Many UK webmasters find it frustrating that their website does not rank better on Google.co.uk. Research has shown that 3.5 times as many searchers in the UK use Google.co.uk than do Google.com and 35-45% of these regularly use the "pages from the UK" button to narrow down their search. Ranking near the top of these results is therefore a very important mission for the UK-based online business.
1. Use a .Co.Uk Domain Name
This may seem obvious but many webmasters are attracted to the international connotations that go with a .com domain. The problem is though that Google struggle to identify the country of origin of a .com domain. Whilst all of the folowing steps below should help, there is simply no guarantee that the homepage of a .com domain will ever rank well on your local search engine, google.co.uk.
2. Host your website on a UK server
If you do insist on using a .com domain name then it is important that your site is hosted in the UK. This may not be as simple as you realise. For example, 1and1.co.uk - one of the biggest UK hosting providers - actually hosts customer websites in Germany. I offer Website Hosting to new clients on any of my Web Design Packages. I use a respected, successful UK host with a multi-million pound Data Centre based in London.
3. Sign up for Google Local UK
There is a way to tell Google where your site is physically located. This is done by submission to Google Local UK. First, you set up a Google account, then add each of your websites. Google will send you through a pincode by post, to the recorded address associated with the site that you submitted. Once you have revisited the Google Local listing for your site and added the pincode, your address is verified and the site added to Google Maps and other Google Local services.
4. Use localised metadata on your pages
To re-enforce your Google Local entry (and help with other search engines like Yahoo and MSN) I recommend including various key local meta-tags in the HEAD section of your homepage. I suggest using the following five:
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="EN-GB">
<meta name="country" content="United Kingdom">
<meta name="geo.position" content="52.55476;-0.27881" />
<meta name="geo.country" content="GB" />
The 52.55476;-0.27881 (latitude;longtitude) example references (for the geo.position and ICBM tags) are for the Peterborough United football stadium. To get your own co-ordinates why not visit Multimap and use the coordinates from the Info section below your map.
Whilst there is no great evidence that any of these meta tags make a big difference, there is a chance that search engines may make greater use of them in the future.
5. Use HTML address tags in your page
Not many webmasters are aware of the ADDRESS tag. Unlike the metatags above, the content of the address tag will actually render on your page (and should thus be included within the BODY section; most likely near the bottom of your homepage). Anything placed within the tags will usually render in your browser in italics, with a line break before and after the address text. If you want line breaks within the address, you need to enter these yourself. So, as an example (with a line break after "Peterborough"):
<ADDRESS>Peterborough United, London Road Stadium, London Road, Peterborough.<BR />
Cambridgeshire, PE2 8AL, United Kingdom.</ADDRESS>
Would look roughly like this:
Peterborough United, London Road Stadium, London Road, Peterborough.
Cambridgeshire, PE2 8AL, United Kingdom.
Again, there is no conclusive evidence that use of address tags alone makes a difference, although several webmasters have reported good results from use of these tags.
6. Have patience, it will take months!
For a new .co.uk site (step 1 above), it will take at least four months from the domain creation date for the site to start ranking on Google.co.uk.
Patience is a real virtue here. Sometimes people make changes, only to reverse them in frustration before they have had a chance to take effect. Another problem is when good things happen but webmasters have no idea which of their actions caused the effect. Trust me, have patience and in time you will see the rewards. I have placed many websites at the top of the search engines, and this takes up to 4 months usually.
8. Consider professional support
All of the advice I have given above is generic and will work in most circumstances. However, the speed and effectiveness of the changes these actions will produce depends on the specific circumstances of the site, including how competitive the search terms you targeted are. If you are struggling to get results yourself then the chances are that you require need professional assistance. Why not take a look at my Optimisation Packages or request a Free SEO Review from the above form on the right. It could be the difference between your business' success or failure.
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