It should come as no surprise to anyone who’s created a website that Google consistently changes their algorithms, which are an ever-evolving list of factors that determine how your site ranks within search results. Although these algorithms are constantly changing, the best way to stay ahead of the curve is to engage in white-hate SEO practices. While many of these practices are universally important, such as keywords and content quality, did you know that your website hosting provider plays a direct role in determining your overall ranking?
The website hosting provider you choose isn’t necessarily going to directly enhancing your search engine rankings. You won’t suddenly go from the 10th page within your keyword to the first page by switching hosting providers. However, if you choose a distrustful and flawed hosting provider you’ll soon find your SEO efforts aren’t enough to gain the coveted first page results.
The majority of new website owners select a hosting provider based upon their price. All these people see are dollar signs while they fail to understand that their provider does have a direct and indirect impact on your marketing efforts.
Perhaps the most important element when it comes to the connection of your web host and your search engine rankings is server security. The security of your website is vital when it comes to how Google and other search engines rank your website. If you choose a hosting provider with limited or basic-level security services, then Google will actually penalize your site ranking. Along with search engines deeming your site unsafe, visitors who have a questionable experience within your site will likely never return. This also hurts your overall ranking in search engine results.
Another essential element that search engines use to determine your ranking is the location of your website servers. Google determines on this location-based information even when users aren’t doing a location-based search. For example, if an American internet user is performing a search, Google will show priority to websites that are hosted on American-based servers instead of transferring information from an overseas server. The most important factor that goes into selecting a website hosting provider is ensuring their primary servers are located within the country where the bulk of your visitors will come form.
Finally, and probably the most important element within this article, is the performance of your servers. The speed and downtime ratio of a server plays a direct role in determining your overall search engine rankings. To increase your website’s speed, the most important variable is selecting the fastest web hosting service you can. From there the site’s structure, design and optimization is the next most crucial element to maintaining acceptable load times. It’s common for Google to penalize websites that feature slow loading/response times as well as those that experience frequent downtime. For further tips on website speed optimization, see Google’s developer tools here.