How can I see what my web site looks like from a different country?

[Dennis-52961]

I've tried a few proxy tools to try to see how my site looks from other global locations, but haven't found one that works very well yet -- or a list of reliable proxies around the world.

I need to do this to test various geo-targetted ads and other optimizations.

Can anyone make a recommendation? Thanks!

[RyanKent]

I highly recommend any site with geo targeting to also permit manual selection. Geo targeting is not perfect and it is a very frustrating user experience to be caught on the wrong version of a site. There are many examples where this occurs.

Use geo targeting only one time on the initial visit. Then allow users to choose their country in case they are not happy with the automatic selection. This process will create a better user experience and allow you to perform testing as you desire.

[JaspalX]

Have you tried http://www.geoedge.com/ they even offer some free proxies in multiple locations.

[Dennis-52961]

Playing with the trial version of this and it works really well. My boss is notoriously tight though -- is there a cheaper or free alternative?

[JaspalX]

Hi Denns, Are you talking about cheaper/free geodge?

Geoedge already offers some free proxies - though I guess if you want more you'll have to pay.

There may be some way to hack something using TOR networks or somesuch, but I've not investigated those - and the effort involved strikes me as way over the top to do something like that.