A Top-Level Domain refers to the “dot com” part of your website’s domain name. When you decide to purchase a domain name, you must first decide which TLD you wish to use. The most common examples of TLDs available include .com, .net, .org, .edu, etc.
Specific organizations such as the ICANN manage the licensing and “ownership” of TLD. ICANN operates the IANA specifically to help maintain the DNS root zone.
Google’s algorithm certainly considers your website’s TLD. Throughout the history of SEO, there has always been an interest in TLD and how to most leverage them. For example, a popular link building strategy in recent years was to reach out to colleges and universities for backlinks from .EDU domains, as they were perceived to have more “weight” and thus have a more significant impact on your site’s SEO.
Whether you are looking to leverage an extensive TLD strategy for an ongoing SEO campaign, or you are the owner/licensor of a TLD and would like to partner with OuterBox, we’d love to hear from you.