I think that my hosting provider is DAMAGING my Google ranking!

Bulldozer · 08-17-2011, 03:57 AM

Remember when I told you that I am ranked in the Top 5 on Yahoo, Bing and Altavista, but at the same time I am not even in the Top 1000 on Google?

I think I found the reason.
It's my hosting. Read on, it's kind of complicated.

We all know that Google treats your site and shows it in the results, according to your domain name's extension.
For example, if you have a site in English language, but your domain name ends in .fr, then Google treats it as a regional French site and doesn't care what language it is in.
If your site is well SEO optimized, it will rank in Top 10 on Google France but more likely than not, it will not rank well anywhere else.

But what happens if you have a .com, .org or .net domain?
How does Google find out what "nationality" your site is?
Easy - Google checks your server's IP address.
So, if you have a site that has a .com domain extension, but is hosted on a server in France, Google will still treat it as a regional French site.
And your global exposure or at least your exposure in the USA (which is the biggest market anyway) will suffer because of this.

Knowing all of this, I especially ordered hosting from GoDaddy.com - an American hosting provider.
HOWEVER, GoDaddy has noticed that I am European and has sold me "EU Region" hosting, meaning that my server is located somewhere in Europe!

This, I think, is the reason why I rank well on Yahoo, Bing & Altavista - I guess they don't filter their results by regions. Or at least not as aggressively as Google.
This is also the reason why I'm not present in the Global/American Google.com at all.

Conclusion: if you live in Europe and plan on starting a new site with a SEO campaign, then do a research before buying hosting and find out which American hosting providers will sell you hosting space on real American servers, that are physically located in the USA!

Elion Makkink · 08-17-2011, 04:13 AM

Lol, that sucks. That's why I would recommend to take a well known webhost which might be a bit more expensive then others, but highly reliable!

F.e. Hostgator / Hostmonster

Bulldozer · 08-17-2011, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elion Makkink

Lol, that sucks. That's why I would recommend to take a well known webhost which might be a bit more expensive then others, but highly reliable!

F.e. Hostgator / Hostmonster

GoDaddy.com is the biggest American hosting/domain provider.
My case shows that them being American does not guarantee that they will sell you USA space, though. Apparently they like to sell EU space to their EU customers.

What guarantees are there that Hostgator would not do the same to their European customers?

David Morris · 08-17-2011, 04:23 AM

In that case you should switch hosting providers immediately..

Elion Makkink · 08-17-2011, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bulldozer

GoDaddy.com is the biggest American hosting/domain provider.
My case shows that them being American does not guarantee that they will sell you USA space, though. Apparently they like to sell EU space to their EU customers.

What guarantees are there that Hostgator would not do the same to their European customers?

Ah, you're right. Totally forgot about Godaddy's webhosting. That's because I'm mainly installing websites for clients at hostgator and hostmonster

Steve Crooks · 08-17-2011, 04:25 AM

Also, be aware that Godaddy are the only company that I know about who will confiscate your domain from you for any complaints made about your domain.

On your point about location of your server, yes, GEO location does have a bearing on where you get indexed but it is not true to say that a European server means you will not see any Google rankings in the USA. I have many examples of hosting sites in the USA and performing well on Google in many countries and vice-versa.

Bulldozer · 08-17-2011, 04:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elion Makkink

Ah, you're right. Totally forgot about Godaddy's webhosting. That's because I'm mainly installing websites for clients at hostgator and hostmonster

Are you European?
If yes, do your American hosting providers provide you with USA hosting space?

In case that you are American, it just makes sense that you get USA space anyway.

Bulldozer · 08-17-2011, 04:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Crooks

Also, be aware that Godaddy are the only company that I know about who will confiscate your domain from you for any complaints made about your domain.

On your point about location of your server, yes, GEO location does have a bearing on where you get indexed but it is not true to say that a European server means you will not see any Google rankings in the USA. I have many examples of hosting sites in the USA and performing well on Google in many countries and vice-versa.

Yes, having your site hosted on a EU server doesn't make it completely invisible to the American Google and the rest of the world. However, it affects your ranking quite dramatically. Even if you're ranked on the first page on Google USA, you won't be #1, and this does make a huge difference in traffic, AdSense clicks, etc.

