For web hosts out there, from time to time they must wonder if it would help their bottom line to start up a regional web hosting franchise, such as those out there that do United Kingdom hosting.

For the clients looking for hosting, they too have a fair share of questions such as, will they get a better deal going with a closer hosting provider?

Although the web hosting business is a global game for one and all - one thing we can not get over is no matter who you are or what you do, there is always going to be somewhat of a lag when crossing the ocean. If you are wanting to deliver your services to a group of people in one region then it would make sense to have services there to cut out this issue all together.

It is a niche too or specialized hosting solution that gets attention. Which out of the two web hosts is going to get the most attention. The one that says they specialize in super fun windows hosting or the one that says they pride themselves in generic boring hosting that everybody else does. Saying that you specialize in UK hosting for an example is a good niche inside of the hosting world to separate yourself from some of the other players in the game.

One good example of a company that is doing United Kingdom hosting is UK2.net. With both shared and dedicated servers they have carved out a nice chunk of the UK hosting experience for themselves. They do dedicated UK web hosting that looks really exceptional and they are even using some US based servers too - so they are expanding themselves from one niche into another.

So remember that the regional-based hosting solutions are nothing to sneeze at. From a technical side of things they could give you a better connection if you are around their region and from a marketing standpoint it does a great job at giving you something to brag about to separate yourself from the rest of the web hosting pack.

Domain name warehousing is the act of a domain name register obtaining control of any and all domains with the intent to hold or warehouse the names for their own use or profit (making a buck).

In most cases this happens after the domain name has expired and the previous domain name owner did not renew that domain within the given amount of time. This time frame is usually 45 days after expiration. There are also several types of ways they can cheat you using this dirty and under-handed practice.

Different Types of Domain Name Warehousing?

There are three different types of domain name warehousing in practice these days. The first is when the registrant allows the domain name to lapse but the domain name register fails to delete the domain during the grace period. The end result is a paid renewal to the registry. Then the domain name register assumes the registration of the domain name. The second would be when the customer purchases the domain name through “dirty means” or fraud, and then the domain name register assumes the registration of the domain to be able to resell it and recover financial losses with the deal. The last is when the domain name register just goes out and registers domains in it own name to store them for later.

How do Regular People get Caught? How Can We Avoid It?

Now why and how does this happen? Well with some, but not all, domain name registers they make the renewal process so confusing and difficult to get through the client gives up and leaves. This probably couldn’t happen to people with established businesses or web sites Online but it could with those who might not know any better. I am reminded of the older gentleman who will hang up on a phone call anytime he is faced with a multiple choice pre-recorded option rather than a real person to answer his problems. That type of person is more likely to fall for this type of scam.

Another concern would be that the domain name warehousing domain register would be sitting there waiting for domain names to expire, and conduct domain tasting without having to pay a thing. That would be so they could see which domains did the best with traffic, advertising and branding. So you should be aware the domain name warehousing is out there and web hosting experts and novices alike can be caught by it.

Note: abandoned warehouse photo by Mr Mark on Flickr!

Search engine optimization is a black art, and it takes a lot of time and trouble to de-bunk all the false advice out there.

Some people do it because they heard a friend to tell a friend that advice. Others do it to sell ten page eBooks on the topic that cost the end user $65 a pop. I am going to help you get something done though by sharing the answers to some of these frequently asked (and answered wrong) questions.

Will having a dedicated IP address help you with search engine optimization?

The simple answer is no. It is a myth that Google or any other search engine will penalize you for hosting on a server that shares an IP address or for not having a dedicated IP address.

Is having static addresses better than having dynamic ones?

To explain, a dynamic address would be one used by a service like WordPress does by default, giving you something like article.php?post=543 after your domain in the addresses bar or something to that effect. When you see a static address, it looks much more like the one you see at WebHostingShow.com when you click on a story to read where it has in the address something like /archive/story-about-hosting.php.

In most cases, search engines would search either one but I would tend to go with the static addresses if you can, because it is more user friendly to the visitor and for keyword reasons. Now having good related keywords in the address, this is a search engine optimization tip that is slowly fading away but is still relevant right now.

For search engine optimization, what is the best way to change a domain name address?

You want to use what is referred to in the business as a 301 redirect. There are a number of ways to get this done so by searching Google for 301 redirect you are bound to find a lot of methods. Easiest would be to put this in your .htaccess file:

redirect 301 /old/oldpage.htm http://www.yourdomain.com/newpage.htm

A 301 redirect is telling the world that your page has moved permanently, that is what the 301 code stands for.

You should get away from your previous hosting company as quickly as you can?

