What Is Geo Redirect?
A geo redirect sends visitors to different destination URLs based on their geographic location, determined by their IP address. For example, visitors from the UK might be redirected to example.co.uk while US visitors go to example.com.
Why It Matters
Geo redirects are useful when you have regional versions of your website and want to send visitors to the version closest to them — both in language and in server location.
Common examples:
example.com→example.co.ukfor UK visitorsexample.com→example.defor German visitorsexample.com→example.com/frfor French visitors
This is different from basic domain forwarding where every visitor goes to the same destination regardless of location.
How It Works
- Visitor requests
https://example.com - Server looks up the visitor’s IP address in a geolocation database
- Server determines the visitor’s country (e.g., United Kingdom)
- Server responds with a 302 redirect to
https://example.co.uk
Geo redirects typically use 302 (temporary) status codes rather than 301, because the redirect destination varies by visitor — caching a 301 could send future visitors to the wrong regional site.
Use Cases
| Scenario | Redirect Logic |
|---|---|
| Multi-region domains | Route by country to regional sites |
| Language-specific sites | Route to localized versions |
| Compliance requirements | Route to GDPR-compliant version for EU |
| Content licensing | Route based on content availability per region |
Considerations
- VPN users get redirected based on their VPN exit location, not their real location
- Search engines crawl from specific locations — this can affect indexing
- 302 redirects don’t pass SEO value — this is intentional for geo redirects
- Use
hreflangtags on regional pages to help search engines understand the relationship - Consider combining with device-based redirects for a tailored experience (e.g., mobile UK visitors get the mobile UK site)
How Domain Forward Relates
Domain Forward handles standard redirects — same destination for all visitors. If you need the same domain to route differently per region, you’d set up geo-routing at your destination (using Cloudflare Workers, Vercel Edge Functions, or similar). Domain Forward can still handle the HTTPS and subdomain forwarding pieces of a multi-region setup.
Related Terms
Related Features
Frequently
asked questions
The redirect server looks up the visitor's IP address in a geolocation database (like MaxMind or IP2Location) to determine their country, region, or city. This happens server-side before the redirect response is sent.
They can be. If Googlebot (which crawls from the US) gets redirected to a UK-specific page, Google may not index the US version. Use hreflang tags and careful configuration if you need geo-based redirects for SEO-sensitive pages.
Domain Forward focuses on standard domain forwarding — one domain to one destination. For geo-based routing, you'd typically use a CDN like Cloudflare or a specialized service in front of your destination.
Still Confused? Try It Free.
Set up your first domain forward in under 5 minutes. Free plan includes 5 domains.