Damn, I didn't know that GoDaddy.com can confiscate my domain from me!
I actually have another domain that was also bought from GoDaddy.com.
And the funny thing is that I am selling it on one of GoDaddy's a competitor's auctions. I should have listed it for sale on GoDaddy's auction.

Let's hope they don't find out, LOL!

Elion Makkink · 08-17-2011, 04:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bulldozer

Are you European?
If yes, do your American hosting providers provide you with USA hosting space?

In case that you are American, it just makes sense that you get USA space anyway.

I'm a European yes. I don't use American hosting providers myself, only help my clients setting up their websites. So I don't know

grh395 · 08-17-2011, 04:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bulldozer

GoDaddy.com is the biggest American hosting/domain provider.
My case shows that them being American does not guarantee that they will sell you USA space, though. Apparently they like to sell EU space to their EU customers.

What guarantees are there that Hostgator would not do the same to their European customers?

Hmmm - interesting. I confess complete ignorance. Even if your host has a corporate address in the USA how can you tell where they are hosting your site?
How can you tell if they are hosting it in the US or on a server in any other country?

Romeobossini · 08-17-2011, 04:40 AM

interesting article

08-17-2011, 04:13 AM	#2
Elion Makkink elionmakkink.nl War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Behind My Desk Posts: 609 Thanks: 46 Thanked 219 Times in 73 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: I think that my hosting provider is DAMAGING my Google ranking! Lol, that sucks. That's why I would recommend to take a well known webhost which might be a bit more expensive then others, but highly reliable! F.e. Hostgator / Hostmonster
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08-17-2011, 04:23 AM	#4
David Morris Banned War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: California, USA Posts: 126 Thanks: 24 Thanked 37 Times in 28 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: I think that my hosting provider is DAMAGING my Google ranking! In that case you should switch hosting providers immediately..

08-17-2011, 04:25 AM	#6
Steve Crooks Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hampshire, United Kingdom. Posts: 1,568 Thanks: 72 Thanked 377 Times in 194 Posts Social Networking	Re: I think that my hosting provider is DAMAGING my Google ranking! Also, be aware that Godaddy are the only company that I know about who will confiscate your domain from you for any complaints made about your domain. On your point about location of your server, yes, GEO location does have a bearing on where you get indexed but it is not true to say that a European server means you will not see any Google rankings in the USA. I have many examples of hosting sites in the USA and performing well on Google in many countries and vice-versa.
	Check Out My New Challenge The Google Free Website Profits Challenge! --------------------------

08-17-2011, 04:40 AM	#11
Romeobossini Warrior Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: I think that my hosting provider is DAMAGING my Google ranking! interesting article

08-17-2011, 03:57 AM	#1
Bulldozer HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 305 Thanks: 8 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I think that my hosting provider is DAMAGING my Google ranking! Remember when I told you that I am ranked in the Top 5 on Yahoo, Bing and Altavista, but at the same time I am not even in the Top 1000 on Google? I think I found the reason. It's my hosting. Read on, it's kind of complicated. We all know that Google treats your site and shows it in the results, according to your domain name's extension. For example, if you have a site in English language, but your domain name ends in .fr, then Google treats it as a regional French site and doesn't care what language it is in. If your site is well SEO optimized, it will rank in Top 10 on Google France but more likely than not, it will not rank well anywhere else. But what happens if you have a .com, .org or .net domain? How does Google find out what "nationality" your site is? Easy - Google checks your server's IP address. So, if you have a site that has a .com domain extension, but is hosted on a server in France, Google will still treat it as a regional French site. And your global exposure or at least your exposure in the USA (which is the biggest market anyway) will suffer because of this. Knowing all of this, I especially ordered hosting from GoDaddy.com - an American hosting provider. HOWEVER, GoDaddy has noticed that I am European and has sold me "EU Region" hosting, meaning that my server is located somewhere in Europe! This, I think, is the reason why I rank well on Yahoo, Bing & Altavista - I guess they don't filter their results by regions. Or at least not as aggressively as Google. This is also the reason why I'm not present in the Global/American Google.com at all. Conclusion: if you live in Europe and plan on starting a new site with a SEO campaign, then do a research before buying hosting and find out which American hosting providers will sell you hosting space on real American servers, that are physically located in the USA!