Google Keyword tool

Diceicle

Hi,

I've been playing around with the google adwords / keyword tool for a while and am looking for some clarification as to its results.

Should I have the 'Locations' set to Ireland? Or to All?

If my site is a general information site, for the sake of argument, we'll say its Horse Grooming. I want to have it monetized, I also know that the biggest paying clicks will come from the US. How can I assess competition in the Horse Grooming niche when the results I'm comparing against on Page 1 of Google are all from Ireland? Do I just ignore the top 10?
In order to rank more favourabley in the Americas do I / should I also have my horse grooming site hosted by an American host?

Thanks for any light you can shed on these issues.

PaulPinnacle

Diceicle wrote: »

Should I have the 'Locations' set to Ireland? Or to All?

Stating the obvious slightly, but that depends if you want information on a specific location or not. In your case, you appear to want the total figures, so the Irish only information is pretty irrelevant.

Diceicle wrote: »

How can I assess competition in the Horse Grooming niche when the results I'm comparing against on Page 1 of Google are all from Ireland? Do I just ignore the top 10?

It depends how you search as to what filters will apply. Using google.com, google.ie or google.ie pages from Ireland can/will all return different SERPs.

There are various ways to remove the localisation and personalisation of search results (some mentioned in this recent thread), one of the easier ways is to use a tool such as google global to compare/contrast results.

Diceicle wrote: »

In order to rank more favourabley in the Americas do I / should I also have my horse grooming site hosted by an American host?

It doesn't really matter which host you're with, but the location of the IP address you're assigned can be a factor (many Irish hosts can provide you with a US IP address if needed/requested).

You can also set geotargeting via webmaster tools, ensure the page is targeted and optimised for the most relevant locations with relevant content, target your marketing efforts to those locations, etc. etc. to boost performance in that location.

Diceicle

Thanks Paul your advice has been of great help. Just so I'm clear, in webmaster tools I could in theory, set the geolocation to target any country and / or get my host to give me an IP for almost any country?

So for the sake of argument if I wanted to create an informational site for aimed at Thai people about exporting spices to Ireland and the rules and regulations around that, I could do that through geolocation in webmaster tools and by having my host provide me with a thai IP?

PaulPinnacle

Diceicle wrote: »

.... in webmaster tools I could in theory, set the geolocation to target any country...

Assuming you have a gTLD (.com, .net, .org, etc.), then yes, you can set the geotargeting to (pretty much - I've never done a review for the really obscure countries to be honest) any country (you can take it a step further and target individual directories or subdomains to individual countries too).

If you have a ccTLD (.ie, .co.uk, .de, etc.) then the targeting will be set to the relevant country and removes the option of geotarting via webmaster tools.

The issue here is that while it (mostly - there have been quirks in the system) works for the individual search engine (in this case google), it won't apply to any other search engines, so a slightly limited benefit.

Diceicle wrote: »

...and / or get my host to give me an IP for almost any country?

This will depend on the host, but in most cases probably not.

Many hosts will provide the option for commonly used/requested IPs, such as UK or US. If you need something obscure like a Thai IP, you'd probably have to look for a local hosting company (or at least one closer to the target location where they actually have a demand for that IP) as most hosts simply wouldn't have a demand for those.

Diceicle wrote: »

..I could do that through geolocation in webmaster tools and by having my host provide me with a thai IP?

In a perfect world, for a specific aim like that where it's geared 100% to a specific market, you'd use a .th (or other relevant country code) ccTLD.

This carries the benefit of ensuring the SE geotargeting is correctly assigned (removes room for mistakes) and ensures that the local market know it's geared towards them (think of your own searches and when you see a '.ie' how it can impact on you as a user).

It wouldn't hurt to also have it on a local IP address, but it isn't 'essential' by any means when using a ccTLD.

You could do pretty much the same thing using a gTLD (.com etc.) and having a local IP. If a local IP is an issue, you could also achieve the desired results using the WMT for targeting. Also worth having content optimised for the local country (language, currency, local contact number [easily available through VoIP providers], etc. etc.).

Which option is 'best' will depend on the specifics and there's no 'right' or 'wrong' answer (although having the relevant ccTLD is the preferable option in most cases like you've outlined).

trickobrien

I have been testing this issue myself lately-in regards to whether it matters where your site is hosted

i found this helpful http://articlemanual.com/2010/12/ser...ation-and-seo/ -