What you need to know
- Google is moving to the google.com domain for Search around the world.
- Previously, Google used country-coded domains for regions outside the U.S.
- The experience of using Google Search won’t change, as Google has been using physical location to localize Search since 2017.
Google has long used country-coded domains for non-U.S. regions, like google.co.uk for the United Kingdom or google.ng for Nigeria. For a while, these country-specific URLs were crucial in providing locally-relevant results in response to user queries.
However, since 2017, Google has been using your real-time location to provide relevant results — making the country codes redundant. As such, the company announced today, April 15 that it is phasing out country code top-level domain names (ccTLD).
Beginning now, Google will be moving country-specific Search domains to the main google.com URL. The process will be part of a gradual rollout lasting “over the coming months.”
The change is intended to streamline the experience of using Google Search regardless of your country or location, per the company. Search itself isn’t changing, but as part of the switch, users may have to enter some of their preferences again for the new domain.
As has been the case since 2017, Google will use your physical location to localize your search results. For instance, if you’re living in the U.S., you will get the Search experience for France if you travel to Paris. When you go back, you’ll automatically be switched to the U.S. experience again.
“It’s important to note that while this update will change what people see in their browser address bar, it won’t affect the way Search works, nor will it change how we handle obligations under national laws,” the company said in the blog post.
