Location of Host's IP could affect SERP??

[llegent]

Hi everyone! Good day.
Ok, I noticed that there has been some requests from clients looking for web hosting service, they would emphasis that the server ought to be located in US. They would not prefer those located in other region especially in Asia countries.

This has make me wonder :- Would the location of server or host could possibly affect your site's SERP?? Or is it just an un-proven myth?? or most people just have the idea that US based host/data center are much competent in handling server support issues?:confused:

[zach]

I doubt that server location affects SERP, unless you are talking about regional search engines. In general, its a good idea to choose a server which is close to your target audiance. If most of your visitors come from the States, then get a US server; if most of them come from the UK, then get a server in the UK. Likewise, if your audiance is asian, get an asian server. Depending on what type of contet you have on your site, and how much transfer each user is expected to use, this makes the speed faster for the users.

I am not sure whether the US is more competent in handling support issues. I would expect BIG companies anywhere to be at least somewhat competent. Also, some companies offer serevrs in other countries (such as british companies offering american or new zealand servers).

[triumph]

I have some foreign domains, and I can still get good rankings in the US, but I also get higher rankings in those country search rankings as well. As for the local domains, I get them on seperate class c's as it does help with interlinking your sites.

Sites on the same IP address tend to have their backlink value reduced between each other.