Combined local search traffic three to five months after folding a country domain into .com
| Group | Brands | Median traffic kept | Lost >10% | Lost >30% | Ended above prior traffic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old domain held 75%+ of local traffic | 339 | 66.0% | 74.9% | 54.9% | 19.2% |
| Old domain held under 75% | 77 | 83.8% | 58.4% | 37.7% | 29.9% |
| Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands | 182 | 67.5% | 75.8% | 52.7% | 19.2% |
| English-speaking markets | 70 | 67.3% | 71.4% | 57.1% | 18.6% |
| Other markets | 164 | 72.3% | 67.7% | 48.2% | 24.4% |
| Moved Jan to Jun 2025 | 108 | 73.1% | 69.4% | 47.2% | 25.9% |
| Moved Jul to Dec 2025 | 207 | 68.0% | 69.6% | 51.7% | 23.7% |
| Moved Jan to Apr 2026 | 101 | 66.0% | 79.2% | 56.4% | 10.9% |
| All | 416 | 68.3% | 71.9% | 51.7% | 21.2% |
Source: PageSpeed Matters, Oct 2026. Traffic estimates in the matching country, old domain plus .com.
Summary
Many brands that started with a separate country domain, such as a .de, .fr or .co.uk, later fold it into their main .com. It simplifies hosting, content and link building. The risk is local search traffic: the country domain may have earned rankings that do not carry over cleanly.
We looked at 416 brands that made that move. Three to five months later, their combined search traffic in that country, old domain plus .com, was a median 68.3% of what it was before. 51.7% had lost more than 30%.
What we measured
We looked at country domains that dropped out of HTTP Archive's crawl and now redirect to the same brand's .com. The move month is the first month the country domain was missing from the crawl. Moves ran from January 2025 to April 2026.
For each brand we took monthly search traffic estimates in the matching country for both the old domain and the .com, and compared their combined traffic three to five months after the move with the period before it.
Three limits apply. Traffic is an estimate, not measured visits. There is no in-country market baseline, so we cannot separate the move from general market changes in each country; for reference, the US baseline over the period is about 90%. And some brands changed their site at the same time as the move, so not every loss comes from the domain change alone.
Most brands lost local traffic after the move
Across the 416 brands, combined in-country search traffic three to five months after the move was a median 68.3% of before.
Losses were the norm. 71.9% of brands lost more than 10% of their local traffic and 51.7% lost more than 30%. Only 16.1% gained more than 10%, and 21.2% ended above their prior traffic by any amount.
Some loss is expected while search engines process the redirects and move signals from the old domain to the .com. A median brand keeping about two thirds of its local traffic several months on suggests many of these moves did not carry their rankings over in full.
51.7%
Share of 416 brands whose combined in-country search traffic fell more than 30% after folding a country domain into their .com.
The more the country domain carried, the more brands lost
The biggest split depends on how much of the brand's local traffic the country domain held before the move. Where it held 75% or more, combined traffic fell to a median 66.0% (339 brands), and 54.9% lost more than 30%. Where it held less than 75%, combined traffic kept a median 83.8% (77 brands).
That fits what you would expect. A brand whose .com already ranked in the country had less to move, so a weaker transfer hurt less. A brand whose country domain did nearly all the local work had the most to lose.
Large European and English-speaking markets kept less
Brands folding a German, French, Spanish, Italian or Dutch domain kept a median 67.5% (182 brands). English-speaking markets kept 67.3% (70 brands). All other markets kept 72.3% (164 brands).
The gap between groups is smaller than the gap driven by how much the old domain carried. One possible reason: in large markets the country domain often competes against strong local rivals, so any ranking loss during the move is quickly filled by someone else. Our data does not test that directly.
Recent moves did worse
Moves from January to April 2026 kept a median 66.0%, and only 10.9% of those brands ended above their prior traffic (101 brands). Moves in the first half of 2025 kept 73.1%, with 25.9% ending higher (108 brands).
Moves in the second half of 2025 sat in between, keeping a median 68.0%, with 51.7% losing more than 30% (207 brands). Without an in-country baseline we cannot say whether recent moves were handled worse or whether search conditions in 2026 were simply harder.
What this means for your site
- Check how much the country domain carries. Before you plan the move, compare local search traffic for the country domain and the .com. If the country domain does most of the work, plan for the bigger risk shown in our data.
- Map every old URL. Redirect each country-domain URL to its closest matching page on the .com, following Google's site move guidance. Our data does not show which redirect setup works best, so test and monitor rather than assume.
- Keep local signals in place. Carry over local content, language, currency and contact details, and set up hreflang so search engines know which version serves which country.
- Tell Google about the move. Check whether Search Console's change of address tool fits your setup, and keep the redirects live for the long term.
- Track local traffic separately. Watch clicks in the target country for both domains in the months after the move, and act quickly on pages that lose rankings.
Sources
- PageSpeed Matters analysis of in-country search traffic estimates for 416 brands that folded a country domain into their .com, 2025 to 2026
- HTTP Archive crawl of the top 1M sites, October 2026
- Google Search Central, site moves with URL changes: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/site-move-with-url-changes
- Google Search Central, managing multi-regional and multilingual sites: https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/managing-multi-regional-sites
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<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.pagespeedmatters.com/resources/data-studies/cctld-to-com-migration">ccTLD to .com Moves: Half of Brands Lost 30%+ of Local Traffic - PageSpeed Matters</a></p>
Frequently asked questions
Do you lose traffic when moving a country domain to .com?
Most brands in our study did. Three to five months after folding a country domain into their .com, combined local search traffic was a median 68.3% of before, 71.9% lost more than 10% and 51.7% lost more than 30%.
How many brands gain traffic after a ccTLD to .com migration?
Few. 16.1% of the 416 brands gained more than 10% of their local traffic, and 21.2% ended above their prior traffic by any amount.
Which ccTLD migrations lose the most traffic?
Those where the country domain did most of the local work. Where it held 75% or more of the brand's local search traffic, combined traffic fell to a median 66.0%, against 83.8% where it held less.
Folding a country domain into a .com can keep most of its local rankings when every URL is mapped and local signals carry over. Need help with this? See our SEO migration services.