The New tlds and SEO

1&1 Hosting has now joined web hosts such as Go Daddy in offering the new tld extension domain names. Briefly in case you’re not aware, later this year ICANN will start making available hundreds of more descriptive domain name extensions. So instead of just .com, .net, etc., you can have domains with .money, .food, .tech, and so forth. In one of my previous posts, I wrote about these new tlds and the process of obtaining them.

The big question everyone wants to know is: How will the new tld domains affect SEO and the search engine results? More specifically, how will Google handle these new domains? There are two schools of thought here. Some say the internet will be drastically changed forever, while others say the new tlds will be a bust. Personally, I don’t see a big change occurring—at least anytime soon. Think about it. Google has spent the last couple of years emphasizing quality content and authorship. Items like domain names, keywords, and meta descriptions don’t carry nearly as much weight as they used to for SERP. Would Google now put a bunch of importance on domain extensions and let some people try to “cheat the system” again as it were—I wouldn’t think so.

On the other hand, there have been reports that Google is bracing for the new tlds. And with one of the benefits being able to make the web less crowded or easier to find things, it figures there could be some changes—although at this point, no one really knows for sure.

While I certainly wouldn’t plan to go and change all my websites to the new tlds, it might not be a bad idea to at least consider if some of the new tlds would fit your website niches well and put in a request to pre-reserve the ones you’re interested in (or to be notified when registration begins). You won’t be under any obligation to actually purchase these domains, and you’ll be covered just in case the new tlds really take off. I suggest taking a look at the Go Daddy and 1&1 Hosting websites for more information.

New TLD Domains at Go Daddy

Pre-Reserve New TLD Domains at 1&1