Hi, I am based in Germany, and I am looking around for a VPS hosting. I have narrowed down my options to 2 options, either Germany or USA.
I heard that if my host is in Germany, that will help my German search ranking, but that if my host is in the US, it will help my US ranking. Is this really true? Why would it be so? Is it some kind of algorithm that assumes added relevance if the host is local?
I do not think the location of the hosting provider has any effect on SEO, if it does it is very minor.
One related and important thing .. the domain you have extremely affects SEO. Having exactly the same website on
www.example.com or
www.example.au makes a big big difference.
Also, consider performance. Even though global backbones are very quick, I can see some performance issues with having your web hosted on the other side of the globe. I have one website targeted for the US hosted in Europe, and I am thinking about moving it closer to my market..
Good luck. Just currious ... what is your website? What business are you in?