Time to open that proverbial mailbag to see what type of questions you have been sending me. Now I do my best to answer any and all questions sent my way but here today I have picked some of the frequently asked ones to help one and all, any and everybody who might also find themself stuck at a brick wall. The Web Hosting Show is on the air.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 151!
Running Time: 15 minutes | File Size: 6.73 MB

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

• Are There Social Networks in the Hosting World?
• What Are My Thoughts About Those “Green” Web Hosts?
• Do I Know of Any Blogging Alternatives to WordPress?
• What is Domain Name Kiting and Will it Hurt Me?

Here we are again. You, me and this make-pretend bag of mail I have. Ok, technically I don’t have a real physical mail or real letters, but I do have e-mails from a lot of you and as you know I do my best to tackle each and every question you send my way. That is one reason I got into the web hosting business. Getting to help others with their problems is something I just really enjoy to do.

Just don’t think I would have gotten the same thrill out of being a circus clown, a fireman or that guy who tosses midgets at the fair.

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.

Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 118!

Every time I get an e-mail with a hosting question in it, I do my best to get it answered for the folks that ask me stuff. I don’t get paid for it - but hey, I’m a guy who likes to help out where I can. Here are some of the best random questions on and about web hosting that I’ve been asked about this week.

Question - You’ve talked about a lot of file backup web hosting solutions here lately. I have been doing all of my off site backup storage with Carbonite. Do you like them as a choice?

Answer - Yes, the folks at Carbonite do a really good job and the whole online backup solution. Now the reason you might want to go with a solution like this instead of just backing it up to DVD or external hard drive is simple. What if you house explodes, or an army of un-dead midget warriors attack? Your computer would more than likely bite the dust. With your files backup somewhere else though - at least your files will make it out alive.

Question - I want to get into the web site business. Is it better to host a web site with a lot of topics on one domain name or setup different domain names for each topic?

Answer - I would say try to find a niche domain name for each type of web site you wish to host. The “all in one” web sites are really hard to manage and make popular. People want to learn about or deal with places that are based around one topic of discussion.

Question - Why does my server web statistics not match up with my online web statistics when tracking my visitors?

Answer - When using something like Webalizer compared with Google Analytics, the server side solution is going to be looking at everything, robot crawls, people and more as all one thing - traffic. With a off-site web stats solution like Google Analytics, it can’t see (or gain access to) that information, so it’s tracking numbers are based more off of real people.

Do you have a question? Feel free to send it my way and I’ll do my best to help you out too! Who knows, your question might even make it to the podcast too.

Well since I had a little more time in between show this week, I figured I could quickly go through a few questions that were E-mailed to me while I was away.

The first one comes from Jim.

To Copy Protect or Not To Copy Protect?

I want to sell my music Online, but I want to put up samples of the songs that people can’t download without paying for, what should I do?

Jim, I say stay away from any type of script or service that promises you copy protection. As soon as you put those tunes Online in any way, shape or form - chances are they will be stolen.

What I would do is just release them all for free (might get better results this way - popularity wise). If you really want to earn a few bucks though you could always upload 30 second samples of the songs to play for folks when they want to hear what it sounds like.

This next question comes from JulieG.

Free FTP Program Suggestions

Hi Mitch, I am tried of my current FTP program, is there a super program out there or anything better that what I am using? I’m just looking for a few quality suggestions. Thanks!

Well, I was in the same boat recently and I had a few programs suggested for me to try out. Give Filezilla and xplorer2 lite a shot.

Our last question comes from Mark.

Podcast for a Podcast Guide

Any chance of you creating a “how to podcast” audio guide, like you have done with ecommerce and blogging? Thanks for putting on a great podcast too. I listen every week!

Never say never, and I’d say that sounds like a pretty good idea. I’ve written a few ghetto guides to podcasting, but I’ll see what I can come up with and if I can get something recorded on the topic, you can bet it will find its way here.

Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 109!

Some might say that a Web host’s most feared nightmare is a customer with a list of 50 or more questions they want to have answered in under 15 minutes or less.

