21 replies to this topic

[JSH]

Does anyone know if search engines will index pages that are only referenced by IP address? For instance, I would like to have my pages seen as 123.45.678.901/mypage.html instead of www.mydomain.com/mypage.html. I plan to use Inktomi paid inclusion and build links to the new site using just the IP address.

[Thanol]

Why would you use an IP address over a domain name?

And Google does index IP addresses. My school for example only has an IP address and it's included in Google. I'm not sure if Inktomi does though.

[JSH]

I want to use an IP instead of a name because I am the ultimate cheapskate and don't want to pay for hosting and a domain name.

My plan is to store the personal pages on the server where I'm currently paying to have a business site hosted. However, I don't want the company name to be associated with the personal pages.

Does anyone know if Inktomi/MSN will display IP addresses in their results?

Thanol, Thanks for the confirmation regarding Google and IP addresses.

[Scottie]

You can get a domain name for $7.95 at www.godaddy.com. You can get hosting at www.lenzmultimedia.com for about $49 a year.

It's worth it!

[JSH]

Scottie, thanks for the good reference once again. Unfortunately, I forgot to mention that I want to use ASP and an Access database. Can you recommend any super-cheap sources for those services?

[Jill]

Even if you use an IP, you still have to pay for hosting, right? So all you're saving is the few bucks for a domain name? Doesn't really seem worth it to me. Who wants to visit a site that's just an ip address? Something kinda creepy about that to me.

That said, I don't think the engines have a problem with it. It just seems kinda silly though.

Jill

[JSH]

Even if you use an IP, you still have to pay for hosting, right?

No, that's the whole point behind using the IP address. I already pay for hosting of my business site, so I will upload and have my pages served from there. I just don't want the business domain name to be associated with my personal pages (and vice versa).

[market seeker]

I want to use an IP instead of a name because I am the ultimate cheapskate and don't want to pay for hosting and a domain name.

What if you could get a free domain name with your hosting account that would include everything you could want for say $70 a year. Would that help?

I might know someone that could do this.

Is this inappropriate mods

[Scottie]

Always appropriate to help someone out, market seeker!

[Ron Carnell]

I just don't want the business domain name to be associated with my personal pages (and vice versa).

Using the IP will disassociate the two from casual observers, but you should probably be aware of how easy it will be for anyone with the desire to tie the two together. The domain name, after all, is nothing but a thinly veiled alias for the IP. Not sure of your intent, but thought you should know ...

[Mel]

While I believe this might work you should look into some of the problems you may have to solve.

If someone types in just the IP address without the page reference it will take them to the index page of your business site.

I would assume that your personal pages would be indexed by Google as a part of you business site, since they both have the same IP address and are not otherwise differentiated, so if your personal pages are not linked from your business pages might be considered doorway pages.

[Peter]

JSH,

If you do everything as cheap as possible, the search engines will notice this too.

Which sites get the higher rankings you think?

Peter

[brianjulkunen]

having your keyword in your domain name can help give you a boost in the SERPS, and for 7.95 at godaddy.com it is definately worth it from and SEO standpoint (use hyphens like "buy-widgets.com" not "buywidgets.com" to get the desired affect)

[JSH]

Thanks for all of the input. You guys have brought up several good issues that I hadn't considered.

MarketSeeker, where can I find this inexpensive hosting service?

Thanks!

[Ducani]

You can get hosted by a budget host for little or nothing and with domain names for $7.-- you can get all you need pretty cheap. You could also look into being a hosting reseller.

Eg. You become a reseller and pay lets say $30/month.
If you know a couple people that want websites you can host say 3 additional sites for $10/month and break even. Free quality hosting.

Hope that helps.