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Web Hosting SEO and the New Paradigm
Part 2 : Using a Static IP Address for your Website
The complex and dynamic relationship between web hosting and search engine optimization has often been ignored and misunderstood by web masters and SEO companies alike.
In our second report in this series, we examine several considerations which you should take into account when choosing a web hosting company. Remember that all web hosting companies are not alike and so it is incumbent upon you to ask the right questions and expect to receive the right answers. It is a good idea not to assume that all web hosting decisions are SEO friendly. There are many factors related to web hosting that tend to have direct repercussions on how the search engines rank your web site in search engine results.
Always use a Dedicated IP Address
The observation that all forward-looking online organizations like yours should use a dedicated IP address sounds really formidable but exactly what does this mean? In order to explain this, we need to take you back into time to the dawn of the Internet era.
When the Internet initially came into existence, the names of web sites, also known as domain names, were created because the numerical identifiers assigned to each IP address were impossible to remember. The University of Wisconsin created the system of Domain Names in 1983 which maps text names to Internet Protocol or IP addresses. Domain names were associated with and linked to these IP addresses in a systematic manner and the practice is followed to this day. It is now regulated by an international agency called the International Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers or ICANN for short. IP addresses are made up of four sets of numbers. Each set of numbers ranges from zero (0) to two hundred and fifty five (255). This addressing system is also known as the thirty-two (32) bit system. To view an IP address in action, type 209.131.36.158 into your Internet browser's address bar and press enter. This happens to be the IP address for Yahoo.com and that is why the Yahoo web site is loaded when you input this IP address.
As the owner of a web site on the Internet, you have the option of either sharing your IP address with other web sites on the web hosting company's server or using an IP address that has been uniquely assigned only to you. The reason why many web hosting companies set you up, often without your knowledge, to share your IP address with other web sites on the same hosting server is because it saves them money in terms of administrative and other operational costs. These benefits are often not passed along to you. If you have guessed that this form of penny pinching isn't in your overall interest, you have guessed right. Always ask for a dedicated IP address for the following reasons:
Sharing an IP Address Kills Performance
Sharing your IP with thousands of web sites on the same server reduces the efficiency of your web site and is detrimental to your service delivery model. Anytime you share a resource, its performance is compromised. Not only it effects your website individuality but also effects dramatically your search engine ranking, which off course means less amount of Website traffic.
Dangerous Consequences
If a web site with which you happen to have the misfortune of sharing an IP address on the same server happens to be black listed for spamming a search engine or a domain, your web site too will get black listed or even unindexed by the search engines for no fault of yours. Your PPC campaigns may come to a grinding halt and your site may not be featured on the search engine result pages or SERPs. This can be painful especially since you have done nothing to cause it.
Denial of SSL Certificates
The absence of a dedicated IP address will preclude you from being able to install SSL certificates since SSL certificates from industry leaders such as Verisign, Comodo and Go Daddy work only with dedicated IP addresses with a verifiable and valid paper trail. If you are accepting orders or gathering sensitive customer data on your web site, you will need to install an SSL certificate.
Say Good Bye to Visa and MasterCard
In the event that your domain is assigned a shared IP address by your web hosting company, you may not be able to accept credit cards on your site from reliable merchant transaction processing companies. Data security is compromised when you use a shared IP address. Some web masters are forced to link to the sites of third party service providers to execute their order processing functions when their web sites use a shared IP address. There are inherent risks in this approach such as link failure and access difficulties which may be experienced by your customers over which you would have no control.
Shared IPs are SEO Unfriendly
Most importantly, if you use a shared IP address, your web site will not rank high on search engine results. Back links from another web site which shares your IP won't build search engine credits for your web site. On the other hand, back links from web sites with unique IP addresses that link to your web site (even if they happen to be your own web sites) will count as legitimate back links.
Geo-targeting Strategies to Increase web site Traffic
In an age where localized search is quickly becoming the order of the day, it has now become important to build a geographically unique identity through a dedicated IP. This helps the major search engines to notice your web site and drive qualified traffic to your web site. It is practically impossible to geo-target your web site and strategically position it for qualified traffic if it does not have an independent IP address. The minor additional expense is well the investment and there is no reason why you will regret it down the road.
About the Author
Naveen Kapur is a senior SEO and SEM consultant with more than ten years of core experience in multimedia and graphic design, website optimization and Internet marketing. He helps organizations achieve their corporate objectives by building an online presence on the Internet.
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