Hosting in Canada or Home?

Mark_G

Hey all just wondering I'm designing a website for my brother for his new business but its a business over in Canada. What I'm wondering would I be better off hosting the site on a Canadian hosting service or does it make a difference if I was to just host it on an Irish one? This is my first proper site so just new to all this. Thanks!

mneylon

You'll see arguments in favour of both ..

But if you're happy with an Irish hosting company and you're the one looking after the site then it shouldn't make too much difference

cormee

Mark_G wrote: »

Hey all just wondering I'm designing a website for my brother for his new business but its a business over in Canada. What I'm wondering would I be better off hosting the site on a Canadian hosting service or does it make a difference if I was to just host it on an Irish one? This is my first proper site so just new to all this. Thanks!

If the business is for Canadian customers you'd probably be better off hosting it in Canada. Google uses server location as one of its many ranking factors - http://www.webseoanalytics.com/blog/5-less-known-but-important-ranking-factors-that-affect-search-engine-results/

Mark_G

Ah thats something I thought might happen. I'll look into the Canadian hosting sites or is anyone familiar with any of the hosting over there?

Graham

Mark_G wrote: »

Ah thats something I thought might happen. I'll look into the Canadian hosting sites or is anyone familiar with any of the hosting over there?

There's a fairly long-standing boards rule that bans the discussion/recommendation of specific hosting providers. Google is your best bet, be sure to check for reviews of whichever host you're thinking of going with.

mneylon

cormee wrote: »

If the business is for Canadian customers you'd probably be better off hosting it in Canada. Google uses server location as one of its many ranking factors - http://www.webseoanalytics.com/blog/5-less-known-but-important-ranking-factors-that-affect-search-engine-results/

It's "a" factor

So is server speed and many other elements

Using a low quality hosting provider that you cannot rely on is more likely to cause issues than hosting outside Canada ..

cormee

Blacknight wrote: »

It's "a" factor

So is server speed and many other elements

Using a low quality hosting provider that you cannot rely on is more likely to cause issues than hosting outside Canada ..

Absolutely, as I said, it's one of "many" factors.

But OP was specifically asking about the geographical location of the server, and does it make a difference, which is why I didn't address any of the other factors.

devildriver

Mark_G wrote: »

Hey all just wondering I'm designing a website for my brother for his new business but its a business over in Canada. What I'm wondering would I be better off hosting the site on a Canadian hosting service or does it make a difference if I was to just host it on an Irish one? This is my first proper site so just new to all this. Thanks!

Server location is a small arguably negligible factor in SEO these days. however page load speed is definitely a big factor both for SEO and general usability.

So I would advise using a quality hosting provider whatever the location. You could also look at quality US based hosting companies as they can offer good value and good speed.

cormee

devildriver wrote: »

Server location is a small arguably negligible factor in SEO these days. however page load speed is definitely a big factor both for SEO and general usability.

Only if you use a ccTLD or a gTLD and set rather market location using Webmaster Tools, even in that case, whatever relevance it places upon it is still going to affect your SEO. So play it safe and host it locally to your target market.

If you don't use ccTLD, etc. It's still quite relevant

devildriver

cormee wrote: »

Only if you use a ccTLD or a gTLD and set rather market location using Webmaster Tools, even in that case, whatever relevance it places upon it is still going to affect your SEO. So play it safe and host it locally to your target market.

If you don't use ccTLD, etc. It's still quite relevant

Good point about the tlds.

I beg to differ on the issue of server location adversely affecting SEO (if all the geotargetting setting have been set correctly). It's a much debated issue.

In any case hosting with a good provider in the US or Canada is the probably a better option than hosting in Europe.

Mark_G

Okay great I'll have a look into Canada and the US so. Thanks a million!