Why is Google messing with blogger domains?
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| Image via CrunchBase |
blogspot.com domains from the UK to blogspot.co.uk domains.For example, try this googleblog.blogspot.com link if you're in the UK or this BodyOfAGeekGoddess.blogspot.com one or even this paperwalker.blogspot.com domain. If you're in the UK you'll end up on blogspot.co.uk.
I use Blogger.com for this blog too - I use Blogger's custom domain option to stick the
arhg.net in there for better branding and ease of leaving the platform. I get hundreds of emails very day, so may have missed it but do not recall getting an email alert from Google to tell me that Blogger and BlogSpot would act like this.Why does it matter?
It matters because bloggers often have to register their domains - especially with advertisers. It means if BlogSpot users are running affiliate banners, for example, that they might be losing out on sales because the networks are discounting traffic coming from the unregistered domain.
Equally, the enforced domain redirection could be messing with analytics scripts.
Update
Google has written about this - on this help page. I'm still not sure how/if they alerted people.
In summary it's been done for censorship.
I thought this comment was telling;
Q: Will this affect search engine optimization on my blog?
A: After this change, crawlers will find Blogspot content on many different domains. Hosting duplicate content on different domains can affect search results. We are making every effort to minimize any negative consequences of hosting Blogspot content on multiple domains.
