Google's Top Spots: ccTLDs Command 56%, Subdirectories 20%, Subdomains 3%

• 56% of the top three positions are held by ccTLDs, making them the most prevalent website structure globally. 
• Subdirectories are the second most prevalent website structure in the top three positions, appearing in over 20% of Google’s top positions. 
• Subdomains account for just 3% of domain structures in SERPs but are prevalent in top positions in multilingual markets.

International SEO is crucial for brands, and the choice of domain and URL structure plays a significant role. Google provides guidelines for using locale-specific URLs, but information on this topic is often limited and specific. Many SEO experts recommend using ccTLDs if resources permit, while others suggest gTLDs.

GA Agency conducted a study on domain structures for international SEO, revealing insights into how Google's algorithm responds to various domains. The study found that 56% of the top three positions on Google are held by ccTLDs, making them the most prevalent domain structures. However, ccTLDs can be costly and challenging to manage, so consider them only if essential for your website.

Additionally, the study found a correlation between ccTLDs and gTLDs. gTLDs without market-specific subdomains correlate with ccTLDs in positions 0 to 1. This conclusion might be a bit broad. It could be more accurate to say that Google's favoring of specific websites varies based on factors like domain structure.

Subdirectories are the second most common website structure in Google's top three positions, appearing about 20% of the time and accounting for 20% of all SERP positions.

Evidently, ccTLDs hold significant sway in Google's top rankings, emphasizing their relevance in international SEO. Yet, a balanced strategy, weighing practicality and cost alongside search engine favorability, is paramount. Aligning your domain structure with broader SEO objectives is pivotal for enduring success in today's dynamic digital landscape.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

From Cruise Ships to EVs: Exploring Carbon Emissions in Travel Modes

Transportation contributes a big chunk of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. This graphic shows how much carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) different travel methods produce per person for every kilometer traveled. It includes both CO2eq and other greenhouse gases.

The data comes from trusted sources like Our World in Data, the UK Government, and The International Council on Clean Transportation, up to December 2022. But remember, these numbers are estimates. The actual carbon footprint depends on many things like the type of vehicle, how many people are traveling, and even the weather.

Cruise ships are the worst for carbon emissions. They use heavy fuel oil, which is very high in carbon. These massive ships need a lot of power for things like lights, air conditioning, and entertainment.

Short flights are also bad for carbon emissions because they use a lot of fuel to take off and climb.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are better for the environment in the long run compared to regular cars. But it's not just about driving; it's also about where the electricity comes from. If it comes from fossil fuels, then EVs might not be as green as we think. There are also questions about how much energy it takes to make EVs compared to regular cars.

Understanding these carbon footprints can help people make greener choices when they travel.

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by Mahrukh Shahid via Digital Information World

Pew Research: Majority of Americans Alarmed by Social Media's Political Power

Pew Research Center did a survey about political power over social media and it was found that many Americans think that social media companies are too powerful. 78% of the respondents in the survey, out of which 84% were Republicans and 74% were Democrats, said that they believe that social media companies deeply influence politics. Ever since the last presidential elections, people who think that social media companies have an impact on politics have increased by 6%.

Many Americans think of social media in the light of what American legislators think. The lawmakers and legislators in the USA have proposed many laws and petitions to make social media accountable for any political news they publish. A republican and a democrat senator have proposed a Kids Online Safety Act that is asking social media platforms to make usage of social media safe for kids. The senators said that social media platforms should monitor everyone’s activities and keep their content clean and safe for underage people. But some people who care about their privacy on social media said that closely watching the activities of people on social media will make many adults vulnerable to the government.

On the other hand, two senators from opposing parties have only partnered up together to propose a bill that will commission to oversee many social media platforms. It is quite obvious why many American think that social media has too much political power as social media was used in 2022 to help attack the Capitol. Even with these many threats, the USA government is more interested in banning China owned TikTok.

There is also a difference between what liberals and conservatives think of many tech companies. 71% of the Republicans said that tech companies favor liberals while 50% Democrats said that Republicans and Democrats are treated equally by tech companies. Only 15% of the USA adults think that tech companies favor conservatives more than liberals. Even with many lawsuits aimed at companies like Apple, Amazon and Meta, only 16% of Americans think that tech companies should be regulated less than how they are being regulated now.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Google Confirms There Is No Direct Threat To Human Jobs From AI Yet

Search engine giant Google is adding reassurances to the minds of many employed workers today on how they need to take a step back when assuming AI is coming after them and their jobs.

