Does server location matter?

[googlebomber76]

I've just started using the computer associates tool bar and it's telling me my server location is in the united states, I'm using a dublin based hosting company, the tool bar is also saying there server is american based

I've tried it out on a few other sites

Myhome - server is UK based
IrishWebmasters - server is Irish based
autotrader - server is European based
Carzone server is UK Based
Irish Independent server is in the Netherlands

You get the picture, If i'm after the Irish Market, should I have an irish based server?

 

[Gavin]

If i'm after the Irish Market, should I have an irish based server?

It makes sense to have it in Ireland if you are chasing Irish visitors.

 

[googlebomber76]

It makes sense to have it in Ireland if you are chasing Irish visitors.

What are the pros?
Will it make the site faster?

 

[Gavin]

It could certainly help with speed but also cut down on routing problems (if they occur). The less networks your visitors have to travel through to get to the site the better.

 

[googlebomber76]

It could certainly help with speed but also cut down on routing problems (if they occur). The less networks your visitors have to travel through to get to the site the better.

I'm not saying your wrong, You sound very right and I agree with you but I have to ask why Tony O'Reilly has the indo server sitting over in the Neterlands....does he know something we don't?

Could there be legal reasons behind it?

 

[CiaranR]

If are hosted with one of the big Irish hosts they are connected directly to INEX as are most of the Irish ISPs so your Irish customers will see a slight increase in response times and routing will be more efficient.

There also SEO benefits

 

[CiaranR]

I'm not saying your wrong, You sound very right and I agree with you but I have to ask why Tony O'Reilly has the indo server sitting over in the Neterlands....does he know something we don't?

Could there be legal reasons behind it?

Its probably something to do with his company Independent News and Media which owns the independent group in Ireland and in the UK and I think some stuff on the continent. Plus the Netherlands can be cheaper than Ireland for hosting and I doubt the Independent has any trouble with geo-targeting Ireland

 

[mneylon]

Connection speed is obviously going to be one issue

While any well connected host in Europe > Irish user won't be very different the latency builds up as you cross the Atlantic

SEO-wise - if you host a .com in the US it will not be recognised as being Irish...

Practical matters - Irish providers conduct maintenance outside office hours in THIS TIMEZONE

 

[Forbairt]

Practical matters - Irish providers conduct maintenance outside office hours in THIS TIMEZONE

For me in the past this has been one of my Major issues with US hosting.

A screaming client when the website is down for a few hours is not a laughing matter. Also not being able to contact them to ask what the issue is is annoying. At least with the irish hosts you get pretty much instant notification that something is wrong ... and you've got something to tell your clients instead of saying I don't know why its not working ... and looking like an idiot

 

[Lottoplus]

What I find wheather it a routing issue with the isp but the ftp speeds is up to 4-5 times faster with the irish host

 

[mneylon]

What I find wheather it a routing issue with the isp but the ftp speeds is up to 4-5 times faster with the irish host

If the Irish host is a member of INEX (http://www.inex.ie) and you're using an Irish ISP to do your FTP there will be fewer "hops" between you and the host..

 

[MiaDeRoca]

SEO-wise - it is easier to conquer the uk market, when the website is hosted in the UK / it is easier to conquer the german market, when the website is hosted in Germany.

BUT - it is not impossible to conquer the German market with a website hosted in Austria, to conquer the international market with a website hosted in the cayman islands...

When using Google most users use the default /normal search, when searching from ie, qwebsites that are "more ie" to google are preferred. But you can always help out with proper content, linkpopularity, etc.

 

[DMZ]

I'm not sure about the SEO angle (I would have thought a .ie domain is sufficient), but in my experience hosting abroad is cheaper and more reliable. If you host in the UK you're very near Ireland in networking terms and the difference would be marginal. Even sites in the States work fine. I think this obsession with Irish hosting is something Irish hosts are peddling, primarily. No issues with timezones in the UK either and incidentally, it's not much of a problem in the US either as most of the hosting crowds there have 24/7 support.