2 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
2 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Country specific domain extensions

by Methodology
2 replies
  • SEO
    • |
My target audience is mainly but not exclusively the UK & Irish markets.

Approx 20% would be from outside these regions.

For Google rankings would I be better off using a .co.uk address than a .com address? My site is currently .com with the .co.uk domain forwarding to the .com address. Would visitors from other countries be less likely to visit a foreign country specific domain address?

Also my hosting is with HostGator (USA based). How much of an impact would this be?

I am considering specifying in Google webmaster tools that my target is the United Kingdom however you can only select one country and I am worried that I will severely damage my rankings elsewhere. Do I have more to gain than I will lose?

Thanks for any advice.
#advertising #country #domain #domain extensions #extensions #google rankings #seo strategy #specific #webmaster tools
  • Profile picture of the author paulgl
    It used to be that geo-location of your server was a big thing.
    Ditto with country extension.

    But in the past few of years, the internet really has become
    global. Dot com really is United States, but who thinks that now?

    Virtually all cool country extensions are being used globally
    for just about anything.

    I would imagine that if people are using country specific google
    searches, the server probably makes a big difference. Second
    would be the country extension.

    But that big difference can obviously be made up for depending on
    the specific search.

    I myself would do the server location just because of that 80%.

    The other 20% would be a crap shoot anyway. Just do a little more
    research on what google looks at for when deciding if location matters,
    and how to put that on the site.

    Paul
    Signature

    If you were disappointed in your results today, lower your standards tomorrow.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9734547].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author scottmacair
    If 20 % of your market is outside the UK then you need a global domain name like .com.

    A .co.uk domain will have a slight SEO advantage over .com for UK searches but the main reason to consider using a country specific domain is when your target visitor responds better to a local domain. Take France for example, hard to get them to click any domain that's not .fr
    Signature
    Affplaybook - Private Affiliate Marketing Forum
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[9734810].message }}

Trending Topics