Do web hosting and domain names impact SEO? Yes, choosing the right web hosting and domain name positively influences your SEO, just like every other aspect of your website. So, what is ideal for web hosting and domains in terms of SEO? There are several factors to consider, and we will explore some of them in this article.
Web Hosting Service
One of the most important factors that affect your SEO is page speed. We all know Google ranks faster websites higher in search results. Choosing a good web hosting service and purchasing a solid hosting plan will have massive impact on your website’s performance.
Another important factor is uptime (the amount of time your website is online). Long and frequent downtimes negatively affect your website’s ranking especially during Google crawler visits. A good hosting service should offer 99.99% uptime.
Finally, an SSL certificate (HTTPS) is essential. Your hosting provider should offer SSL for free.
Hosting Server Location
Your server should be located close to where your target audience resides. If your target audience is global, you should consider using a Content Delivery Network (CDN).
Domain Name
Your domain name should be short, ideally 7-10 characters, and unique. It’s recommended not to use hyphens or numbers.
If you don’t have a brand name, using primary keywords in your domain can be a good idea. But keep in mind that people typically don’t take domain names like bestbeautyproducts2025.com seriously, so use keywords carefully.
Top-Level Domain (TLD)
A top-level domain is the extension that comes after the dot in your domain name, such as .com, .org, or .net.
“.com” is the obvious winner here. “.net” and “.org” are also well-known TLDs. If you are a local business, using country-specific TLDs like “.co.uk” or “.ca” can work as well. On the other hand TLDs like “.smile” or “.pizza” are just… weird.
www vs Non-www? Google Doesn’t Care
Google doesn’t have a preference between www.yoursite.com and yoursite.com.
However, Google treats www.yoursite.com and yoursite.com as different pages, which can create a “duplicate content” problem. If your web hosting service hasn’t already done so, you should set up a redirect to your preferred prefix.
Domain History
You might find a truly unique domain that has never been owned before, but many domain names have previous owners, and what they did with their websites matters.
If your new domain used to belong to a legitimate business website, you are good, it can positively impact your SEO but if the domain was previously associated with a shady website that Google denylisted, it can cause a lot of problems with indexing.
You can research your domain’s previous history using tools like the Wayback Machine and WHOIS Lookup.
If you already bought web hosting and domain and didn’t consider these factors, don’t worry, the most important thing when it comes to SEO is the quality of content you create.
