When choosing hosting for your website, keep in mind that this also has a huge impact on your SEO results. Do you care about effective SEO of your website? We have prepared 10 important factors for you to consider when choosing a hosting provider.
Which web host should you choose?
Hosting is nothing more than a separate space in the network that allows you to share selected resources. If you want to pass on certain content to other users, you must have space provided, thanks to which these resources will be transferred in an efficient and legible manner. This is why it’s so important to know which hosting to choose. It affects many aspects of the website’s operation, including its speed, consistency, security, and the effectiveness of website positioning. If you choose hosting for SEO, focus on supporting and improving your activities.
We have prepared ten aspects that you should verify before making your final hosting choice.
Server location
The location of the selected web server has a large impact on SEO rankings. If you use a VPS, dedicated server or shared hosting, your site is located on a physical server in the data center. So how to choose good hosting so that its location positively influences SEO? It is important to choose the server location for the target audience. If you plan on reaching customers from the Philippines, choose a server from the Philippines, while if your target is Indonesian consumers, choose the Indonesian server. The remote location of the server would have a negative impact on the page loading time. In addition, the inconsistency between the server location and conducted activity could generate objections from Google bots, which would have a negative impact on SEO results.
High availability of hosting
If SEO ranks high on your list of priorities, hosting should guarantee high availability of the website for users. The longer the website is down, the more likely it is that the visitor will drop out. Choose a web hosting plan that offers approximately a 99.9% uptime guarantee. This result allows for 1.44 minutes of downtime per day, which in turn gives 8.8 hours of downtime per year. Many people are tempted by the offer of hosting with 100% website access, without any downtime. However, keep in mind that it is not possible to have no hosting downtime. However, it can be minimized and it is precisely to keep this time as short as possible that we should be guided by when choosing.
Professional hosting support team
When deciding on any web host, remember that even on the best server, unforeseen problems can arise. Good hosting will be distinguished by the availability of professional technical support – free and in a wide range of hours, preferably in a 24-hour system. Also check what form of contact is offered by the hosting. Contact by phone, e-mail or via online chat? More and more hosting service providers offer support via social media, for example on Twitter.
Short site loading times
Page speed is one of the most important factors influencing SEO, so when choosing hosting, check the average page load time it provides. It’s very important to choose a hosting that already boasts of delivering the right speed to other sites. If your website takes a long time to load, all other optimization efforts will have no effect. Furthermore, excessive caching time can prevent users from accessing the page, and the site may be temporarily removed from search results.
Security features provided by hosting
In order to choose a good hosting for SEO, you should also pay attention to the security features available. This greatly affects the performance of your website – you need to be sure that your website data is safe and will not be hacked. This is especially important when it is a transactional site where your customers’ sensitive data is processed. One of the basic safeguards that you should pay attention to when choosing hosting is HTTPS compatibility and the availability of free SSL certificates. It is worth emphasizing here that HTTPS is one of the factors influencing the results of website positioning. When choosing a web host, make sure that the provider provides regular security updates and removal of any code vulnerabilities. Also check that FTP use by unknown users is disabled.
Available disk space
The answer to the question of how to choose hosting should also be based on the question of the intended purpose of the website. There is a big difference between the needs that a blog has, such as an online store. This is important, if only because of the amount of disk space needed. Many hosting sites are prepared for blog content that does not require too much space in the system. If you plan to sell online, check how much disk space is available in the package offered. Remember that the disk space not adjusted to the actual needs of the website may slow down the website performance.
In addition, it is also worth making sure that the offer from a given hosting provider is flexible. It is very possible that as a result of business development, the originally selected offer will turn out to be insufficient. Over time, you may find that you need to upgrade to your own dedicated server. Make sure you can make this transition while using the same provider as you originally had.
Backup retention time
One of the effective ways to prevent website downtime and keep it running smoothly is through functional caching tools. If you want to choose a good web host, it is worth checking how often automatic backups are performed there and how long their retention period is. This solution is especially important in the event of a possible hacking hack – the site data will be saved. Also verify that the provider charges an additional fee for the backups. Try to find a hosting provider that will provide you with regular automatic backups for free and provide assistance in the event of a security breach.
Additional SEO support
In addition to the basic possibilities provided by a web host, it is also worth knowing what additional benefits you will gain by deciding on the offer of a given provider. There are many additional possibilities that can positively affect the effects of website positioning. It is worth checking, for example, whether the hosting offers the use of SEO plugins or whether it is compatible with third party SEO plugins. Also find out if they are available at an additional cost or free. The recommended plugins include, among others:
– Elementor;
– Jetpack;
– Optinmonster;
– Akismet;
– Yoast.
They will help you create an SEO-friendly, useful website.
Hosting integrated with the selected CMS
Keep in mind that you should choose a hosting that integrates well with the CMS you plan to use. Maybe you have chosen a system that you already know and trust, or you chose a system that you can learn quickly? Make sure the hosting will work well with this CMS. The ability to effortlessly create engaging content is a very important element of an effective SEO strategy. Currently, the vast majority of available hosts allow the use of drag-and-drop content creation tools, which significantly facilitates the work on the website.
Web hosting reviews and reviews
For people who do not know what web host to choose for SEO, we also recommend reading user reviews. They can provide a lot of useful information and help you with your choice. However, it should be borne in mind that most people who decide to publish a review do so on an impulse resulting from some unpleasant experience. Few of the satisfied users are so eager to share their opinion about the service provider. It is also worth checking the lists of recommended hosting sites prepared by trusted, professional platforms or getting acquainted with the opinion of specialists in this field. It may also be a good solution to use the test period of a given hosting and verify yourself whether it meets the assumed requirements. Such a test may last, for example, a week or two, this period will give you enough information to make an appropriate decision.
How does hosting affect SEO?
For website optimization to be effective, it must have a good foundation in the form of an efficient server. The choice of hosting is important for SEO as it affects such key aspects as:
– Page speed – one of the most important factors influencing the effectiveness of positioning is the page loading time. Slow-acting sites not only lose potential customers, but also risk a penalty from Google.
– Website uptime – this is a factor that indicates how long your website is available to users, and how often it has downtime. Excessive downtime often makes the content inaccessible to users, which increases the bounce rate and reduces the conversion rate. Such action is also information for Google robots that your website is working in a correct and smooth way.
How To Choose Good SEO Hosting? Summary
Good hosting is one of the basic elements that should be taken care of before starting the SEO process (Paraphrase Online chose our hosting in Indonesia because that’s where we come from). Its task in this case is to ensure the effective achievement of the assumed SEO effects by supporting the speed and functionality of the website. By choosing hosting according to the above tips, you will undoubtedly find the right solution for your website.