Thrudigital

Yesterday, I was analysing differences between (European/US) Google.com and Google.co.uk (yes, search results are different for Google.com in the US and Google.com in Europe). While my website (www.aqua-fish.net) is ranked well in European Google.com, its positions are a little worse in the US (explained below), and its positions in Google.co.uk are very disappointing. So, why is it this way, and how can I improve my positions on Google.co.uk?

First, some facts:

1) My website was originally hosted in the USA, and was then was moved to Slovakia after some problems (for those who don’t know, this country is in Europe, and is distinct from Slovenia) and is now hosted in the USA again, on a dedicated server;

2) My website has plenty of links from free directories (this was my initial SEO);
3) In Google Sitemaps, I assigned the USA as my site’s geographical target.

Now, some knowledge gained from the facts above:

1) Being in the USA or Slovakia has no relation to the UK,
2) Free directories to which I submitted my website are usually hosted in the US or Pakistan.

So, without a co.uk domain or a UK-based IP address, what can I do in order to increase traffic from Google.co.uk? The answer is in links from .co.uk domains and links from UK-based websites. How do I know this? See these snapshots…

Phrase aquarium fish, Google.com, US

Phrase aquarium fish, Google.co.uk, UK

Phrase aquarium fish, Google.com.pk, Pakistan

As you can see, in Google.com.pk my website is ranked 4th, in Google.com it’s 7th and in Google.co.uk it’s 39th. This is largely because of links from directories in Pakistan. Now, we know that the way to increase traffic from Google.co.uk is getting links from co.uk websites. Unlike other websites, I’m also going to tell you how one can get such links in a relatively easy and fast way.

What do we know?

1) Directories often use the phpLD core,
2) Directories usually use terms such as “add url”, “submit url” in titles.

It’s easy to type these phrases into Google:

1) “powered by phpld” site:co.uk
2) “submit a site” site:co.uk
3) “submit a link” site:co.uk
4) “submit url” site:co.uk

There are many other possible queries; there is virtually no limit.

I tried this method yesterday and my site has already been approved in some directories. Some would view this as spamming. In fact, this cannot be called spamming as these directories exist, and we’re simply using existing technologies to make our work easier. Also, another objection may be related to the view that “directories are dead”. Actually, we are unlikely to find useless websites with this method (because the sites occupy top positions in Google, which indicates that these sites carry at least some weight.) However, there are a range of advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages:
1) One can find directories which couldn’t be found in other ways;
2) Such websites are known by Google. The better their positions in SERP, the higher the chance of getting a useful link;
3) It is fast;
4) You can find not only co.uk directories, but also any other relevant domains (for example, .us or .de).

Disadvantages:
1) Many directories are paid or require a reciprocal link,
2) it is difficult to tell if it’s still an active directory (though, aside from DMOZ, we can never really tell when submitting to directories).

Happy hunting!

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