What is the TLD (Top Level Domain) of a domain and why is it important in your backlink strategy?

Use your tool to regularly evaluate the distribution of your backlinks by TLD. For example, if you have a business focused on Mexico, you should ensure that a good percentage of your backlinks come from domains .mx. This will help Google better understand your target market and will enhance your local relevance.

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What exactly is a TLD?

El Top Level Domain (TLD), in Spanish known as a top-level domain, is the final part of the domain after the dot, for example: .com, .net, .org or regional extensions such as .es (Spain), .mx (Mexico), .ar (Argentina), etc.

Think of the TLD as your home mailing address. It tells the Internet what type of neighborhood (or country) you live in and, therefore, helps users (and search engines) to better understand the nature and geographical context of your website.

List of TLDs: How many types are there?

There are many types of TLDs, but we are going to divide them into two broad categories for easy understanding:

🌎 TLD list by country (ccTLD - country code TLD)

These are country-specific domains, ideal for targeting content to regional audiences. Some common examples are:

1. .es — Spain
2. .pt — Portugal
3. .fr — France
4. .it — Italy
5. .de — Germany
6. .uk — United Kingdom
7. .ie — Ireland
8. .nl — Netherlands
9. .be — Belgium
10. .ch — Switzerland
11. .at — Austria
12. .dk — Denmark
13. .se — Sweden
14. .fi — Finland
15. .no — Norway
16. .is — Iceland
17. .gr — Greece
18. .pl — Poland
19. .cz — Czech Republic
20. .sk — Slovakia
21. .hu — Hungary
22. .ro — Romania
23. .bg — Bulgaria
24. .yes — Slovenia
25. .hr — Croatia
26. .ba — Bosnia and Herzegovina
27. .rs — Serbia
28. .me — Montenegro
29. .mk — North Macedonia
30. .al — Albania
31. .ee — Estonia
32. .lv — Latvia
33. .lt — Lithuania
34. .ua — Ukraine
35. .ru — Russia
36. .by — Belarus
37. .md — Moldova

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🖥️ Full list of the most popular and curious Generic TLDs

• .com (Commercial, the most popular and widespread globally, perfect for almost any digital project.)
  
• .net (Originally intended for technology and network companies, currently in widespread use. Ideal if .com isn't available.)
  
• .org (Designed for non-profit organizations, educational organizations, NGOs, or projects with a social and informational focus. It transmits authority.)
  
• .edu (Primarily reserved for educational institutions, especially universities in the United States, generating great academic credibility.)
  
• .gov (Exclusive use for government entities, offering institutional authority and official authority.)
  
  

🚀 Innovative, curious and thematic TLDs

1. .app (Perfect for pages or landing pages of mobile applications or web apps, it provides a modern, clear and focused touch to the end user.)
2. .tech (Ideal for technology startups, digital innovation projects or companies that want to clearly convey that they are related to technology.)
3. .io (Very popular in the technology sector and startups due to its brief extension and minimalist style, originally associated with the Indian Ocean but adopted globally.)
4. .shop (Especially oriented to electronic commerce. It's direct, attractive, and gives an immediate idea of the purpose of your website.)
5. .blog (Excellent option for personal sites, online blogs or projects focused on the constant creation of content.)
6. .online (Simple, modern and flexible, suitable for digital projects, web services or digital presence that want to clearly highlight their online nature.)
7. .tv (It is originally the Tuvalu TLD, but it has become especially popular among digital media, streaming, video platforms, or audio-visual entertainment.)
8. .pro (Designed to highlight a professional profile or company that seeks to transmit expertise or authority in its sector.)
9. .dev (Specifically designed for developers and programmers, ideal for technical portfolios, tools, or projects under development.)
10. .academy (Ideal for educational projects or online training platforms, providing a professional and specialized image.)

In addition, there are new TLDs that have become popular, such as .blog, .tech, .online, which also provide a clear identity to your brand and can help you stand out in specific sectors.

Does having one TLD or another really affect SEO?

This is a frequently asked question, and the short answer would be: Directly, no. Google has stated that, by itself, a TLD does not generate a clear positioning advantage.

But beware: even if it's not directly a determining positioning factor, it indirectly helps Google to better understand your context and who you're trying to reach.

For example:

• If you have a local business in Spain, it is much better to opt for .es, because you will be clearly indicating that your content is especially relevant to Spanish users.
  
  
• If you manage an educational project or a non-profit organization, opt for a .org provides authority and trust to users.
  
  

So, although choosing a specific TLD doesn't guarantee you to rank first, it does help to better guide your strategy, your segmentation, and improves relevance for the user, which ultimately does have a positive impact on your SEO.

What role does measuring this metric have in your Linkbuilding strategy?

Surely now you are wondering: Why do I need to measure the TLD of domains in an SEO or backlink strategy? Well, it's very simple.

Imagine that you have a digital analytics tool able to accurately measure the TLDs of inbound links to your website.

This information is pure gold to optimize your link building strategy, since:

• You can quickly identify what type of sites are linking to you and determine if there is a relevant pattern.
  
  
• Facilitate the analysis of your competition: you can analyze the types of domains that link your competitors and look for useful patterns that allow you to replicate or improve their strategies.
  
  
• It allows you to better align your SEO strategy geographically. If you find that you have few links from local sites, you could focus your efforts on getting backlinks from regional or local domains.

Practical advice:

Use your tool to regularly evaluate the distribution of your backlinks by TLD. For example, if you have a business focused on Mexico, you should ensure that a good percentage of your backlinks come from domains .mx. This will help Google better understand your target market and will enhance your local relevance.