I have been in that situation myself, and I know it is a pain the butt to tackle. It is the duty of a hosting guru to explain these things though, and that is what I continue to do today.

Which one is better - Windows hosting or Linux hosting?

Both have their advantages and disadvantages. If you are new to Web sites and Web hosting (or if you just like it better) I would say go with Linux. Windows still can not compete with Linux as far as the number of services out there for you to use and the support for things you would want to do with your hosting account. Maybe someday - but not yet.

Should I backup my Web site or does my Web host do that for me?

Well, chances are your Web host will do that for you - but you can never be too safe. I would say at least backup one a month to make sure you do not loose any important files or pages on your Web site. Some of the data we are uploading is very valuable and it is too much of a pain to have to try to recreate it all again.

If I am a Web host, should I go out of my way to take PayPal payments for Web hosting?

Yes! PayPal is something that nearly everybody has and most people feel safer using it to pay for good than putting in their credit card information.

How long is the average wait time for a new Web hosting account to be setup?

Well it will change from Web host to Web host - but I would say a fair estimate would be within 24 hours of you signing up with them.

My hosting costs a month are pretty low. Is that a bad thing?

Not at all. Every Web host out there is trying to “lowball” the next by offering a bigger and better deal for even less money. Try to do your best to research the company before signing on the dotted line and you should be ok in most cases.

Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 104!

What if you had your own personal Web hosting guru that you could lock up under your house and ask questions to whenever you needed to? Well I can’t promise I’ll live in your basement but I will answer some of your most frequently asked hosting questions.

What can I do if I want to host my Web site on a server that has no adult material on it? I don’t want to share a server with some pervert.

The first thing you can do is get over it. There is hardly any way you are going to know who your neighbors are on a server, and neither will the outside world. Your safe!

Do all Web hosts support Ruby on Rails (RoR)?

A lot do, but I don’t think it is an industry standard just yet. PHP and MySQL are easy to find, but you might have to ask if Ruby on Rails is available on the plan or as an upgrade to the hosting plan.

Are there any Web hosts out there that will deliver me a custom Web hosting plan?

I am sure there might be, but I do not know of any right off hand. Most Web hosts will allow for a few upgrades here or there, but for the most part you will be locked into the plan you have or the plan that is packaged over or under the one you have - depending on if you want to upgrade or downgrade.

What is the best forum software out there today?

I like Vanilla and SMF. Two good options and I am pretty sure both are totally free.

I plan on hosting videos on my Web site. Should I go with hosting the files myself or putting them up some place like YouTube?

The best way to go would be to go with the “YouTube” option. There are a lot of video hosting solutions out there to go with - and it will give you more exposure outside of your own little empire of Web sites. Also you don’t have to worry about the huge disk space and bandwidth limitations either.

Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 103!

On to week three of answering some of your most frequently asked questions. Web development can be a pretty hard business to get into - so hopefully I am helping to guide you in the right direction to learn.

Remember if you have any questions of your own that you would like to ask you can always drop me an E-mail at mitch@mitchkeeler.com.

What is an addon domain name?

This would be an additional domain name that you could host on your Web hosting account.

More control panels these days are coming with this feature and Web hosts are taking advantage of it.

I want to start up a Web hosting company, what is the most important thing to remember?

No matter if you have been in business one day or one thousands days you should always remember to respect your customers. Give them what they want and answer their every need and you should have no problems at all.

What is a good way to advertise my hosting business?

I would say your best bet would be to join some of the hosting forums out there like Web Hosting Talk and Web Hosting Chat. You might spend some cash on some advertising as well.

Where is a good place to comparison shop for Web hosting?

I have always liked FindMyHosting.com.

I want to start up an adult Web site, but I don’t know if the Web host I am interested in will allow it. How can I find out?

Well in most cases, as long as what you are producing is legal then you should have no problems. The best way to find out if they allow it or not is to ask their sales team. Most Web hosts are more than happy to let you know one way or the other.

Related Podcast Link: Listen to Episode 102!