Is international targeting in Google Search Console a ranking signal?

Published: January 10, 2019

Yes, the international targeting (which lets you associate the website with a specific geographical region) is a strong geo-targeting signal. According to the following official statement:

“Google generally uses the following elements to determine the geotargeting of a website (or a part of a website): […] Webmaster Tools’ manual geotargeting for gTLDs (this can be on a domain, subdomain or subdirectory level);” source