ranking boost.  It is an interesting idea, whether you can gain an additional ranking boost for the TLD keyword if you make a switch to that TLD.

But the answer is no, Google doesn’t care what you use and it doesn’t impact rankings based upon which ones you use.

I think in many cases, those who are recommending businesses to get those .attorney, and .travel, and .events, TLDs have their hands in the honeypot as well.  So probably they are getting some commission off recommending these because you can rank better with these TLDs.  The truth is we can’t give a flying crap about what the TLD is if it is a gTLD.

Earlier that day, Search Engine Land posted a sponsored post on a keyword based TLD – specifically .attorney, and Illyes was accurate that this particular sponsored post was being promoted by someone who was selling these types of domain names.  In that case someone switched their site to a new .attorney TLD and claimed higher rankings, but which didn’t take into account any outside factors such as additional links or SEO unrelated to the domain name move.

He does also mention about the use of country specific TLDs being important for some countries for the country ranking boost, though.

Both John Mueller and Gary Illyes tweeted about TLDs as well.

And Illyes comment also referenced the fact the original study only looked at one domain.

And a Google+ post where Mueller also mentions that there is a lot of work in switching domain names.


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Jennifer Slegg

Founder & Editor at The SEM Post
Jennifer Slegg is a longtime speaker and expert in search engine marketing, working in the industry for almost 20 years. When she isn't sitting at her desk writing and working, she can be found grabbing a latte at her local Starbucks or planning her next trip to Disneyland. She regularly speaks at Pubcon, SMX, State of Search, Brighton SEO and more, and has been presenting at conferences for over a decade.

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