Web hosting providers 'can negatively impact on search ranking'

31st January 2008

Two-thirds of web hosting companies do not offer assistance with search engine optimisation, it has been revealed.

Australian firm Vertical Leap has found that many web hosting providers are simply reselling US and UK hosting services meaning companies registered with them are missing out on local searches.

Cameron Winslow, managing director of Vertical Leap, commented: "Australian businesses don't realise that the web hosting provider they select can have a negative impact on their search engine rankings."

When web users begin a search, they often place a preference for their results to be customised to pages based in their own country.

By not checking whether a web host is a domestic provider, sites will not appear on the search results, the firm explained.

According to the report, issues such as physical location, platform, URL rewriting and server performance can all have a significant impact on a websites search engine optimisation.

The American Chronicle recently advised firms that hiring an expert for search engine optimisation is preferable to attempting to do it themselves.