The company mentioned how it's more than certain that the threat is just not there yet and that was obvious considering the huge sums of investments it has made in this domain.

The world of Generative AI continues to evolve as we speak and it’s giving rise to more fears in the minds of people as to how they just might be replaced thanks to the efficiency that this technology portrays,

Google says AI will certainly provide greater economic benefits to the world and any such thought or sentiment about the technology giving rise to tech unemployment is far from the reality of the situation.

Google added how many feel unemployment will reach new highs but these rumors are greatly "overblown" and therefore people need to relax and stop stressing out so much.

Today, the Android maker has reportedly rolled out investments worth billions in these sectors with a wide array of products such as the Gemini chatbot which it feels is the future of its search engine. They similarly spoke about greater expectations related to the firm rolling out a wide array of AI-linked goods and services that are featured through search as more is said to be unveiled in May at its much-hyped I/O conference.

Hence, we don’t see this as something that’s awfully surprising which the tech giant is arguing about in terms of taking on more AI products as it does not feel it would come at any major economic price tag.

In Google’s terms, there’s no direct link between unemployment and AI and if the technology does take over let’s say a quarter of jobs, that does not mean employment will be at an all-time high.

Google provides numerous examples of how AI has been around for years and it has been ruled out a be a leading force to better detect images and help cause a rise in employment in the past when there was a great shortage of skilled labor.

In the same way, it spoke about how both health as well as wealth were on the rise alongside massive tech advancements. With time, a major change has come and the mean income for companies has also been boosted.

The advent of tech has really had a positive impact on increasing life expectancy and also reduced air pollution amongst so many others. So Google is constantly serving as a reminder to the world to stop worrying about problems that cease to exist.

This particular report by the tech giant was rolled out by a top researcher from MIT and those at McAfee, along with several workers at Google who have been outlined to be the core contributors.

Other than that, there was a massive correlation seen between inequality and the world of automation where AI is said to assist with issues like inequality in employee pay scales as it’s impactful in terms of enhancing performance at the entry-level workforce.

The only thing that seems to be promoted here is how the latest technology would give rise to serious hurdles including a wide array of benefits. And in the long run, that’s all that matters. The major factor worth mentioning here is related to quick and impactful efforts that are reskilled.

Today, close to 85% of the American workforce has grown in strength thanks to the arrival of new fields and technology is what is making this possible. Just last week, the company itself rolled out a massive fund worth $75 million to assist in employee training at firms such as Goodwill in regards to tools linked to generative AI.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

Digital Addiction: The Countries with the Highest (and Lowest) Average Screen Time (infographic)

Ever wondered how much time people around the world spend glued to their screens? Or how your screen time compares to the average person? Which countries have the most gaming addicts and binge-series junkies? Where do people consume the most cat videos and other types of popular TikTok content?

Electronics Hub decided to tackle all these questions with its latest piece of research into global screen time habits. Based on the most up-to-date information from Datareportal’s Digital 2024 Global Overview Report, it breaks down the average screen time and usage times in every country around the world.

Here's a summary of all results.

The average screen time in every country

Electronics Hub kicked off the study by looking at the average percentage of waking hours people in every country spend staring at screens.

It found that people spend 6 hours of their waking day looking at some sort of screen, including TVs, phones, and laptops.

South Africa is the most 'screen-addicted' nation. Its citizens look at screens for an average of 9 hours and 24 minutes per day, which is over half of their waking life.

There's a similar trend in Brazil, the Philippines, and Colombia. In each country, screen time accounts for more than half of the traditional waking hours for a human being.

Japan is often considered a world leader in innovative screen technology, so it's surprising that it had the lowest average screen time. The average Japanese person spends under two hours looking at screens, less than a quarter of their waking hours.

This hasn't happened by accident. Japan actively limits screen time among its young people through public awareness campaigns and school guidelines to restrict device use during classes.

The country may impose stricter measures. For example, the government is considering curfews for online gaming, which would reduce late-night screen activity.

Countries where people spend the most time on social media

Looking at the data on a country-by-country basis puts South Africa at the top of this chart. People living in South Africa spend (or maybe waste) 3 hours and 41 minutes of every day on social media platforms like Facebook, X, and TikTok.

