Ravi Kumar
The importance of SEO for overall visibility of your website, as well as higher organic traffic and conversions cannot be overstated. There are more than 200 ranking factors that Google considers for website ranking. A massive number of signals is deeply related to your choice of SEO web hosting provider. So, let’s see how you can improve your SEO rating with the right choice of web hosting provider.
#1. Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is much more accessible to various companies, mostly because of the low price. Unfortunately, many companies just take this option because of that, not even thinking about the consequences. Shared hosting is not the best option because of several reasons. First of all, you can experience the situation where you share the same hosting with spammy niche sites. It is a terrible signal that might ruin your reputation entirely. Besides, Google doesn’t like websites hosted on a shared server because it is against the ethics of SEO. Such a spammy neighborhood will directly affect your ranking and authority. However, if you opt for shared hosting, check all other sites that will share the same hosting with your company. Enter your URL in the Reverse IP Domain Check and check who resides with you on a particular server. Another crucial issue with shared hosting is the website speed and load times. As an e-commerce site, your business can’t experience such problems. It will decrease the quality of the user experience, and after that, your conversion rate will drastically fall.
#2. Need for Speed
Both customers and Google like fast sites. According to Google, two seconds is the threshold for eCommerce site “acceptability.” Site speed is an important ranking factor, and therefore, businesses should focus on the fastest desktop and mobile experience they can achieve. In other words, a fast site leads to good user experience, and further to a higher conversion rate. Also, if you don’t make progress with site speed, your competitors will. In such a situation, you will lose rankings, and sooner or later, a lot of conversions. Nowadays, potential customers won’t wait a few seconds to reach your website – they’ll just close the tab and switch to another page.
However, a fast loading site isn’t the only relevant factor. You need a higher uptime on your website, and having a better host will definitely help. In case you have issues with high levels of downtime, it is a clear signal that you should switch to better SEO hosting. It won’t directly influence bad rankings, but it will hurt user experience. Also, you have to work on your onsite and offsite SEO continually, and then, if necessary, to boost your website speed. That’s why you can’t make an early mistake to have a slow loading host. As we mentioned, it will lead to poor user experience, as well as weak metrics, such as low time-on-site or high bounce rate. Picking the right web hosting is the very first essential step for having a fast loading site. And finally, always track your website speed through different tools.
#3. Location, Location, Location
The location of your server is a crucial part of providing your visitors with the best possible browsing experience. The process is simple – when the server location is close to your target audience, you will have a faster redirection of the audience to your site. For e-Commerce shops that sell mostly to their local market, it is vital to target the local audience. Again, Google’s rules have to be considered, and they prefer, for instance, when Australian users are linked to the Australian website. Having appropriate local web hosting will become an enormous advantage for the rankings battle. Your IP address or location is one of the most crucial factors for placing your website high in Google search results. On top of that, the native geographical server is deeply connected with relevant website traffic. Also, location can impact page load time as well, which we already mentioned as an essential SEO factor. And finally, even sites with international SEO hosting have an opportunity to set target groups in Google Search Console. There is an “International Targeting” option, where you can set the country you want and make sure your site won’t be penalized for targeting an incorrect country.
#4. Safe and Secure
Safety and security have always been Google’s top priorities, and they should be the priorities of your website as well. You have to protect your data and information at all costs. Remember, don’t go online as fast as possible, without thinking about crucial security problems. When choosing a n SEO web hosting provider, check if it has all vital security features. Sure, you will probably wait a few days more to launch your website. But, it is worth sacrificing a few days to have a properly secured database. Any loss can ruin your e-Commerce website, and sooner or later, your business will fall apart. Unfortunately, hacking attacks are still a massive problem in almost every industry. Therefore, thinking in advance about the security of your website can improve overall customer experience, and consequently, your rankings. Speaking about ranking factors and Google, they stated that sites using secure, encrypted HTTPS connections have stronger ranking signals. However, if you are already serving on HTTPS, Google recommends the Qualys Lab tool to test your website’s security level and configuration.
Tips for SEO Web Hosting
In case you can’t afford more expensive web hosting options, it is not the end of the world to get a cheaper version for a particular period. With the correct research and careful selection, you can find an excellent cheap hosting with only a few disadvantages. To choose the right option, you have to know what can be tolerated and which issues you have to avoid. Therefore, let’s take a quick look at the pros and cons of cheap SEO hosting.
- If your requirements are minimal, you won’t need many resources.
- You can still have solid features, as well as good server speed, uptime, and tech support.
- They often offer free domain registration.
- Cheap hosting is ideal for different tests.
- Limited resources might become an issue, as well as a lack of advanced features.
- They might force you to become their affiliate sponsor.
- Beware of hidden catches in terms of service.
- Beware of renewal price and hidden costs.
As you can see, there are many things you have to consider before choosing the best SEO hosting provider. Of course, if you can afford, you should always opt for better, more expensive hosts with advanced features. But, even if you are forced to pick a cheaper host, you can always find a reliable option, at least for a short period.
