Your web host can dramatically affect the user experience for your website. One of the biggest things that your hosting can effect is site speed and load time. For those two reasons, you might think of your web host as an SEO hosting company and not just a place that holds all the data from your website.
There are a few different factors that should be considered when it comes to SEO hosting companies. We’re going to break down what makes a good web host for SEO and the three best to consider in 2022.
What Makes a Good SEO Hosting Company?
Your web host will determine the experience that your users will have when they visit your site. A good host will allow your site to load quickly and keep users from bouncing back to Google when they don’t want to wait for your site to load.
Here’s what to look for in your web host:
Guaranteed High Uptime:
You need your site to be live. Any time your site is down, it’s going to impact your SEO and search engine results significantly. For the best results, choose a host with at least 99% or better uptime. There’s always going to be some amount of downtime. No server will be up 100% of the time, but the idea is to minimize your site’s downtime as best you can.
Server Location:
Think of server location as the root of your business. Ideally, your server should be located in the same country that you operate out of and somewhat close to the majority of your users. It’s not proven that server location plays a huge role in SEO, but by all means, it can’t hurt.
Multiple Options:
Using a hosting platform with tons of bonuses or extras isn’t always ideal. But, if you can find a host that offers some great backups, then that’s always going to be a positive thing! Here are a few features that you’re going to want.
- Automatic Backups – automatic backups are a great way to ensure that you always have a copy of your site and that you won’t lose it in the case of a bad plugin or mistake.
- SSL – SSL or secure socket layer is a way of encrypting your site and safeguarding it from hackers. Having a safe and secure website will dramatically increase your SEO performance.
- Multiple Hosting Plans – find a hosting provider that offers multiple levels of hosting. If your site ever reaches sizes that require it to be hosted on its own server, it’s easy to upgrade plans than to change hosts completely.
Good Reviews
No matter the platform that you choose to use for your website hosting, you’ll want to look into the reviews. There are plenty of people out there and lots of places where you can find honest customer reviews.
Responsive Support Team
Lastly, check into the support team that comes with the software that you choose. Most companies offer quick response and sometimes even 24/7 live service. You don’t “need” a company that provides 24/7 service, but when you do need to get ahold of your hosting service, it’s going to be ideal that they’re responsive and ready to help you with whatever problems you’re having.
The 3 Best Website Hosting Companies to Consider
There are far more than just three hosting companies on the market today, but these are some of the best that we’ve found and the ones that we most commonly work with. Everyone has their preferences, so be sure to do your research based on the information we offered above and the needs that you have as a business.
WP Engine
WP Engine is a hosting company that serves only WordPress. Out of all the hosting providers on the market today, our preference at Hook Agency is WP Engine. It’s the provider that we use and the provider that we recommend for our clients. This host offers a 99.95% uptime guarantee. One of the many reasons that we use WP Engine and recommend it is because it’s a great host for site speed and SEO.
Pantheon
Pantheon is another great option for hosting. They offer 24/7/365 customer service so that you never have to wonder if someone got your email or when they’re going to respond. That’s a huge advantage, no matter what type of help you’re looking for. Patheon also offers a 99.99% uptime guarantee meaning that your site won’t be done but a few hours every year.
Flywheel
Lastly, we have Flywheel. This incredibly reasonably priced solution is excellent for a lot of reasons. It’s simple, easy to understand, and is full of helpful tools. Flywheel also offers 24-hour support and is available to help you whenever need!
These are just a few of the options on the market that we think are great and that offer services that align with the points that we mentioned above. If you’re on the fence about who to use for your hosting, don’t be afraid to compare these different companies. You’ll want to pick a web host that can serve you well over the long run. Migrating from one host to another can be time-consuming and frustrating. While every host will do their best to make it easy, it can still end up being a bit of a headache.
