Should I use country-specific domains for international SEO?

Using ccTLDs (e.g., .in, .de) is one of the strongest signals for geo-targeting, but it comes with trade-offs. Pros: Clear targeting (Google knows .in is for India). Better trust from local users. Cons: Managing multiple domains means higher costs, duplicate content risks, and divided authority.

Alternatives:

1) Subdirectories (example.com/de/)—simpler to manage, authority consolidated.

2) Subdomains (de.example.com)—weaker than ccTLDs but still usable.

Best practice for 2025:

Use ccTLDs only if you’re building a strong, long-term presence in that country. Otherwise, use subdirectories with hreflang annotations.

Example:

A SaaS expanding globally may keep .com with subdirectories for /uk/, /in/, /au/ for efficient scaling. 2025 trend: With AI search, consistency of localized signals (content, schema, backlinks, reviews) matters more than just domain choice.

Further Reading:

https://ahrefs.com/blog/international-seo/ https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/localized-versions