If your company is based in Ireland and deals with Irish customers, all you need is ranking well on Google.IE – as that is the search engine your audience uses. If your Irish business is nowhere near Page 1 of Google, today’s tip will probably help you understand why.
Why local?
Which country has the best Irish breakfast? Where would you find the best Guinness? The answer is very simple: if you’re looking for the best taste, the best value and – usually – the best return on the investment, you will look no further than your own country.
That’s exactly what Google does. If you’re looking for something online, Google.IE will return the local information first. In fact, over the years, Google found out that 97% of Consumers search online for local products and businesses.
Where is my website from?
Last week, we spoke about how important it is for Irish business websites to be hosted with Irish companies.
So, where is your website “located”?
Ireland – you might say.
We say: not necessarily. If you own a “.IE” domain, this doesn’t mean your website is actually based in Ireland. In fact, it all depends on your Website Hosting company, and if their servers are based in Ireland or not.
Why Irish hosting matters?
And what impact has Irish Hosting on search engine ranking?
Well, very, very big impact. Even Matt Cutts, Google’s top speaker, admits that Google has been using “server location” to rank websites since 2001.
So, there is no reason why your business website should not be “based” in Ireland. Check out your server location with your current hosting company, or input your domain name on to the WHO-IS website (→ link).
For more information, please read out previous article regarding the top 5 Irish Web Hosting Companies: Web Hosting: Are you paying the right price?
I found these points very useful and I will keep them in mind when I will start SEO. Thank you for this article.
You’re welcome! Should you have any SEO questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Take care