Will My Hosting IP Affect Local SEO?

Believe it or not, IP addresses are one of the single most essential components in the day-to-day functioning of the internet. Every device connected to the internet has a unique IP addressAn IP Address is a unique number that identifies a specific computer on the internet. which acts as an identifier, allowing the sending and receiving of data over the World Wide Web to run smoothly.

However, IP addresses are not just limited to devices. Websites also have them assigned by the server on which they are stored and, if you move your site to a new server – or hosting service – the IP address will change.

One concern for website owners is whether they will be at a disadvantage with regards to the Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) of their site if they do not choose a server that matches the area in which they operate — for example, using a hosting service in the US for a company based in London.

There is a certain degree of confusion around this topic due to a number of conflicting statements released by the notoriously secretive Google.

In 2009, the former head of the webspam team, Matt Cutts, suggested that the geographic location of the host did indeed have a significant effect on ranking for a website. This means that if the server is based in Germany, Google will be more likely to assume that it is useful for German users.

Nevertheless, just four years later, Google’s John Mueller said in response to a similar question on SEO and server location that it played a very minimal role and, in many cases, was irrelevant.

He stated: “If you use a ccTLD or a gTLD together with Webmaster Tools, then we’ll mainly use the geotargeting from there, regardless of where your server is located.”

The ccTLD stands for ‘country code top-level domain’ and refers simply to the final period of a domain nameA domain name is the address of a website and is a necessary part of the process of establishing a web presence. to show users and search engines in what country, sovereign state, or dependent territory a website is registered (for example, .fr for France, .mx for Mexico), while a gTLD stands for generic top-level domain, and typically includes .com, .org, .net, or .gov.

That being said, in their FAQs, Google indicates that while ccTLD is more important than the hosting IP, they recommend making sure that websites are hosted in a way that gives users fast access to it, which is often achieved by choosing hosting closest to the users.

So, in conclusion, it would appear that opting for the right server host is an aspect of SEO that should not be overlooked, particularly bearing in mind Google’s reputation for continually switching its priorities on how it ranks websites.

However, it is also worth noting that if you have a website that is already set up on a particular IP address, then changing to a new one is a highly technical and somewhat laborious process if you don’t have the right expertise. If done incorrectly, it can lead to a loss of files, much like moving offices in real life.