Low Cost Web Hosting

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Does Website Hosting Affect Google Rankings

Once you have created a snazzy looking website, it is time to host it on the World Wide Web and you are ready to receive website traffic. But the important aspect to be pondered upon before selecting a web host is Search Engine Optimization or SEO. Most web owners usually overlook this aspect and are more focused upon hosting features, tools and pricing structures. That said, the latter too plays an important role in selecting a web host.

So the question that comes to mind is that "does choosing a web host make a difference in rankings on the search engines?' Many people tend to believe that a unique IP address is required for a website to rank higher on the search engines. But it is important to take into account the fact that most websites are hosted on shared IPs. On a single computer many servers run side by side and serve different domains from single IPs.

The seemingly "cheap" web hosting companies may also be hosting spammers, scam sites or other banned sites like gambling or porn. Now this could considerably affect your website search engine rankings.

If there is virtual shared IP hosting on the server, and Google penalizes the server and IP due to spamming, then chances are that your website could also be banned or otherwise penalized. In another instance, if your website is housed on a server that is hosting adult content, then Google can ban both websites. Therefore, your website visibility is at risk.

However, this is not always the case as your website need not be banned because of a blacklisted server. Secondly, please note that Google does not ban sites by virtue of their sharing an IP address with a misbehaving site. As Craig Silverstein of Google quotes in a recent interview "Actually, Google handles virtually hosted domains and their links just the same as domains on unique IP addresses. If your ISP does virtual hosting correctly, you'll never see a difference between the two cases. We do see a small percentage of ISPs every month that misconfigure their virtual hosting, which might account for this persistent misperception."

The web owner therefore needs to ensure that their website is receiving maximum uptime (up to 99.9% to 100%). Also ensure that your web host carries a clean track record.

Domain selection is another factor that can affect the rankings of your websites on search engines. So for a United Kingdom website, a .uk domain name is suitable and for a top level or global domain, a .com domain is viable. So a UK based cosmetic company would naturally rank higher on the search engines.

URL restructuring is another important aspect as search engines face problems while indexing dynamic URLs. If the URL parameters are acceptable with Google, then your website should easily be indexed with them.

So remember that Google may penalize certain web hosting companies due to content issues and this could negatively affect the performance of your website. Also, prefer individual IP addresses in order to obviate probable index removal. So choose your web host wisely and thereby safeguard your SEO plans.

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Starting a Web Hosting Company

Every website that is created requires a web host in order to gain exposure on the World Wide Web. Since web hosting has become indispensable to achieve this, there are many people out there who wish to break into the hosting market and carve a niche for themselves and start making money through web hosting.

Seemingly, starting a web hosting company is fairly simple. Start with a generic template, get a reseller account, configure some things and you are on your way to making money. However, things are a little more complex and ample research and prudence is required before you venture into this field.

The first thing that is needed is to get the website going while keeping in mind certain aesthetic aspects. These steps would include getting a template, creating a page that would describe your hosting company, various plans and its corresponding features and tools offered, services, support and much more. Thereafter, a program such as WHM autopilot needs to be configured which would facilitate automatic receipt of the hosting orders. Remember, all this needs to done keeping in mind the aesthetic aspects of the website while making the interface clean and clear.

Then comes the marketing plan that needs an in-depth analysis, as the hosting market is a very competitive field. The selling part is by far the most challenging and the most vital aspect that comes into play. The hosting company requires a targeted marketed campaign wherein they can reach a targeted audience or an audience that is looking for the kind of services and prices that they offer. It is important here to keep in mind that the plan should suit the customer budget while delivering the required products and services. Align your pricing structures with the hosting market or you may soon find yourself at a loss. Remember, your customers are looking for cost-effective hosting solutions.

The company also needs to ensure that their customer support and technical support system is in place before they start their web hosting business. Customers prefer to receive 24/7 quality customer support and in case the host fails to deliver, chances are that the customer would go looking somewhere else. Larger hosts usually hire technicians to deal with technical issues, although this may only be achieved once the company is well established.

When running larger websites, the hosting company will usually need to offer dedicated hosting services. This is due to the fact that shared hosting only provides for a certain amount of storage space and bandwidth and this is not often enough for the larger sites. It is important for the host to note here that while dedicated hosting is the choice of most large websites, it comes with its set of challenges like maintenance, time and the cost. A low cost dedicated server could cost around $100 but quality servers will usually cost hundreds of dollars each month to own.

Time is another aspect that needs to be taken into consideration, as the host would be required to invest ample time to deal with their customers and handle various other aspects of the hosting business.

