Do ".edu." links with appended ccTLD have similar value to .edu links with no ccTLD?
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Just wondering if there is any evidence or data to suggest that, all things being equal, a link from a college or university with a ccTLD has more value than another ccTLD link. I have some anecdotal evidence that several URLs with the *.edu.ph ccTLD have domain authorities over 55.
My expectation is that because only a TLD is ever truly a TLD: ucla_.edu_ is a true .edu link, but for a URL such as "feu.edu.ph" the Top-level domain is the ccTLD, i.e. .ph for the Philippines, and the .edu portion of the root domain will be irrelevant to the link's value.
But I'm hoping I'm wrong...
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Hey Brian, If the EDU advice in the SEOMOZ Professional Guide to Link building is correct, (it discusses the EDU myth and if it holds more value than that of a normal link/URL) then i'd imagine that a ccTLD would be a more beneficial link for localised results/sites than one from a non ccTLD, just like any other domain would be. You'd still get the EDU kudos but with the additional benefit of it being more targeted to a region.
eg: a link from an edu.ph would be more beneficial for a Philippino site, than a straight .edu would.
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