Set Geographic Target with Google Webmaster Tools
If your site targets users in a particular geographic location, you can use our geographic target tool to provide us with information that will help us determine how your site appears in our country-specific search results, and also improve our search results for geographic queries.
In short, if your site is tailored to a certain geographic location, you may want to use this feature. Google says, “If your site is targeting users within a particular geographic area, please provide us with the relevant information below, using only the fields that apply to your target audience.”
Clarify, it is not to tell Google. Hey, Google, my site is hosted in Canada. It is to say that I am trying to target users who are based in this specific location. So your site can be hosted anywhere, Google won’t care, Google will learn that you are trying to target a specific location by you setting this feature.
To set a geographic target:
- Sign into Google Webmaster Tools with your Google Account.
- Click the URL for the site you want.
- Click Tools, and then click Set geographic target.
- Select Associate a geographic location with this site.
- Select the geographic information that applies to your site’s target audience, and click Save.
Here in this video Webmaster Trends Analyst Susan Moskwa explains how it works and when to use it.