Regional or Internation?

[smokin_ace]

Hi everyone,

I was trying to find an answer for this question for long time, and finally since I've got a Pro in SEOmoz i can ask the community.

I have two domains:

www.versaillesdentalclinic.COM - i have it from 2008, currently its my main domain

www.versaillesdentalclinic.AE  (Regional domain for Google.AE) - bought recently

So my question is how I can use the regional domain, in order help me get higher rankings in Google.ae.

Shall I do 301 redirect from .com to .ae. Tell Google in webmaster panel that i moved from .com to .ae  and try to concentrate my SEO campaign on .ae.

Or all this are useless and doesn't worth it? I've heard that Google give a priority do regional domains, but how big is this priority?

Thx in advance,

Russel

[webindustry]

It seems to be going OK. We have have not decreased or increased traffic significantly but I believe that the natural results will be increasing since we are also "hosting" locally. hosting locally also influences search results.

[smokin_ace]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your reply. I know it's not difficult to move from .com to .ae. And issue of duplicate content can be solved through 301 redirect.

However I would like to know did this shifting help you to increase rankings of your website in Google.ae ??

Thanks, Russel

[webindustry]

I am facing a very similar situation for a large established client of 10+ years. We decided to do a change of address in Google Webmaster and move him to a local domain extension (similar to your .ae). According to Google recommended guidelines and past experience, a change of address is in order for you. Get rid of the duplicate content and make that site local.

Regards

Paul Hoover