Geo Targeting Content

[Qui Gon Jinn]

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What are the SEO implications?

What benefits and disadvantages to the visitor?

Will search engines condone it and index yoru site?

Will search engines interpret it as cloaking, consequently getting penalised?

[Rich]

I think it would depend how much of the site is being changed.

If it is just a little - I geo-target some adverts - then I don't think the search engines would have a problem, just decide which version they will get and make sure it sticks like it.

If it is the entire main contents of the page/site that will change based on the location of the visitor, I would set up each location as a separate site, let the search engines index each one and use geo targeting to try to get the user to the right one on the initial visit (but then let them switch in case its got it wrong)

E.g. www.shopping.com, which sends any UK visitors to uk.shopping.com.

(and if it is geo-targetting between UK & USA, make sure the geo-targeting solution is tested well with AOL users)