Getting my .com, UK hosted site showing in UK google pages

[woodstock]

My .com site is hosted in the UK and yet it is not indexed in the UK pages of google.co.uk. It IS indexed in the whole index of google.co.uk though.

Does anyone know why this could be and what I can do about it?

Many thanks

[IanTurner]

How long has it been hosted in the UK? and was it previously hosted outside of the UK, if so it could take a number of spidering cycles before Google picks up the IP address change nd changes the location.

If it is a new site, how long has it been in the 'web' results on google.co.uk - if it hasn't been in long it is probable that the results on UK results haven't yet been updated. (As an aside recently I've been seeing significantly more lag before results get to the UK only results than has been the case previously - anyone else witnessed this phenomena?)

If neither of the above have you checked the IP address against the RIPE database to see what location it is showing. Some supposedly UK hosts actally have server IPs registered to Germany or the Netherlands.

[woodstock]

Hi Ian
Thanks for your reply - the site belongs to one of my customers, so I am asking the questions you have suggested!

I had thought that it had been hosted in the UK for the last 2 years, but it needs checking.
Depending on the answers I get, I may come back and ask for your advice again
Many thanks

[woodstock]

I have now established that the site is hosted in Mexico! So that would explain everything.

We have purchased the .co.uk domain in order to address this.

However I am concerned about a mirror site and duplicate content. I have read conflicting advice that I should
1. do a 301 permenant redirect - but will this not mean that the site is merely still seen as a .com site? and
2. do a 302 temproray redirect - not sure why.

Can anyone help out with some advice here?

Many thanks

[IanTurner]

Firstly - if everyone thoght the site was hosted in the UK - why not just move the hosting to the UK and 301 the .co.uk in.

On the other hand if they insist on remaining hosted in Mexico - then your strategy needs to be a little different. You will need to look at making the site UK specific to avoid duplicate content penalties.

[woodstock]

moving the hosting is the most sensible option - not sure whether they will go for it but I can try!

Thanks for your help Ian

[aj113]

You can change the geographic target to the UK in Google Webmaster Tools. It worked for me.

[woodstock]

really? wow, that would be much simpler - I'll give it a go!
Many thanks

[The Cricketer]

Yes but that only works in Google. Just move it to a host in the UK if your market is the UK.

[Receptional]

I agree... moving it is better than relying on WebmasterTools.

Also... don't ASSUME the hosting company in the UK actually hosts in the UK. One of the largest UK ISPs actually hosts in Germany. Not that their help desk people would know that!