Forum Moderators: Robert Charlton & goodroi
But my partners seem to think that moving to a new and different IP address will hurt our ranking in Google.
I think that is false. I think that Google only cares about the domain name, so it will still see us as Example.com no matter what server we are on, and what IP address our server is on.
I don’t think that moving to a different server will have any effect at all on our rank, as all the html pages will still have the same link addresses, nothing will change.
I think the only thing Google cares about with IP address is to check up on whether we are creating a mini net with 100 other web sites, like some black hat SEOs do.
Does anyone have any experiences good or bad with this?
I don't se ehow you can leave both hosts running. A .com domain name must resolve to one IP address only. Am I wrong?
Yes, but DNS takes time to propagate, and some ISPs/search engines cache IP addresses.
You can have a site hosted on many different hosts/IP addresses, although you're right that generally speaking only one will be used at a time (unless you want to run your own DNS, or use a HOSTS file, in which case you can point where you like!).
Check out the advice given by Matt Cutts here: Moving to a New Web Host [mattcutts.com]. That link is also available in the Hot Topics area [webmasterworld.com], which is always pinned to the top of this forum's index page.
Excellent contribution as always! I sleep better at night hearing it right from Matt Cutts' mouth. Now a harder question to answer:
On our web host, we are on a shared platform with other companies’ web sites, one of which I hear is an adult site. Not a good neighbor to have if you're worried about Google's "guilt by association penalty". Is there a way to see what domain names resolve to a particular IP address? I want to see what the other companies are hosted on the same server as we are.
[edited by: tedster at 5:36 pm (utc) on Mar. 25, 2008]
Since something like 85% of all domains are hosted on shared IP addresses, clearly there is no inherent problem. If your site doesn't link to your IP neighbor, then you're not in that neighborhood. Also, remembr that the mere presence of adult content does not mean that the site is breaking Google's guidelines.
However, the domains that share an IP address change over time. Also, in the past there have been some security holes in the owner's interface (cPanel, vDeck, etc) that allowed IP neighbors to hack in and create paraste hosting situations -- and some web hosts are not too fast to install the needed security updates.
For these and other reasons, I'd advise any business that depends on their website to generate significant income to have a dedicated IP address, or at least to own the master account that sells space the domains that share the IP.
I think parasite hosting hacks are more of a concern than sharing an IP with a bad neighborhood, but all of that is something a business should become responsible for and not just assume their host has taken care of. Bargain hosting is often not a real bargain.
I have always followed that specific checklist as well and have never had issues:
Check server credibility before moving, check whitelists and Spamhaus to ensure there are nothing listed.
Leave the site intact at the old server - in other words, overlap hosting - for about one month, and change the dns, then old files can get updated as local caches are flushed and updated.
Test the pages with a header checker upon moving.
Make sure you get a dedicated ip to be safe (although many of my well ranking websites are on shared hosting)
