Many website owners usually take web hosting services lightly, without appreciating the impact that it can have on their website. Although web hosting is not considered a ranking factor, the hosting company that you choose can affect your ranking either positively or negatively. You should research extensively and find a web host that will offer the best services. Below are five ways that your web host can impact your SEO efforts.
Website speed
The page load speed of your website affects SEO rankings. With the competitive nature existing on the internet, people no longer have the patience to wait for a very slow website. If you have done everything right but you still experience slow loading times for your site, then the problem may be the hosting company. You need to improve your website speed because it can result in poor user experience and poor metrics such as little time spent on site and higher bounce rates that can reduce your ranking on SERPs.
IP location
The physical location of the web host can significantly affect your SEO rankings. The search engines like Google tend to rank websites that have IP addresses within the same country higher than those based in other countries. Therefore, you should always go for a website host that has servers within your country to boost the SEO potential of your website. IP locations also affect website speed because users in a different country may experience slower loading times and this can affect the success of your website.
Uptime matters
No website host can ever guarantee you 100% uptime. However, the better the host you use, the higher the uptime your website will have. If your site has been experiencing a lot of downtimes, then you should consider switching your hosting company. When your website experiences frequent downtime, it will affect user experience and this can affect your ranking over time. When visitors come to your website and it is always down, they may never come back. Maryland digital marketing agencies can help you choose the best hosting company for your website.
Security
Website security is crucial for SEO. If your site is attacked or hacked, it will significantly affect your ranking on the SERPs. You site may end up on the search engine’s blacklist if it is infected by malware or hacked. Furthermore, poor security increases the probability of SQL injection that can significantly change the content of your website. Hackers can also create spam pages or generate massive fake backlinks to your website. Before you choose a web host, make sure that they have the best security technology available and malware removal support that will protect your website from attackers.
Tech support
When your site goes down, you may be in panic mode. At such moments, you may see the true character of your website host. You need a hosting company that offers 24/7 tech support to customers. They should come to your aid at these times and ensure that your website is back in perfect condition as soon as possible. With unmatched customer support, you will be confident that a capable and dedicated team will be ready to help whenever disaster strikes.
As you can see, web hosting does play a crucial role in SEO. Therefore, to reap the immense benefits of search engine optimization, webmasters must choose the right hosting company. Be sure to research your options carefully before you settle on using VPS hosting, shared hosting, or dedicated hosting. To guarantee success online, your first SEO step should be setting up a reliable hosting platform.