How To Appear In Google’s ‘Pages From The UK’ Index

In the UK, Google offers two different search options:

• Search the web
• Search pages from the UK

The second option is a subset of Google’s index, showing only pages that Google thinks are in the UK.

If you’re a UK company that doesn’t appear in the ‘pages from the UK’ index, you could be missing out on 30% or more of your potential traffic. This can be costly to your business, and can confuse both current & potential visitors, so knowing how to make sure Google thinks you’re in the UK can be quite important. Here are the three ways to make sure your page appear in ‘pages from the UK’:

1. Use a .uk Domain Name

Hosting your site on a .uk domain name is the simplest way to ensure you’ll be in the ‘pages from the UK’ index. There are currently 13 UK ’secondary level domains’ to choose from (.co.uk, .me.uk, .org.uk, .ltd.uk, .plc.uk, .net.uk, .sch.uk, .ac.uk, .gov.uk, .nhs.uk, .police.uk, .mod.uk, .mil.uk). Hosting your site on any of these (for example yoursite.co.uk) will work just fine. Of the domains available to the general public (ie. excluding .ac.uk, .gov.uk, etc) .co.uk is by far the most familiar to the UK’s population & is the defacto standard.

It’s worth noting that anyone can buy a .uk domain name whether they are a UK resident or not
Pros of using .uk domain names to appear in ‘pages from the UK’:

• cheap to buy (around $5 / £2.50 per year)
• Just reading the domain name tells people that you’re UK-based
• can be hosted anywhere & still appear in the Google ‘pages from the UK’ index

Cons:

• if segments of your target audience live outside the UK, they may be put off by this domain name, which hints that your content may not be relevant to them
• unsavvy users may accidentally type in the .com equivalent of your address

2. Host Your Site In The UK

Even if you have a non-UK-specific address (eg. yoursite.com) you can still appear in the ‘pages from the UK’ index by hosting your site on a UK IP address (ie. putting your site on a server within the United Kingdom).

Pros of hosting your site in the UK to appear in ‘pages from the UK’:

• Doesn’t limit your domain choice
• Can simplify expansion (say, for example, you’re a UK company looking to expand into France. A .uk address may not work for that purpose, whereas a .com is considered fine in both countries)

Cons:

• Reading the domain name doesn’t automatically identify you as a UK site
• .co.uk domain names seem to (all other factors being equal) rank higher in Google UK than non-UK domain names

3. Buy AdWords Ads

Though I would never recommend ignoring the previous two options & relying solely on this, if you’re in a position where you are simply unable to either buy a .uk address or host in the UK, purchasing AdWords ads is a simple option to ensure you’re visible in the UK.

Pros of using AdWords ads to appear in ‘pages from the UK’:

• Doesn’t necessarily limit your domain name or hosting options
• While you can only track clicks on your natural search listings, AdWords has a full reporting suite & allows you to view ‘impressions’ (the number of times the ad has shown), conversions, etc.

Cons:

• Can be costly
• Natural search listings usually receive far more clicks thank AdWords ads

Best Practice For Websites Aimed at a UK Audience:

1. Use a .uk domain name
2. Buy the equivalent .com domain name & set it to 301 redirect to your .co.uk address to make sure you don’t miss out on visitors accidentally typing in the .com address
3. Host your site in the UK
4. If you don’t want (or cannot have) a .uk domain name, include ‘UK’ in your page titles to make sure that even a quick glance at your Google natural listings highlights the fact that you’re UK-based
5. If you can’t host in the UK & can’t have a .uk domain name, try advertising at least your brand-related terms using AdWords