Google UK Listing Problem

[EarWig]

It appears from new results from a current client site that if you move a .com tld to a hosting solution outside the UK the site will not appear in Google UK using "Pages from the UK" even though the business is UK based.

Having recently moved a client site from a UK to a USA server the index page has disappeared from the results for "Pages from the UK" for their main keyword although one or two other pages remain - www.google.com results are fine.

I believe I am right in saying that.co.uk domains will of course appear in SERP's for "Pages from the UK" no matter where they are hosted?

If I place a copy of the .com site on the .co.uk url equivalent, I am sure the site will be penalised by Google for duplicate content unless I remove the .com site altogether. As the .com is listed in the major directories such as Yahoo and all other main search engines this would be to say the least a rather foolish exercise.

This particular client has a small number of sites for completely different products and services which will also be affected by a move to a US server - they do of course own all the .co.uk equivalents.

My question is how do the folk at Webmaster World think I should proceed:

1. Move the .com back to a new UK server? (more expense for the client)
2. Leave all current sites where they are?
3. Move them all to the US server and lose UK listings? (not really an option)
4. Buy a new server in the UK for the client sites (more expense for the client - free and cheap hosting is NOT an option)
5. Place the same site on the .co.uk domain and Google will not ban it due to it being a "regional listing" similar to yahoo? (I think not)

OR is there an alternative which will list these sites on Google UK without getting them banned that my befuddled brain has missed?
:-)

OR
is this all just a result of the current update not being over?

All advice gratefully received and welcome.

Regards

EW

[IanTurner]

No this is typical Google behaviour, you need a .co.uk or to be hosted in the UK with .com/net/org sites to appear in Google.co.uk UK only listings.

Personally I would recommend that you get a new server in the UK, either dedicated or shared dependending on requirements.

We get a lot of people asking this question and invriably the move to the US server was to ostensibly save money, however the loss of UK only listings is never going to be compensated by using a US based server. Most UK sites can expect about 30% of their Google traffic from UK only listings.

[anallawalla]

Earwig,

Welcome to WW!

This topic comes up now and then and applies to all country TLDs where there is a local Google. You need not just a UK host but one who has an IP address block within the range assigned to the UK.

An occasional symptom you see is when a webmaster claims that his .com host is a UK company, you find that they are just a reseller of a foreign hosting wholesaler.

Get that sorted first. I don't know the situation of a .uk hosted in the US, but suspect that it will count as a UK site.

- Ash

[rank outsider]

Hi,

Worth noting our experience...

We moved from a .co.uk domain to a .com domain. The new site is definitely hosted in the UK, with a UK ip address, but our UK Google listing disappeared :(

Of course, there are lots of .com sites still listed in the Google UK index/filter, so I'm not sure what happened to ours. However, if you feel a UK listing is important, obviously it is best not to take any chances.

In short, I'd say you should go with a .co.uk domain, to be sure. You could try a .com site hosted in the UK if you fancy a gamble on the Listing Lottery, though!

Rank Outsider.

[jaski]

Having UK ip server is the best way. Dupe penalty is a real risk if you copy content on two sites. Also the time it will take for your .co.uk to do well in SERPS can be a big loss.

[FleaPit]

Our .com showed up on the UK serps until we switched hosts. Unfortunately this resulted in an absence from the UK serps for 18 months even though the server is UK based, UK ip, UK everything! Anyhow, last update we are now back in the UK serps and I can't think what has caused this as nothing has changed so I am not sure what the theory is or the answer for that matter!

[EarWig]

Ok thanks for the info guys

I was a little surprised at the few replies to this posting but maybe those that did reply covered it completely.
Thank you for the feedback.

I`ll now tell the client that he will have to spend some more of his money on servers, as it appears that Google (and probably all other search engines) cannot differentiate between a "genuine" or "non genuine" UK registered web site. (don`t the irresponsible webmasters who originally caused all this really get up your nose! :-))

There is also a similar problem on a well know UK search engine. They do not index anything but .co.uk sites.

The only option it appears the client has, is to put the .com web site on the .co.uk equvalent and use the robots.txt to exclude all search engine spiders except the UK one.(More expense for the client) At least that should provide a listing on one of the UK search engines.

I wonder if this would also apply to a .org domain as opposed to a .org.uk on Google?!

The moral of this story IMHO is:

If your business is in the UK ALWAYS use a .co.uk domain name - that way Google and all the UK "friendly" search engines will list you.

Or am I totally on the wrong track?
:-)

EW

[IanTurner]

I would say if your business is targetting a UK market, always use a .co.uk domain. Otherwise a .com could be applicable.

[EarWig]

Thanks for the advice Ian

I think the Forum Moderator could close this posting now.

EW