This is not always the case. You may want to wait till you see your search engine spiders and bots crawling over your new content before you go back to your old web host and cancel your web site’s old hosting account. Not doing so could lead the search engine spiders to a dead end a few times (during domain name propagation) and it might cause your web site to get dropped from the search engine rankings. This is because from the spider’s point of view, you no longer exist.

Have any other SEO myths that need to be de-bunked? Drop me a line or a comment.

Did you know that the Web Hosting Show was Yakov Smirnoff’s favorite way to spend a lazy afternoon? Ok, maybe that isn’t true but I will update you on the rise of the Soviet Union domain name extension as well as pull the curtain other myths and rumors about SEO. Now just as long as Yakov’s lawyers don’t shut me down, the Web Hosting Show is on the air.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 150!
Running Time: 15 minutes | File Size: 6.62 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode of the Web Hosting Show.

• Soviet Union Still Exists in the Domain Name World
• Regional Hosting, is it Worth Looking Into?
• Top Search Engine Optimization Tips and Myths De-bunked!
• Domain Name Warehousing, What is it and Who Does It?

Little known fact, in Russia you don’t host web sites; web sites host you! Ok, maybe Yakov’s material was a ‘bit more funny back when we are all running around in MC Hammer pants but that was then and this is now.

A little ‘bit of a shorter show this week around to make room for another podcast’s release this week but still have a lot of topics I want to cover one on one just with you, and you, and you over there who doesn’t even like this show but you listen because you know your even going to get something out of it. This podcast is for one and all - from the web hosts to the hosting clients and everyone in between.

These are some questions for the web hosts out there. Are you ready to retire? Want to get out of the web hosting game to do something else? Well there are a lot of legal loopholes and dotted lines that need tending to first.

How does one sell their web hosting company? I’ve got Errett Cord on the show today to answer your questions on this hot topic in hosting.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 149!
Running Time: 9 minutes | File Size: 3.94 MB

Here are just a few topics from this special edition of the Web Hosting Show.

• Why would you want to sell your hosting company?
• Is it easy to sell a web host?
• What are some of the legalities and loopholes?
• How long does selling a web hosting company take?
• What is the best advice for anybody looking to sell a hosting company?

No matter if your looking to retire for the hosting business or you just want to get out now and do something else I have your exit strategy planned out and ready to go on this episode of the Web Hosting Show. When it comes to doing something new, why not talk with somebody who has done through it before?

Ever heard of Dan Grossman? I just happened to stumble across his blog via WebHostingUnleashed.com. he is the owner of Awio Web Services LLC. You might not know that name, but you should know the name W3Counter! That is one of the many services that his business owns. Need some inspiration for yourself? Check out this small part of his bio page:

Awio is a one-man company — forming a company was more about convenience and tax benefits than necessity. I’ve developed and operate all of the websites on the Awio website, with dozens more having been built and sold to new owners. I’ve been creating successful websites since Website Goodies in 1997. I am self-funded, reinvesting only profits from current sites into new development. I take on all roles including software design, development, testing, system administration, accounting, marketing, order processing and customer service.

He is a guy after my own heart, living the freelancer’s hosting dream. Check out his writings and posts at: http://www.dangrossman.info/

If you know of anymore hosting or web development insiders that have awesome personal sites or blogs, let me know.

What makes a web host a great place to host a blog? Well these days just about any hosting account is ready, will and able for a good ol’ WordPress install or two.

Easy One-Click Installs?

Look at what scripts and software they have ready to install on day one. Do you have one click install access to WordPress, b2evolution, Nucleus or others. These are some of the more familiar names you might see tossed in with Fantastico, and addon for cPanel that gives you easy one click access right from your hosting control panel.

Disk Space and Bandwidth for Blogging?

Next thing you will want to check out is the disk space and bandwidth limitations. If your just starting your blog out - do you have enough room to grow? If your blog is already established then do they have enough disk space and bandwidth to support you for a long period of time.

Server Resources for Peaks in Traffic

Server resources also come into play when it comes to blog hosting. Just in case your article gets dugg on digg.com or hyped up on any of the other big social news and link sharing sites, can your web site take the punch in traffic? This is something you should discuss one on one with your web host - but it most cases (unless the host isn’t that established) you should be OK in this department too. If using WordPress there are also addons that will make sudden growths in popularity more bearable, such as the WP-Cache addon.

Truth be told, you might have to suffer through a few web hosting lemons before you find the web host that is best able to deliver you the best blogging experience. It never hurts though to have a check list like the one above before you start shopping so you know what it is you should be getting.