When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), most bloggers focus the majority of their time gathering links. Obviously, links are a key aspect of SEO and are critical to obtaining high search engine rankings. However, there are other factors that – if neglected – can significantly cripple your ability to rank in Google – even if you have plenty of quality backlinks. A poor choice in web hosting is one of those factors that can have a significant effect on your WordPress blog’s ability to rank in Google.
Your choice of web host can have an effect on your blog’s optimization for search due to several factors that Google takes into account in their ranking algorithm. Slow page load times, prolonged server downtime, and geo-location in the wrong region can all negatively affect your attempts to rank.
Server Speed
It goes without saying that the speed of your web host will affect the speed with which your WordPress blog loads. But perhaps what you didn’t know was that Google has officially stated that your website’s load speed is one of the signals they use in their ranking algorithm. Having a web server that can adequately handle your website’s traffic load is the most important factor in optimizing site speed. A slow server, or a service plan that can’t meet your traffic needs will not only create a poor user experience for readers, it can actually hurt you in the search engines.
In addition to finding a fast web server and a suitable hosting plan, you’ll also want to take some simple measures to optimize your WordPress blog for performance. Be sure to compress images so that they’re optimized for the web and be sure to compress and clean up any broken code or scripts that could affect page load times. You’ll also see a significant speed boost if you Cache static files.
If you’re fairly new to blogging and you’re not sure where to start then you’re in luck. The great thing about WordPress is that there are a number of plugins that can take care of these critical on-site SEO factors for you. You can use a WordPress plugin like WP W3 Total Cache or WP Super Cache to cache static files, minify your .css and .js scripts, optimize images, and much more. These plugins can even be used with a Cloud based content delivery network if you’re really serious about shaving precious Milli-seconds off of your website’s loading times.
Server Downtime
Reliability is always one of the key factors in choosing a web host, but it’s especially important if you’re concerned with your search engine rankings. If your WordPress blog is consistently down when Google’s bots crawl your site, Google will drop your site in its rankings in order to protect the user experience. Choosing a web host with a reputation for reliability and consistent up-time is key to avoiding search engine penalties due to server downtime.
In addition to choosing a reliable web host, it’s highly recommended that you monitor server performance with a tool like Pingdom, which will monitor your server 24/7 and notify you of any downtime. Excessive server downtime is a good reason to switch web hosts, both to protect your readers as well as your search engine rankings.
A great way to avoid excess server downtime is to choose a quality, reliable web host with a reputation for minimal down-time. Take the extra time upfront to do your research and you can save yourself plenty of hassle and headaches down the road. You can find plenty of independent hosting reviews at Whoishostingthis.com.
Your Server’s Location
The location of your server can have an effect on your search engine rankings in other areas of the world. Google’s recent attempts to personalize search results means that for many local search terms (e.g. lawyers in New York), Google’s ranking algorithm takes into account a number of geo-location factors to determine if your website should rank for this local search term. If your WordPress blog is hosted on a server in Australia, this could potentially hurt your ability to rank for a local search term in the United States.
Luckily, this is also the simplest factor to address. While you’re best served choosing a web host that’s based in the United States if you’re primarily targeting US traffic, you can also let Google know that you want to target the United States via Google Webmaster Tools.
Author Bio
Nat is a writer and SEO with a passion for technology and search engine marketing.
Very thorough post, Larry, Indeed, I have forgotten to check on my site’s speed. You have raised valid concerns in your post.
Reminds me that I still have a lot to learn.
Hi Jena, as mentioned in the article you can use Pingdom to monitor your page load speed. You can also use it to analyze your web site. It will tell you how long it takes to load each file and script, and you can see which ones are taking the longest, and where you can try and make improvements. Thanks for commenting Jena.
That’s a fact, I have been doing SEO for UK companies since 2005 and for sure our host in UK was showing much better results for customers in UK local results compared to those that decided to host it in USA. USA is much different, as I suppose nealry 80% of hosting companies are concentrated in US.
Carl recently posted…Kaloyan Banev added new listing BF Auction Plus Review in Joomla Extensions.
Hi Larry, I am happy for sharing these tips but I have a question that keeps bothering me.
Is it a must that I host 20 of my sites on different web IP or I should keep all of them on one IP?
And secondly, majority of my websites are currently hosted in the USA by Hostgator, is possible to get UK server location using HG or I will need to move to a UK company? And if need be, can you suggest to me a reliable and affordable hosting company in the UK?
Thanks for sharing this helpful information.
~ Olawale
Olawale Daniel recently posted…Google Zebra Update Ready to Wipe all Websites off from the Web
You do not have to host your domains on different IP addresses. But there is an advantage to having a unique IP address for each site. If the sites have the same IP address and one of them gets penalized or blacklisted by Google, then all of the sites will get penalized because they have the same IP address.
So if you can afford it, I would recommend to have unique IP addresses for each domain. You could save a lot of money on your web hosting fees if you become a web hosting reseller. I am a authorized reseller for Resellers Panel. I buy my web hosting packages and domain names at wholesale prices. I have been a customer of them for about 6 years now, and I am very happy with their service and their support. They have servers located in the US and the UK, and they give you a choice of which location you prefer when you sign up.
Larry James recently posted…Join Blog Engage To Help Build Your Blogs Readership
Hi Nat!
Having downtime with your blog host can be a nightmare. I went through it recently and as a result my blog was down off and on for about a week. It was the pits and I lost plenty of traffic and rankings.
Webmaster tools was really on top of the situation by sending me email notices that they were having problems crawling my site. Of course that just made me feel worse but I was glad to see they were on top of the situation.
Ileane recently posted…Google is Trying to Tell You Something, Are You Listening?
Hello Ms. Ileane!
You have mentioned the best resource to monitor your websites, and it is absolutely free! Just so others know, they can have Google notify them of website issues but they must enable “Email Notifications” under “Preferences” within Google Webmaster Tools.
Thank you Ms.Ileane!
Larry James recently posted…The Anatomy Of A Horrible Web Design Client
Don’t forget host to keep their versions of wordpress up to date as well! Nice article! I have used pingdom and it is a cool free tool!
Yup, no matter which web hosting company you use, you should keep WordPress and your plugins up to date. Thanks for the comment Gregory.
Downtime is the worst thing that can happen. Other are unwritten rules, I also think that server location and IP plays some role for rankings, but I am not quite sure how much this matters nowadays.
Carl recently posted…Kaloyan Banev added new listing BF Auction Plus Review in Joomla Extensions.
Hi Carl, and welcome. It is nice to see a new face around here. I have heard that if your server is located in the U.K. it is easier to rank for local search terms in the U.K. then it would be to rank for local search terms in the U.S.
Thanks for vsiting and tanking the time to leave a comment. I appreciate it.
Larry James recently posted…5 Brilliant Design Tips To Help People Get Their Credit Card Out
You know I’ve never seen issues in regards to SE rankings but I have seen issues in regards to trying to send mass e-mails and a server relay being banned from another people with the hosting company.
(dofollow)
bbrian017 recently posted…Introducing The Blog Engage Points System
I recommend setting up a content delivery network through MaxCDN. W3 total cache makes this really easy. You could also add Cloudflare to your set which can improve both performance and security.
Then audit your site with the GTMetrix tool and follow the recommendations.
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