Google is in the process of consolidating the many international domain names that lead to google.com, eliminating sites such as google.co.jp and google.ru for Japan and Russia. The company says it no longer needs so-called “country code top-level domain” names to provide local search results.
On the search giant’s products blog, the company said: “Over the years, our ability to provide a local experience has improved. In 2017, we began providing the same experience with local results for everyone using Search, whether they were using google.com or their country’s ccTLD.”
It went on to add: “Because of this improvement, country-level domains are no longer necessary. So we’ll begin redirecting traffic from these ccTLDs to google.com to streamline people’s experience on Search. This change will be rolled out gradually over the coming months, and you may be prompted to re-enter some of your Search preferences in the process.”
Google said the change will happen over the next few months and that no matter what people see in the address bar, Google’s search function will work the same way.
“Nor will it change how we handle obligations under national laws,” the company said.
Google’s search business has been under scrutiny. Last year, the company’s search business was declared a monopoly by a US federal judge, and the Department of Justice recommended the company sell its Chrome business. Google also may be facing a $6.6 billion antitrust suit over search advertising in the UK.
‘Not a huge deal’ for search-engine users
As far as users across the globe accessing the search engine, the shift should not be noticeable, said Joe Davies, CEO of Fatjoe, an SEO services and marketing company.
“Google have been serving results based on geography since 2017, so this change is not a huge deal for the search-engine users,” Davies said. “In a sense, nothing is really changing for most businesses, although some businesses might experience region-level reporting on traffic. If a site was previously getting referral traffic from a TLD version of Google — for instance, a UK business seeing referrals via google.co.uk — those referrals will be replaced by just google.com… in case any businesses notice the difference, now they know why.”
Tal Elyashiv, the founder of Spice VC, said that relying on domains for localization is “internet 1.0 thinking” and a relic of a time before AI.
“Today’s systems use multiple signals — IP, user history, behavior patterns — to deliver hyper-personalized experiences,” Elyashiv said. “We’re witnessing the complete rethink of the web as AI continues to progress and perfect. The entire search business model — platforms as information gatekeepers monetized through ads — is racing toward obsolescence.”
He added that while some frequent travelers or multilingual may notice some difference, Google’s reasons for the change go beyond housekeeping or user service.
“Regulatory defense is the obvious answer. By presenting as one global service rather than regional subsidiaries, Google creates a stronger shield against fragmented regulatory attacks,” he said.
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