Google to drop country-specific domains for Search: What it means for users

Google is set to streamline the search experience by redirecting country code top-level domain names to google.com in the coming months; the company said this update will not change how it works

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Google has officially announced that traffic from all regional Search domains will soon be redirected to its main domain, google.com. This means users will no longer need to visit country-specific domains for search results. Even if users enter a local domain manually, they’ll be redirected to the global domain. According to a report by 9To5Google, the change aims to simplify the experience without affecting how Search works.

 

For years, users around the world have accessed country-specific Google sites like “google.com.br” for Brazil, “google.in” for India, or “google.co.uk” for the UK. With this change, Google Search will phase out these ccTLDs and standardise access through its global domain. 

Also Read: Google Gemini gets Veo 2 integration: How to generate videos on mobile app

 

What will change for users

 

With this update, users will see google.com in their browser address bar instead of their local domain name. Google has confirmed that the update will not affect search functions or how the company follows country-specific rules. The change is expected to happen gradually in the coming months.

 

In the past, ccTLDs were used to provide more locally relevant results. However, since 2017, Google has served local results based on the user's location—regardless of whether they used a country’s ccTLD or google.com. 

  In related news, Google’s Gemini AI is now being introduced with Google Photos on Android. First previewed last month, this new ability is being added to the Gemini app and brings two key features. The first allows users to find backed-up images and videos with simple prompts like “find selfies of sunrise.” The second offers support for more complex, in-depth photo queries, improving how users use their image library with natural language.