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Using "Content Delivery Networks"

by Campbell24
15 replies
I just read about using Content Delivery Networks on SEOMoz. My new site is targeting multipile countries around the world and I want to ensure that it doesn't take 5 minutes for my page to load for visitors in Europe. I read some information here and Cloud Flare is recommended. I wanted to get some opinions before signing up for the free version. I'm not really sure what servers and hosts are/ the technical aspects of the internet still blow my mind. Are there any downfalls to using a CDN?
#content delivery networks
  • Profile picture of the author damoncloudflare
    Originally Posted by bathunter View Post

    I just read about using Content Delivery Networks on SEOMoz. My new site is targeting multipile countries around the world and I want to ensure that it doesn't take 5 minutes for my page to load for visitors in Europe. I read some information here and Cloud Flare is recommended. I wanted to get some opinions before signing up for the free version. I'm not really sure what servers and hosts are/ the technical aspects of the internet still blow my mind. Are there any downfalls to using a CDN?
    More than happy to answer any questions about CloudFlare.

    "Are there any downfalls to using a CDN?[/QUOTE]"
    Not really, since you would be offloading some of the burden from static content and the like. Your visitors would also see faster loading times because they are being routed to the closest datacenter.

    Some quick tips if you do signup for CloudFlare.
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    • Profile picture of the author zacsmith
      I just switched to a new webhost (vopahost.com. They offer CloudFlare free as part of their service (caching, virus protection, content scraping protection.... and more).

      I noticed an immediate speed-up in response times for every domain, I haven't noticed an increase in hacker attacks, but then that's the point, isn't it?

      The signup was painless and automatic with the CPanel interface, no worrying about DNS changes, etc.

      Pleased...

      gary
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  • Profile picture of the author Campbell24
    Nice. Good to hear. I think I'll sign up for the free version. Have you guys noticed a difference in rankings? I read all over about CDNs and SEO, kind of a complex issue.. Obviously CloudFlare's website proclaims SEO benefits. Just don't want to potentially hurt my rankings (I'm very cautious and paranoid of this lol)
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    • Profile picture of the author damoncloudflare
      Originally Posted by bathunter View Post

      Nice. Good to hear. I think I'll sign up for the free version. Have you guys noticed a difference in rankings? I read all over about CDNs and SEO, kind of a complex issue.. Obviously CloudFlare's website proclaims SEO benefits. Just don't want to potentially hurt my rankings (I'm very cautious and paranoid of this lol)
      We wouldn't be doing anything to negatively impact your SEO or SERPs (should actually help with speed). A pretty good writeup of CloudFlare and SEO.

      Some CloudFlare tips if you do end up signing up (help prevent a lot of common issues).
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  • Profile picture of the author zacsmith
    I don't know if is ha anything to do with CloudFlare (except speed), but my main keyword site rose from page 12 before panda to page 6, then to page 2, after a bunch or university sites. My longtail keyword sites rode (3 out of 6) rose from page 3-4 (after years in obscurity and actually deindexed once) to page 1, positions 3-4. No. 6 site is #3 first first page (last I looked).

    Who know where they'll all be tomorrow. I had the sites up for more than 10 years and learned not rely on Big G.

    g
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  • Profile picture of the author Dietriffic
    Personally, I'd go all out and get MaxCDN.

    I did it a few weeks ago and it has made a fantastic difference.

    My full load time went from 3.7 seconds to 1.6, or thereabouts.

    Worth every penny, and if you're on WordPress you can use W3TC plugin to make set up even easier.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ali Anwar
      Originally Posted by Dietriffic View Post

      Personally, I'd go all out and get MaxCDN.

      I did it a few weeks ago and it has made a fantastic difference.

      My full load time went from 3.7 seconds to 1.6, or thereabouts.

      Worth every penny, and if you're on WordPress you can use W3TC plugin to make set up even easier.
      What she said!
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  • Profile picture of the author sammib01
    As Matt Cutts sayes or almost sayes the loading time of a website is a factor Google uses in its algorithm. There a number of plugins to speed up your loading time and reduce the size of images, content and other factors that can slow your site down.

    I found ths as a content delivery post and thought it was based on content delivery. As far as that goes my experience is you must be careful when using these things. CloudFare as far as I have heard and witnessed is very good if not the best. The main thing is to get the benifits without getting the snadbox or other restrictions from Google and Co. CloudFare does a great job and you are in ggod hands. They are always changing and adapting to changes made by the big boys. They serve different purposes. To be a conent delivery network and to protect your website and content from all the idiots out there who only want to cause harm through spaming, hacking and viruses just to mention a few.
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    • Profile picture of the author damoncloudflare
      Originally Posted by sammib01 View Post

      As Matt Cutts sayes or almost sayes the loading time of a website is a factor Google uses in its algorithm. There a number of plugins to speed up your loading time and reduce the size of images, content and other factors that can slow your site down.

