MULTI-LINGUAL DOMAIN NAMES TO CHANGE SEO
ICANN has just opened registrations for non-Latin-character domain names, which will mean websites in Japanese, Chinese and Arabic etc will be able to use domains in their own language.
In Japan it’s common to see TV and Press ads that feature a search box call-to-action as the transliterated domain name in Latin characters is too hard to remember. From next year, these sites will be able to have domains using characters native speakers can easily remember.
Having keywords in the URL is an important part of the natural search ranking process. Having your domain name featuring your main keywords will certainly boost rankings.
So, should advertisers in Australia jump on the bandwagon for their outward-facing brands?
It makes sense from a brand-protection point of view at the very least. For generic keywords, however, to make it valuable, you need to support the domain name with content – the domain alone won’t enable good rankings.
There will also need to be an orderly transition from existing international domains – migrating from an established to a new domain can have a massively detrimental impact on natural search performance. Plan for the move months in advance.
Search agencies with a global outlook are going to be in the best position to leverage the new opportunities for clients with a multinational focus. I think we can expect some acquisitions of regional SEO specialists by the big search players.
