ccTLD (Domaine de premier niveau par code pays)
A ccTLD (Country Code Top-Level Domain) is a domain extension reserved for a specific country or sovereign territory, such as .fr (France), .de (Germany), or .jp (Japan). It acts as the strongest possible geotargeting signal to search engines that the website is intended for that specific region.
The Ultimate Geotargeting Signal
Using a ccTLD gives you an immediate ranking boost in that country, but comes with significant infrastructure costs. You must maintain separate domains, split your SEO authority, and manage independent hosting for every country. For example, Amazon uses amazon.com (Global), amazon.co.uk (UK), amazon.de (Germany) to dominate local markets. This strategy works for enterprise brands with dedicated regional teams but is impractical for most businesses. The alternative (subdirectories like site.com/fr) consolidates authority on one domain while still achieving strong international rankings through proper hreflang implementation.
Generic TLD (gTLD) vs. Country Code TLD (ccTLD)
Impact dans le monde réel
Global brand uses mybrand.com with /uk subdirectory
Ranks well in UK with proper hreflang
Consolidated authority, easier management
Brand switches to mybrand.co.uk for UK market
Gains 15% ranking boost from ccTLD signal
Higher rankings, but must rebuild UK authority from scratch