Can One of the New TLDs Increase Google Rankings?

[djbaxter]

Can moving to a new TLD boost search rankings?
Search Engine Land
June 6, 2016

One of the big questions in SEO today is how new TLDs (top-level domains), like .LIVE, .NEWS or .ATTORNEY, are affecting search engine rankings. While some believe that .COM domains are the only safe option, Google has insisted that generic top-level domains aren’t at any disadvantage in their search rankings’ algorithm. Rather than accept either of these statements at face value, we wanted to know, what does the data say?

That’s why we commissioned Globe Runner, a Dallas-based SEO firm, to investigate the effect of moving from a .COM to a new TLD. The subject of this study was Jacksonville.ATTORNEY, a domain registered by Eric Block, a personal injury attorney in Jacksonville, FL. Eric’s migration from EricBlockLaw.com in March of 2015 was a great opportunity to observe domain metrics before and after the switch. What Globe Runner discovered is that moving to a new TLD very likely contributed to Eric’s site appearing at the top of many search results....

Within months, Jacksonville.ATTORNEY was sitting at or near the top of organic search results for some highly competitive keywords, ranking as high as the first overall match for terms like “Jacksonville attorney” and “Jacksonville attorneys.” This was a welcome change from EricBlockLaw.com, which often ranked several pages down, if they ranked at all.

Since the switch, Globe Runner estimated that the site generates the organic equivalent of $6,400 per month in 333 Google keyword phrases. Many of these searches don’t even include “Jacksonville” as a term, as Google’s results can already account for the location of the user performing the search.

Read more...

 

[djbaxter]

Vanity TLD Domain Names Don't Impart a Ranking Boost

Vanity TLD Domain Names Don't Impart a Ranking Boost
Threadwatch.org
June 14, 2016

Last week I highlighted a story from SEL where the writer claimed that a lawyer who switched to .attorney saw a big ranking boost. Turns out that article was probably a bunch of BS! Jennifer Slegg at The SEM Post did some good investigating and has the scoop here. It smelled a little fishy to me at the time - the claims it was making sounded way too broad - like a domain change could help anyone and everyone.

Slegg asked Gary Illyes about it and he replied that "I think in many cases, those who are recommending businesses to get those .attorney and .travel and .events TLDs have their hands in the honeypot as well. So probably they are getting some commission off recommending these...truth is we can't give a flying crap about what the TLD is if it is a gTLD."

And what do you know! the article on SEL was a sponsored post from a business who sells .attorney type gTLDs! I must have missed that on my first reading. So it all makes sense now. Don't believe everything you read!