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The Importance of Auto-Responders For Your Hosting Account

Auto-responders are essentially scripts that run on your web server 24/7. They facilitate instant email responses to queries, sales and support. Consider this as adding a customer support component to your website. So imagine that if a customer purchases something worth $100 from your website and they do not any receipt or confirmation email of their purchase in the next 12 hours, this would detract from the company's image and eventually result in loss of sales. What if a customer visits your website and requires some pre-sales information or has a product or service query to be resolved. If they do not receive a response in the next 24 hours, chances are that your competitor will grab your customer and you end losing your credibility and reliability in the market.

This is where the role of auto-responders comes into play. Auto-responders minimize the possibility of lost sales as the follow up messages are carefully scripted and based on the incoming queries your pre-sales information can be safely and securely delivered without any kind of delays.

There are many types of Auto-Responders offered by companies and few of them are even offered free of cost. Web hosting accounts come equipped with control panels from where the user can set up auto-responders, free of cost and also wield complete control over the availability and synchronization of their website. With the use of unlimited auto-responders, the Webmaster can schedule many different emails for category-specific customers.

On time delivery of requested information or services is imperative to generate better sales and a loyal customer base. The auto responders extend your capability to sell more as you can deliver targeted parts of your sales copy based on the interaction with the customer. Multiple follow-ups can then be scheduled to convince the customers about the products and/or services that you are selling.

Look for a hosting provider that offers these auto-responders, which can help you, convert your prospects into customers with automated ease and efficiency. Ensure that the package that you select comes equipped with auto-responders or even better would be the unlimited auto-responders. If your provider does not offer this feature, you must demand this feature to be included in your hosting package or else it is advisable to look elsewhere for a company that offers high-end quality services.

Remember, you require an all-inclusive package that offers all the prerequisites and high-end applications and tools to take your website to the next level of website hosting. Also, ensure that all security aspects are taken care of especially if you have an e-commerce enabled website. While most of the web-hosting providers offer auto-responders free of cost, you need to confirm the availability and ensure that there are no hidden costs involved. Your hosting provider should offer you a package that offers value-added features and benefits and ensure that it is not ripping you off by comparing the prices and features with other web hosting companies. Rather than switching your web-hosting provider due to unsatisfactory results or services, it is wise to do your research well and then go in for a reputed and quality web-hosting provider.

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Web Hosting Guide - How to Use FTP

There are 2 most common way how can web hosting customers upload their websites to the server. Beginners use very often online file manager because it is very easy solution for them. They don't need to set up any connection to the server. They only need to know their user name and password to log in the control panel. More experienced users prefer FTP connection - using this way require some knowledge about the connection setup. But when this step is done then uploading files using this method is many times quicker and more comfortable. In this article I am going to explain step by step how to use the FTP.

FTP means File Transfer Protocol. To connect to your web hosting account using FTP you will need to download and install some of many FTP managers. Personally, I recommend to use Total Commander. The first reason why I recommend this software is the fact that there is a big chance you have already this program in your computer. Total Commander is not only FTP manager but also file manager like Windows Explorer. But comparing with Windows Explorer it is more user friendly. Total Commander 30 days trial can be downloaded for free. After 30 days it will continue to work without any restrictions but regarding the license you should buy it if you are going to use it after one month. If you decide to use another file manager the next steps will be not exactly same but if you will understand the principles you should be able to use any FTP software of your choice.

So, when you installed Total Commander double-click its icon on the desktop. You will see the dialog asking you to press a number (1, 2 or 3). Click the correct number and you will be able to start using the program. In the next step we will setup the connection to your web hosting account. You will see a few icons in the top. Click the FTP icon and on the right menu click New Connection. The first row is called Session. You can fill in this field anything you want - it will be the name of your FTP connection. If you will create more connections the session name will help you to orientate yourself.

To fill in next 3 lines you will need to log in you web hosting control panel. There should be a link called like FTP accounts or FTP access. Under this link you will find the values for host name, user name and password. It is also possible that you will need to create the FTP account first.

The next fields are optional and you will probably not need deal with them. Only using Remote Dir field may be useful time from time because you can save your time by using it. If your files are stored e. g. at public_html folder, fill in public_html there and anytime you will connect to your server you will jump instantly to this folder instead of the root. It is also recommended to check the Use passive mode for transfers like a WWW browser.

Now click OK button and connect to your web server by double-clicking the connection name you have created. Now you can work with files stored in your web hosting storage in the same way how you work with files in your hard drives. Your storage will appear as another drive. Use F5 to upload or download files and F8 to delete them.

Good FTP web hosting which also offers web based file manager can be found at http://www.marblehost.com - With this company it is possible to set up multiple FTP accounts so you can create access to specific parts of your web space for your friends or employees. Good luck!

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