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Last updated on September 28th, 2022 at 03:25 pm
A website host can help make or break your site ranking, so it’s definitely important that you have a good and reliable website host! We are going to take a look at the top factors that a website host is responsible for that also affect SEO.
What is website hosting?
Your website cannot exist without a registered domain (your website name and URL. i.e. mywebsite.com) and a hosting provider to host that domain. A web hosting service provides a space for domains to be hosted on the internet. This is needed so that you have a place to store your website database safely, and have it be accessible on the worldwide interwebs.
So how does website hosting affect SEO?
Uptime and Downtime
What is uptime and downtime? Uptime is the period of time in which your website is accessible and working correctly with no problems. Downtime is when your server is experiencing problems that can cause your website to crash, not load properly, and is not showing in search engine results. Server downtime is a BIG problem for your ranking as this will cause Google to flag your site as unreliable which, of course, negatively affects your ranking.
Site Speed
Site load speed is a ranking factor. So, naturally, it’s extremely important that your site and pages load fast enough. If you’re wondering, how fast is fast enough? Think of yourself for a moment; how long does it take you to get impatient while waiting for a site to load before you just “bounce” and try another one?
Your website hosting provider plays a role in how long your page takes to load. They aren’t 100% percent responsible for your site speed, but if you’re sure your site is optimized as well as it can be, then you can definitely blame load speed on the web hosting company. A good website host provides you with a reliable server that is not so busy and not a shared server, which really slows things down. A great way to monitor this is to check your site speed regularly and contact your website host provider immediately if you notice any problems.
Check your site speed using these great free tools:
Having an SSL Certificate
An SSL certificate (the HTTPS at the beginning of your domain name) is considered a very important ranking factor. This is because having this SSL certificate means your site is recognized as trusted and safe, which is what every user or customer would want; especially if they need to provide personal information on your site. Most website host providers offer a free SSL certificate as part of the package, so if you don’t have one, make sure you take their offer and implement it right away. Having a secure website which is recognized as safe by Google also bumps up your ranking.
Server Location
When it comes to business, your target audience is a high priority and it makes sense that to reach that audience, your website should be locally hosted. Part of having your website hosted on a server is having an IP address that is specifically for your site. To put it more simply, this is important and affects your ranking locally. Google prefers to show results according to the user’s location for their convenience. So it’s better to be hosted locally so that your target audience will actually see you in their search results.
Conclusion
How does website hosting affect SEO? A big part of what the website hosting provider is responsible for can affect your ranking negatively or positively. These factors such as uptime, site speed, an SSL certificate and local hosting can all really help to improve your Google ranking or negatively affect your ranking. Do your research well and don’t sign any year-long contracts straight away. It’s best to try out your chosen website hosting company on a monthly basis to see if you’re completely satisfied with their service.
For local South African website hosting, take a look at DigitalConsulting’s superior web hosting packages. All of our packages include a free SSL certificate as well.