How do you access Google if you use it as your preferred search engine? There’s a good chance you will use the URL that makes sense for your location. If you’re in the UK, you’ll use Google.co.uk. If you are in France, you’d go to Google.fr, and so on.
But soon, everyone will be redirected by Google to their main URL – Google.com. The company announced the move in a blog post on April 15, 2025, as it explained that it would be moving away from country-code top level domains (CCTLDs) and sending everyone to the Google.com address instead.
Why is this? Well, according to Google, the CCTLDs simply aren’t needed anymore. Back in 2017, they began to provide localised search results for everyone using their services, regardless of which Google URL they used. Basically, this meant you should have seen the same results from a search, regardless of whether you looked on Google.co.uk or Google.com, assuming you are in the UK. The same applied to other countries as well.
While no one quite knows what goes on behind the Google curtain, we do know that they are constantly seeking to improve their services. One way of doing that is apparently to ensure everyone gets the best and most relevant search results, regardless of which Google top level domain they decide to use to do so.
So, you’re likely to notice that visits to your own country domain will begin to be rerouted around to Google.com in the coming months. It’s uncertain how long the rollout will take, since it will be happening globally. However, it shouldn’t make any difference to the accuracy of the search results you receive. After a while, you will probably start visiting Google.com anyway, as it will become more natural to do so.
You’ll know when the change happens for your country, as you will likely be required to enter your search preferences again at this point. You’ll also notice the change in the browser bar, of course, but that is a minor point. The search preferences entry requirement should only be requested once, too, unless you wish to make other changes in future.
Could this be something we see happening with other search engines or sites in future? Potentially, although Google is obviously leading the way on this occasion. Websites with many CCTLDs to offer customers in different countries might watch and see what happens here. Will the .com domain end up being the key domain most websites end up using?
Businesses that only provide their services in a specific country are likely to continue using CCTLDs, as it would make sense to do so in that circumstance. For now, it’s just a matter of watching for the Google switch to be made in your country. Other than a quick update of your search preferences – presumably to confirm which country you want to see results for – this should be a smaller change for you than it is for Google.