Will a Canadian server effect US Results?

[fisher318]

Hello, i've noticed a thread on here once before targeting this, but I couldn't find it again. If we have our dedicated server in Canada, is that going to effect clients that want to rank for terms such as Myrtle Beach? I have read that it will effect it, but then I've had others say, only if you're outside of North America will it be effected, etc.

We do currently have a site that is ranking just fine for Denver Colorado keyword terms, and that site is also on the Canada server. So any feedback, thoughts, or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks everyone!

[Dubbya]

It can have an impact but the biggest question remains "who is your audience?".

If you're targeting US-based users, you'll want to make sure you're listed in Google Local and Yahoo! Local listings as well. Short of changing servers to one that's based in the US, just make sure you do everything you can to indicate that your business is located in the US and your customers will find you.

My host is based on the West coast in Vancouver, the server is situated in the US and I target Canadian traffic almost exclusively. In my case, the server location has had little if any impact at all.

By last count, I rank very well in my niche, at least I do for searches performed North of the 49th parallel!

This thread might shed some more light on your question:
Physical Location Of Server & Search Results

Here's a pretty interesting article that might also be of interest:
Google's dirty little secret - Netlash

[SIA]

Search Engines know that servers will host sites all over the world, so I have a hard time believing that the location of a server would have any effect on a site's ranking. In all honesty it was probably just some small server trying to use that as a low level marketing tool. "You should use us because we are local and Google will index you better (Nub)."

If it does I will be shocked and really have to invest in servers all over the world....ohhhh...maybe that's their marketing tactic.

[fisher318]

Ok, well I found the original thread that got me going on this, it's listed here:

Physical Location Of Server & Search Results

We have been doing fine ranking in local results, and geographically specific terms, however, a marketing company contacted my customer and explained how it would effect them. So is it possible maybe that "OVER SEAS" servers might be more of an issue, than North American servers?

Oh, and also, below this message is a "Trackback" area to send trackbacks to. What is that all about and how does that work? Can I put just any web site in there?

[Big Juice]

It won't have any real negative effect. What it will do however is give you potentially better rankings for searches on google.ca - especially when someone does a search with Canada only filtering.

By way of an example a good many sports betting affiliate sites are hosted in Canada for fear of the US DOJ and they have top rankings for their highly competitive keywords in Google.com as well as Google.ca, filter or no.

[deepsand]

Originally Posted by fisher318

Oh, and also, below this message is a "Trackback" area to send trackbacks to. What is that all about and how does that work? Can I put just any web site in there?

See WebProWorld - LinkBacks .

[sofomor]

Here is the recipe for ranking on local searches.

- Server in that location ( eg Canada)
- Local keywords ( leather jackets Canada)
- Extensions ( .ca)
- Local information on site ( address, phone, zip etc)
- Get links from sites hosted in Canada (most important)

Follow these points and you shall rule local listings.

Now if you remove First point from above ( your original question) then chances are your results would be effected but if you follow other points properly, you would still rule. Why because most of the sites are hosted in US (being cheap) and more secure ( good customer service ).

Cheers