Rankings on Google.com / Google.co.uk vary

[PromoteCasino]

Hi Guys,
I have a .com site and am seeing very different results on google.com to google.co.uk
For instance for a certain keyword on google.com shows on 1st page but on google.co.uk show 4th page or lower.
My site is primarily targeted at the UK market and it is really frustrating not to be in the same position for the uk SE's.
Any ideas why the vast difference? SEO is not my forte so would appreciate an insight.

[igamingnuts]

Probably you didn't set international targeting for UK in search console. Here you will find more info: https://support.google.com/webmaster...er/62399?hl=en

[PromoteCasino]

Probably you didn't set international targeting for UK in search console. Here you will find more info: https://support.google.com/webmaster...er/62399?hl=en

So if I choose target UK will that help with the rankings for UK? Plus what about rankings on google.com will they fall?

[igamingnuts]

Yes it should help in UK ranking. And in terms of ranking on google.com it is hard to answer. It can decrease your SERPs but also can have no influence. It is just the signal for the google that you are targeting users from UK. The decision should depend on your traffic, if you have big amount of valuable traffic it can be a bit risky to set international targeting to UK.

[chaumi]

Probably you didn't set international targeting for UK in search console. Here you will find more info: https://support.google.com/webmaster...er/62399?hl=en

First time I've seen this...and it may have an impact on .co.uk ranking if done right (certainly I wouldn't say don't try it)...BUT....I suspect this is more for setting targetting of a .com on those countries which are not English speaking (ie France, Germany etc...and note they use France as an example)

From experience and some guesswork, the reason (and this is more guesswork) that English language .coms don't show as high up on G.co.uk as G.com is planned/intended by G...possibly because they recognise the .co.uk 'readership' or visitors as more discerning (or maybe just the competition for top spots is stronger), or possibly because of a myriad of other reasons......

....it may be as simple as 'you need an inbound .co.uk link or two to get an equal footing in G.co.uk to G.com'

[PromoteCasino]

From experience and some guesswork, the reason (and this is more guesswork) that English language .coms don't show as high up on G.co.uk as G.com is planned/intended by G...possibly because they recognise the .co.uk 'readership' or visitors as more discerning (or maybe just the competition for top spots is stronger), or possibly because of a myriad of other reasons.

It is a bit of a gamble and there appear to be no clear answers as well. Looking in GWT (international targeting) it is greyed out at the moment but there is a listing for non specific countries called 'unlisted'. I assume this should be the setting for non country specific. What I am worried about obviously is having the same rankings I have already in the UK with no increase but losing worldwide. Also does anyone know how long it takes for Google to act on the setting?

[chaumi]

I could be wrong but i think you might end up barking up the wrong tree by doing this.

'Proof'?

I have a .com targeted at UK visitors. It's been 1 or 2 for 4-5 years (pretty much since a month after it went live) for its main keyword term in G UK...and I've done no messing about with targeting anywhere.

But it does have a few .co.uk links in, which I think is what positions it.


Now the question might be 'what if it had no .co.uk links, but did have targeting set? Would it possibly rank higher?'


...and the answer will be 'can only confirm either by doing it, or someone else has some direct/relevant experience and can share it'

[PromoteCasino]

Hopefully someone has had some experience and share with us

[zalozite]

Ranking with co.uk and com is different in google

[MrBinaryAff]

Ranking with co.uk and com is different in google

That's obvious, thanks

Tbh I think it depends from incoming links, content (if you mention UK or smth like that then you rank better in G.co.uk) and where your main visitors come from?

[PromoteCasino]

Tbh I think it depends from incoming links, content (if you mention UK or smth like that then you rank better in G.co.uk) and where your main visitors come from?

I do have UK in the domain name, but as for links there are very few but I guess they are not from UK sources

[igamingnuts]

Most of the information is the link I've posted:

"If no information is entered in Search Console, Google relies largely on the site's country domain (such as .ca, .de). If you use an international domain (.com, .org, .eu), we'll rely on several signals, including IP address, location information on the page, links to the page, and any relevant information from Google My Business. If you change hosting provider for a country domain, there should be no impact. If you change the hosting provider of an international domain to a provider in another country, we recommend using Search Console to tell us which country your site should be associated with.

[kalpna8687]

Ranking on Google.com became very necessary now a days. Because, if on google.com we use to stay our ranking in best position then, it is very effective and appreciated thing got made by internet world. Thanks and really very interesting topic in this forum.

[wonderpunter]

If it's soccer (football) then you would most likely rank better in the US as their is less competition for certain words, Man U, etc.. the other thing to check is the language you are using, not sure if it gives weight but there is a reason they are tagged EN_US EN_GB etc, check the header

[PromoteCasino]

If it's soccer (football) then you would most likely rank better in the US as their is less competition for certain words, Man U, etc.. the other thing to check is the language you are using, not sure if it gives weight but there is a reason they are tagged EN_US EN_GB etc, check the header

Just had a quick look and it looks like the header is showing as en_gb. It is funny for the same term it can be ranked 1st page on .com and be 3rd or 4th page for same term. Not funny really!!!

[pokeraussie]

My site is primarily targeted at the UK market and it is really frustrating not to be in the same position for the uk SE's.
Any ideas why the vast difference? SEO is not my forte so would appreciate an insight.

You made a mistake getting the .com.

[BetsGalore]

Hi Guys,
I have a .com site and am seeing very different results on google.com to google.co.uk
For instance for a certain keyword on google.com shows on 1st page but on google.co.uk show 4th page or lower.
My site is primarily targeted at the UK market and it is really frustrating not to be in the same position for the uk SE's.
Any ideas why the vast difference? SEO is not my forte so would appreciate an insight.

Is that they way forward though?

I think SEO has worked in the past but I'm not convinced its the way of conversion for the future.


Apps and Social is what you should focus on

[baldidiot]

What I am worried about obviously is having the same rankings I have already in the UK with no increase but losing worldwide. Also does anyone know how long it takes for Google to act on the setting?

If you're primarily targetting the UK (which if it's the one with UK in the domain, then I'm assuming you are) then you wont get much UK traffic from google.com - it normally redirects to google.co.uk.

I suspect there are quite a few things going on here:

1. You haven't got any signals saying you're mainly aimed at the UK. Easiest thing to do is set the country target in GWT.

2. There's almost definitely more competition in google.co.uk than in google.com for UK specific terms. What I mean by this is that if you're talking about a term like 'bet online UK' then in google.co.uk you're going to see many more .uk sites which wouldn't rank as well in google.com. So you may be ranking betting in google.com partly because there are less sites ranking against you (ie: it's easier).

I have a few .com's that target the UK market and do well in google.co.uk, but we have the country target set as UK and don't stress too much about it.

To me it's a no brainer, just set the country to the UK.

[pokeraussie]

Is that they way forward though?

I think SEO has worked in the past but I'm not convinced its the way of conversion for the future.


Apps and Social is what you should focus on

Rubbish! Denying SEO is important is denying organic search traffic is important. Search engines aren't going anywhere. Yes, a lot of people use Facebook and the like for news, but there is still a huge need for search engines.