Google Search Console Geotargeting Can Hurt Search Rankings
https://www.searchenginejournal.comThis topic is discussed in during the Google Search Central SEO office hours hangout recorded on December 31. An SEO named Aleem Bawany joins the livestream to ask Google Search Advocate John Mueller why a smaller sister site is outranking his main site.
Mueller personally looked at the site and ruled out any major issues that could hold the site back in search results, such as manual penalties or spammy links.
What he did happen to notice is the site’s international targeting settings in Search Console are set up for Pakistan.
That’s fine if the primary goal is to rank in Pakistan, but it could adversely impact rankings in other countries.
