UK Site performing well on Global Search but not UK!

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by CommandTree1985, Jul 21, 2009.

  1. #1
    I recently rejigged the meta data on one of our clients websites as it was performing very poorly on the search engines.

    The site is www.landlordservicesuk.com

    Now, the initial results of the new meta data were very positive, with what I would consider to be some very good results on Google.

    However, I am finding that while we are regularly appearing on Page 1/2 Google search results for a Global search for my desired keywords, we are LITERALLY no-where to be found a UK search!

    I couldn't even find us listed under the search term 'landlord services uk leeds' yet on a global search we are position no.2 for this term :confused:

    Does anyone have any suggestions as to why this is occuring?

    While I am already asking you guys something you may as well critique the way I have done the meta data/seo seeing as it is the first time I have a site :)

    Anthony
     
    CommandTree1985, Jul 21, 2009 IP
  2. Lenn_Flo

    Lenn_Flo Peon

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    #2
    Hi anthony,

    Have you set up a google webmasters account? here you can tell google where your website is aimed at. Also try lisiting in some uk directories and gain links from uk local businesses. You could also put the companys address somewhere near the top of the page (in text) so the spiders can crawl it.

    Good luck
     
    Lenn_Flo, Jul 21, 2009 IP
  3. usearchme

    usearchme Active Member

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    #3
    Where is ur site hosted ? as this has something to do with it ?

    Also as the previous posted has said you can specify where you want to aim ur site via webmaster tools !

    Woc
     
    usearchme, Jul 21, 2009 IP
  4. Canonical

    Canonical Well-Known Member

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    #4
    Your site is a .com hosted in the US. It is assumed to be targetting Google.com. As Lenn Flo said if you REALLY want to target Google.co.uk instead then you can set your Geo Targetting preference to United Kingdom in Google's Webmaster Tools. But note... this could cause your rankings in Google.com to tank (and I currently see you at #1 in Google.com for "landlord services uk leeds".

    At the moment it appears that your site is not even indexed in Google.co.uk.
     
    Canonical, Jul 21, 2009 IP
  5. seo4rank

    seo4rank Peon

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    #5
    build links frm sites which have .co.uk in their domain name. this will help you rank in uk search engine
     
    seo4rank, Jul 21, 2009 IP
  6. lindamood1

    lindamood1 Active Member

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    #6
    submit in uk based database your site
     
    lindamood1, Jul 21, 2009 IP
  7. link2add

    link2add Peon

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    #7
    create link with .co.uk and submit your site in uk directory . create link with site with come in search result in Goggle.co.uk . you get good result from that.
     
    link2add, Jul 21, 2009 IP
  8. atniz

    atniz Well-Known Member

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    #8
    atniz, Jul 22, 2009 IP
  9. Canonical

    Canonical Well-Known Member

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    #9
    Which country your web host is located in and which TLD you select DOES impact which users Google thinks you are targetting and which Google index you rank in... I suggest you watch this video from Matt Cutts explaining how the location of the web host and the TLD DO impact who Google thinks you are targetting. Selecting the correct hosting location and TLD can give you an edge in ranking in the particular Google index you're targetting.

    Yes... you can override this by selecting the country you want to target in the Geo Targetting setting in Google WMT IF AND ONLY IF you are using a non-country specific TLD like .com, .net, .org, etc. But you CANNOT set the Geo Targetting setting for a country specific TLD like .co.uk the last time I checked...
     
    Canonical, Jul 22, 2009 IP
  10. CommandTree1985

    CommandTree1985 Peon

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    #10
    Thanks for the advice guys - BRILLIANT as always!

    I have checked the geo targeting of Landlord Services and no geographical area was specified so I have now changed this to UK.

    I will keep checking to see if we are indexed for Google UK over the next few weeks.

    In the meantime I have been submitting the site to UK directories like Hot Frog UK in order to help associate the site with the UK area.

    I am concerned about our Global rankings dropping considerably through targeting the UK though.

    Especially as I suspect that many UK based searchers perform a GLOBAL SEARCH rather than a .CO.UK one so if we do drop I am concerned that traffic as a whole will go down.

    Any thoughts on the behaviour of UK searchers on Gogole? Am I right in thinking that many may ignore the .CO.UK search, or perhaps they use it only when GLOBAL SEARCHES are inadequate?

    Anthony
     
    CommandTree1985, Jul 23, 2009 IP
  11. qdm

    qdm Peon

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    #11
    It is possible that your global rankings may now drop but your UK based ones will go up. The benefits of this depend totally on if you are an intenational seller or local seller and if you sell worldwide, is it more profitable than local sales?
     
    qdm, Jul 24, 2009 IP
  12. CommandTree1985

    CommandTree1985 Peon

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    #12
    The client only sells in the UK, with the majority of sales within their local area of Leeds and West Yorkshire.

    If ALL UK searchers (by that i mean people) used the .co.uk filter on Google search then I would have no hesitation in targeting the UK 100% - As it stands I think quite alot of people just use GLOBAL searches.

    If this doesn't give them the answer they are looking for then they may use the .co.uk filter to drill the results to the United Kingdom.

    Just my observations really - would love some statistics on this to back up/disprove my theory

    Regards,
    Anthony
     
    CommandTree1985, Jul 24, 2009 IP
  13. Arcticpulse

    Arcticpulse Peon

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    #13
    I would agreee that you should setup a Google Webmaster Account and then target the UK within it. This will let Google know that you are trying to target that area.
     
    Arcticpulse, Jul 24, 2009 IP
  14. CommandTree1985

    CommandTree1985 Peon

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    #14
    Done, Done and done! Just waiting for Google to catch on now. They've been back and indexed the site since I made the changes but we are still not indexed for UK searches - Guess I will need to be patient, though I doubt the client will be happy!
     
    CommandTree1985, Jul 25, 2009 IP