Once again, Japan can say its citizens are the people who are least addicted to their phones and social media accounts. They spend less than 6% of their waking day on the socials.

Japan's approach to limiting screen time is a big factor. But it may have more to do with the country's aging population. Almost 30% of Japanese people are aged 65 or over. In other words, 30% of the country probably doesn't even know what a TikTok is.

Countries where people watch the most TikToks

Sticking with the TikTok theme, this following chart ranks the top 20 countries based on the number of TikTok videos people watch every day.

In the UK, the average TikTok fan consumes 154 videos per day; that's more than any other person in any other country in the world.

Dutch people watch the least amount of TikToks per day (120). It's worth mentioning that the Netherlands is one of the 'smartest' countries in Europe, with an extremely high level of advanced literacy and a national average IQ score of 103. Coincidence? Spend 20 minutes scrolling through TikTok and decide for yourself.

Average computer screen time in each country

PCs and laptops are completely integrated into our daily lives. Whether it's work, entertainment, or creative pursuits, almost everyone in the developed world spends a significant amount of their days staring at a computer screen.

But nobody stares at them more than Russians. Nearly a quarter (4 hours, 29 minutes) of the average Russian's waking hours pass by while they're eyes deep in a laptop or computer screen.

Other high-ranking nations for computer screen time include Argentina (4 hours, 5 minutes), Portugal (3 hours, 57 minutes), and Colombia (3 hours, 56 minutes).

Australia and New Zealand are two more countries where people spend over a quarter of their daily lives in front of a computer screen.

South Korea, China, and Japan are notable absentees from this section of the study. All three countries have a huge online gaming community. South Korea alone has over 9,000 active PC rooms and gaming cafes, many of which are open 24/7.

Global phone addiction

Smartphone dependence is a real phenomenon. Around 48% of people admit to feeling addicted to their smartphone, with 30% saying they feel anxious or extremely anxious without their handheld device.

These figures rise even higher in some countries, including South Africa. According to data analyzed by Electronics Hub, South Africa has the biggest problem with smartphone addiction. The average South African is on their phone for 31.72% of their waking time; that's more than 5 hours of phone time every single day.

Phone addiction is also prevalent in Brazil and Thailand. Both countries have a daily average screen time score of above 30%.

Then there's the Philippines, where people spend 5 hours and 20 minutes every day on their phones. The Philippines has a notably young population, with about 28% of its population being between the ages of 10 and 24. This demographic is most likely to spend a significant portion of their time on a phone. And it's becoming a real problem. One study found that 62% of Filipino adolescents display signs of smartphone dependency.

Average gaming times all around the world

Gaming is another online activity with a growing addiction problem.

Gaming addiction tends to be a problem among young males. They make up 94% of those addicted, with men in the 19-34 age range most at risk.

And the consequences can be fatal. One well-known incident involved a gamer who died from a pulmonary embolism after playing video games for an extended period without taking necessary breaks. The embolism was attributed to sitting in the same position for too long, which increased the risk of developing deep vein thrombosis.

However, none of this addiction data shows up in the Electronics Hub survey. The two countries with the highest gaming screen time, Saudi Arabia and Thailand, show that, on average, gamers spend less than 2 hours a day playing video games.

It suggests that while gaming addiction is a serious issue, it impacts only a minority of gamers. The rest do an excellent job balancing their gaming habits with real-world responsibilities and hobbies.

Which countries spend the most time watching TV?

This might shock many of you Zoomers, but yes, some people still watch TV.

That means they can wait an entire week for the next episode of their favorite show, rather than binge the entire series in a weekend. Shocking, right?

No nation loves this old-school form of entertainment more than the people of the USA. The average American watches TV for 4 hours and 39 minutes, or 28.35% of their waking day.

But traditional TV and linear programming are dying. Viewership figures continue to fall, even in the USA, where mass communication and network television were created. Since 2023, cable and broadcast TV usage fell below 50% of total TV share among US viewers for the first time, with cable viewership dropping to about 29.6% and broadcast to 20%.

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by Irfan Ahmad via Digital Information World

Meta Announces More Staff Layoffs, This Time In Oversight Board To Better Streamline Work

Meta’s own Oversight Board, which the company created to moderate content across its many apps is said to carry out a number of layoffs as mentioned in a new report by The Washington Post today.

This decision of more layoffs that are envisioned is designed to help the board better streamline its work. And those impacted would be the division’s support staff working in the research domain.

