Site domain names that should be pointing to a with .html URL or not ?

[sanketd27011989]

Is there anything mandatory for country domain names that should be pointing to a with .html URL? 
Example  www.abc.com.my  and  www.abc.com/my/en.html 

What is the best practice w.r.t. search engine optimization (SEO)?

[aanchal-sikka]

@sanketd27011989 Whether your high-quality article URL concludes with ".html" or omits it (e.g., domain.com/benefit-of-seo), it won't impact SEO outcomes significantly. Nevertheless, I lean toward keeping URLs concise for the sake of audience convenience. That's why prefer non-www and extension-free (html) format. The key is maintaining consistency once you've made your choice, regardless of the path you take!

[sanketd27011989]

www.abc.com/my/en.html This page is indexed and  www.abc.com.my  is not indexed in sitemap. I have used rel="canonical" in the link attribute. If I have added some attribute in www.abc.com/my/en.html that will automatically come in www.abc.com.my  am I correct?

[aanchal-sikka]

Hello @sanketd27011989 

It is supposed to be

• www.abc.com.my
• OR www.abc.com/my

The '.my' seems weird. The URL beyond domain are structured via '/'

[kautuk_sahni]

@sanketd27011989 

There is nothing mandatory for country domain names that should be pointing to a .html URL.

Example:

• www.abc.com.my
• www.abc.com/my/en.html

Both of these URLs are valid and will work.

Which one is better for SEO?

It depends on your overall website structure and strategy.

If you have a separate country-specific website for each country you target, then using a country code top-level domain (ccTLD) like .com.my is generally considered to be better for SEO. This is because it tells search engines that your website is specifically targeting users in Malaysia.

If you have a single website that serves all of your global traffic, then using a subfolder structure like /my/en.html is also a viable option. However, it's important to make sure that your website is properly configured for geo-targeting so that search engines can understand which countries you're targeting.

Here are some SEO best practices for using country domain names and subfolders:

• Use a consistent URL structure throughout your website. If you're using a ccTLD for one country, use it for all of the countries you target. If you're using a subfolder structure, use it for all of your country-specific pages.
• Use relevant keywords in your domain names and subfolder URLs. This will help search engines understand what your website is about and which countries you're targeting.
• Configure your website for geo-targeting. This will help search engines understand which countries you're targeting and rank your website accordingly.

Additional tips:

• You can use AEM's page redirects feature to redirect traffic from one URL to another. This can be useful if you're switching from a ccTLD to a subfolder structure, or vice versa.
• You can use AEM's language support feature to create country-specific versions of your website in different languages. This can help you improve your SEO performance in each country.

[kautuk_sahni]

@sanketd27011989 Please let us know if the information shared is valuable to you. If you find the information shared is useful, please mark the question as solved. 

[sixthcitymktg]

There is nothing specific in the current SEO community where .html will impact your rankings or presence, but most websites have moved away from .html solely due to many content management systems being built in more current ways.