      I found ths as a content delivery post and thought it was based on content delivery. As far as that goes my experience is you must be careful when using these things. CloudFare as far as I have heard and witnessed is very good if not the best. The main thing is to get the benifits without getting the snadbox or other restrictions from Google and Co. CloudFare does a great job and you are in ggod hands. They are always changing and adapting to changes made by the big boys. They serve different purposes. To be a conent delivery network and to protect your website and content from all the idiots out there who only want to cause harm through spaming, hacking and viruses just to mention a few.
      Thanks We do a ton of interesting things, not only on the CDN side of things.
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  • Profile picture of the author Campbell24
    I'm trying to setup my sites on CloudFlare. It brings up a list of "DNS zone files" during setup that I have to verify and add any missing records. I don't know where to find a list of these files with my hosting provider or domain registrar. These are the types of files that start with A, CNAME, TXT, MX, etc. Anyone know where to find a complete list of these for your site?
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    • Profile picture of the author damoncloudflare
      Originally Posted by bathunter View Post

      I'm trying to setup my sites on CloudFlare. It brings up a list of "DNS zone files" during setup that I have to verify and add any missing records. I don't know where to find a list of these files with my hosting provider or domain registrar. These are the types of files that start with A, CNAME, TXT, MX, etc. Anyone know where to find a complete list of these for your site?

      You should actually be able to find these at your current registrar. Do they give you the option to download your zone file?
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  • Profile picture of the author Kingfish85
    CloudFlare hands down. Their support, especially Damon is the best. Anytime we have had any sort of issue and had to work together with CloudFlare we were able to get it resolved very quickly.

    Just keep in mind, the free CloudFlare is free, already integrated and ready to go. We have a lot of customers who use it as well as our main site. A bit ago, I did a review of CloudFlare before & after integrating it with our website. Since then, our company has grown a lot as well as the amount of CF users.



    Gary (zacsmith), thanks for mentioning us, and I'm definitely glad to hear that you noticed an immediate performance increase. The combination of using LiteSpeed, optimized servers & CloudFlare is amazing.

    Since then, CloudFlare has been constantly adding new features for performance, availability & security.
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    • Profile picture of the author azmanar
      Originally Posted by damoncloudflare View Post

      "Are there any downfalls to using a CDN?
      Not really, since you would be offloading some of the burden from static content and the like. Your visitors would also see faster loading times because they are being routed to the closest datacenter.
      Some quick tips if you do signup for CloudFlare.
      Originally Posted by zacsmith View Post

      I just switched to a new webhost (vopahost.com. They offer CloudFlare free as part of their service (caching, virus protection, content scraping protection.... and more).

      I noticed an immediate speed-up in response times for every domain, I haven't noticed an increase in hacker attacks, but then that's the point, isn't it?

      The signup was painless and automatic with the CPanel interface, no worrying about DNS changes, etc.

      Pleased...

      gary
      Originally Posted by Kingfish85 View Post

      Just keep in mind, the free CloudFlare is free, already integrated and ready to go. We have a lot of customers who use it as well as our main site. A bit ago, I did a review of CloudFlare before & after integrating it with our website. Since then, our company has grown a lot as well as the amount of CF users.

      Since then, CloudFlare has been constantly adding new features for performance, availability & security.
      Hi,

      I can vouch for what they have said.

      SPEED & SECURITY

      I'm one of the happy customers.

      But for video streaming, you need to use other CDNs.
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      • Profile picture of the author damoncloudflare
        "But for video streaming, you need to use other CDNs.

        This is actually a frequent area of concern. Here's the scoop:

        Embedded content (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) aren't a problem at all.

        True streaming content can cause issues. We would strongly recommend moving streaming content to a subdomain we don't proxy in your CloudFlare DNS settings (create a subdomain like streaming.yourdomain.com and then mark the subdomain so it goes direct in your CloudFlare DNS settings).
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    • Profile picture of the author damoncloudflare
      [QUOTE=Kingfish85;6340149]CloudFlare hands down. Their support, especially Damon is the best."

      Thanks. I can't take all the credit. Some of the support guys we have here know way more than I know about certain things, but I know enough about how the product works to know what kind(s) of issues people may have.
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