GeoTLD Group Members Awarded ICANN Grant for Research on Accessibility and Discoverability of Relevant Online Content
A two-year research project, aimed at assessing the effectiveness of geoTLDs in enhancing accessibility of online content and services for their specific communities, regions, and language groups, has been awarded an ICANN Grant.
The project is led by the team of .cat and involves a collaborative team of GeoTLD Group members, including in alphabetical order .barcelona, .bzh, .cat, .cologne, .eus, .gal, .hamburg, .koeln, .london, .quebec, .scot, and .wien, and is proudly supported by the GeoTLD Group.
GeoTLDs are top-level domain (TLD) extensions based on a geographic name, geographic identifier, geographic origin, or cultural community, created with the purpose of serving their respective region. They play a key role in promoting local digital identities of cities, regions, languages, or cultures on the internet.
The research will explore the performance of geoTLDs in both traditional search engines and emerging AI-based search environments. By analyzing how search engines handle content hosted on websites using geoTLD addresses, the project aims to contribute to a better insight in how geoTLDs help to make content and services easily discoverable and reachable by the community the geoTLD serves. The research findings are expected to support best practices and inform the broader digital ecosystem about the role of geoTLDs for digital inclusion and enhancing local relevance on the Internet.
Links
.cat announcement: https://domini.cat/en/icann-grants-pioneering-study-cat/
ICANN Grant announcement: https://www.icann.org/en/announcements/details/icann-announces-first-cohort-of-grant-program-recipients-29-05-2025-en