Hi,

 

I'm working on starting a network of digital goods sites and I'm based in the UK. At the moment I am hosted in the UK by United Hosting but I'm thinking of switching to different provider (based in the US) that offers better value. My sites will have .com domains (mainly for memorability).

 

Will this cause SEO problems? If so, is there a way of solving them or should I stay hosted in the UK?

 

Thanks,

Sam

I'm not sure about the theory, but I had .com and .co.uk sites on a US server and it did seem to affect them. I moved them all to the UK and the co.uk's have improved, but the .com's seem the same. But then I am in the UK.

 

Hope this is of some help...

 

Anna

But then I am in the UK.

 

I think this is the issue. If your customers are in the UK, then keep the server there.

 

S

There is an section in Google Webmaster Tools in the settings called Geographic Target.

 

This allows you to tell Google what country your site is aimed at.

 

My sites a .net extension hosted in the US and it ranks fine in the UK.

Hi Sam

 

I have just come on to post about a similar topic, and let me tell you, it will cause problems if your domain is .com.

 

If your domain is .co.uk, then it doesn't affect it. I've had experience with both and it really crippled me with a .com domain, like not even ranking for keywords at all on google uk, but on google.com coming top. This is with the google geo-location thing set to uk too.

 

I'm just about to post a new topic, so you can read what problems I've had on that.

At the moment I am hosted in the UK by United Hosting but I'm thinking of switching to different provider (based in the US) that offers better value.

 

When you say 'better value' do you mean cheaper? Have you had bad experiences with UH?

If your customer base is primarily based in the UK then for search rankings I would recommend that you stay hosted in the UK and that your TLD remain .co.uk as this will certainly improve rankings.

 

Alternatively though, using Google Webmaster Tools to specify your geographic location and using geo meta tags will help with this if you have to host in the states.

 

I am hosted in the states and have a .com TLD for my domain www.websitedesignliverpool.com and I rank rank number 7 in the UK rankings and number 4 globally for the keyword phrase 'Website Design Liverpool'.

 

So it won't drastically effect your ranking, although it has some bearing.

 

Hope this helps.