.com with a .co.uk alias

[weemel]

Hi all,
My client currently has a .com site which only serves customers in the uk. I know it's not a good idea for page rankings in google.co.uk so i'm thinking about getting him to buy the .co.uk domain and do a 301 pointing to the .com server.

I've read around the issue and someone mentioned 5 years ago (http://www.webmasterworld.com/forum3/12310.htm) that if you have both a .com and .co.uk, Google "always eliminates the .co.uk domain which then affects UK only searchs in the like of AOL" - which would mean it's pointless having both a .com and .co.uk site if you're targeting a uk audience.

So i'm wondering if it's still true today, and whether i should then advise him to give up the .com and solely use .co.uk, or just to use both?

Thanks!

[IanTurner]

The current wisdom states that a .com hosted in the UK will give the same results as a .co.uk

If you are targetting only customers in the UK - I would personally go for a .co.uk as my prime domain and 301 permanent redirect of the .com to the .co.uk

It is always best to have both as many UK customers will still type .com instead of .co.uk if they know your domain name.

[Quadrille]

It's unwise to use both - if they have the same content, there'll be duplicate content issues, if they don't, you are needlessly dividing your incoming links, and possibly confusing your visitors.

But I absolutely agree that you should own both, and 301 from one to t'other. I'd also go for .co.uk, as your audience is primarily UK - and that also means that hosting in the UK is not so vital. You need EITHER uk tld OR UK hosting, but not both - and some UK-related content, such as addresses and post codes may help.

[weemel]

Rights, thanks!
Does anyone know if there is a difference between having a .com redirecting to a .co.uk and a .co.uk redirecting to a .com?

[weemel]

I guess it doesn't matter if it's UK hosting...

[Quadrille]

S'right; would matter a lot without it. It all depends on how you see you audience in the future ...

[HuskyPup]

In my experience with a lot of domains then to rank well in the UK now you definitely need a .co.uk domain and most peferably on a UK sever.

Google has really messed-up their UK geo-targetting this past year and in many widget sectors you will see very many old-established UK .coms have disappeared altogether to be replaced by some quite diabolical co.uk sites. Needless to say, this may or may not continue this way.

Insofar as a 301 is concerned IF it can be done correctly, and I am seeing many instances of 301 software muck-ups, then I would suggest either a URL forward from wherever your .com is registered or a basic holding page with all on page links to your .co.uk site.

[Quadrille]

basic holding page with all on page links to your .co.uk site.

Be careful; that's the stuff bad neighborhoods get made of.

My experience is that .co.uk sites do as well as any other while hosted in the US - and I'm heard of many whose .com's do just fine in the UK provided they have UK hosting, and nothing else has happened to change that advice, so far as I'm aware - the geolocation thing has had no effect on my sites.

My .com's don't do as well in the UK as my .co.uk's - but they are aimed at an International audience, so I wouldn't expect them to. Please excuse the ' ;)

For a specifically UK-aimed site, you can't beat .co.uk - that's what it's for ;)

[edited by: Quadrille at 3:52 pm (utc) on Sep. 24, 2008]

[pepperstix]

Indeed! Research by Nielsen and others (see useit.com) shows that people in UK type in .co.uk INSTEAD OF .com when doing direct type-ins. Also, google is fairly geo-sensitive in results - it's only makes sense. Hosting on the .co.uk and 301 the .com to it sounds the wiser thing to do.