Analytics Profile for '.co.uk' extension
-
What's up Mozzers,
I am currently doing some work for a local business in the UK and they've asked me to set-up Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools profiles for them.
The site is currently accessible at the following domain extension, 'mydomain.com' and 'mydomain.co.uk'.
What is the best way to set this up in Google Analytics and Google Webmaster Tools so I get the most accurate measurement of traffic coming to my website?
-
Completely. Its a great investment to own the .com version as well - you never know if the client wants to expand in the future. It also insures you against people buying (and using) the .com version.
Hope this has helped you.
-
Dan, thankfully, we're at a good point, since the owner only recently went live and since then, hasn't really invested too much time in the creation of content just yet.
After hearing what you said though, I'm thinking more and more that it would work to the business' greatest advantage to use the '.co.uk' extension.
Like I said, I don't think he has any ambitions to expand into a national/international enterprise.
All things considered, I think I'm going to direct 'mydomain.com' to 'mydomain.co.uk'. Do you think that would be a wise suggestion?
-
Dan, thankfully, we're at a good point, since the owner only recently went live and since then, hasn't really invested too much time in the creation of content just yet.
After hearing what you said though, I'm thinking more and more that it would work to the business' greatest advantage to use the '.co.uk' extension.
Like I said, I don't think he has any ambitions to expand into a national/international enterprise.
All things considered, I think I'm going to direct 'mydomain.com' to 'mydomain.co.uk'. Do you think that would be a wise suggestion?
-
If the content will be duplicated then yes, you should 301 redirect to the preferred domain.
It really does depend on which domain you think best for the client. If they are a local, UK only company then it may be worth while using the .co.uk version as this will aid local searches and helps brand them as a UK company. However, .com is considered to have more 'power' - although this is becoming less important in ranking factors.
Which version currently ranks on Google when you perform a branded search? .co.uk or .com? And which version has the most backlinks? This will help in your decision.
-
So do you think it might be more advantageous for me to implement a permanent 301 so that the 'yourdomain.co.uk' gets pushed to 'yourdomain.com'.
Likewise, would doing that hurt me on local search rankings for the UK?
-
Google Analytics - You will need to set the tracking code to "Multiple top-level domains". This can be done by going to Admin >> Tracking Code >> Multiple top-level domains.
Google Webmaster Tools - I am not too sure that you can combine two separate top-level domains. I may be wrong though?
Got a burning SEO question?
Subscribe to Moz Pro to gain full access to Q&A, answer questions, and ask your own.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
What are the SEO implications of having a website hosted in Singapore (as a subdomain of the global website) when the website is targeting the UK audience?
What are the SEO implications of having a website hosted in Singapore (as a subdomain of the global website) when the website is targeting the UK audience? Will it be hard to get it to rank? Will there be problems with search console?
International SEO | | ToniFarrington-Allthingsweb0 -
Other country TLD's for US product
We have a product ( Example: Car ) where all of the TLD's for North America (Example: Car.com, Car.net, etc) have been taken. I've found several for TLD's like .IT, .LA, .AG, etc. If I purchased those and launched sites under those TLD's in the US on servers here in the US and marketed the same as a North American TLD, do you see any issues with this regarding SEO challenges? Thanks All! Hugs, Natalie 🙂
International SEO | | okiedokie0 -
What is the best way to rank well on both Google.co.uk & Google.com?
I am working on a website that is primarily a UK based software company but is now expanding into the US. The website is a .com site and is not geo-targeted to any specific location. Currently the site ranks well on Google.co.uk for a number of the focus keywords. We are now targeting Google.com as well to increase visibility in the USA. The site is ranking number 1 for one of the focus terms on Google.co.uk but no where to be seen on Google.com but on another term the site ranks 3rd in both Google.co.uk and .com. There are a number of other terms that rank on the first page in Google.co.uk and on the 3rd or 4th page in Google.com. The server is located in Germany and I do not want to geotarget the site to the US as I am concerned this would have a negative impact on the .co.uk ranking. The site currently has a mix of .com and .co.uk links pointing back to the site, in actual fact possibly more links actually come from US sites already. My original plan was to just focus on building links back to the target pages from US sites rather than creating a US folder on the site and geotargeting that section of the site in WMT and having to build page authority for a completely new page with no existing backlinks. But now that I have a number 1 ranking on .co.uk and the same term not ranking at all in .com as well as a postion 3 ranking for a term in both .co.uk and .com I am slightly confused as to the best options. Any help, advice, opinions would be greatly appreciated.
International SEO | | PaulSimms0 -
International (foreign language) URL's best practices
I'm curious if there is a benefit or best practice with regards to using the localized language on international sites (with specific ccTLDs). For example, should my french site (site.fr) use the french language as keywords within the URLs or should they be in english? e.g. www.site.fr/nourriture vs. www.site.fr/food Is that considered best practice for SEO (or just for brand perception those markets?). Is there a tangible loss in SEO if we do not use the correct language for those URLs and just stick with English around the world? I recall seeing a Matt Cutts video on the topic and he said that google does support i18n URL's but other SE's might not support them as gracefully but he didn't come down with a hard recommendation to go with i18n URL's or just English. Would love a strong ruling in favor one direction based on best practices.
International SEO | | mongillo0 -
How do I successfully verify my site for Baidu's webmaster tools?
Instructions for verifying a website via file validation for Baidu's webmaster tools are pretty vague. Does anyone know if the process is the same as Google Webmaster Tools where the verification string must appear in the URL and in the content of the file? Also, does it truly have to be verified within 2.6 hours? Appreciate any feedback from people who have successfully verified their site.
International SEO | | sigmaaldrich0 -
What eCommerce Regulations are there when selling in the UK?
I was informed last night that in a month from now one of my clients is launching some campaigns with a daily deal partner in the UK (Great Britain & New Zealand). (Yes, first time I'd heard of it) Regardless of the timeline, our team is now tasked with making sure we have their site ready for selling in the UK. I just want to make sure we're crossing all our T's and dotting the I's. (We're based in the U.S. and selling all physical products, no digital) A couple questions came to mind: Are we required to display the product prices in the local currency? - I thought this was kind of silly, but the daily deal partner thought this was required. VAT - Is it seriously 20% in United Kingdom? And is that flat across the whole area? Would make it a lot easier than the US with 1,000's of different tax rates. Any other rules or regulations that come to mind would be greatly appreciated Thanks in advance for your response! Have a great day, Kevin
International SEO | | Webfor0 -
I need suggestions. We're helping a big journal to improve their external links, even though they've a site with over 10 million monthly visits, their external links are week. Any suggestions?
Please let us know where we can find information on how to improve external links for a very big journal site. Thanks.
International SEO | | carloscontinua0 -
What's the best strategy for checking international rankings?
Hi There- I am looking to optimize sites serving the UK and Austrailia markets. I feel like I have a good handle on how to go about doing that, but what I am fuzzy on is, what's the best way to monitor the SERPs for the keywords I am targeting. I know based on experience that if I just search google.com.au from here in the states, my results will be 'americanized' and may/probably won't accurately reflect what someone would see if they were search from Austrailia. Are there any good tools or tactics for seeing what searchers in the countries I am focusing on woudl see? Thanks! Jason
International SEO | | phantom0