Will Server Location Change affect my site rankings ?

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by sushilfame, Sep 22, 2010.

  1. #1
    Hello All Dp Member,

    I am running 3 sites on a shared hosting server .Today My hosting provider changed the Server .So my all 3 sites has been moved to new server .When i checked my server location than i noticed that server country has been changed

    Previous Server location- Houston - Texas - United States
    Current Server Location is- Shelburne - Nova Scotia - Canada

    so i am little bit concern about that server location can suddenly drop my rankings especially From USA .Well i may be worng that's why i am psoting here

    so please tell me will it affect my ranking or not ?
     
    sushilfame, Sep 22, 2010 IP
  2. uggur

    uggur Active Member

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    #2
    Yes it can be. Especially for local search.
     
    uggur, Sep 22, 2010 IP
  3. sushilfame

    sushilfame Well-Known Member

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    #3
    what do you mean with local search .I don't have any country specifies domain name .I have all .com domain name so it target Google . com particularly .Do you mean searches from CANADA ?
     
    sushilfame, Sep 22, 2010 IP
  4. vitalbusiness

    vitalbusiness Peon

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    #4
    vitalbusiness, Sep 22, 2010 IP
  5. nzk0

    nzk0 Greenhorn

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    #5
    It can for local searches also if the response time is not as good, it'll go down in local too, if its better it'll go up though
     
    nzk0, Sep 22, 2010 IP
  6. SEOTranslator

    SEOTranslator Member

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    #6
    It depends. If you have a generic TLD, the answer is YES.

    If you have a country-specific domain name (ccTLD) such as .ca, then NO, changing servers should in principle not hurt you.

    In the Google Webmaster Forum you can find the following statement:

    “Yes, we do try to find context from these two factors (TLD & server IP) … however, if your site has a geographic TLD/ccTLD (like .co.nz) then we will not use the location of the server as well. Doing that would be a bit confusing, we can’t really “average” between New Zealand and the USA."

    Why does this happen? Check out my posts about how to rank locally and why ranking #1 in Google is worthless in the rest of the world.
     
    SEOTranslator, Sep 22, 2010 IP
  7. sushilfame

    sushilfame Well-Known Member

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    #7

    exact answer i was looking for ..thanks @SEOTranslator
     
    sushilfame, Sep 22, 2010 IP
  8. 3glogic

    3glogic Peon

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    #8
    This step will fluctuate your ranking seo do inform to your seo to take care of such things...
     
    3glogic, Sep 22, 2010 IP
  9. sushilfame

    sushilfame Well-Known Member

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    #9
    yeah ..to be honest .i do my SEO own and still in learning phase ...what would you suggest me to avoid my ranking fluctuation ...hope you won't mind to answer my question
     
    sushilfame, Sep 23, 2010 IP
  10. typo3techie

    typo3techie Peon

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    #10
    no never. i am not agree with that location change affect site ranking.
     
    typo3techie, Sep 23, 2010 IP
  11. beautyisbest

    beautyisbest Peon

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    #11
    no it wont
     
    beautyisbest, Sep 23, 2010 IP
  12. sushilfame

    sushilfame Well-Known Member

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    #12
    humm ...different opinions . ..lets wait for some days
     
    sushilfame, Sep 23, 2010 IP
  13. SEOTranslator

    SEOTranslator Member

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    #13
    My pleasure.

    You don't have to believe me - check out the provided link to Google Webmaster Forum in my response. But perhaps you know better than Google... ;)
     
    SEOTranslator, Sep 23, 2010 IP
  14. hemantmalav

    hemantmalav Peon

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    #14

    Hi,

    I don't know the reason behind this, but i experienced it, One of my client changed the server and whole keywords went out of top 100, but after 1 month link building they are back, perhaps it does not affect it too much.
     
    hemantmalav, Sep 24, 2010 IP
  15. joybrown

    joybrown Peon

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    #15
    only fluctuate your ranking form some time.
     
    joybrown, Sep 24, 2010 IP
  16. paulwalker

    paulwalker Peon

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    #16
    Well, Server Location Change surely affect to yore site ranking. It will affect on local search. Geographically it will affected.
     
    paulwalker, Sep 29, 2010 IP
  17. andrewbernes

    andrewbernes Peon

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    #17
    yes may be it will affect keyword rankings.
     
    andrewbernes, Sep 29, 2010 IP
  18. SEOTranslator

    SEOTranslator Member

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    #18
    Of course it did. Check out my posts Why Your #1 in Google is Worthless in the Rest of the World and Be Smart and Rank Locally to see the differences between ranking in Google and ranking in local Google variants using geo-targeting so as to displace major players from the top spots.

    In the Google Webmaster Forum you can find the following statement:

    “Yes, we do try to find context from these two factors (TLD & server IP) … however, if your site has a geographic TLD/ccTLD (like .co.nz) then we will not use the location of the server as well. Doing that would be a bit confusing, we can’t really “average” between New Zealand and the USA."

    Therefore the server IP will affect your ranking (though ONLY if you have a generic TLD, see my first response in this same thread).

    Obviously you can use it to your advantage to rank locally (see above link), but curiously enough my experiments on this subject show that the other way round is also possible: A ccTLD can actually score in the top Google (see the www . carsales.com . au result when searching for "cars", as shown in my blog post) provided that you perform a proper SEO strategy.

    It appears that though server IP is one of the ranking factors (specially for geo-targeting in the "local Googles"), it's influence is not that important in the global one. Different algorithm weights for localized content? Possibly.

    Given the fierce competition on specific keywords, I'm not surprised that being labeled by Google as being "local" (due to the IP location) kicked that site out of the top 100, as almost insignificant algorithm changes can have a devastating effect. But that this is not an insurmountable obstacle is demonstrated by the fact that one month of link building (which is a lot of work) allowed it to come back...
     
    SEOTranslator, Sep 29, 2010 IP