Does it matter if a UK targeted site is hosted in the US?

[MarkCo]

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Does it matter if a UK targeted site is hosted in the US?

Hello,

With regards to SEO/SERPs - does it matter if a UK targeted site is hosted in the US? I'll be using a .co.uk domain.


Thank you

Mark

[tbp]

You won't have a problem getting listed in the UK results as long as you only use .co.uk domains.

Google decides where sites are located by the domain extension, and domain type, so if you have an IP address that resolves back to the states and a .com domain, it will think you are based in the US.

.co.uk's are fine though. My server is located in the states, and I don't have any problems with getting listed in the UK results.

[DioBach]

You won't have a problem getting listed in the UK results as long as you only use .co.uk domains.

Google decides where sites are located by the domain extension, and domain type, so if you have an IP address that resolves back to the states and a .com domain, it will think your are based in the US.

.co.uk's are fine though. My server is located in the states, and I don't have any problems with getting listed in the UK results.

On the other hand, I made the mistake early on of buying lots of .com domains for UK based sites - hosting them in the states and then realising they weren't showing up in the 'Search UK only pages' results, despite being so much about the UK they could have had a flag for the background. Have since moved many of those .coms to UK hosting.

No problems with co.uk though - all the ones of them I have hosted in the states have no problems.

[matty]

I'm amazed they haven't invented a meta header yet so you can actually state which is the main target country for the site.

[Donk]

They have:

&ltmeta name="country" content="">
&ltmeta name="coverage" content="">

I don't know if the search engines take any notice tho'

[Receptional]

Just a word of warning. Don't put a .com on a site hosted by 1and1.co.uk - Their data center is actually in Germany!

This goes for some other well known hosting companies too. Use a site like geobytes.com to find a ping a site hosted on your proposed hosting company to check they really ARE seen as in the UK.

[tbp]

I'm amazed they haven't invented a meta header yet so you can actually state which is the main target country for the site.

There is a meta geo location tag you can use, but its not widely used or supported.

http://geourl.org/add.html

[kert01]

Just a word of warning. Don't put a .com on a site hosted by 1and1.co.uk - Their data center is actually in Germany!

Yes, I know a couple of people who ahve had a lot of trouble with this, as not coming up on UK only searches is a bit of a mojor exclusion when this is where you are!

[max99]

ye ive looked into this, been told that any domain that has uk in it i.e .co.uk .org.uk .me.uk etc will do fine in UK results even if hosted elsewhere.

Ive heard that .org's need to be hosting in the UK if targetted to uk

[zaq]

Yes, i know you save money having it hosted in the USA but the uk google god likes uk sites hosted in the uk for me anyway.

Does it matter if a UK targeted site is hosted in the US?

Hello,

With regards to SEO/SERPs - does it matter if a UK targeted site is hosted in the US? I'll be using a .co.uk domain.


Thank you

Mark

[cclapper]

One point to raise - if someone is located in the UK and uses "Web" option in Google (which is default, let me know if I am wrong) then .com , .net , .org etc. sites that are hosted in the US are retrieved as well.

Only if user chooses UK results then these websites are excluded.

Does anyone knows what is the proportion of UK users who switch from "Web" to UK results only?

I have a .net website hosted in the US and wondering if its worth the hassle to move to the UK hosting.

Cheers.

[MarkCo]

Yes, its not really a saving money issue, I have a site that is is very very popular and it seem the sever can handle the traffic, but I am told the datacentre are not coping well and the company I am with say they have a server in the US that can handle the traffic.

[tbp]

Does anyone knows what is the proportion of UK users who switch from "Web" to UK results only?

I`m not sure an exact figure, what watching a lot of people over the years use google, I`ve seen a lot of people specifically select the UK option.

Personally, If i`m searching for information, I will just leave Google set to web. If I`m looking to buy something however, I always switch to UK, so I don't have to wade through hundreds of site selling the product in the states with prices in dollars.

[zaq]

1: So you saying they have two datacentres one the uk and the other in the usa?

2: Will you be still paying the same monthly fee (£££) if you move the site over the USA?

Yes, its not really a saving money issue, I have a site that is is very very popular and it seem the sever can handle the traffic, but I am told the datacentre are not coping well and the company I am with say they have a server in the US that can handle the traffic.

[Paul Smith]

I think if your even paranoid about it for one minute then host it in the UK.

The truth being if your on a .co.uk domain you can host it in honolulu and you'll have no problems with Google at all. How many webmasters use shared hosts and probably have no clue where there sites are being hosted?

From personal experience it's never been an issue.