How bad would it be to use a ccTLD domain on a website targeted to another country?

Things are changing.

• There's quite a few ccTLD that Google is now treating as gTLDs. And this list will keep growing IMO.

• You can also set country-target on Google WebMaster Tools (gTLD only feature... hopefully will get improved).

• Also make sure your page clearly states the language (html lang=). Google will not treat Asian languages (Japanese) as Belgian content. They are not that dumb. Buy the .jp domain and 301 it to the .be.

At the end of the day, it's mostly about your incoming links sources and anchor texts for localization. Get enough .jp links and it should work.

But the best/safest thing would be to use a .jp domain and redirect the .be one to it. Not gonna be easy if the boss doesn't want it. You can use the .be one in your stationary and such and just redirect the traffic to the real website.

Yes. You have a problem.

gTLDs and ccTLDs are treated differently in where they are placed. gTLDs enjoy great penetration throughout all of Google's data centers while ccTLDs do not. The reason is simple and two fold: one, language- Is the language understood within the region?; and two, search history- Has anyone searched and a result given been successful within a region?

Google performs a certain amount of sparing of resources by load-balancing (lack of a better term) their data throughout their data centers based upon likelihood that the results given will be used. There are several major factors for this; language, interest, and proximity.

It stands to reason that language is an obvious factor. As well is proximity. It is expected that .be sites will perform well in England and France. In Europe, many speak several languages and it is easy to travel from one country to the next. However, while in San Paulo Brazil people may speak German, but how may will speak Chinese? Proximity and language are key factors.

Another factor is interest. Google over a period of time has accumulated data about what sites perform well in what areas. This is not only by topic, but by ccTLD and language. This shifts somewhat over time and this can be measured by SERP performance, CTR, and bounce rates. Sometimes sites are tested in other areas and the results dictate what information appears in what data centers.

So the question you would have to ask yourself is this. How many in Japan are seeking Japanese sites in Germany? Are there Japanese language sites with the ccTLD of .be? Would my site enjoy better SERP placement with a .jp ccTLD?

The answer becomes rather obvious.

You will be seriously limited with a Japanese site and a ccTLD of .be. However, if you were to register a .jp site, you could enjoy unrestricted access to your customers in Japan. Even better yet, a .com site could gain access to all who speak Japanese wherever they are.