What is a ccTLD domain?

Example: yourbusinessname.au

Country code top-level domains (ccTLDs) use two-letter extensions to indicate the specific country, region, or territory a website is associated with. For instance, .au is tied to Australia, .us to the United States, and .ca to Canada.

If your goal is to create a distinct online presence for each country your business serves, ccTLDs can be a powerful tool. They provide an immediate sense of local relevance and familiarity, giving users confidence that they’ve landed in the right place.

That said, ccTLDs are best suited for geographic targeting rather than language-specific strategies.

If you’re focused on reaching speakers of a particular language across multiple regions, other domain structures might serve you better.

One downside of ccTLDs is their potential to fragment your SEO efforts.

With separate domains for each country, you’ll need to build authority for each one, which can dilute your overall SEO impact compared to using a single, consolidated domain.

Pros

• Instantly communicates your target country to users and search engines.
• Supports localised hosting for faster load times and improved user experience.

Cons

• Higher costs, as you’ll need to purchase and maintain multiple domains.
• Greater complexity in managing and updating content across multiple sites.
• Dilutes SEO efforts as you effectively need to rank different websites.
• Design or content changes need to be replicated across all domains.
• While language can be specified via href lang tags, Google can have a hard time determining which version to rank because each domain is technically its own entity.

What is a subdirectory?

Example: yourbusinessname.com/au/

A subdirectory acts like a dedicated folder within your main domain, making it an efficient and widely preferred choice for international SEO. This structure is not only easy to manage but also highly effective for consolidating SEO authority.

By keeping everything under one domain, you can seamlessly build credibility without starting from scratch for each market.

Subdirectories also make it simple to create tailored landing pages for different regions and configure geographic targeting through Google Search Console. Analytics and reporting are a breeze, with a single tracking tag covering the entire site.

However, subdirectories do come with a trade-off: all markets must use the same design template, which can limit creative freedom and functionality.

Pros

• All backlinks and authority are concentrated on a single domain.
• Subdirectories benefit from the overall domain’s authority, making it easier to rank in new regions.
• Easy to set up and maintain, even for growing businesses. This is a clear benefit when weighing up an SEO subdirectory vs subdomain.
• Lower hosting and technical costs.
• Customisable URLs (e.g., example.com/germany) make localisation straightforward.
  Simplifies tracking and reporting with all data under one domain.

Cons

• Users may find this URL format less intuitive than other options.

What is a subdomain?

Example: au.yourbusinessname.com

Subdomains are extensions of your main domain but act as independent websites. For international SEO, they offer a way to organise content on a third-level domain.

Subdomains are most suitable for businesses that need individualised control over regional websites, while keeping everything tied to a single brand.

But search engines treat subdomains almost as standalone sites, which can complicate things.

So when it comes to international SEO, is a subdomain, folder, or ccTLD best?

Unlike subdirectories, subdomains don’t seamlessly share link equity with the root domain, meaning each subdomain needs to be separately crawled and indexed.

This can dilute your SEO authority and make subdomains a less common choice for targeting international markets.

Despite these drawbacks, subdomains shine when it comes to flexibility.

They allow you to fully customise each site to suit a specific audience, providing a level of independence that ccTLDs and subdirectories can’t achieve.

Pros

• Enable localised hosting for better performance in target regions.
• Allow creative, market-specific naming.

Cons

• Managing multiple subdomains can be technically complex and time-consuming.
• This structure may not feel intuitive to users, affecting familiarity and trust.
• Updates to content and design must be implemented across every subdomain.

The domain structure to avoid

Never use parameterised URLs (e.g., rb.com.au/page?gl=AU). These URLs aren’t user-friendly, making navigation harder for visitors and confusing for search engine bots.

Google also advises against this approach when setting up websites for international audiences, as it can negatively impact your site’s performance and indexing.

Kickstart your international SEO with Redback

When it comes to international SEO, how you structure your site is key to cross-border success. Whether you go with a ccTLD, subdomain, or subdirectory can influence how easily search engines—and your customers—find and trust your content in different regions.

But there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. The right approach depends on your goals, resources, and how important local relevance is to your business.

That’s where Redback steps in. We’ve helped businesses across Australia and beyond weigh up the pros and cons of ccTLD vs subdomain vs subdirectory, and create SEO strategies that perform locally and globally.

Want help mapping out the best path forward?

Call us on (02) 4962 2236 or send an enquiry online to get your website winning worldwide.