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Will my search results suffer when I move to a US host?

Discussion in 'Search Engine Optimization' started by Kerosene, Dec 5, 2006.

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  1. #1
    I'm about to move a bunch of my sites from Australian hosting to US based hosting, which for the majority of my sites will be a good thing, since most of my traffic is from the US anyway.

    I do however run a few Australian tourism sites from my Australian based hosting, and rank well when people tick Google's "pages from Australia" or MSN's "search AU".

    I assume that once my sites are hosted in the US, I'll drop out of these localized search results ? Is there anything I can do about this, or do I just have to accept it?
     
    Kerosene, Dec 5, 2006 IP
  2. thegypsy

    thegypsy Peon

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    #2
    Keep those sites on AU servers no? Only move the ones that are Geo targeted to the US market

    Easiest way around it to me....
     
    thegypsy, Dec 5, 2006 IP
  3. JoshuaGross

    JoshuaGross Peon

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    #3
    I'm not 100% sure about this - never tested - but I HIGHLY doubt they check the server IP address to determine locality. Much more likely they will check keywords and maybe TLD (.com.au).
     
    JoshuaGross, Dec 5, 2006 IP
  4. thegypsy

    thegypsy Peon

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    #4
    aaaaaggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

    Ok, they DO see Geograpically diverse IPs (Class C IPs) as well as WHOIS, the domain extension (.ca .co.uk etc..) and even contact page information is correlated (though not a major ranking factor)

    :p
     
    thegypsy, Dec 5, 2006 IP
  5. Bondat

    Bondat Peon

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    #5
    Keep the Australian sites on Australian host. Move the other site on your US host.
     
    Bondat, Dec 5, 2006 IP
  6. Kerosene

    Kerosene Alpha & Omega™ Staff

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    #6
    Not really an option. US hosting is 1/3 the price. And by the time I resell some hosting to my clients, it's paid for - and I can host about 15 of my own sites for 'free'.

    Only one of them is a .com.au, so that's not going to help much.

    The tourism sites are actually targetted towards the US/rest of the world - so it won't be a huge loss if the local Australian traffic drops off a bit.
    Most of the traffic is from US/UK anyway.

    My ego will take a hammering though. :p I like seeing my sites at the top of those local search results, even if it doesn't bring much traffic.
     
    Kerosene, Dec 5, 2006 IP
  7. thegypsy

    thegypsy Peon

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    #7
    I would think NO Organic SERP Rankings for local searches is 'not an option'

    Anyways, to rank on the local you will need a local server location.. otherwise it is a tough bowl of Co co beans
     
    thegypsy, Dec 5, 2006 IP
  8. loress

    loress Peon

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    #8
    Hey Kerosene

    I switched all my sites over to US hosting, price was definately a factor. I'm going to respectfully disagree with some of the others here :D

    I look after about 20 sites, 80% are .au one of the biggest of those sites ranks number 1 in google when the "pages from Australia" option is selected and that site resides in Texas.

    Hopefully your ego won't have to suffer after all ;D
     
    loress, Dec 5, 2006 IP
  9. Kerosene

    Kerosene Alpha & Omega™ Staff

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    #9
    loress - how long have the sites been in Texas for? Enough time for Google to catch up?
     
    Kerosene, Dec 5, 2006 IP
  10. axemedia

    axemedia Guest

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    #10
    kerosene, are those Australian sites using a .au extension? If so it would help to negate the US hosting. SE's will still recognize them as Australian sites even if hosted in US.

    But if they are just a simple .com and no .au extension, then yes, the US hosting will definitely hurt you, particularly for those searching on google.com.au

    Surely you can hunt around for a reasonably priced host in AUS. Try http://www.webhostingtalk.com/ someone there should be able to recommend a cheap shared host in Australia.
     
    axemedia, Dec 5, 2006 IP
  11. loress

    loress Peon

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    #11
    Kerosene, yes all sites have been hosted in the US for about 18 months now, so well and truly caught up :)

    yes, i agree with axemedia re .au and SE results

    i wouldn't waste your time looking for an australian host company, i couldn't find anything that gave me the same benefits/price/service/availabilty the US companies have been doing it a little longer, more demand, greater market share, competition etc... they're doing it 'better' right now...
     
    loress, Dec 6, 2006 IP
  12. lordcage

    lordcage Active Member

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    #12
    Definately NOT, your searches won't be affected. You can move to a US host.

    Just make sure you place the LANGUAGE and LOCATION meta tags, and google WILL recognize your site as Australian.

    Also, you can set the meta tags Content-language, Language, Content-Location and Location

    If you use an australian TLD (.com.au I think) , it will be even better.

    But even if using a .com TLD you are safe to move to a US host.
     
    lordcage, Dec 6, 2006 IP