Do you really understand web hosting? You wouldn’t be alone if you didn’t!
You’re one of thousands of new website owners trying to make the vital decision on what web hosting provider to choose. Now if you don’t understand web hosting and your trying to build your SEO ranking with Google you’re off to a bad start. Here’s a few things to keep in mind while choosing your hosting package that can affect your SEO:
Where Does Your Site Reside? – There are such things as bad web neighborhoods, and your site could be sitting smack dab in the middle of one. This happens when another site, usually on a shared server, is penalized for whatever reason by Google. Unfortunately for you, this often paints your site with the same brush, as you typically share an IP address. Until you prove to Google otherwise, you are in just as bad a position as the offending site, and you didn’t do anything wrong! There is really no way to know this ahead of time. All you can really do if you have to use a shared hosting account is to pay for a few more IP addresses you can use, (if your host allows this) in the hopes of distancing yourself.
Does Your Site visible? – If you have a web host that keeps experiencing problems with uptime, you’ve got serious problems. If your visitors can’t get on your site, or if search engine robots are unable to index your pages because your site is down, you’ll be hurt not only in the short term in lost visits, but in the long term with a non- or poorly indexed site. Stuff happens, but frequent outages in service and downtime are grounds for desertion. Don’t tolerate it. If you experience downtime with a good web hosting provider it should be so minimal that you don’t even notice the outage.
Software Updates – This has to do with the software that your web host uses in the operation of your web hosting account, as well as any scripts they are offering as part of your deal. It’s not unusual for hosts to neglect to upgrade to more current versions of software. This can have a negative effect on the operation of your site, and subsequently, affect other aspects of how the search engines view your site. Again, this is usually through no fault of your own. Ask if the software is current, particularly if you are using a WordPress installation, or any other type of CMS.
Is your server fast enough? – More and more these days, it looks like search engine rankings are factoring in how fast your site loads and performs as a part of their ranking algorithm. Like it or not, Google is all about end-user experience, and if your visitors have to wait around for your site to load, while your competitor is up you have a problem. The only way to ensure that this never happens to you is to make sure you are using a web hosting plan that affords you the amount of server resources you need, particularly if you get busy.
Your aim like any website owner is to drive as much traffic as possible to your site, now if your web hosting package doesn’t handle the traffic that significant loss in leads, brand perception and therefore potential revenue, choose your hosting provider wisely, don’t be afraid to spend a little more, it can be worth it in the long run.
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