Every business aims to be\u00a0at the top of Google’s search results. And this growing competition means that business owners must be constantly prioritizing SEO.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Many assume that SEO is primarily about keywords, social marketing<\/a>, and blogging. But server uptime has a huge impact on your rankings.<\/p>\n Read on to learn how downtime can kill your SEO, and what you can do about it.\u00a0<\/p>\n When your website is down, it won’t show up on Google.\u00a0<\/p>\n But, when Google gets a query for content that relates to that website it won’t be able to find it.<\/p>\n That’s when bad things happen.<\/p>\n Consider this a one-way ticket to an SEO downgrade.<\/p>\n And, it also increases the websites bounce rate<\/a>, which negatively impacts its authority.\u00a0<\/p>\n This is why, when choosing a prospective host for your website, you need to pay close attention to the server uptime being advertised.<\/p>\n Server uptime is the amount of time you can expect your server to be up and running.\u00a0<\/p>\n While most hosting providers will guarantee an uptime of 99.9%, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. That’s why it’s important to check out reviews to see what existing customers are really saying.\u00a0<\/p>\n Let’s have a look at a few other ways server uptime is important for both SEO and your customers.<\/p>\n Even if you have a 99% server uptime, you’re still leaving money on the table.<\/p>\n Having 99% uptime means that within a month, your\u00a0website will be down for around 7 hours.<\/p>\n Imagine how many potential customers have missed your site during that time!\u00a0<\/p>\n Once a visitor has tried to visit your site, only to find that it’s down, are they likely to return?<\/p>\n And, when they press the back button to go back to the search results, that tells Google that your website isn’t helpful.<\/p>\n Whether you’re attracting customers to a landing page or an eCommerce site, a website that isn’t online simply can’t be used.<\/p>\n Every time a potential customer tries and fails to access your site, they simply go back to Google and visit your competition instead. As this happens hundreds or thousands of times, you’re helping your competitors make money and move up the search results.<\/p>\n The last thing your business needs is a\u00a0bad reputation for uptime.<\/p>\n And, we only need to look at the outage of Amazon Web Services<\/a> to see how customers react. The outage also impacted Business Insider, Airbnb, and Netflix, all of which experienced either total failure or poor performance.\u00a0<\/p>\n One of the best ways to improve your SEO is through the creation of content. This includes blog posts,\u00a0website updates, and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n Search engines love new content, and, it’s also important if you’re establishing your business as an authority within the industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n The problem? When your website is constantly down, there’s no way for you to update this content.\u00a0<\/p>\n This can make your content marketing an exercise in frustration.\u00a0<\/p>\n As you can see, server uptime has a huge effect on your website’s SEO. And that, in turn, impacts how many visitors you get to your website, how many of those visitors turn into leads, and how many leads turn into conversions.<\/p>\n So, it’s critically important that you do everything you can to prevent website downtime.<\/p>\n Here’s how to do it properly.<\/p>\n These days, every business needs a strong online presence. And, choosing a web host based solely on price can be a recipe for disaster.\u00a0<\/p>\n The first step is to know what you need from your web host. Here are some things to think about:<\/p>\n Of course, you’ll also need to think about the future. If you’re planning a new content marketing strategy or\u00a0sale, you’ll need to anticipate more traffic.<\/p>\n If you’re launching a new website, a trustworthy shared hosting account can do the job.<\/p>\n These are usually inexpensive, easy to maintain, and more than sufficient for new sites. And, you can always upgrade as your site grows.<\/p>\n Once you’ve thought about your needs, it’s time to compare web hosts. Look for a server uptime of at least 99.5%, and don’t consider anything less than 99%.<\/p>\n You can find this information by reading web hosting reviews and comparing the sites you’re considering.<\/p>\nHow Server Uptime Impacts SEO<\/h2>\n
Bad First Impressions<\/h3>\n
Sending Customers to Your Competitors<\/h3>\n
Less Content<\/h3>\n
How to\u00a0Reduce Website Downtime<\/h2>\n
Choose a Web Host You Can Trust<\/h3>\n
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Monitor Your Website<\/h3>\n