The board entails close to 22 members and a team of support staff who work toward assisting them. The goal here seems to be more related to Meta making the right decisions in terms of content moderation through Facebook, Threads, WhatsApp, Instagram, and beyond.

For now, the board is yet to delineate how many members it would like to lose on this front how many cuts it anticipates, and from where. But it did reveal how many staff would be sent packing for home. However, it was revealed that the layoff process was not something unusual as it was designed to allow for the evolution of the board.

The Board today is said to be one of the top means of moderating content on Meta in a world where competition is at its peak and viewers want to make sure the posts they generate are read and not blocked for no defined reason. But Meta says its goal is to ensure all content that is in line with its policy gets the right viewership.

Meta hopes to commit to its success and also hopes that the Oversight Board can limit costs so that it functions in a manner that’s quite similar to other tech giants in the industry today.

Remember, the company is not exactly doing its best in terms of revenue, although it did reveal decent figures in its earnings report recently.

From what we can decipher here, a net income of $12.3 billion was rolled out in Q1 of 2024. Now we’re not sure how much access the Oversight Board has to do this mega fund to moderate content online or how the funding would be carried out in the future. But change is inevitable.

The Board mentioned how it strongly feels about helping Meta attain a strong earnings report in the next quarter and that’s why it’s making the necessary changes to give rise to this. And while no details on the financial front were revealed, we can see how things are being done to allow for more growth.

Speaking to The Post recently, Meta’s head for communications added that the company is more inclined toward showing support to the Board despite the huge number of layoffs.

Meta has always held the Board in high respect, no matter what decision it makes, calling it an integral member of its organization. A whopping 53 cases were highlighted in the previous year where decisions were reversed and Meta respected that.

Many of those had to do with deepfake videos generated through AI means including those linked to real women portrayed without clothing that really gave rise to a worrisome notion. While the firm did end up removing one of those dubbed to be deepfakes, it did not remove the other and many flagged that, and therefore it was removed.

Some decisions are certainly controversial but Meta continues to trust its Board and vows to follow suit in the future too. What do you think about Meta’s Oversight Board? Let us know your thoughts on the decisions it makes.

Read next: The Smartwatch Market Braces for Disruption in 2024
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

The Smartwatch Market Braces for Disruption in 2024

While Apple has reigned supreme in the smartwatch arena thus far, analysts forecast significant disruptions could be on the horizon in 2024. According to the latest projections from market research firm Counterpoint Research, Google's Wear OS and Huawei's HarmonyOS platforms are poised to make considerable inroads over the next year.

Counterpoint estimates that Wear OS will capture 27% market share of advanced smartwatches outside of China by 2024. This surge can be attributed to major Android smartphone brands like Samsung, Google, OnePlus, OPPO, and Xiaomi launching new premium Wear OS-powered smartwatch models. These devices aim to provide a cohesive experience integrating Google AI assistant, health tracking, customization, and optimized battery performance.

"There is an emerging trend where first-time smartwatch buyers or those upgrading from basic models are prioritizing an enhanced user experience," said Counterpoint analyst Anshika Jain. "They are willing to spend more for advanced capabilities that Wear OS can deliver."

In China specifically, Huawei's HarmonyOS is projected to claim an impressive 61% share of the high-end smartwatch market by end of 2024. This growth directly correlates with Huawei's increasing 5G smartphone sales, which has expanded the potential customer base for its smartwatch ecosystem.

"The launch of 5G smartphones by Huawei last year acted as a catalyst, driving higher attach rates for Huawei's HarmonyOS smartwatches," explained Counterpoint's Ethan Qi.

Beyond the operating system battleground, the report identifies several other key trends shaping the future smartwatch landscape. Chipmakers like Qualcomm and Hengxuan are projected for strong growth as manufacturers explore multi-chip architectures combining application processors with low-power co-processors.

Additionally, display technology is becoming a key differentiator, with larger OLED and microLED panels with improved power efficiency entering the market. "We forecast a 16-18% year-over-year increase in display panel orders for advanced smartwatches during 2024," stated David Naranjo from DSCC.

As smartphone brands increasingly look to provide a compelling end-to-end ecosystem, the smartwatch segment is emerging as the next critical battleground. While Apple currently maintains a leadership position, the smartwatch market appears primed for disruption from aggressive players like Google and Huawei over the coming years.

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by Asim BN via Digital Information World