The world’s largest provider of web hosting and domain names, Go Daddy, has hopes of expanding their company to the Northwest. But first executives need to pick a central location: Kirkland or Bellevue.

While the company has several Kirkland connections — CEO Blake Irving was a former Kirkland resident, International Senior Vice President James Carroll was a former neighbor of Councilwoman Amy Walen — it is not a done deal. With a handful of Go Daddy employees working at its new temporary location at Carillon Point, the company, which serves more than 11 million customers, still has some negotiating to do.

Carroll described the Eastside as a “hotbed for talent. This is really where people want to live, and it’s where people will live and raise families.”

Part of those negotiations occurred at the Woodmark Hotel last week, when Go Daddy executives met with Kirkland city officials.

While company leaders couldn’t disclose how many new employees the company is seeking to hire, Carroll said the presence of big tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon and eBay, assures him of the Internet and web talent around the area.

The permanent expansion, wherever executives may choose, is expected to open in June, according to a Go Daddy press release.

The Kirkland Reporter is a sister publication of the Mercer Island Reporter.