Matt Cutts (Google Engineer that drops hints and info related to the Google search engine) has once again busted another SEO myth. Actually, he’s reiterating a position that Google has held for some time.
It turns out that the push to get a dedicated IP from your ISP isn’t so crucial after all. I have hosted many sites on dedicated ip’s (this one included), and I’ve also done the converse. The results? No noted change.
However, if you read his post and his summary on an interview from 2003 you’ll note in an interesting tidbit to keep in mind, “We do see a small percentage of ISPs every month that misconfigure their virtual hosting, which might account for this persistent misperception….”
So how do you actually determine whether your ISP is handling their IP management correctly? ISP’s generally never reveal IP information, how many web sites on one address, etc. There are privacy issues, etc. (I’ve asked and was told no way.)
Google has confirmed that no, dedicated IPs and virtual hosting won’t give you an edge or harm your web site in any way. However, if virtual hosting is not done properly you WILL get hit with some problems. That’s reason enough for me to stick with dedicated IPs for important web sites.
As an aside, sometimes you park domains and have redirects to a new site. Many domains hosts don’t redirect properly (should be a 301 redirect). For example, Godaddy say they 301 redirect, but in reality they use a 302 redirect (temporary v. permanent).