Will you buy a .car .cars or .auto extension?

[Alexander Lau]

Good read from last November if it hasn't been posted already

https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/s...ll-new-domain-extensions-provide-an-seo-boost

No offense, but I call that article by her a bunch of attention-grabbing, meaningless, pointless fodder / mumbo jumbo.

They are just redirecting things correctly.

As many have pointed out within the comments. She stated & implied that there is a Ranking Boost by using the new TLD. Yet, the piece contains no "evidence" to support those claims. Despite being given the opportunity to provide further ranking details and asked about the original ranking position - she declined to answer. That throws out her babble alone.

The best retort on that article lies here:

mickmel • 6 months ago
You say that "Negari's test seems to prove otherwise", but nothing in the article proved anything. All that was proven was that if you have a solid redirect strategy in place, like Lucra did, you can still rank #1 for you own name (which shouldn't be hard). If you screw up the redirects like Barclays did, then things will be screwed up.

Then at the very end you mention about the top ranking for "alphabet" is abc.xyz. This is certainly true, but proves that the exact match power of domains is weaker now than it's ever been -- they're #1 because of thousands of external signals that point to them.

The article has some interesting insights, but the conclusions are very misleading.

 

[Steve Stauning]

Good read from last November if it hasn't been posted already

https://searchenginewatch.com/sew/s...ll-new-domain-extensions-provide-an-seo-boost

As one of the comments on that article already stated: "...nothing in the article proved anything."

So far, the only ones with any "proof" of an SEO boost from these TLDs are those selling these TLDs.

Can we stop discussing the positive impact on SEO from these until/unless someone shows up with some proof? Google didn't become Google by allowing you to buy your way to a #1 organic ranking. Moreover, Google bought ABC.XYZ for their new corporate site because they are called Alphabet and ABC.XYZ makes for some fun branding - nothing more. (They certainly didn't do it so they could rank higher on Bing.)

 

[GGooley]

Grant, I've been watching, using, and writing about New gTLDs and SEO for over two years now. While .AUTO and .CARS was just recently launched at the beginning of this year, some New gTLDs have now been out for over two years.

I wouldn't necessarily wait much longer, I would do your own testing and your own research on this. By the time you wait for someone else to report on it, it might be a while.

Agreed, I do know there are some in-depth testing going on right now with Auto TLD's and I guess I'm referring to these specific tests. However, you make a good point and I am personally doing testing with other new TLDs. I own www.GTA.YOGA and have seen some very interesting results so far.

In this industry, I never discount or throw out an idea. There are too many variables. It's a moving target. Great feedback @Bill Hartzer thx.

 

[jeffwallen]

No offense, but I call that article a bunch of crap.

They are just redirecting things correctly.

As many have pointed out within the comments. She stated & implied that there is a Ranking Boost by using the new TLD. Yet, the piece contains no "evidence" to support those claims. Despite being given the opportunity to provide further ranking details and asked about the original ranking position - she declined to answer.

The best retort on that article lies here:

mickmel • 6 months ago
You say that "Negari's test seems to prove otherwise", but nothing in the article proved anything. All that was proven was that if you have a solid redirect strategy in place, like Lucra did, you can still rank #1 for you own name (which shouldn't be hard). If you screw up the redirects like Barclays did, then things will be screwed up.

Then at the very end you mention about the top ranking for "alphabet" is abc.xyz. This is certainly true, but proves that the exact match power of domains is weaker now than it's ever been -- they're #1 because of thousands of external signals that point to them.

The article has some interesting insights, but the conclusions are very misleading.

No offense taken, just throwing up an article pertaining to the thread. I think it is something to keep an eye on but way way way down on the list of taking anything seriously.

 

[Alexander Lau]

Google reiterates how new TLDs are handled in search results
http://domainnamewire.com/2015/07/21/google-reiterates-how-new-tlds-are-handled-in-search-results

Google issues details on how new top level domain names affect search engine results. (In short, they don’t.)
Google has posted to its Webmaster Central Blog about how it handles new top level domain names in search. Because of the importance of this issue to the industry, I have republished the questions answered in the post along with my commentary.

https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2015/07/googles-handling-of-new-top-level.html

Q: How will new gTLDs affect search? Is Google changing the search algorithm to favor these TLDs? How important are they really in search?
A: Overall, our systems treat new gTLDs like other gTLDs (like .com & .org). Keywords in a TLD do not give any advantage or disadvantage in search.

Q: Will a .BRAND TLD be given any more or less weight than a .com?
A: No. Those TLDs will be treated the same as a other gTLDs. They will require the same geotargeting settings and configuration, and they won’t have more weight or influence in the way we crawl, index, or rank URLs.

----------------------

Yes, things can always change (I doubt it will in this case), but right now there's really nothing to argue about and very little value of the new TLD stuff (besides branding / vanity), it comes from the devil himself.

 

[GGooley]

This should speak to the future: https://domains.google/

SEO or not, THE FUTURE.

 

[Alexander Lau]

https://www.neustar.biz/resources/faqs/new-tld-faqs

I'm incredulous.

Of course if you've the same content or adding relevant content, the TLD switch isn't going to hurt you. Without positively affecting the two hundred or so algorithmic / SEO factors (variables), no one has witnessed a massive impact (drastic increase) in their organic rankings. The examples in red below are isolated cases with no real verifiable data to prove their cases. Realistic expectations in purple.

------------------------------------------------------------

Will a new TLD hurt my SEO?
A top-level domain is just one of hundreds of elements in a search algorithm. Early use cases indicate no negative search impact, and even potential benefits.

A website’s TLD is just one of many pieces in the algorithms that power search engines such as Google.

“If and when there is enough information that [.brands] should be a signal [in search], it would become one,” says Google strategic .brand partner manager, Lauren Kelley.

New TLD holders should (as now) focus on building highly relevant content on their .brand and .generic to earn search visibility.

“If Nike launches lots of .nike domains with highly relevant content, for example, over time [.nike] may surface higher for Nike searches,” says Kelley.

For now, applicants can see how Google is reacting to newly launched TLDs on the web with a simple site parameter search of “site:. brand” or “site:.generic.”

Initial observations from our own research include:

• In a search for VDI guru, VDI.guru ranks higher than VDIguru.com.
• For Monash University, the first organization in the world to go live with a .brand, monash.edu.au continues to lead results over .monash.

It’s safe to say that there are no negative impacts. “If you’re building new content complementary to your .com, it won’t hurt,” says Kelley.

Recent TLD history confirms this notion. Cartier now uses Cartier.us as its primary web address in the United States. As shown below, a search for “Cartier,” Cartier.us ranks #1 in search results, with its .com counterpart ranking second.

Popular start-up tech publication Tech Cocktail recently switched from using its keyword inclusive URL techcocktail.com to a shorter name: tech.co. As shown below, it sustained all of its original search rankings with the new .co extension, and it continues to rank #1 for “Tech Cocktail” in search.

LeWeb, the #1 Internet event in Europe, with over 3,500 participants from 76 countries, also saw positive results in SEO when they transitioned from Leweb.net to Leweb.co:

• Prior to the switch, Leweb.net was not the single #1 listing for branded “Leweb” terms and not in top 150 listings for competitive terms such as “2012 web conference.”
• After a smooth transition and content optimization in May 2012, Leweb.co experienced ranking increases of over 50 spots for more competitive terms such as “2012 web conference,” and a 123% increase in monthly organic visits.

“The same rules that apply today will apply tomorrow: content and relevancy,” says Kelley.