Definition
Web hosting is the technical foundation of a website, and its choice has direct consequences on SEO. Key factors include server speed (TTFB), availability (uptime), geographic server location, technology (shared, VPS, dedicated, cloud), HTTP/2-3 support, SSL/TLS configuration, and the ability to handle traffic spikes. Cheap shared hosting can result in high TTFB and frequent downtime that harm crawling and ranking. Cloud solutions (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure) or specialized WordPress hosts (Kinsta, WP Engine) offer better performance. Server location matters for local SEO but can be offset by a CDN.
Key Points
- Server TTFB directly impacts Core Web Vitals
- 99.9%+ uptime is essential to avoid crawl errors
- Server location matters for local SEO but a CDN can compensate
Practical Examples
Migrating to high-performance hosting
A WordPress site migrates from a shared host at 3 EUR/month to Kinsta. TTFB drops from 1.2s to 200ms and the site gains 15 positions on average for its main keywords in 2 months.
Localized server for local SEO
A site targeting only France chooses an OVH server in Roubaix. Combined with a Cloudflare CDN, it achieves 50ms TTFB for French visitors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not necessarily, but it presents risks: variable performance depending on server neighbors, higher TTFB, and risk of being on a blacklisted IP. For a site with SEO ambitions, a VPS or cloud hosting is strongly recommended.
It has a minor impact since the widespread use of CDNs. Google relies more on ccTLD, hreflang, and Search Console targeting. However, a server close to the target audience reduces TTFB.
Go Further with LemmiLink
Discover how LemmiLink can help you put these SEO concepts into practice.
Last updated: 2026-02-07