What are the benefits or implications of using a local domain rather than a .com?

John asks…

I am starting to do some offline work creating websites for local businesses. For SEO purposes with a specific country is there any additional benefit of using the relevant country domain extension (i.e. .au for Australia, .uk , .de etc).
I understand the benefits of a .com for marketing broadly on the internet but not sure of the implications or benefits of using the local extension.

There are a number of factors at play when selecting your domain a local domain (or ccTLD). Setting geo-targeting in Google Webmaster Tools to the right country will have the largest, easiest impact on pure SEO factors for an established site, but there are some things you’ll need to consider.

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If the business is truly international, then go for .com, and consider buying the localized equivalents of the domain as well.