Getting listed in UK only searches

does Google use my site IP or the nameserver IP?

[sullen]

OK, I know this subject has been done to death before but I think I have a new angle.

As far as I understand it, when a user chooses to search google.co.uk for "sites from the UK", they will see all sites which either have a .uk address, or which are hosted in the UK (according to Google).

This can lead to problems because some UK hosting companies actually have their servers in the US due to UK bandwidth costs. That's annoying but understandable.

I have a site though which is quite definately physically hosted in the UK (and its IP address is listed in RIPE.net as a being in GB). However, this particular hosting company is a UK subsiduary of a US company and they share nameservers. So, although my website has a UK IP address, its nameserver records are associated with a US IP address (which then points back to my UK one).

Could Google be using the nameserver IP address, rather than my actual IP address to determine where my website is hosted? Does anyone else have any experience of this?

[vitaplease]

Could be, have you tried mailing Google on the subject?

you probably read this thread: [webmasterworld.com...]

[peewhy]

Don't forget Google will pick up your .co.uk links - so as much as you try to submit just to UK directories, you may be on global ones without choice.

(Assuming that's what you are posting about?)

[IanTurner]

It's cetrainly a possibility that the nameserver IP address is used rather than the actual Hosted IP address.

I would guess that most UK hosts use a UK based nameserver, we cetainly do. And it would be easy to identify the name server from the whois records which would save time in identifying the server hosting the site and identifying its location.

Are you seeing a situation that would indicate that this is the case?

[peewhy]

Sorry I missed the point there ... ignore my input please :)

[sullen]

vitaplease - it was that thread that put me off emailing Google! (several sarcastic comments)

Ian - The situation is that I have just put a 301 redirect on our .co.uk domain (because people were linking to both that and the .com and I thought it could be causing our PR problems). With Esmerelda, Google has picked up the change (after 2 months) and we have dropped out of the UK results. Our hosting company quite definately use US nameservers inasmuchas the IP address you get when looking up the nameserver names is a US one. I've already spoken to support at the webhost and they have confirmed this.

Now I just have to decide whether to install DNS on the server itself and use our own nameservers, or whether to revert to the .co.uk domain.

[swones]

sullen

I'm in the same situation as you, UK based business with UK IP but US based nameservers and a .co.uk with 301 to .com. I've also been considering using my own nameservers thinking it may help to get me back in the UK only searches, but I recently emailed google about this and within a couple of days I reappeared again, maybe just coincidence but who knows!

Simon.