Google & Geo Targeting

[OnlineMerchants]

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Hi all,

Wonder if anyone could confirm what i'm thinking on the following:

Ok I had a number 1 position in Google US for a particular keyword and today whilst checking Google
I noticed that it had dropped the .com version of my site. On Google UK the keyword was still
number 1 and pointed to the .co.uk version of the site.

After a bit of checking on Google US it looks like it's dropped the .com version of the site. As both
the .com & .co.uk pointed to the same site on a UK based server it looks to me like Google US have
dropped the .com link as it is using geo targeting and knows the server is not US based.

So my thinking is to get some US hosting - copy the site to it - change some of the links and
content and make it more US orientated so it doesn't get penalised as being a duplicate. Then point
the .com domain to the US hosting. Both sites would have a click here for UK version | US version
with a link between the two sites.

Is the above a reasonable course of action to get me back up on Google US as i've just dropped a
couple of hundred visitors a day with this change

Plus do you think I would have to change a lot of the content for it not to be considered a duplicate?

Any advice appreciated - or if you have had similar problems what did you do?

Cheers

Steve

[Veronica]

If you want to have the same site on an US hosting you'll have to change the content, because you'll be penalized.

But I've never heared that Google dropped from .com version sites that are not hosted in US. For example, I know a lot of sites hosted outsite of US but they are listed in google.com.

May be there are other reasons of dropping?

[OnlineMerchants]

Veronica,

Many thanks for the reply. What I think it was (only a guess) is that
it saw for example abc.com and abc.co.uk pointing to the same site.
There are more links pointing to the .co.uk site and it is located in
the UK so it determines that abc.co.uk is the main link.

Now when I search google US for abc.com it shows only abc.co.uk links
so i'm guessing it judges the abc.com as being less relevant to the US market.
Either that or it's simply just filtered out the abc.com as being duplicate
info - but this setup has been like that for years.

Now I maybe completely and utterly wrong about the above so if
anyone can give me an idea as to whether i'm in the right ballpark or
not even in the right town then that would be appreciated

Cheers

Steve

[Brendon]

Just so's I'm clear - what is the current relationship between the .com and .co.uk domains? Is one redirecting to the other? Do they carry the same content?

[OnlineMerchants]

Sorry i'm sometimes rubbish at explaining things like this

Yes at the moment they both point to the same content/webspace on the same server. One is an alias of the other domain.

Thanks


Steve

[Brendon]

>> One is an alias of the other domain.

If you are saying that there is a server level redirect from the .com to the .co.uk (301 for preference), then the SEs no longer "see" the .com as a domain in it's own right, but simply a "front door" to the content which you have told them lives at the .co.uk domain. Their removal of the .com domain from their indicies is therefore the correct response

Any links pointing to the .com will be treated as though they pointed to the .co.uk, so you don't lose the value of them. However, it sounds as though your domain may have been tagged as a "UK" site for various reasons, and given a primary listing in the UK index. This doesn't preclude it from appearing in the google.com index, but since the .com index is global, you may not rank anywhere like as well.

If the site "deserves" (in Googles opinion) the #1 listing globally for the term in question you'll still get it - there's no objective reason that a .co.uk domain can't be #1 in the .com index

[OnlineMerchants]

Many thanks for the reply - that's great - well the explanation is not the
Google dropping me bit I think you're right and that it's probably just
caught up with me - though it has been like this for years and have
had the number 1 spot for what is a very competitive term for well over
a year.

Now the content on the site is slightly more orientated towards a UK
visitor although there are lots of useful links/tools for US visitors as well.
To get back up on the Google US site I had thought of hosting the .com
version of my site in the US. I would then change some of the links and
content to tailor it more to a US audience. Would this be a reasonable
course of action and so that I don't incur a duplicate penalty would I have
to change all links & content or just some of them?

What i'm hoping to achieve is a UK and US version of the site - with the same
overall look and some of the same links but just a bit of different content.
The .com would point to the US hosting and .co.uk would point to the UK hosting.

Sorry for all the questions and thanks again.

Cheers

Steve

[Brendon]

>> Would this be a reasonable
course of action and so that I don't incur a duplicate penalty would I have
to change all links & content or just some of them?

In the nicest possible way, that's getting into serious consulting territory, and I don't think I could adequately answer that question here.

The "forum grade" answer is that, yes it's reasonable, but you need to have an idea of how dupe content filters work, and how to ensure that you aren't caught up in them

[OnlineMerchants]

Thanks I quite understand - at least I know it's reasonable. I'll give
it a little time as I still have the top position for other keywords
on Google US so will see what happens in the next week or so.

Thanks again for the advice - appreciated!

Cheers

Steve

[OnlineMerchants]

Hi,

Just wanted to give an update - I think Google was just trying to stress
me out I haven't done anything but I checked Google US again today for
the particluar keyword I lost last week and i'm back to being number
1 out of 165 million again - fingers crossed that it will stick now

Cheers

Steve