Hosting server location

Hi,
Does it matter the location of the hosting server?
For example, if I have a wensite in english, but the hosting server is in Spain, and I want target users from UK, USA, Canada; is it better in search engines to use a server from these countries?
Also, the search engines check the server location, or it matters in Page Rank?

 

Yes, search engines do check your servers location, and infact it's exact IP address also. If you have a unique IP server, it tells google that you're more trusted and not likely to run away with a scam. Same applies for the location of the server.

 

Yes it also depends on Server IP location. If you target USA, Canada, UK then better choose location in USA for better local search visibility

 

Matt Cutt's did a video all about the topic-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=keIzr3eWK8I

 

Yes it is recommended to have your server location closer to your target audience since this is factored in the search algorithm.

 

geo location of a server is a part of google algorithm. however, it is only a very small part of the algorithm. only time i would focus on moving a server to targeted country when i have done pretty much everything else and still need a little bit more push.

you have the option to select your targeted geo within your webmaster tool. also, the domain name also tells google something about your target audience. for example, if you have a co.uk domain, google naturally will think that your site is geared towards UK visitors. if you have a .com domain, google will consider by default its for US visitors. if it is something different than default, you have the option to change that within webmaster tool.

just make sure you set the targeted geo within webmaster tool and get links from usa, uk and canada based sites which should be good enough. i would worry about server location too much if you are not playing in an extremely competitive field where just about any help counts.