need advice! starting local business and so confused on web hosting

There are many, many factors that influence
rankings on google.

I've used hostgator and ranked sites in Australia and the UK.

Locations isn't as big of a factor as some make it out to be. Google search some general terms, then trace the top sites back and see where they're hosted.

Just use a webhost with servers within the same country. Personally, I'd suggest avoiding any host owned by EIG (see this list Endurance International Group - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), which now includes Hostgator and several other large brands. I would also avoid GoDaddy. I've found that Lunar Pages and Arvixe are pretty good hosts.

If you are not using the site for ecommerce, then a simple shared hosting plan will be fine.

The big thing is trying to do locally-focused SEO, which includes getting other local sites with links to your web pages. There are a number of things you can do, such as listing your business location with Google Places . Perhaps find non-competing business with websites and see if they'd link to your website. You might be able to do an exchange. Preferably businesses that are related to or compliment your business. These days, having a presence on Twitter and Facebook are important. You can keep in touch with your customers, send them discount notices and specials, etc. If you choose to hire a local SEO, make sure they don't use spam techniques to get backlinks, ultimately causing more harm than good. A locally-focused SEO may already have a network of blogs and sites that can point to your site.

It is a slow, continuous process of building up your site ranking, for your preferred keywords.

I would not go with godaddy, they are only good for domain names. Hostgator is not bad for webhosting and neither is eleven2. There are other factors more important than server location when it comes to google rankings, so I would look for a host you can be comfortable with and go from there. Good luck

Give yourself a pad on the back and be cool. Don't give yourself so much pressure on which hosting to go with. It's important, yes!!! but truly... it's not the most important of all (it's quite flexible to migrate server if you don't like your host).

Like the above mentioned, I would strongly suggest that you stay away from EIG. Bluehost, hostgator and many other 'famous' (soon to be notorious/infamous) hosts out there are part of that giant company, EIG. My sites were down for more than 6 hours hosted in one EIG hosting company. Needless to say, I migrated server My sites are currently hosted under liquidweb.

Hostgator and Godaddy are both the top class web hosting providers.
But hostgator has great customer support 24-7.

if you you are using wordpress for your website, I would recommend wp engine dedicated wordpress hosting with site loading speeds of up to 4 x faster than most hosts.. a bit expensive, but you get what you pay for.

yes, I am an affiliate.

Why do people warn against GoDaddy? I have used them for all my sites and find them very easy to use and helpful with support requests.. What am I missing?

For location-related searches, get your site on Google Places. That is much more relevant than where your host is located. A reliable host with minimum downtime is much better than a local host that does not give the same reliability. I have used hostgator for years and they have never let me down.

We use DomainsPricedRight.... Part of GoDaddy..... All the best in your venture

It is not necessary that you will have to register hosting from your local company in order to rank well for local search engines. Ranking depends on SEO factors and keywords. You can buy hosting from anywhere you want to.

Sorry to be blunt but - STOP WASTING YOUR TIME WORRYING ABOUT THIS STUFF.

The biggest thing that will impact your business is your marketing and relationships with your potential customers, prospects and partners.

Who you host your website with and how you build your site are pretty much irrelevant in most situations.

If you're just starting and having trouble getting out of the starting blocks because of this stuff - ignore it. Find a local web guy and just take his advice and move on.

This stuff really should not be stopping you moving your business forward.

Some hosting services charge a higher price just because they have a popular name. namecheap.com is as it says pretty cheap and you can bundle your domain and hosting making it much simpler and still cheaper then the big names with great service.

What's going to get you ranked on google is how well you optimize the site, or start a blog for the company targeting specific keywords around the company's products and services.

Go for Hostgator and Godaddy. Both are excellent. I have experienced with Hostgator, providing wonderful service. Reliable with minimum downtime.

There are a few good hosting deals available for the fist 12 months then after that period they will hike their prices up.But you do of course have that first year to test them out.

Hi

Its cool. there is no condition like to buy hosting nearby your place. You can start your own Business by taking web hosting packages as per your requirements.

I use VeeroTech.net which has a WSO special offer. I'm quite new there but they are very helpful and I haven't had any problems. (not affiliate)

Don't worry so much about WHO you get hosting from, just get some and start the website.

I used Hostgator for all my sites and the experience and the price is pretty good. GoDaddy is definitely a NO for hosting but they are ok for domains. Hosting is only a small piece of the puzzle. More important for being found on Google is how you set up your sites and how you structure them. Some SEO done right can go a long way.