Expanding global reach using country TLDs

[PaulMycroft]

Hello gurus,

Hope you can provide some advice.

My client is based in Australia, has Australian web hosting and is using a .com TLD (his main clients are in Australia and Far East). He recently switched from another .com.au (a different name) TLD in order to gain traction abroad and not seem too "home grown".

He wants to expand into the US and UK markets so I recommended he purchase the .co.uk and .com.au TLDs of his new domain name in order to appear in Google's brands of search engines (i.e. google.com, google.com.au, google.co.uk).

Should he use the .com TLD as the US-specific and global site then set up 2 further web hosting packages in those countries for .co.uk and .com.au with country-specific information?

Or set up single pages/section on the .com site for Australian and UK markets then point the TLDs to those pages?

www . name . com / australia
www . name . com / uk
www . name . com / us

What should be the best course of action here?

Appreciate any insight.

[cbosleeds]

I have a customer in NZ with a similar portfolio of websites: .com. .co.uk .fr and .de in this instance. I'm yet to be convinced that using local web hosts matters that much, and many web hosts servers aren't based where they say they are when you look into it anyway. co.uk's can also perform very well indeed on US hosting packages.

This said single pages catering for each country on the .com.au won't get you very far. I'd dedicate a website to each one in its own right. Bear in mind that the content on each needs to be unique and also localised - US, Uk and Aus spelling conventions aren't the same. You can also localise with local non geographic numbers, virtual addresses. Don't localise with pictures of London Bridge, Opera House or Statue of Liberty - that just tells your audience that you're faking it.

[PaulMycroft]

Thanks for your insight, cbosleeds.

I think I will recommend creating 2 more websites on the Australian server and changing their content accordingly, as you say.

I'll keep an eye on the rankings in google.co.uk, google.com and gogle.com.au, especially in local searches.

Thanks again.