What influence does the choice of web hosting provider have on SEO? Location, speed, neighborhood

Placing your own website on one of the first positions in Google search results is one of the main concerns for every webmaster. Although the exact ranking criteria of the search engine giant from Mountain View, California, are a closely guarded secret, the choice of web hosting provider already has a certain influence on search engine optimization.

In general, it should be known that in the field of search engine optimization (SEO), over 200 different factors are taken into account that influence the ranking of your own website. The content of a website and the linking from other websites naturally carry a lot of weight. But even the smaller details should not be underestimated. Even these can be the deciding factor in an individual case and propel your website to the top ranks on Google.

Depending on the criteria a web hosting meets, they can send positive or negative signals to the search engine. Those who are aware of the individual points can avoid unnecessary negative signals by choosing a suitable web hosting provider, thereby increasing their chances of a better placement in search results. The following factors of web hosting have an impact on SEO:

Availability

One of the most important and obvious factors is the availability of web hosting. Visitors can only be directed to your own website from the search engine if it is accessible. If your web hosting experiences frequent downtimes, the search engine will take note and rank the website accordingly lower. When choosing a web hosting provider, it is important to pay attention to the highest possible availability. Don't be misled by claims like 99% availability. Even with 99% availability over a whole year, your website could be unreachable for four consecutive days.

Performance

Another important factor is the performance of the web hosting. It is crucial to have sufficient hardware resources available to handle unexpected spikes in visitor traffic without any issues. Especially on budget-friendly Shared Hosting packages, where multiple customers share the same server and hardware, there should always be reserves available. If a single customer generates more traffic, it could potentially impact the websites of all other customers on the server.

Load Times

In relation to performance, it is also important to pay attention to the load times of your own website. A slow database connection or insufficient bandwidth can result in slow loading times for your website. Google has officially stated that slow load times can have a negative impact on your website's ranking in search results. Visitors redirected from the search engine expect to see the desired information displayed quickly, without having to wait an eternity for the page to fully load. Activating a website cache is particularly important.

Response Times

Server response times should also be considered in relation to performance. Unlike load times, which mainly depend on the performance of the server hardware, server response times are primarily influenced by the network infrastructure or location. If visitors from abroad access your website hosted in Germany, the response time is usually longer due to data connections being redirected through multiple stations. For websites welcoming visitors from different parts of the world, additional measures such as a Content Delivery Network (CDN) should be considered.

Location

The location of your web hosting is another factor to consider. A server located in Germany not only helps to keep response times low for visitors from Germany, but also sends generally positive signals to search engines. Choosing a server location in less reputable countries known for being sources of spam or malware distribution could have a negative impact. Here is an article on how to determine the location of a server.

Environment

As with the location in general, the environment also influences the evaluation by search engines. Hosting your own website in a so-called "bad neighbourhood" can result in negative signals. This means that with Shared Web Hosting packages, multiple customers share a single server. If some of these customers engage in negative activities, such as spreading spam or malware, your own website hosted on the same server will also be affected and lose trust from search engines.

IP Address

The IP address is used for the unique identification of the server. It becomes particularly important for search engine optimisation when managing multiple websites. Ideally, these websites should have different IP addresses to give more relevance to cross-linking between projects and to avoid looking like an attempt at manipulation.

Configuration Options

The configuration options of web hosting also impact search engine optimisation. Settings such as the ability to use custom URLs or utilise specific server modules for data compression can make a difference. Generally, webmasters have fewer configuration options on a Shared Web Hosting package compared to having their own Virtual Private Server or Dedicated Server.

Security

Lastly, security is also worth mentioning. Your web hosting should be free from malware or other threats. Search engines do not want to be associated with spreading such dangers online and will quickly exclude websites that pose such risks from search results. Therefore, the web hosting provider should prioritise server security by regularly updating and monitoring the network.

Furthermore, the selection of the domain name can also impact SEO.

As seen, the choice of web hosting significantly affects search engine optimisation (SEO). Especially for those operating a website in a competitive market with a lot of competition, it's important not to overlook the many ways to positively influence rankings. Use our convenient Web Hosting Provider Comparison to find the right web hosting for improving the ranking of your own website.