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There are services on the web to allow one to link their dynamic ip (dynamic because they are hosting from theirr home cable modem) to a domain. (you simply install a simple utility on your home machine, and it always checks that your IP is the same).
Maybe the scenario wasnt clear last post, so let me make an example:
Say my IP address changes once every month, but the canonical url to my domain is constant (i.e., its always www:myDomainName.com). Therefore, all links to my site will work great, but the dns lookup yields a different IP. The link is the same though.
Websites can change IP's without penalty, right?
Earlier I asked if this would affect page rank... and I was told by all that it would destroy my page rank, but I have to ask: Why? (or maybe it wont, know that my question is more clear).
If I was to visit a 'normal' domain with my browser, and then again a short while later, my browser would not check the IP the second time. You probably use a DNS service with a short TTL, telling user agents not to cache IPs for long. Search engines tend to cache for longer; an ISP's DNS cache serves many people looking at the same sites again and again (like WebmasterWorld), but a search engine wants to visit every domain during each crawl.
The original Google papers mention DNS lookups as a significant overhead and Google used to cache DNS for at least a month, but over the last year they've cached DNS far less aggressively. Given that your IP changes once per month there's more chance now that Google will visit the right IP to access your content.
That said, I wouldn't advise changing IP every month and if your Google listings are important to you you should get a hosting account.
Although Google would surely come back to visit if it didn't find the domain it might cause some inconvenience to users.
I'm just wondering what role IP address plays in Google's algorithm.
If the backlinks are on the same IP would that lose credibility with Google? I don't mean just one other domain linking to a site, but 10 or 15. Would it hurt PR and possibly be seen as *spam*?
Another question I'll throw out for consideration is whether or not changing an IP address could possibly help rankings if your site is hosted in "bad neighborhood".
Hosting. Sigh, I will cave in eventually, but I will be darned if I wont be as cheap as possible : )
Bobby, if I am reading what you are saying correctly, then I *think* you are misunderstanding me. Sorry, but I am new to the SEO scene...
so give some serious thought to moving to a hosting company rather than dealing with your ever-changing ip address.
I've seen sites hosted on a home DSL connection using no-ip.com and it didn't cause any major problems with getting spidered or users not being able to find the host because of DNS caching. The biggest problem is usually server downtime due to local power companies and random children, etc... At worst, you might miss 10% of your expected traffic due to IP changes combined with higher latency, but $4/month hosting companies can be as bad or worse if you didn't pick the right one.
There is a good argument to be made for hosting a site at home, then migrating it to a better environment when it'll actually pay for itself in that environment.
Of course, if you take that route, you'll probably move to co-locating your server next instead of renting space on someone else's, so after that happens you probably won't bother doing it for any new websites.
Yes, I cant even imagine hosting anywhere else. Php, mysql, and any other crazy thing I want to install takes moments, not requesting the service via email and being refused : )
