Google localisation

[CerIs]

Im setting up a new site for a specific country using this great expired domain i found. The domain is .com and hosted in the US but was hoping that a combination of the currency on the site and also marking the region in google webmaster tools would tell G that im related to the country specific engine. (google.co.uk) Ie it says so here (Official Google Webmaster Central Blog: Better geographic choices for webmasters)

However i stumbled accross this post (Caution - Hosting Your Non US Website in the USA | BANS Today) saying that the localisation in webmaster tools doesnt have any effect and the hosting + domain are what decides localisation?! So now im kinda nervous about using this domain/hosting as it will be a big investment for me if and cant rank on the country specicfic search.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Thanks C

 

[Kerosene]

Hosting plays a big part in it.

The Australian targeted .com sites that I have hosted here (in Australia) get way more local search engine traffic than my US hosted sites, especially when people do a Google.com.au search and tick "Pages from Australia". Not many people host in Australia compared to the US (AU hosting is expensive), which means I have much less competition when people do a localized Google search.

If you're targeting the UK, I'd get some UK hosting. It will probably cost more, but it will pay off in the long run.

 

[AdHustler]

webmaster tools definetly has an effect