Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : SEO / SEM Discussions : Do you trust Google's search results on web hosting keywords?

[dawhb]

This is something I've asked myself few times... Can I trust Google's search results on various web hosting related keywords?

... and do you know... my answer is "NO".

When you type "web hosting" in Google you can see high ranked (between 1st and 5th page) a bunch of oversellers and "web hosts" that don't even own their hardware. You can also find many "dumb" hosting directories created not to help consumers and to profit from providing fair and nonbiased news and information but to spam and mislead the market.

At the same time Web Hosting Talk is ranked on 8th page on "web hosting" and 4th page on "hosting".

Now, please ples vote and tell what do you think...

[Zafar Ahmed]

Hi,

Searching for "web hosting" or "hosting" does not necessary means you are looking for a host, this is not the case with hosting only.

when you search "logo", you won't find reliable companies that designs logos for affordable price, it's better to use generic keywords these days to match your result perfectly, like "reliable web host".

What I do is when I'm looking for a host, I find the host and I do a review search of them for example "hostname review" and I get bunch of positive/negative reviews on them.

Moreover, you should not trust Google with your money - I have seen websites been on top for top keyword which provides illegal stuff, so - it all depends on your searching skill now like I said about the "hostname review".

[dawhb]

Hi Zafar,

It is about relevancy. A search engine is useful for its users if its shows them results which help them to:

get reference
to find information
to find service or product
... etc.

I don't tink that websites which appear on 1st and 2nd pages in Google on "web hosting" represent best the keyphrase. They neither offer good information abut web hosting, nor rank best web hosting services or products... Does it mean they in one or other way are irrelevant...

[bwb]

Originally Posted by dawhb

Hi Zafar,

It is about relevancy. A search engine is useful for its users if its shows them results which help them to:

get reference
to find information
to find service or product
... etc.

I don't tink that websites which appear on 1st and 2nd pages in Google on "web hosting" represent best the keyphrase. They neither offer good information abut web hosting, nor rank best web hosting services or products... Does it mean they in one or other way are irrelevant...

I think you are reading a lot into a search for something that vast and generic, the vast majority of people are not the research type, they search for web hosting, look at one or two hosts, and buy. They are looking for a service, not 10 hours of research on who is quality

[boonchuan]

Relevancy wise I really do not trust when it comes to web hosting, web design and the various web services. I guess the competition is too great that a lot of the top results seemed quite bogus. Really wonder how they manage to get to such positions.

For web hosting etc, I rather go to WHT

[Biju]

Originally Posted by boonchuan

Relevancy wise I really do not trust when it comes to web hosting, web design and the various web services. I guess the competition is too great that a lot of the top results seemed quite bogus. Really wonder how they manage to get to such positions.

For web hosting etc, I rather go to WHT

Quality of host is based on clients experience. SERP is based on the webhosting SEO and SEM. boonchuan what do you mean relavancy!

[RajanUrs]

Originally Posted by dawhb

This is something I've asked myself few times... Can I trust Google's search results on various web hosting related keywords?

... and do you know... my answer is "NO".

When you type "web hosting" in Google you can see high ranked (between 1st and 5th page) a bunch of oversellers and "web hosts" that don't even own their hardware. You can also find many "dumb" hosting directories created not to help consumers and to profit from providing fair and nonbiased news and information but to spam and mislead the market.

At the same time Web Hosting Talk is ranked on 8th page on "web hosting" and 4th page on "hosting".

Now, please ples vote and tell what do you think...

A search for hosting reviews forum got me WebHostingTalk in the first position of the search results.


Also try using Google Advanced search. And search within search results.

http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en

[hoopili]

You guys are speaking from a professional/industry insider point of view (as I believe all of you who have posted your views are professionals), but does anyone know how people who has no knowledge about web hosting find web hosting companies? To me, I bet they will all search from Google.

I do agree with boonchuan that a lot of the top results on Google seemed quite bogus, but we can't neglect the fact that these potential customers are believing these "bogus" results.

[incrediblehelp]

As most should know Google doesn’t always rank the most relevant website or best website first. I am sure that is their overall goal, but with spammers out there that will be hard to achieve.

Web Hosting itself is filled with people trying manipulate the search results to funnel visitors through affiliate sign up URLs, so it should not be a shock when you see crappy or MFA websites appearing number one for "web hosting" related terms.

[m8internet]

Although you are searching for "web host", "web hosting", or similar
These aren't always terms that potential customers may use, and in fact most people searching will use between three and five word
I have found I get the best results from a variety of keyword searches, some of which have nothing to do with "web hosting"

I have also refined my Google AdWords ads to take into account competitors
Google was placing a greater emphasis on "domain name" so I excluded it from the SEO

[profitablehostingco]

Certainly I think if you are searching for a web host using the web host resource sites are a good way to go. But as an advertiser on Google it's very difficult. With the huge number of web hosting companies, and probably larger number of those trying to 'steal' that traffic it becomes difficult. There's obviously no way to distinguish between hosting companies that are legit and own all their own infrastructure vs resellers etc. as suggested in the original post. But you can see sites like top hosts for example have worked hard with a third keyword (resource or resources). So it is possible (with a fair amount of work I would say) to corner the market if you plan around a third keyword to go with web host or web hosting.

[inway]

Only professionals and Regular internet freaks are aware of Webhostingtalk and Good hosts. All other people click Blinking Ads and Fall into Overselling giants like Yahoo and Blue host.

[pyaremohan]

I like google and wht great way to be touch in web hosting company