Google Search No Longer Lets You Switch Countries From Top-Level Domain Names

You can no longer manually enter country code top-level domain names to avail country-specific services for Google Search and Maps on the Web and the Google iOS app. Google made the announcement on Friday, claiming the move was aimed at making search results more local and relevant.

Country services used to be distinguished by the country code top-level domain names (ccTLD) such as google.fr for France or google.com.uk for England. However, this manipulation will no longer work. Google will now show results based on the region detected. The company will now clearly display what country has been detected on the bottom of the search results page.

Detailing the changes in a blog post, Evelyn Kao, Product Manager at Google, said, "Today, we've updated the way we label country services on the mobile web, the Google app for iOS, and desktop Search and Maps. Now the choice of country service will no longer be indicated by domain. Instead, by default, you'll be served the country service that corresponds to your location. So if you live in Australia, you'll automatically receive the country service for Australia, but when you travel to New Zealand, your results will switch automatically to the country service for New Zealand. Upon return to Australia, you will seamlessly revert back to the Australian country service."

Google's other services such as Gmail, Google Earth, and YouTube already functioning this way. However, there is some hope for those who rely on checking search results from other countries, or, in the case the wrong region has been detected. Google allows users to select the country service they want to receive from search settings.

Written with inputs from IANS