Can SSL certificates influence geo targeting?

[zerillos]

Let's say a company located in the UK runs a website for the US. The website is hosted on a server in the US, with a US-based IP and a .com TLD. There's no geographic target set in WMT. If the company decides to get a SSL, it will be registered with the company's UK address and country. Will the US geo targeting of the website be influenced by de UK-registered SSL?

[tedster]

That's one heck of a good question - I never thought about it before. I suppose it could be one of the many signals Google uses but I can't imagine it being enough to overwhelm all the other, much bigger and more obvious signals that we know are in play.

Is this question because you are seeing a geo-targeting issue? Or is it more of a theoretical question?

[zerillos]

It's more of a theoretical question. I haven't tested it yet. My guess is it shouldn't influence geo targeting, since the website (and its content) is still targeted towards US visitors, even though the ssl is registered in the UK.

But g could have a different opinion... Does anyone have any conclusive data either way?