6 replies to this topic

[ralf_the_cat]

Hi,
I'm looking for a hosting solution for a few small websites that I'll be targeting to particular keyword phrases and interlinking.

I'm shopping for a hosting package that would allow me to host multiple domains for one price - there are plently of them out there.

I don't know much about this - my first time - but I read that I should be carefull about with the IP addresses of hosting packages. In particular:
1. I should make sure I get a unique static IP
2. If interlinking sites best to host them on totally unique IPs not sharing the same C-block.

Are these things I should really look out for? What does it mean for SEO when a hosting package doesn't provide you with unique IPs. Would I need to purchase separate individual packages to keep my various domain unrelated by IP?

Can you recommend any multi-domain hosting services?

thanks
rAlf

[eomedia]

Ralf

I think perhaps you may have heard the static IP issue in the event of problematic sites sharing your IP. Most hosting servers use multi-horned websites (where multiple sites are hosted on the same IP address) and use the host header information to direct them. I know people hosting 4,000 sites and I know fairly well ARIN isn't giving them 4,000 IPs to seperate them out.

I run my own servers, and on my web server I host about 8 different sites all on a single IP address. Once the request comes in it looks at the WWW.domainname.com to determine which site to access. This is really not a problem, however, if you were on a server with another site that perhaps was doing something illegal or just really annoying (harvesting website info) it's possible it could be blocked by some admins. In that case your site would not be reachable either, but frankly I feel that is not very likely to happen and if it would you can ask your host to move you to a new hosting fairly easy.

One other point is SSL, if you are going to be using SSL certificates then you MUST have a seperate IP for each as they do not work well on multi-horned sites.

Just an FYI

[torka]

If it makes sense for these "mini sites" to link to one another -- in other words, if it's good for site visitors and isn't simply being done in an effort to artificially inflate each site's apparent "popularity", then it won't make any difference whether all the sites are on the same IP address or not. When the linking is natural and makes good logical sense, it won't make much, if any, difference whether they're actually all different domains or if all the content is hosted on a single domain, either.

(There are pros and cons to the "divide and conquer" versus the "one site for all" approaches -- and just about as many good arguements can be made for one side as for the other. In the end, it boils down to what's best for the site visitor, MHO.)

If, however, the reason you're contemplating this is because you believe this is a way to "trick" search engines into thinking that each of these sites is more "important" than it really is... well, this probably isn't the best forum in which to be asking for advice.

While a scheme like that might very well work in the short term, at least in some search engines, it's a poor recipe for long-term success. And it's a good way to get yourself banned (from some engines) if any of your competitors report you (and, trust me, they will...).

--Torka

[brickholius]

i see two options. 1. with Reseller accounts you pay for bandwidth and storage space and you can set up as many domains as you want and each one has its own control panel. 2. A host that offers addon domains allows you to run multiple domain names/webpages with one control cpanel. So I currently use addon domains so I pay 11.95 a month and can run 3 different domain names (separate webpages) from 1 account because im just starting out and not making any money. If I had more money i would get a reseller account.

brickholius

[ralf_the_cat]

THanks for your detailed replies,
So it looks like the unique IP thing isn't worth worrying about. I understood that currrently all links are equal - whether they are from same page, domain, IP or IP block. I've heard comments that they may change in the future, but who knows, huh.

THanks
rAlf

[projectphp]

I'm looking for a hosting solution for a few small websites that I'll be targeting to particular keyword phrases and interlinking.

Why? That wont help your PageRank any more than simply having all those pages on one site unless you get a lot of free links, and I don't see that happenning with mini-sites of dubious value.

Save the hosting cost and just have one site. The minisite thing is more work than it is worth, unless you are a really good spammer (and most people are just plain rank ordinary). IMHO, even if this strategy works, it is amatuerish, short term and one that involves far too much effort for the expected return. The ROI is not as good, and you will spend years chasing your tail.

Instead of 10 bad sites, focus on making a really good site with all the information easily found.

All My opinion, and YMMV, but my $0.02 anyway.

[ralf_the_cat]

This is not my end strategy. I'm launching a few quick smaller sites for some lower volume keywords that I see an immediate opportunity with. I'm planning on a mega site later. THe thing with a mega site is that there are always 10 ways to describe something and you can't go for all 10 without the site being so artifical and spammy. So I'm starting small with some of those lesser 5 variations on separate sites.

THanks for your help
rAlf