SEO Issues Caused by Bad Neighbors

Updated January 11, 2023

White Hat SEO starts with paying attention to every detail, especially in a competitive landscape. That includes knowing your website hosting server neighbors. When looking to invest in real estate, you’re likely to seek a neighborhood where folks are nice, schools are of high caliber, and the streets are maintained and clean. Well, your server real estate should meet the same high standards.

Spammy Neighbors Means Bad News for SEO

Well, looking for a website hosting server should have the same kind of rigorous research as buying real estate. What you don’t know about your server neighbors can hurt you. Here’s an example. We signed a client, and their website was hosted on a discount hosting platform. By doing a simple check, we discovered that this squeaky clean client was surrounded by 90+ porn sites! As we ramp up their SEO and Search Engine Marketing efforts, their rankings could suffer because Google recognizes the server’s IP address. If the majority of websites are of ill-repute (porn sites are automatically marked as spammers), unfortunately, this law-abiding client gets lumped in with a bad crowd.

Website Hosting Research

So how can you find out if your server neighbors are sketchy? Ask your Webmaster do check for you. There are many free tools on the web. While you’re at it, check your site’s speed as it can also affect your SEO results. If you’re ready to throw in the towel with your current host and move to a better neighborhood with higher-class amenities, then we recommend a full-on search for a new server home.  Not to worry, we’ve created a web hosting how-to list for you. Use it as a research guide. Or, give us a call. We offer website hosting services. Be warned, we’re picky about who we allow on our servers. And, we insist on maintenance. Why? Not maintaining a WordPress website opens the door to hacks. We’re not willing to risk our client websites or our reputation.