Geo Blocking – Does it really benefit your organization? Do you really want to block possible global opportunities?
We have noticed a great deal of corporations who feel it is necessary to Geo Block their web domains. For example lets discuss a well known website. Loopnet.com is a very popular commercial real estate website in the United States. They made a corporate decision a few months ago to block most of South America and other nations from accessing their site.
In most cases Geo Blocking is for security problems and price control this is the reason why Geo Blocking really started but maybe you do not realize there are literally millions of American citizens living and working outside of the United States who either own property in the United States or are looking for property in the states. Some are looking for commercial space in the states for branching a business or for many other reasons. It might have been a great corporate idea to isolate all expats and foreign property investors living outside of the United States but it sure does not make much business sense.
In the long run there are several other sites that are now catching up to Loopnet.com such as Cityfeet and many more who do not block anyone. They allow not only foreign property investors to invest in United States real estate but they also allow expats to continue searching for investments and properties in the United States and continue to advertise their own properties and access this information from anywhere in the world.
So is Geo Blocking becoming ridiculous? The effects of Geo Blocking your domain might not show immediately but as other online sites allow foreign investors, foreign companies and respect expats those are the sites that understand we truly live in a global world today.
Basically you need to think twice about Geo Blocking your domain. Set up sub domains in other languages, access specific markets but never make a stupid corporate decision to all together block entire countries from accessing your domain. The consequences may not be apparent right away but down the road your competitors will sweep you away.
Also understand there are hundreds of ways around Geo Blocking so if someone really wants to find the price of a product or service in a different country they will always find a way to access your Geo Blocked site. Chances are since you are Geo Blocking them you will never get any business from them and you will be helping competitors who do not find it necessary to Geo Block their websites.