Comments on: Myth busting: virtual hosts vs. dedicated IP addresses

By: Todd Donald

Todd Donald — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 01:05:41 +0000

Thanks for clearing the question of whether dedicated IP makes any difference over virtual hosting Matt. In your post it was mentioned that it will not make a difference in page rank unless the virtual server is not setup correctly. Without getting real technical, can you explain what might be wrong in a virtual setup? I am especially curious because I am on a shared server.

By: David

David — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:41:32 +0000

Matt,

Could you please please please give us some updated info on this, as a web developer i provide free hosting to my clients but obvioulsy if this is detremental to the value of the link love i get back and testimonials on my clients sites or on my site pointing to them, i will stop doing it immediately and ensure all clients get there own hosting. (very annoying have no interest or are clueless about hosting and costs)

HELP!!

By: Poodle Breeders

Poodle Breeders — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:17:31 +0000

@web design beginner, my understanding is that having cross-linking on the same class-C IP address can get you into trouble. I do however agree with you that Google needs to let people know what their stance is on this important matter.

By: web design beginner

web design beginner — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:42:54 +0000

Hello,

Thanks for helping to clarify issues regarding website spam. I saw a Youtube video of yours where you said something to the effect: “If you have a few websites on the same IP that’s no big deal. But if you have 1000’s, then that could send a red flag signal to Google”.

The problem is this: suppose you are “minding your own business” with only 1 website. But someone *else* on your IP is junking up the place with 1000’s of websites. Wouldn’t you get penalized through Google as “guilt by association”? Meaning, how would Google know that your one website is the “good website that is minding its own business” and separate it out from the bad apple(s) on your same IP address?

Thanks for offering any clarification.

By: Steven

Steven — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:47:32 +0000

Yes, a re-affirmation would be re-assuring , given that a dedicated IP is only a $2 upgrade on Hostgator, it’s not a big deal either way, but if you search for who’s on your IP block, you’ll often see unsavory ‘neighbors’.

By: Todd Donald

Todd Donald — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:08:40 +0000

When googling “dedicated ip seo”, Matt’s blog come up in the top 10 and points to this blog post (myth busting virtual hosts vs dedicated ip addresses), even though Matt’s information is from 2006 and questionable that it is accurate any longer. There are later comments, but it would be way super cool if Matt could update us on this issue, since now that its almost 2010 there is all sorts of rumors circulating about Google pulling the rug out from page links that come from the same server IP address. Hosting companies are now offering “dedicated IP addresses” for sale and also offering “dedicated servers” and “dedicated virtual servers” for sale. There is an awesome new site that allows one to see just how many sites are on their “shared hosting plan”, (see http://www.sitedossier.com). I suppose I would just be elated to some trustworthy comment from Matt regarding this outdated blog post that still shows up.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 12:09:36 +0000

[continuation] … in fact this raises the interesting prospect that the only links that bring any value to my hosting company will be those from people who don’t use my services and are therefore least equipt to recommend me!!!

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:37:05 +0000

From the lack of definitive statement above on the multiple sites, same C-block issue, and the comments to the effect that there can be no reason other than spamming for multiple sites on the same IP or c-block to have any links to each other, I conclude that if my shared hosted clients do link to each other, those links WILL be discounted.

So if client A (restaurant) gets a link from directory B (restaurant directory) then if I am already providing the hosting for directory B, client A would in fact be better off going to a different hosting/site management company, otherwise client A loses out (A doesn’t get the link love deserved) AND client B loses out (gets noted as having spammy links)?

Furthermore, if (with each client’s permission) there is a link on my clients’ sites recommending or mentioning my hosting/management services, then I don’t get the link love deserved from my (mainly) satisfied customers and they all get noted as providing spammy links?

By: Modulus Systems

Modulus Systems — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 13:16:31 +0000

Bloody hell! I have been looking for this everywhere and searching “class c ip address” etc. Possible a longer heading with more keywords will help many more idiots like me find this article. I have been hosting sites on a shared hosting platform (virtual host) for years and we’ve optimised them for super competitive keywords, but my extra-smart clients always ask the same question. Now I have this url. Good work Matt, what would I do without you!!

By: Rahul

Rahul — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:37:12 +0000

Interesting, nevertheless, I moved my website to a VPS (dedicated static IP), and for some reason, the # of unique visitors went up!